View Poll Results: Which touring bike do you recommend? 🤔
Cube Travel Pro Trapeze / Cube Touring Pro
0
0%
Giant Toughroad SLR1
0
0%
Cinelli Hobootleg
0
0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 22. You may not vote on this poll
Which Touring Bike do you recommend?
06-09-22, 02:45 AM
#51
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,177
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3452 Post(s)
Liked 1,452 Times
in
1,131 Posts
Yeah, finding one to actually ride/try was my problem. Ended up buying a Salsa Marrakesh on FB Marketplace and having it shipped. My mom said, "you don't sound like you like your bike that much". I really don't know if I do or not, but it's the bike I have. No shop in town or a good wide radius carries actual touring bikes; don't know anyone with one to borrow for a test ride; not willing to order another without testing. I realize it's not an ideal condition for starting a tour, but supply is absolutely an issue.
A couple of decades ago I looked at some touring bikes, at that time the choice was quite limited for off the shelf touring bikes. And I was really worried about buying something that would not handle the way I want for a touring bike. Then read a paragraph on one custom touring bike manufacturer's website, it said something like - all touring bikes handle pretty much the same, so you really do not need to worry much about buying a bike that you have not test ridden. That made me a lot more comfortable about buying one that I had not test ridden. I had bad luck with one that had a defective frame, the manufacturer refused to warranty it, eventually I put the frame in the metal recycle bin. But that was a one-off with a welding defect, I did not let that stop me. Since then I have bought three touring bike frames that I built up, one rando bike frame, and one complete road bike. And I still have all of those, and am quite happy with them.
The only concern with a touring bike should be that you do not know how stiff it is and how well it can handle a load until you put the racks that you chose on it, and your load, and give it a try. Some can take a greater load than others. And some are more finicky about how well you balanced your load across it. Steel will have more flex than aluminum, but other than that they do not vary that much for handling. Width of tire comes into play for off-pavement riding, but that is largely predictable before you order the bike as the manufacturer will tell you what the max width that the frame and fork can take.
Likes For Tourist in MSN:
