prairiepedaler

https://tomsbiketrip.com/is-the-touring-bike-dying-out/

I feel like the Jack Colton Colombian based character in Romancing the Stone when he finds out that the Doobie Brothers broke up... 20 years prior.

"Aww man, the trucker is discontinued!?"

tyrion

Surly has 4 bikes listed in the touring category (Disc Trucker, Grappler, Ogre, and Bridge Club), 3 of them being more off-road oriented. I think the off-road ("bikepacking") touring segment is eating into the more traditional pavement oriented market.

Steve B.

REI still makes and sells a touring bike, the CoOp ADV 1.1

Yes, tourers are dying out, Cannondale killed their tourer, though Trek did not. Many gravel bikes serve well as tourers in that they can handle front and rear racks, so we would have to include all those into the equation. As well, the bikepacking system of bags that have no need for traditional mounting racks still allow folks to carry gear, so that factors that you cam easily find an appropriate bike to self support ride across a continent. So its not as dire a situation as the post implies.

garryg

I think that there is a huge increase in young people taking up bikepacking and that this may actually bode well for biketouring and touring bikes in general.

TiHabanero

Keep in mind that one can tour on any bicycle with the correct adaptations and compromises. My brother toured on his 1979 Raleigh Professional. Rear rack, panniers, tent and sleeping bag all mounted back there. Not sure how he avoided heel strike, but he did.
I toured extensively on my 1975 Schwinn Super Sport way back when. Heel strike was avoided by pushing the panniers as far back as they would go and always remembering to ankle the foot.

Tourist in MSN

There are more options out there now than there were when I decided to buy or build my first touring bike in 2004.

Tourist in MSN

Was that on tubular tires?

Polaris OBark

Trek 520 is on the way out.

Darth Lefty 

Maybe not in the traditional configuration with side panniers and drop bars on a heavy duty steel frame.

backpacking changed too. The people going for ultramarathon speed records showed that you didn’t need a lot most of the time

ThermionicScott 

Well, if you define a "touring bike" as 26" wheels, canti brakes, and bar-end shifters, then yeah, you could say they're not doing so hot. Should we tell Mr Van Winkle what else he missed in the last 10-15 years?

Polaris OBark

My on-road touring bike has has 700C x 55mm tires, hydraulic disc brakes, and I got rid of the bar-end shifters in favor of GRX "brifters". It also has a nice heavy steel frame, Tubus racks, etc. But I front-load it.

saddlesores

4-baggers became a thing, for a while, then another thing came along. when the marketing professionals decide the market for the current thing is saturated, the next thing will be developed and marketed. the new thing will likely be a repurposed or retro old thing, updated with fashionable colors and reduced lifespan. if we're fortunate, the marketeers will bring back some version of the thing some of us want. if not, we'll just have to macguyver it.

staehpj1

If you have a rigid idea of what a touring bike looks like then maybe yes or maybe be reduced to an even more narrow niche status. Things change. The gear we carry changes The bikes we ride change.

Darth Lefty has a good point. Look at how backpacking gear has changed. The style of backpacks of my younger days are pretty much gone. No one carries as much as they used to, but even if they did they probably wouldn't use one of those old frame packs. I think maybe touring bike are going through a similar evolution.

Xavier65

Maybe the problem is that because there's now so much choice, it's no longer profitable to attempt to sell such a thing as a standard tourer - because one bike can't be all things to all men - everyone wants something slightly non-standard.

Hence, bikes have migrated into niches where the bike for that niche does suit a large market: mountain, gravel, bike-packer, city, expedition, etc.

So, for touring, the would be purchaser now has to decide whether to transform a niche bike into a tourer, buy a classic tourer 2nd hand (and refurb it), or build a tourer from the right frame up, e.g. from AliExpress.

So, the touring bike might be disappearing from the shelves, but that doesn't mean it's disappearing.

cyccommute 

Yes, you can tour on any bike but some compromises are worse than others. A lot of the problem with the compromises are that people don’t know what the difference is. I’ve toured on a Univega Sportour back in the 80s. It was one of the “sport touring” bikes of the late 70s that had 17” chainstays and “sporty” handling. It was a great ride in the packing lot and on club rides. When loaded with large panniers on the rear of the era (pre-lowriders) that were pushed back off the back of the bike so that I didn’t hit my heels on the bags, that “sporty” handling became a liability. I took it down Crow Hill here in Colorado which is a 1.5 mile 7% curvy part of US285 near Bailey, CO. It was a nightmare! The bike shimmied, the steering was very vague, and cornering often raised question as to whether I was going to follow the pavement or use the rocks to stop me.

That bike was replaced with Miyata 610 which was more touring oriented with longer stays and more relaxed handling. On numerous Colorado mountain passes with similar loads, the bike was far easier to ride with no shimming nor questionable handling. Even at on a far longer descent of Trail Ridge Road from the top to Grand Lake where I hit speeds of 45mph and the road has far tighter corners than Crow Hill, I never questioned that I could control the bike.

That bike was replaced with a Cannondale T800 which was even longer and better designed as a touring bike. I’ve done a 45mph descents in driving rain (New Found Gap, North Carolina) and the bike is even more sure footed.

Another point about touring on an inappropriate bike is that it’s not likely to make someone repeat the experience. I’m stupid, stubborn, and a glutton for punishment so I stuck with it. Most everyone who actually does touring regularly is the same. But we are the few and the stupid. Most people will try touring once or twice and find the compromises too difficult to overcome.

Yes, you can touring on anything. But if you have the right tool for the job, the trip is much more enjoyable.



Yes, and people can wear hair shirts and a cilice. Just because someone who is setting records is willing to endure pain to do it doesn’t mean that the rest of us should follow their lead. Saying “you can do it like the pros” often turns people off to the idea of participating in an activity to begin with. The response is often “I’d love to do [put activity here] but I can’t be like the pros so why bother?”. Cutting down to the level of suffering that the pros are willing to go through is a barrier to getting more people out backpacking or bikepacking or touring, not a selling point.

Sorcerer

From my POV I have more and more friends touring on bicycles than ever. They are using bicycles.

But yeah, maybe the definition of what a classic touring bike or classic touring configuration is may be more about what is at stake here.

My wife and I used to tour on a fully loaded tandem with camping gear. Nowadays we are bike packing on single bikes. We are bike packing right now.

We used to backpack together too. We find that bike packing is a great intersection of cycling and backpacking.

In practice we didn't get bikes purposes for touring or packing, but adapted accessories to hold our camping kit.

In recent weeks Neil on Bikepacking. Com did a video about rear racks and panniers. (Yes I follow that channel.) Well it was really hilarious to read the comments as it was ironically satirical that bike packers are now discovering the utility of rear racks and panniers. Of course they are being integrated with higher tech bikes, racks, and bags.

What's old is new. Rinse repeat.

Even though I haven't any experience riding or using any of the new stuff, I am certain that these bikes and accessories are excellent touring bikes.

I had to chuckle because we adapt any of our bikes to tour on to hold our panniers which we still have from our tandem riding days.

Last month we did a bike packing trip in the Moab area for a week over mixed surfaces. It was mostly dirt, but there was a little bit of road, a lot of rugged jeep trail, and some single track. We used full suspension mountain bikes for the terrain.

The way I see it, it's how you use the bike which determines whether or not it is a touring bike.

I have a titanium cross bike with QR 100/130 spacing that I use as an all arounder. When I ordered it I had rack and fender mounts added. At the time 33 rear and 38 front width tires were considered too big for serious road riding. Nowadays that is called a gravel bike. That's what i always wanted.

I still haven't taken that bike touring, but it is ready. It's an all arounder.

The inline cargo packing is great for single track and reducing wind resistance. That is an important advantage over panniers.

Personally I can't tolerate a huge behind the saddle bag for the bike handling feel.

Another thing is that I like to have a seat dropper post if there is any technical terrain to descend.

But touring bikes? They aren't dead at all. We are in the midst of an incredible era of innovative ideas noatter what sort of cycling we are into..

irc

The traditional tourer like the LHT (disc or rim braked) is just better at it's job than lesser bikes.

Weight carried low, on a long wheelbase bike, with rock steady steering means no dramas when the unexpected happens. Like riding off tarmac onto a gravel shoulder to avoid being hit. The bike stayed upright, no hassle.

No worry about fast descents while loaded. No shimmy. No need for the load at the back to be behind the axle to avoid heelstrike.

The capacity to carry big loads for a couple of days without water or food supplies.

Of course go very light or credit card and all bets are off. Many bikes can do that just fine. I like having a bike able to carry full camping gear with ease though. With stable handling. And with load capacity in reserve for the odd stretch when a big load is required.

TiHabanero

Tourist MSN, yes, originally toured on 28mm tubulars. I convinced him to built a clincher set of wheels around 1982 which he then used for all his riding, including crit racing. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Tourist in MSN

I can't remember when I had my last flat in a tubular, maybe 1990s. Bike was parked for over a decade until I picked up a pair of clincher wheels at a swap meet.

acantor

I think people were posing the same question when I joined this forum 20 years ago. The questions were different, but the context isn't too different:

"Where do I find five-speed cassettes for the long discontinued XYZ bike?"

"My family thinks I'm out of my mind to go bike touring in XYZ Land! Is it safe?"

"OMG! Company XYZ has stopped making their amazing touring bike!"

The answer is the same now as then. The lively conversations on this forum suggests to me that bicycle touring is not going away soon!

M Rose

What is Treks new Touring model? The 520 is discontinued. From my understanding Trek has gone to adventure touring bikes with a more MTB feel (the 1120 and the Farly 9) or the gravel geometry of the Checkpoint.

Tourist in MSN

I think you are spot on. For several years, the steady complaints about lack of new triple cranksets being produced, the decision by Shimano to stop making MTB and road shifters and derailleurs compatible, proliferation of 1X systems with absurdly expensive replacement cassettes and chains. Etc.

As a group, touring cyclists are more likely to be using tech that is several years old, with a desire to keep using that older tech. Lots of people are staying with their 9 speed drive trains as long as they can, I am staying with 8 speed for touring although my road bike has a 10 speed cassette. I am still using bar end shifters for my derailleur fitted touring bikes, although my road bike and rando bike have brifters. That said, I think most people are leaving bar end shifters behind for their newer touring bikes while for now at least I am keeping mine.

Steve B.

You are correct, I missed that they discontinued the 520. That sucks

staehpj1

There will be bikes to tour on. They may not look like the trek 520 or the LHT or maybe there will always be a few models like that. I suspect not far down the road there will be very few, but I could be wrong. How many big external frame packs do you see folks backpacking with? I think touring riders will have a similar change of preferred equipment. Times change.

Pratt

Maybe because the category "touring bikes" used to be any bike that was used for touring. Now there seems to be a metastatic proliferation of categories according to whether functionally equivalent bikes have 26, 27, 29 inch wheels, flat or drop bars, rim or hydraulic brakes, front, rear, or frame racks, black or tan bar tape, etc.