pakeboi

Time to start training for a bike tour of Shikoku Japan in anticipation that at some point it will allow foreigners again .
I rode the Shimanami Kaido and Tobishima Kaido on my Brompton a few years ago .
This time I'd like to tour around Shikoku on a full size .
The Sirrus X 5.0 has carbon frame and fork , 1 x12 , 38mm tires , and can take rear rack and fenders .
What do you think of it for touring ?
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/si...ext=92421-3101

veganbikes

It is a cool bike and one I have sold a few of (in older versions). However it is not really an ideal touring bike. However slap some bike packing bags on it and you are go. You could mount a rack with their rack mounting Thru Axle and a seatpost collar (just for the seatpost) but I wouldn't load it down and also I would note it is 28h and 24h wheels which are not particularly stout so bike packing stuff may keep you from overloading.

Wish they had done a steel version of this bike, I might buy one. But then again I already have that Sequoia frame sitting around with plans to do a "flat" bar on it.

pakeboi

I knew it wasn't ideal for touring ; thanks for making that perfectly clear .
It's a cool bike but I'll look elsewhere .

What happened to their Sequoia model ?

jpjuggler

I had no idea about these cycling routes in Japan. they look so cool. any other suggestions for cycling in japan? " Shimanami Kaido and Tobishima Kaido"

pakeboi

That's the only cycling I've done in Japan .

Trevtassie

Pretty well anywhere apart from the conurbation around the Inland sea. Hokkaido is great for touring. Lots of campgrounds, some free, great roads, interesting scenery. Lots of onsen/public baths so you can have a hot soak most nights.
Just avoid riding through the big cities, not much fun. The only exception would be Sapporo, there is a sneaky route right through the city.
There is a Length of Japan Route as well, you can google that.
Generally you want to be heading north on the west coast, south on the east, so you are on the coast side of the road.

Trevtassie

I will add I've found bigger tyres are better in Japan, there are times when you'll want ride on footpaths and cycleways. Some of them are pretty bumpy, the climate varies pretty widely in some area, like Hokkaido. In the winter they get up to 70ft of snow in places, in the summer it's 100F and 95% humidity, so there is some wild plant growth that ruins asphalt. Plants just burst up through it like alien lifeforms, they ain't got long to grow, so they'll give it their best shot. There is one plant in the north that has enormous plate like leaves that are up to a yard across. Leaves some pretty ripped up paths in places

jpjuggler

Thnks for the info!!!!

pakeboi

What is your specific tire size recommendation ?

I had a blast riding in Japan on my Brompton with 16 x 1-1/3 Schwalbe One .

Trevtassie

We travel real heavy, I take a mini BBQ I got from Amazon Japan, because you can buy little packs of charcoal everywhere and there is so much great seafood and vegetables to BBQ. Plus usually cold beer and fresh milk, as they sell ice in 1kg bags. We like to just ride, so big high volume tyres mean we can jump curbs, crash over everything and not worry about breaking anything. Last time I rode on 2.5 Surly ETs ! But they wear out too quick. I've switched to Schwalbe Moto-X in 2.4, still not happy as they are fairly tall and skinny and don't roll as well as the ETs. . Especially in Hokkaido there are some great logging roads to ride, so something that can cope with a little gravel is cool. .
I've done trips in Japan on 1.75 Marathons, 2.15 Mondials, 2.5 ETs but I reckon any good touring tyre would do the job. Depends on how heavy you're travelling and how far away from civilisation you plan on getting, you can get pretty remote in the rural areas, maybe 2 or 3 days without a supermarket or convenience store if you try hard enough.

jpjuggler

that sounds cool! did you camp or stay in hotels. I would like to bike in japan, but I imagine it would be easier to take a brompton on the plane vs. full size bike.

pakeboi

I mostly stayed in Ryokan which are a traditional type of Japanese Inn . In Onomichi I stayed in a hotel by the ferry that caters to cyclists . In Kobe I stayed in a business hotel .
I carried my Brompton covered in a Brompton Bag onto the plane and put it in an overhead compartment .
My next trip there I'm going to go full size for that experience .

Thanks for the tips Trevtassie .
Which is/was your favorite bike for Japan ?
I'm guessing you rode Surly's .

Trevtassie

First bike was my old 1991 MTB, trips after that were on my Troll.

Depending on who you fly with there are some tricks with flying full size.
JAL have a size limit of 203cm total dimensions before they charge extra fees for over size. You can get a 26" bike into a box that small, but you have to pull it right to bits and pack well. Hah, when I went to check they are running a special campaign for Australia https://www.jal.co.jp/aul/en/bicyclecampaign.html , exceptionally well timed, we can't actually leave the country without special permission at the moment and, given we'd have to spend A$3000 each on quarantine when we return, why would we?
ANA allow up to 292cm, which should cope with most bikes.
Coming from the US you'd get two bags at 23kg no matter what airline anyway, but may be worth checking the booking conditions as the USA is weird with baggage, elsewhere in the world the booking conditions of the major leg apply (ie the international leg), USA the first airline you check in with applies, roughly.

Incidentally both ANA and JAL run special Tourist internal flights, way cheaper than the trains and same baggage conditions as international 2 x 23kg bags. It's pretty well easier to fly than take a train in Japan if you have a full bike and touring set up.

As an aside, we flew from Tokyo to London on JAL, possibly the best commercial flight I've been on. Right over Siberia, up over the Arctic Circle and Russia and down over Finland Denmark etc. Stunning views, and I've flown in Antarctica quite a few times, it was still impressive. Damn long way to get to Athens from Australia, but with all the luggage and bikes it was cheapest by far.

veganbikes

I can only do but try.

They got rid of it and may bring it back. They have in the past but it was some terrible hunk of aluminum with a carbon rear triangle and zero nod to the past. The original was a cool bike and the latest versions they did were also nice. I can't imagine it will die, Erik Nohlin has got to have some plans up his sleeve and some other cohorts at Spesh can't give up so fast.

My guess is it wasn't selling as well as the carbon fiber wünderbikes and with e-bikes becoming more popular they have certainly switched some gears. Though like I said I don't think it is dead. Maybe some titanium might come down the pipeline (fingers crossed hard)

The Sirrus X is a neat bike though don't get it wrong.