Buying a touring bike - things I didn't know

[Vorpal]

Regarding the steerer, I agree that they should be left uncut until the customer is happy with the set-up.

Regarding the tape... When I bought a new bike in 2009, the bike shop offered me a free first service within 13 months of purchase. They also made a point of saying that they would be happy to adjust and retape the handlebars if I found that the brifter position was not ideal.

[yutkoxpo]

This

Experience and preference. But when you don't have the experience, you have yet to develop the preference! I

And this

here's no such thing as a perfect bicycle, just different sets of compromises, any of which may suit some people more than others.

Putting together a "Touring Bike" can seem like a very daunting experience. There are just so many options and potentially so many pitfalls.

And that is only part of the process of putting together a successful tour!
There's route planning, route navigation, accommodation options (camping opens up a whole new area where there are many choices). There's style, clothing, distances, surfaces. Safety & security, insurance,budget, banking & communications.
Having a great bike is no guarantee that the rest will come together. In fact, I'm aware of several people who have top of the range touring bikes yet always find a reason not to go on a tour. I know a guy who makes a living from selling top quality touring bikes that have been barely used.

There's a reason that some people go out and buy all the kit, yet never head away. And it's not the bike!

I'd always advise anyone considering getting in to touring to start with a bike that works and get some touring miles under their belt. The more miles, the better informed they'll be when it comes time to upgrade. They'll feel, see and talk about the subject in the real world and their decisions are better informed - for them.

As for your specifics, I can comment on the rack - As Slowster says it is narrower which causes its own issues.
Stand? I prefer not to use one. On an old aluminium hybrid I used for touring the chainstay failed where a stand had been clamped on. I prefer a Clickstand. Light, handy and useful other than just as a stand.

I don't use drops, so won't comment on them, other than to say that tiny adjustments to saddle height and angle resulted in a big comfort improvement for me. Little things matter and it's worth paying attention to them. The more you do, the better you get at it.

As for the bosses for the cantilever brakes and the inappropriate wheels I'd see that as a feature sold on insecurity or fear. If you plan on heading away to far flung places that may be an interesting idea, but for most people it's an unnecessary extra. I've read many blogs and accounts of people riding in out of the way places and don't recall ever anyone resorting to this on a regular bike.
But is is an example of real life experience vs academic reading. For it to be really useful you either have to have the brakes already installed, or be prepared to carry (purchase) the necessary components on tour and fit them as required. Easier said than done.

And as for the gears that is an adjustment. As others have said you will get used to it.

The one thing that comes across from your post is perhaps the necessity to discuss every matter with your bike shop. The stand and the rim issue could have been dealt with at the time, perhaps also the drop bar issue

In any case, you have the bike.... go ride and enjoy yourself!

[horizon]

Bike stands:

Just to say (as I haven't yet read the whole thread so apologies if it's already been mentioned) that AIUI, bike stands are a no-no on touring bikes due to the damage they may do to the frame. Thorn certainly believe this. My Tern Folder does have one but it's integrated into the frame. Interestingly it will hold the bike when loaded with four panniers but not with two or three. Following Thorn's advice (and obvious weight issues), I don't have stands on my other bikes.

Update: I see it has been mentioned!

[PH]

I didn't know that I didn't know about handlebars and levers and taping.
If I had been told "Do you want the bars fully taped up? Some people prefer temporary tape whilst they make minor adjustments then do the final taping later." then I would have had some awareness, although I might not have made the right decision at that time.

I don't think there is s any such thing as temporary tape, there's cheap tape and expensive tape and almost as much personal preference as there is with saddles. They would have fitted as standard some generic cork tape which you'll get a couple of uses out on and will cost less than a fiver to replace, something you can afford to play around with.

[horizon]

When I bought my Dawes Super Galaxy new in 1998 I never realised:

1. That it had MTB gearing with a 22 36 44 front chainset - bliss.
2. That a Brooks saddle (it came with one) was worth its weight in gold.
3. That a bar bag and handlebar lighting were incompatible (until I discovered Thorn's lighting bar).
4. That pedal toe clips (the old sort with straps) come in different sizes but you never get offered a choice.
5. That I might need to seriously look at getting the saddle back and the stem raised a bit.
6. That a bike is not an end but a process.
7. How nice handlebars are when you put inner tube under the bar tape.
8. That you may need studded tyres in winter.
9. What a fully loaded good bike is capable of.
10. How many cyclists would be on the road twenty years later.
11. How few of them would be fully loaded tourers.
12. How important to one's life would be a small bike shop in Harrogate even if you lived in Cornwall.

[Bmblbzzz]

This is the sort of point of this thread.
I didn't know that I didn't know about <...>

Yes, and it's good to be reminded that we all started off know a little and thinking we knew a bit more but not knowing we didn't know most of it! At the same time, I'd avoid blaming the shop for any of this: they also don't know what it is you don't know you don't know about. Sure, they can ask questions about item X and the answer comes back Type Y please/don't know what that is/??? . But in the last case there isn't a great deal they can do. A

[Bmblbzzz]

When I bought my Dawes Super Galaxy new in 1998 I never realised:

1. That it had MTB gearing with a 22 36 44 front chainset - bliss.
2. That a Brooks saddle (it came with one) was worth its weight in gold.
3. That a bar bag and handlebar lighting were incompatible (until I discovered Thorn's lighting bar).
4. That pedal toe clips (the old sort with straps) come in different sizes but you never get offered a choice.
5. That I might need to seriously look at getting the saddle back and the stem raised a bit.
6. That a bike is not an end but a process.
7. How nice handlebars are when you put inner tube under the bar tape.
8. That you may need studded tyres in winter.
9. What a fully loaded good bike is capable of.
10. How many cyclists would be on the road twenty years later.
11. How few of them would be fully loaded tourers.
12. How important to one's life would be a small bike shop in Harrogate even if you lived in Cornwall.

We can agree or disagree with your choices (doesn't really matter, they're yours) but a process, yes, a process. As the OP has discovered.

[Ivor Tingting]

This is based around my Spa Wayfarer which I was guided towards by this forum.
I am very pleased with the bike, but there are things which I didn't know which might have made a difference to my detailed specification.
Also things which I didn't know which turned out to be an unexpected bonus.
https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p3866/SPA-CYCLES-Wayfarer

(*) Tubus Cargo rack - good solid rack supplied as standard, however there is a variant, the Logo which has an additional bar to mount the panniers lower, which allows stuff to be put on the top without interfering with the pannier fixing. For an extra £15 I would have opted for this had I known.

(*) Drop handlebar alignment - having only really ridden bikes with flat bars I wasn't fully clued in about drop bars. The bars as fitted are angled so that you can ride easily on the hoods, but when on the drops you can't reach the "brifters". This seems to be a design choice because I ride with someone with a Surly Long-haul Trucker which is set up exactly the same. I would prefer to be able to brake on the drops when going downhill, and change gear on the drops when flogging uphill. Personal preference but I wan't aware of the issue.

(*) Handlebar tape - following on from above, I also had no idea that you should only tape the handlebars with temporary tape until you had finalised the riding position. A tricky one for the shop because the purchaser may not be happy to tape the bars themselves. Logically it is straightforward to re-tape the bars but stripping spanky tape off your new bike has emotional overtones.

(*) Steerer - this is a biggie. The Spa bikes come with an uncut steerer and a load of spacers. This looks weird in the pictures but does allow you to experiment with the riding position and bar height until you are happy. I had no idea that most bikes have their steerer cut down before sale. Why they cut before fitting the bike to the purchaser escapes me.

(*) Cantilever bosses on a disc brake frame - according to the blurb the frames have cantilever bosses so that you can fit cantilever brakes in an emergency if away from the level of civilisation that understands disc brakes. Cool idea, no? However the rims are for disc brakes and nicely coloured and sloped so I am pretty sure that cantilever brakes would not work well (if at all). Had I realised the difference between the rims for disc brakes and rim brakes I might have discussed a compromise rim which was suitable for both. I do like the idea of secondary brakes, especially for long downhill slopes.

(*) Ability to fit a prop stand - again, having always had bikes with stands, I had no idea that this might be an issue. However there isn't space where the chain stays meed the bottom bracket to fit a stand, and the cables are in the way anyway. When I asked about this on the forum the response was "Lean it against something!". Had I known that it might be an issue I could at least have discussed this.

(*) Brifters - I am used to mountain bike style trigger shifters which have indicators to show which gear you are in. I find this very useful when I am not sure which combination of gears I am using. Forum response was "You should know which gear you are in without looking.". Umm....yeah? and "Just look down." but I have difficulty seeing if the chain is on smallest or next smallest cog most of the time. Besides which I like to be looking forward along the road, not back somewhere behind my ankles. I thought I would just have to suck it up but then saw some "brifters" with indicators built in. Again, not aware that this might be an option, not why it isn't there as standard.

(*) Disc brakes - TRP Spyres are fitted as standard. It was only some time after buying the bike that I became aware of Brucey's very definite opinions on the long term reliability of the TRPs. Having said that, they seem fine so far.

To be edited further as I remember stuff!

So you are now blaming the forum and any one else you can think of for not telling you things about bikes, components and accessories you didn't know about before you got your touring bike and are now unhappy with? Crikey.

[Vorpal]

This is based around my Spa Wayfarer which I was guided towards by this forum.
I am very pleased with the bike, but there are things which I didn't know which might have made a difference to my detailed specification.
Also things which I didn't know which turned out to be an unexpected bonus.

[*list*]

So you are now blaming the forum and any one else you can think of for not telling you things about bikes, components and accessories you didn't know about before you got your touring bike and are now unhappy with? Crikey.

Umm... LittleGreyCat began by saying they are pleased with the bike. I don't know how you get either blame or unhappy out of any of that.

[LollyKat]

Also, LGC's initial post will be helpful to others in a similar position of getting a new bike without realising all the possible ramifications. After all, bikes are acquiring more and more refinements. I only found out about disc-specific rims a few years ago - it had never occurred to me!

[yutkoxpo]

So you are now blaming the forum and any one else you can think of for not telling you things about bikes, components and accessories you didn't know about before you got your touring bike and are now unhappy with? Crikey.

I read it that the OP was (bravely) sharing what they had learned about the process.
I interpreted no blame, simply a wish to spread some knowledge to someone who might go through the same process.

[Bmblbzzz]

Similarly, I see no blame in the OP, either on the forum, the seller or the manufacturer. Just a shared process and experiences.

[horizon]

Also, LGC's initial post will be helpful to others in a similar position of getting a new bike without realising all the possible ramifications.

I think it has been a really interesting and helpful thread.

[Tangled Metal]

You lot are a fussy lot. I haven't needed to cut steerers, move levers or anything. I buy a bike based on size most suitable and with my last pot bigger cranks and stem on it. It arrived from PX and I found that even the saddle was at the right height for me. It paid off talking to ba person over the phone when ordering. I guess a lbs would also get it right if you talked to them about your needs and sizing.

BTW I have never bothered about bike fit and all that. If the saddle is at the right height I just ride it and enjoy doing it too.

If you're new to cycling you obviously can't know what you don't know. That's what experience is about. With any outdoor activity you make the first best guess purchase. Later you replace it with the latest best guess and so on until your bike meets your needs and expectations. To think you could jump in knowing and getting everything right from the beginning is a little presumptuous.

It's part of the fun in getting new kit, moving closer to your ideal. Gear freakery might soon follow!

[TrevA]

Shimano used to do a bike computer which would tell you what gear you were in, not sure if they still do, though I seem to remember that they weren’t cheap.

If the steerer is uncut and has a star fangled nut fitted, then if you cut the steerer down, you’ll need another nut, won’t you, unless the nut was pushed far down into the steerer. Are they easy to fit? Or is there a removable bung that could be used instead?

Taping up bars is not a difficult job, and if you are careful you can re-use the tape, after you have adjusted your levers.

Although all my bikes have dropped bars, I rarely use the drops. Only really use them when riding into a block headwind, or in the sprint for the cafe, or descending hills ( I always freewheel down hills so don’t need to change gear). I certainly wouldn’t climb a hill on the drops, so the gear changing from the drops is not really an issue but YMMV, obviously.