Go to Crazyguyonabike Look for loaded bicycles article Scroll down past all the recumbents until you get to upright tourers. Surly LHT seems to have more pictures than any other brand.
Mike_Ayling wrote:Go to Crazyguyonabike Look for loaded bicycles article Scroll down past all the recumbents until you get to upright tourers. Surly LHT seems to have more pictures than any other brand.
You are probably right Jamesh. I also feel that CGOAB has a strong US readership and Surly is a US brand that make good touring bikes so they will appear popular. The UK market seems quite diverse to me at the moment without a single market leader and the Dutch and Germans have their own excellent bikes. Hard to draw worldwide conclusions in my opinion and of course we get back to the age old question of what is a touring bike!
Anyone wondered about the propensity of tourers with a particular brand posting photographs on blogs and other online places? I wonder if LHT riders are more likely to put their trips online?
Personally on my tours (two weeks on summer for the last 4 years and only in 4 European countries so not representative of anything) I've seen quite a few German style trekking bikes. Used by Dutch and German tourers plus others.
Of course there's the complete independent traveller types who cycle around as part of a non cycling trip. I know of people who just turn up in a less travelled to part of the world and pick up whatever local bike is available. If you grouped those together then I wonder whether a cheapo, hardtail is a common bike. We're not taking planned touring but round the world backpacking types having a side trip in one country.
This is really impossible to find out. Using blog photographs relies on the tourers out there being bloggers. How many people bother writing journals of their trips? How many then share their journal online? How many then upload photographs? We're guessing but LHT is going to be up there in the highest positions in the top 10.
I've done three x one week tours in Scotland this year. By far the most popular bikes I've seen were people from Holland on Dutch sit-up-and-beg tourers. Quite a few Thorns and Treks.
Last edited by Oldjohnw on 20 Aug 2019, 1:43pm, edited 1 time in total.
We saw quite a few Dutch Style shoppers on tour in Belgium. Simple shopping style pannier by basil our similar too. I doubt they're the world's most popular though.
Mike_Ayling wrote:Go to Crazyguyonabike Look for loaded bicycles article Scroll down past all the recumbents until you get to upright tourers. Surly LHT seems to have more pictures than any other brand.