What touring/ ride the planet bike ..... really !!!!

[landsurfer]

On this site we get poster after poster asking stupid questions about what bike they should buy ..... get a grip !!!! .... use the interweb !!!!

Until its my turn ...

I'm looking for a touring, a day bike, a daily ride bike, the single bike that will do everything.
Sportives, Lejog, long days out, short daily rides ....
SPA cycles have a interesting range, and this weekend i cycled with a chap riding a SALSA "ride the planet" bike ....
And another chap on a Planet X carbon space ship with all the bolt-ons to also "ride the planet" ...
Personally i like metal frames .....
And hate mudguards..
.
So do i just rock up at SPA ???

Are there any other manufactures ranges i should be looking at .......

[Heltor Chasca]

[emoji23] Go to Spa. The Elan may do most things you list including light touring. I love mine. They have some others where you can ramp up the load but you'll hump around a sportive maybe.

Surly do EVERYTHING too.

[landsurfer]

So embarrassing, .... but quite right ...

[PH]

I'm looking for a touring, a day bike, a daily ride bike, the single bike that will do everything.

You can do everything on a single bike, pretty much any bike, but looking at you list there will be compromises somewhere and you need to decide at which end of the spectrum they're going to be.

[Tigerbiten]

I'm looking for a touring, a day bike, a daily ride bike, the single bike that will do everything.
Sportives, Lejog, long days out, short daily rides ..........

Light-ish weight frame that will take wide-ish width tyres.
3x10 for a wide (~112"-24") range.
Bosses for mudguards/racks/multi waterbottles as needed.
Probably drops unless you cannot get on with them and a saddle to suit you.

Something like that should be a reasonable jack of all trades but master of none type of bike.

[horizon]

My recollection is that in the early days of this forum there were lots of threads about the virtues or otherwise of so-called touring bikes. Maybe the stalwart of the cycling world was feeling the strain of being challenged not only by mountain bikes but by a new breed of cross bikes and fast commuters. Those defenders of the faith probably felt a little beleagered in their efforts to point out that you don't just use a touring bike for touring.

The defence of the touring bike (basically a Dawes Galaxy) went along the lines that it was the only bike that really could do everything, from load lugging to fast rides to canal paths and long distance Audax rides. (Personally I think a 26" wheeled touring bike went one step better but nevertheless.) But the touring bike market was shrinking, Shimano never even produced a touring groupset and barring the Galaxy, it was left to a tiny handful of producers to keep the flame alight. And I think Thorn do deserve the credit for doing that so brilliantly.

I would say that there is more choice (and more opinions) on this topic today but it is amazing at just how little the goal posts have shifted. Spa (who produce an absolutely textbook touring bike) have already been mentioned and Thorn are still selling pretty much the same bike. You can throw in a few changes like disc brakes and LED lights but there is still a machine that, incredibly, will transport a human being over unbelievable distances (by historical standards), carrying his or her luggage with him or her, over rough or smooth terrain and costing in fuel nothing more than the food its rider eats. Most of it can be recycled, the guts of it will last for years and it will do almost everything asked of it.

The touring bike is the bike that will cover any ground over long distances carrying luggage and providing comfort for its rider. That distinguishes it obviously from other forms of transport but even IMV from other bikes. I think those that embrace that machine (as many do on here) are very lucky people.

[Spinners]

The Fuji Touring is always worth a look but is not quite the outstanding value it once was. Wish I'd kept mine...

[croxtoncycling]

My local bike shop have had an ongoing touring-type bike sale for a while now, with new bikes being added frequently. Primarily populated by the Dawes brand, they have 'touring' bikes, as well as a number of 'audax' and 'adventure' bikes. The 3ima titanium is a definite ride-the-planet bike. In fact, I've been riding one for 12 months as a bad-weather bike, and plan to remove the mudguards and ride to Spain on it next summer. http://www.bikesheduk.com/Dawes-Touring-Bike-Sale

[keyboardmonkey]

SPA CYCLES Titanium Audax (Shimano 105 Triple)

If you feel the need have a jazzy pair of wheels for your sportives and heavier ones for touring?

[simonhill]

I don't find people asking about touring bikes a problem, the problem I have is people answering before they know all the facts.

In your case, where? and what sort of touring? are critical questions. This is one end of your parameter list and would determine if a heavy duty tourer is needed or whether a lighter weight one will do. All your other requirements, eg daily rides, etc will be what that tourer can offer.

Also, budget, and complete bike or self/LBS build are critical information..

I posted a while ago about what makes a fast bike. The answer I got was that there is little difference in different bikes. Components and weight, etc did make a difference, but when tested over a set route plenty of the 'slow' tourers were actually no slower, except in the mind.

I ride a custom built LHT which many say is a big slow dog, but there are also plenty of people who ride a lighter weight version and find it a sprightly and fast ride.

[thornie1543]

Thorn XTC.end of thread,well what do you know that's just what I have,well I never ,guess there could be lots of answers and they would all be right in their own way.