Which touring bike should I buy?
There’s as many opinions on this topic as there are places to tour. For myself anyways, I haven’t went for the traditional steel frame and four panniers for any of my solo tours, and I even bought a Schwinn kid trailer to pack all my gear in. I hadn’t had any trouble whatsoever with my used aluminum Marin mountain bikes, you just have to watch your overall weight a little more, because as they say, steel is real.
I had heard the comfortable cruising weight of a Surly Long Haul Trucker was 275 lbs, but as a lazy long haul trucker already weighing in for that number already, I feel they’d hold more. My Acoca aluminum frame seems to be holding myself and my gear fairly well so far and it has thus far proved to feel as a new frame from Taiwan should feel despite not having a familiar branding.
If you’re looking for a rundown of what the best one is, then here’s my analysis; buy what you’re comfortable riding but do your research first.
If you want the real deal with no doubts, pick up a Surly LHT, or in my mind an even better deal would be a Marin Four Corners. The Marin model will offer you nearly everything a LHT will but at nearly half the cost at $1200 Canadian currency. I’ve ridden Marin’s across Canada twice now and when I roll through Manitoba, I’ll be looking to find one. I only wish they came with 26″ wheels and that’s an edge the LHT has on it.
Three solid bets when deciding on a touring bike;
Something new, made of steel, with a proper brand name. Shimano parts are a good solid bet and don’t accept anything less than brand names because you don’t want to find out that your Shimanho crank turned into shrapnel 300km away from the next bike shop.
The best one you can afford. I’ve met a fella that was 700km into his trip on a 10$ bike and had no regrets. True story. He was actually moving from Vancouver to Calgary as he told me and had nothing more than a back pack with a blue and orange tarp to sleep under if it rained. Hard AF.
Anything else. I hadn’t heard of Acoca before I bought this one, but it had Shimano deore crankset, cassette, chain, and branding I recognize. I researched it and after finding it comes from the same Taiwanese bloodline as high priced name brands I pulled the trigger. Don’t just buy garbage and cross your fingers, this is the real deal. Things get crazy really quick if your frame were to crack or your rim to taco.
The best advice is this;
If you’re new to long term travel, do some serious homework on hardware before you set out. When I did my first trip I had a Marin Bolinas Ridge that I owned for five years prior. I really trusted the bike, and I knew the weak points, so I brought more extras than I needed. You not only have to consider your horse, but also being on your own on the road so learn some tricks on YouTube, you’ll take that mindset with you and be better off for it.
Though there’s hundreds of solid and reliable touring bikes out there, the best one is what you deem trustworthy. Once the frame is settled, it’s time to get you some gear.
How to pack a touring bike
Here’s a simple rule to follow whether you’re setting off around town, ripping the trail, or spending all day on the road; spread the weight evenly. Imagine you’ve got two heavy suitcases, would you carry them both with one hand? Of course not.
I see lots of riders that push everything to the back wheel, on the rack and pile it up high. You might get lucky and have that work. I was even lucky and had it work. But find a way to get a bit of the gear on the front end, or even pack up your triangle. spreading the weight out not only makes your handling smooth but it decreases the odds of eating up your spokes or even worse, having a catastrophic rim failure when you’re miles away from help. I walked my bike through the Rocky’s for 70km after my derailleur choked, and I’m just glad my rims were intact, I can’t imagine how much harder it would’ve been otherwise.
It doesn’t have to be pretty
I have MacGuyvered everything I had to MacGuyver to be able to set my bike up and find peace somehow with what I’ve done. Hacked up a pair of pants, got shorts and an extra sleeve to protect my tent from the daily grind. Hacked another pair and rigged up water bottle holders to fit my handle bars, they don’t look great but I also don’t care, I have three litres of emergency water and I didn’t have to pay 50$ for a fancy holder. If these items get wrecked I’m out nothing and being in a spot with nothing to lose is where I find myself most comfortable. Just like driving that old truck you’ve had for decades, you can bang it up a bit, get it dirty, who cares.
What do I need to bring?
One of my favourite aspects of doing a long term adventure of this nature, is boiling your life down to the essentials. Minimalism on two wheels. You will need a few tools and extra parts, understand where your weaknesses are on your horse such as spokes, the chain, tubes and tires. A patch kit, extra tubes and a multi tool should fit the bill, and chain lube will make life easier as well.
Buy a cargo rack so you can fit all your junk, clothes and whatnot in some sort of carriers. Pannier style is often preferred, but up until a few days before I found motorcycle bags that would work the same as standard panniers, I was fully intending on tying two nylon mesh bags together and making that work if worse came to worse. A sliding scale of humility is a good a friend as any.
I have two identical outfits, of black shorts with zipper pockets, and two black polo style shirts, and all these items are made of synthetic material, because, they breathe very well while you’re working hard in the sun, and they wash easy in the shower or the sink. They often only take only a few hours to dry afterward and they’re cheap. If one of these items rips or is at a point where they’re unwearable, they’re replaced for next to nothing.
P.S.
Dry bags. The type with a life jacket style clip on the top, they are as good as gold for all your electronics, clothes, passport, books and whatever else you absolutely need to be kept dry. I have this laptop in one, and keep the other open in my backpack for my Nikon D3500, the two most expensive items I’ve brought one the road with me.
Sunnies. Sport sandals. Gloves.
Protect your eyes, yes. Sandals because socks are over rated. Gloves are great, they grip when you’re covered in sweat and otherwise your hands would be a slip n slide, plus they look so cool.
Luxuries
A pot and a bit of extra food, I chose instant oatmeal and a bit of cinnamon. A tent, but this might fit into your necessary gear depending on what country you’re in, here in Vietnam they like you registered for every night somewhere and the hotels are so cheap its hard to want to stay in your tent. In Canada, bring a tent for sure as there’s so many great opportunities for back woods camping you’d be crazy not to. Waking up on a cliffside in the Rockys is one of lifes greatest mornings. PVC pipe, I’ve left this here because you can bush fix a spoke, cargo rack, tent pole, and anything else you feel it might work for, it cost me 35 cents for 6 feet of it, and it will pull you out of a bind with some electrical tape if you’re creative enough.
Mental Preparation
In the darkest of times, in the deepest of valleys, and in the most unhopeful of situations, you will only find real life. The adversity that only yesterday seemed front page news is today long forgotten and all that is now unimportant a faint light drown by the shadow of the present.
No fear. No distractions. The ability to let that which does not matter truly slide. -Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
There will be times where you will want to quit, there will be times where you feel you want to do this for the rest of your life. There will be problems you can’t solve yet, and situations you had no idea were coming. You will have to earn every single day, you will get dirty, you will need to take a minute, you will go from the top of the world to the bottom of the sea, there will be uncertainty every day, but the only sure bet is that you will not be the same at the end of it.
The only real failure is giving up.
This adventure has rewards that last a lifetime. Do it now, while you still can, because regret weighs more than a failed attempt at your dream ever will. I fell like this applies to not only what I’m doing but to anyone who wants to blaze their own trail, have their own adventure, or just do their own thing. Stop worrying about what can go wrong and concentrate on doing things right, have your back up plan, carry your extra tires for when things go wrong.
Don’t think, do. Chris Farley, Tommy Boy