photo from fully loaded touring bicycles
So! I’m going on a little bike trip around Southeast Asia! Much like when I began my trip down the Mississippi River I don’t know much about touring bikes, the region or the language and I don’t have too much money. But! Never fear, I will figure something out. So, any ideas on what company I should ask for a bike from? This ride is for a magazine article so I’ll be putting out asks to bike companies for gear. Ideas on what the ideal road touring bike looks like? Cyclocross? Cantilever brakes? Places to put panniers? I’d like a shorter top-tube to save my back. Also, has anyone been to Vietnam or Burma? Any advice? Known bike routes?
A’yen:
Stumbled across this site via some work you did for Puma. Realized we went to high school together. Weird. Anyway, I ended up becoming a bike mechanic. Perhaps these ideas might help with the bike trip:
Companies: there are the big ones, of course: Trek and Bianchi come to mind; Specialized’s not so big on the touring side of things. Trek’s 520 is a bona fide classic. My shop sells a lot of Moots and Independent Fabrications touring bikes, but I don’t know how likely those folks would be to give stuff away. The Mootour’s a full custom Ti frame, and IF makes the Independence with touring in mind. There’s also the small custom option, like Vanilla, Jonny Cycles or Rivendell. Vanilla’s doing a project with Rapha, I believe, that focuses on touring bikes. Jon does mostly fixies but has begun to work with Banjo cycles to develop racks and other touring-specific things. Rivendell’s perfect if you’re of the old-school persuasion.
You only need a ‘cross bike if you’re going to use knobby tires and could use the mud-clearance. If the roads are paved, or even hard-packed dirt, I’d stick with a regular touring frame and some wider slicks. If you do get a ‘cross frame, however, make sure the fork and rear triangle can mount racks–there are several models out there that don’t, as ‘cross and touring are very different sub-genres. I guess that answers the pannier issue, too.
Cantilever brakes are sometimes easier to repair/adjust and afford more rim/tire clearance. Better for mud, better for wheels less than perfectly true. They’re also a bit easier to work with fenders, which you should definitely get, but there are “normal” road brakes that work just as well (the Shimano A550s, for example). Braking power’s not as strong as a dual-pivot but it’s certainly not unsafe-ly so. It could be said, however, that touring bikes could have either sort of brake and be equally as well-suited to their task.
Fit-wise: short top tube, yes, but also take into account your seat height, seatube/headtube angles, stem height, stem length, all that…which is to say have the bike professionally fitted. Somebody with Serotta or Fit Kit certification. Bear in mind the ‘cross vs. touring geometry issue here, too: there’ll be less seat-to-handlebar drop on a true touring bike, while the ‘cross bike may tend to be more aggressively positioned. Unless that turns out to be the perfect way for you to ride a bike, fit-wise, I’d stay away from it.
Hope this helps.
JS
Wow. Cruising down the Mississippi all summer and now heading off to SE Asia to ride bikes around? Where do I sign up for this bourgeois punk tourist lifestyle? Do they give out grants?
Ha! Nonplus is a hater. Whatev. In answer to your douchebaggery, I am totally broke and have been subletting my apartment and couch surfing. The river trip cost very little because everything was made from trash and we lived on donations. I am financing the bike trip by working the whole time doing travel photography for 3 magazine articles. Sorry your life sucks and you weren’t willing to rough it to make your shit work out. Oh well! Stay put.