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-   -   Few ideas for my first tourer. What should I look for? touring bike? (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1253365)

saddlesores 06-17-22 10:54 PM


Originally Posted by garryg (Post 22545596)
i do not understand why some folks try to dissuade people from buying an actual touring bike when they are interested in touring. i think in life having the right tool for the job makes more sense. The OP will have a more enjoyable touring experience on a bike designed for touring. Yes you can tour on any bike but the OP seems willing to spend the dough on a real touring bike..

maybe cause there's no specific definition of "touring." ......and not dissuade, but rather put a little more effort into considering the end use before purchasing.

touring means different things to different folkses, not all "touring" bikes are suitable for the type of "touring" the "tourist" is going to "tour." rando touring isn't loaded touring isn't credit card touring isn't expedition touring isn't bike-a-packing isn't tour de francing.

best to get some experience, try out different methods, different loads...........before spelunking down $3500 on a custom crabon expedition touring rig with all the belts and thistles.

rushing out to buy the super-light crabon with no rack mounts and 35-130" gearing........cause the sales-hipster says it what all the hep cats are riding...........when you really wanna do 4-bagger touring in the himalayas?

'cause it just might end up a piece of basement-dwelling static performance art only viewed during midnight micturation movements.

Tourist in MSN 06-18-22 05:21 AM


Originally Posted by saddlesores (Post 22545646)
maybe cause there's no specific definition of "touring." ......and not dissuade, but rather put a little more effort into considering the end use before purchasing.

touring means different things to different folkses, not all "touring" bikes are suitable for the type of "touring" the "tourist" is going to "tour." rando touring isn't loaded touring isn't credit card touring isn't expedition touring isn't bike-a-packing isn't tour de francing.

best to get some experience, try out different methods, different loads...........before spelunking down $3500 on a custom crabon expedition touring rig with all the belts and thistles.

rushing out to buy the super-light crabon with no rack mounts and 35-130" gearing........cause the sales-hipster says it what all the hep cats are riding...........when you really wanna do 4-bagger touring in the himalayas?

'cause it just might end up a piece of basement-dwelling static performance art only viewed during midnight micturation movements.

Very well said.

I met this gal (below) during my last tour, she got off an airplane in Toronto, and I met her on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. She was having a great time on her hybrid with light weight camping gear.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7daef7d1a9.jpg

staehpj1 06-18-22 06:21 AM


Originally Posted by garryg (Post 22545596)
i do not understand why some folks try to dissuade people from buying an actual touring bike when they are interested in touring. i think in life having the right tool for the job makes more sense. The OP will have a more enjoyable touring experience on a bike designed for touring. Yes you can tour on any bike but the OP seems willing to spend the dough on a real touring bike..

Maybe because a touring bike just might not wind up being the right tool for the kind of touring they wind up wanting to do. There are a lot of possibilities. They might wind up pursuing a lot of different flavors of touring and a lot of different bikes may prove to be the right tool for the job. Unless they really know what they will wind up doing, the bike they buy now may not suit what really suits what they will be doing a year or two down the road. Too often they just read the forum and assume fully (heavy) loaded touring without considering that there are other possibilities, Starting with what they have or at least with a limited investment in the bike is probably a smart move in most cases.

I am not sorry I bought a touring bike when I started out, but my first tour was a long enough tour to justify the cost of an inexpensive touring bike. That was a full Trans America on a $599 (delivered) Bikes Direct Windsor Touring (Fuji Touring clone). It wasn't too many tours before I was wanting to tour on something lighter since I was immediately trimming the load and ultimately decided I much preferred ultralight touring. By my second or third tour I might not have chosen a full touring bike and by my 4th I definately wouldn't have.

That isn't true of everyone. There will be some who will say, gee I wish I had just bought a real touring bike to start with, but how big of a deal is it for them to ride something else on their first few tours especially if they start out with shorter tours and don't jump into it by doing the TA as a first tour like I did. Most start out doing a few overnighters or for a few days at a time. Doing that on their current bike to start with seems prudent. Also for each of those guys who say they wish they had started out buying a dedicated loaded touring bike to start with there is likely one who winds up never touring or touring once or twice and quitting to do something else. We have lots of other stuff competeing for our time. I know that I love touring, but it wouldn't be hard to get distracted backpacking, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, snowshoeing, xc skiing, or something and not find time to tour.

On the other hand... Some of us are driven more by buying gear than anything else at times. As another old timer told me, for some folks it can be more about the bike than making the pedals go 'round. So buying the bike may be a goal in and of itself. If that is the case and one has the money I guess that is fine. I am a cheapskate so I don't get it, but if it makes someone happy I guess that is all that matters.

Pratt 06-18-22 12:45 PM

Whatever is recommended will have one glaring omission, the recommenders, despite being both knowledgeable, and well intentioned, are not you. What ever bike you choose will have strong points you love, and weak ones you lament, and another rider might have entirely different criteria. But, be not discouraged, a tour or two will clarify your desires and you will be able to decide on the "perfect" bike for your touring. Perfect, that is, until you change, or you decide on a different type of tour, or a new bike comes out, etc. If you doubt me, just look at the little thumbnail profiles that list bikes owned.
It is all POTE. Part of the experience.


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