poopmypants15

Please ignore my username... it's from a time when I thought I was a lot funnier than I actually am.

I recently had a death in the family which has left me a little strapped for cash, but prompted me to do a cross country bike trip. My question is could I still ride the bike I've done other tours on? Plan is to leave from the east coast (NJ beach) and end on the west coast (beach somewhere by Portland). I work in education so have 2 months and a week to get this trip completed.

The bike shop guys keep telling me I need to invest in a legit 'touring steel bike', but the truth is I really love my aluminum frame Fuji Newest 2.0 from 2009 with carbon fork. I've already done two longer tours on it, two summers ago going around Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, and last summer around Lake Michigan and Huron, for a total of 3,500ish touring miles on it.

I tried posting a URL to the specs, but if you just google Fuji Newest 2.0 2009 it'll be the first thing that pops up (stock photo is a white Fuji).

I switched out the Alex rims with a 2014 Roubaix I had, so at least the wheels are Oval 327 aero alloy clinchers, but still stock rims.

Anyways, my question is - could I make this cross country journey on the Fuji or am I truly going to need to invest in a 'touring bike'. I like being light and crushing miles during the day. I would travel with one small pannier (10 liters) on my rear rack and a frame bag.... so everything would be really minimal. A small sleeping bag, tent, one pair of everything, and lots of peanut butter sandwiches and cold canned soup.

Am I an idiot/naive for thinking I can go cross country on my Fuji bike? Do I need to get a 'real' bike? I made the argument to a friend that the first dude to go cross country did it on a penny-farthing. He said the person to make the first transcontinental flight did it on a prop plane and did so successfully. Only because the person before him died attempting and so did the person after him. May be a bit apocryphal but he could have a point. Thought I'd try and get some advice from the best biking minds out there! Any feedback is welcome.

Squeezebox

If it works for you use it.
But yes! There is a lot of arguing back and forth here about steel vs Alum.

hueyhoolihan

i've got old road steel, medium old road steel, mtb steel, titanium, carbon and aluminum frames. and have toured on all of them. they can all work for touring. there are so many and much more important things that will affect your enjoyment of a cycling tour than the bike, that the bike itself is almost insignificant.

remember, bike shops are, literally, in the business of selling bikes, so i wouldn't give a second thought to what they say WRT to your needs for a bike. nor would i think too much of what a perfect stranger, like for instance ME, has to recommend.

it sounds like you have some experience touring so i'd decide for myself based on your previous touring experience.

but, if you want to know what i think, that Fuji sounds perfect. in fact, if we had decided, sight unseen, to meet somewhere for a cross-country tour and you showed up with that bike, i would think that we stood half a chance of making it.

robow

I would much rather tour long distance on a well made and designed aluminum frame vs. a poorly made steel frame.

bradtx

poopmypants15, Go for it. Packed light to medium heavy (~20 lb.) should be fine.

Brad

Andrew R Stewart 

My up coming cross country tour is, to a degree, to honor a lost wife as well as my 47 year wish to ride sea to sea. My thoughts are with you. I will add that crushing your experience with such an austere plan is not what I would choose.


Don't worry about the frame's material. As robow said the bike's fit to the purpose and to the rider is vastly more important. The Fuji Newest is not what I would call a better touring design.


Brad- 20 lbs is medium/light???


Andy (who's scratching his head with this thread)

saddlesores

bike shop guys are prolly thinking you'll be doing fully-loaded 4-bag touring.
in that case a touring-specific bike (alu or steel don't matter) would be nice.

how much stuff will you be carrying?

also.....still have the stock gearing? 30:25 low gear?
maybe not so suitable for climbing mountains with camping gear.

https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/sear...spx?id=3034069
2009 Fuji Newest 2.0 (USA - BikePedia)

bikemig 

Agree with the others. The bike is fine for lightweight touring but the stock gearing is likely not ideal.

https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...ewest+2.0+(USA)

The bike has a triple which is good (52/42/30) with an 11/25 in the rear. Personally I'd want a 32 on the back but this will likely require a different RD and chain.

Also the bike came stock with 23c tires. I'd run as wide a tire as can fit comfortably and I'd invest in some tough tires as well. The major tire manufacturers like Continental, Schwalbe, and Panaracer make touring tires which run a bit heavier but they are also less susceptible to flats. Try to run a 28c if it work (they may not fit) or a 25c.

If you google bike packing, you'll find a lot of people are strapping bags to their bikes to keep it light. You may find some good ideas if you look around.

hueyhoolihan

one of the last things i would think about is my tooth count on the cassette. it's not as if you won't be traveling past a number of bike shops on the way. plenty of opportunities to rethink gearing.

MarcusT

There are still a lot of traditionalists that have the '90's thinking' of aluminum frames. With the birth of the aluminum frame, they were stiff and assembly methods caused stress on the tubes which caused concern for stress cracks after so many miles. 20 yrs later, production has changed drastically. the shape of the tube and frame geometry have changed to make them more flexible and stress free. So, that trapezoidal tube shape is not just aesthetic. There are a few reasons why steel may be a better option, but most are negligible. One for example is, if your frame cracks or breaks on a tour, it is easier to get a weld repair on steel than aluminum.
First and foremost, you should be concerned with comfort. Does the bike feel good? The saddle, the handlebar height, and so on.If you have the original 700 X 25 tires, you might want to get something a little more robust, like a 28 or 30.
Finally; 10 liters is a little light, especially for camp touring. Don't forget spare parts, tubes, and tools and the extra T-shirt, you will have to talk to people

mev

Aluminum as a frame material shouldn't be an issue. Cannondale made Aluminum frame touring bikes including my T-1000 which I rode twice across US and half way around Australia.

I did actually get a cracked chainstay. That was misuse. Bike shop in Broome forced too wide wheel into dropouts, adding stress and placing wheel too far left where sand got the chainstay. 1500km later a cracked frame. My fault for not noticing. When that happened, flew back to US, picked up different Aluminum Cannondale bike I had, returned to Australia and completed other half of the ride.



Whether other aspects of Fuji are ideal or not, sounds like you've already toured with it and works for you, so I would use it.

staehpj1

I rode the Southern Tier on an old 1990 aluminum Canondale Criterium racer and really enjoyed the bike. I was packing light on that tour and found the bike more suitable than my "real" touring bike that mostly hangs in the garage these days.

If you like the bike and enjoy riding it then go for it. I wouldn't let the fact that it is aluminum worry me a bit. The gearing may or may not be okay, so give that some thought.

fietsbob

Modern Welded aluminum frames will be fine , (I have a Koga WTR, in 7005, its excellent .. world tour is in its name. )

a classic bonded Vitus aluminum race bike will be better , if you have a support vehicle hauling your stuff..



On the West Coast , I see All Sorts of bikes people used to ride across the US..

Tourist in MSN

A friend of mine did two cross country (USA) trips on a Cannondale. First was loaded with camping gear, second was with vehicle support to haul luggage. He leaves in a month to do a third crossing with his Cannondale. Lots of components have been replaced, but the frame is holding up well.

You mention you have a carbon fork. A different friend of mine tours with a carbon fork.

bradtx

I've over loaded at the beginning, like maybe most and I use 20 lb. for light to medium because that's about what I've lost in weight from a better diet... Maybe somewhat skewed.

Brad

PS Best wishes for your sea-to-sea for both of your reasons.

FBinNY 

I wouldn't blink at taking that bike on the tour. There's no reason not to if it rides well and you enjoy riding it. In fact, I'd rather take a bike (any bike) that I know rides well than buy a bike that it supposedly more suited.

However, riding well on a loaded tour is different than riding well for day riding, so take the time to load this bike with your simulated tour load, and take it out for a day or weekend ride of similar distance that you plan of riding daily.

Likewise, living near the beach, you might not have adequate gearing for Pennsylvania's steep hills, or what you'll hit out west, so do that road test in the Poconos or someplace similar.

robow

Sorry, can't agree with this. This is something you do before a cross country tour, not while climbing a mountain and realize, damn, I've not got a lower gear and so it's "walk the bike" time. I agree with Bikemig, think of getting yourself a lower low, that is unless you are an extremely fit rider. Unless you're going ultralight, get as wide a tire that your frame will allow, and IMO, these things are far more important than frame material.

jefnvk

Is there a reason you think you can't do it on your bike, other than someone else's opinion?

I agree with others, that you're probably going to want different gearing out west than you do in generally flat Great Lakes land, but a new crank and/or cassette can be had well less than $100. So long as you are comfortable, and can carry your load (which I presume will be similar to your other tours), go for it.

john_mct

walked one hill on my tour coast to coast with 39-20 gearing...stand and mash for the win...and pack light, get strong and enjoy the ride.

poopmypants15

Holy smokes, I put this up yesterday and already got this many responses! That's amazing, you guys are awesome. Thanks, this makes me feel a lot better about the decision I was already coming to - to just do the tour on my Fuji. I'll definitely keep an eye out for lighter steel bikes on craiglist/bikes shops that have the rear rack eyelets... that won't break the bank. Otherwise I'll throw some bigger tires on my Fuji and pray it goes well. In all I'm looking at maybe 20 pounds of stuff.

I'll definitely invest in some wider, 'bombproof' tires. Thanks so so much you all!

JeffL

All but one of my long (multi-month) tours have been on an old aluminum Cannondale T400. It worked very well. Steel would probably be more comfortable than aluminum on rough roads when unloaded, but loaded for touring I doubt you would feel much of a difference.

zebkedic

Aluminium Bike....Carbon Fork....just get on the thing and ride

Andrew R Stewart 

Again scratching... Are you talking about load weight or body weight or both in a confusing manor? 20LBS of load is very light weight for cycling and hiking. For many bodies a 20lbs weight loss is fairly great. Are you somehow equating body and load amounts? I see these as two different aspects of touring/riding in general. Andy

linus

Why not?

When I was in my early 20's, I went on a tour in Asia with my road bike with 53/39 and 12-25 gearing. 10lbs. backpack without any racks or pannier.

Grew up in Flatland Canada, I didn't know how hilly Asia was. Gearing sucked, but it was fun.

bradtx

Hi Andy, I lost 20 lb. of body weight via a better diet. Since I rode for years on roadies at that weight (200 lb.), I consider 20 lb. to be a light load at my current body weight, but I've seen where others consider 20 lb. to be a medium load. Personally I consider 20 lb. to be light, 30 lb. to be medium, and 40 lb. a heavy load... 40+ lb. to be an expedition level load.

Brad