Touring on Specialized Sirrus carbon 6.0?
#26
Senior Member
K8, I forgot to mention that its a real shame about the Novara, up here in Canada we dont see them, being an REI thing, but I know they are a great value touring bike with very good "touring" gearing.
But if it is too big, it is too big---but given that you will not use it, if it is in good shape, this bike does have a great resale value. I would highly recommend looking up other selling prices of touring bikes, not to mention cleaning it up really well--the thing has value, so you could raise funds by selling this at its real market value.
Touring bikes get snapped up rather quickly around here, so don't undersell it.
as per touring weights and etc, and your sirrus. There are lots of people who tour lightly on these sort of bikes, its common to change the wheelset for stronger wheels, 32 spokes lets say, and then there are options for changing gearing---but it does come down to how much would one spend on doing things like wheelsets, changing cranksets or getting something like a wolftooth whatever they are called that allow the existing derailleur to take bigger cassettes.....
there are super light tents out there now, just over 2 lbs etc, as well as sleeping bags, comfortable camp mats, you name it. So it is possible to go super light--but only you know if you can live with X minimalist setup--but then again, if you are not an outdoorsy camping person, you might not know what is ok for you.....
so options out there, but at what cost? And if you end up carrying more stuff, the bike could still end not being the right tool.
Your high handlebar position suggests flexibility aspects that may have an impact on camping, but that is conjecture on my part, and you did say that you'd prefer indoor accommodations.
oh, lastly, given that you have the Novara, you could potentially at least try out a weekend or three day touring trip using this bike , carrying tent and all the kit and kaboodle, just to start to get an idea of what its like both living with and carrying a certain amount of stuff.
N California certainly has nice riding memories of when I went down the Oregon/Cali coast back in the 90s, so you have some nice touring options for short test trips. I do remember some areas with lots of logging trucks, so I guess you have to choose the areas.
But if it is too big, it is too big---but given that you will not use it, if it is in good shape, this bike does have a great resale value. I would highly recommend looking up other selling prices of touring bikes, not to mention cleaning it up really well--the thing has value, so you could raise funds by selling this at its real market value.
Touring bikes get snapped up rather quickly around here, so don't undersell it.
as per touring weights and etc, and your sirrus. There are lots of people who tour lightly on these sort of bikes, its common to change the wheelset for stronger wheels, 32 spokes lets say, and then there are options for changing gearing---but it does come down to how much would one spend on doing things like wheelsets, changing cranksets or getting something like a wolftooth whatever they are called that allow the existing derailleur to take bigger cassettes.....
there are super light tents out there now, just over 2 lbs etc, as well as sleeping bags, comfortable camp mats, you name it. So it is possible to go super light--but only you know if you can live with X minimalist setup--but then again, if you are not an outdoorsy camping person, you might not know what is ok for you.....
so options out there, but at what cost? And if you end up carrying more stuff, the bike could still end not being the right tool.
Your high handlebar position suggests flexibility aspects that may have an impact on camping, but that is conjecture on my part, and you did say that you'd prefer indoor accommodations.
oh, lastly, given that you have the Novara, you could potentially at least try out a weekend or three day touring trip using this bike , carrying tent and all the kit and kaboodle, just to start to get an idea of what its like both living with and carrying a certain amount of stuff.
N California certainly has nice riding memories of when I went down the Oregon/Cali coast back in the 90s, so you have some nice touring options for short test trips. I do remember some areas with lots of logging trucks, so I guess you have to choose the areas.
#27
Senior Member
Some folks are just inclined to be minimalist than others. Not bike related, but I been on trips for 2 weeks that involved a couple hops of air travel where I wanted to be unencumbered with an 18 liter bag as my only luggage. My bug bivy, tarp, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and pillow and pack down to smaller than football and it all weighs about 2 pounds 12 ounces if I take the smaller of my full sized tarps. So for me something like that would be doable. For some it might be weird to unthinkable.
So I am just mentioning this as something that may fit for someone, but probably not many. I suspect that most folks who wind up being minimal packers either are inclined that way to start with or gradually trim their packing lists over the years and enjoying the results are spurred on to more trimming. Probably most are a bit of both. Some may come from the UL backpacking community and start right of that way. It may be more natural to go UL touring if you are already doing so backpacking, but some UL backpackers may choose to pack heavier on the bike.
#28
Senior Member
all interesting points with a lot of truth to them
and to give everyone a song to whistle to today.....
and to give everyone a song to whistle to today.....
#29
Newbie
Thread Starter
all interesting points with a lot of truth to them
and to give everyone a song to whistle to today.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTunqv1Xt4
and to give everyone a song to whistle to today.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCTunqv1Xt4
#30
Senior Member
well, my wife will be whistling it soon and I'll be doing the same just a few years down the road too.....