I have a Dean El-Diente Road bike. I plan to go on a 3 day 'tour' with some friends. This would mean retrofitting my frame with clamps to accept a pack for the rear (no current eyelets). My bud is adamant that I NOT use the Dean, that it is a road/race bike and will not do well ladened with a pack. "The tires are too thin, the frame is too short, blah, blah, blah". It's only 3 days (alright, 50-60 miles a day with climbing on the East coast), but I cannot afford a new frame, and if I borrow one, I am sure it will not fit as my frame does to me.
Any thoughts?
Are we talking self-supported loaded touring with a lot of weight?
How tight is the geometry on the Dean?
I have done light touring on a couple of different bikes using a trunk rack (seatpost clamp) with side bags, and handlebar bag(s). To stay roadworthy, I put on a heavier/slightly wider Schwalbe touring tire (28s?). Added race blade fenders.
This worked fine, but I wouldn't want to set out across country with it.
For three days/not too much weight I think it would be fine.
"Il n'y a guère d'homme assez habile pour connaître tout le mal qu'il fait. " [Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.]
La Rochefoucauld
Not much gear...two overnites in Inns...clothing and wash-up gear. I can keep it fairly light.
You should be fine with that little. The touring guys coached me on washing shorts and jersey at the same time you shower, and they are usually dry by next morning--so take the ones you are wearing. It's summer so a pair of shorts, flip flops etc will all fit comfortably in the seatpost mount trunk rack (look at Topeak).
"Il n'y a guère d'homme assez habile pour connaître tout le mal qu'il fait. " [Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.]
La Rochefoucauld
There are few good substitutes for a touring frame. The closest you can get is a cross frame which at least lets you mount fenders. Your friend is right a road bike won't do well weighed down with packs. Get a front basket and travel REALLY light?
_______________
"I haven't @#&$ed like that since I was an altar boy."
One of the guys in my club just finished a 40 day self supported tour across the US on his Trek road bike. I think the model is the 5200. He had front and rear panniers carrying 40lbs of gear. I asked him if he thought he needed sturdier wheels and he said no. He only weighs about 115lbs and with the additional weight still doesn't weigh as much as me.
I don't see a problem at all. Your friend is taking this bike choice thing too seriously. He's looking at this 3-day motel tour like one would look at a self-supported cross-country tour. There's a huge difference.
I have a Dean El-Diente Road bike. I plan to go on a 3 day 'tour' with some friends. This would mean retrofitting my frame with clamps to accept a pack for the rear (no current eyelets). My bud is adamant that I NOT use the Dean, that it is a road/race bike and will not do well ladened with a pack. "The tires are too thin, the frame is too short, blah, blah, blah". It's only 3 days (alright, 50-60 miles a day with climbing on the East coast), but I cannot afford a new frame, and if I borrow one, I am sure it will not fit as my frame does to me.
Any thoughts?
Here's a picture of me in Hungary--wearing a really ugly jersey (also white and fat) with the Topeak seatpost attached trunk rack and bag/handlebar bag on my Mercian. Our luggage was being schlepped, but we were riding on pretty empty roads so we were packing quite a bit on a daily basis. The tires were Schwalbe Marathons--25s and I did not puncture in two weeks ot riding on some pretty crappy roads including sections of gravel.
I would suggest front and back bags just to spread the load a little--the hb bags are not as good as lowrider panniers, but for some light things they work pretty good.
"Il n'y a guère d'homme assez habile pour connaître tout le mal qu'il fait. " [Hardly any man is clever enough to know all the evil he does.]
La Rochefoucauld
For a 3-day tour with a relatively light load, you should be fine. I would recommend a large Carradice seat bag rather than retrofitting a rack and panniers. A Carradice bag should hold all the gear you need, and will center the weight much better than a rack w/ panniers. I would recommend a Carradice Bagman or similar seat rack to support the bag and keep it from swaying and hitting your legs when pedaling. I have used a Carradice bag for commuting for more than 5 years and you hardly know it's there. Mine is the smallest model, the Barley, and it holds everything I need 99% of the time. However, you might want one of the larger models such as the Pendle or Low-saddle Longflap for a 3-day tour. You can buy Carradice bags for much less money with better selection if you order from British on-line bike shops such as Wiggle, SJS Cycles or direct from Carradice.
I would recommend a large Carradice seat bag rather than retrofitting a rack and panniers. A Carradice bag should hold all the gear you need, and will center the weight much better than a rack w/ panniers.
Heartily agree. There's this notion out there that you need to pack stuff as low to the ground as possible for a touring bike to handle well. This is not true. Don't want to to start a physics discussion here, but if "low to the ground" would translate into handling well, recumbents would be the handling champions of the bike world. They're not.
I have a Dean El-Diente Road bike. I plan to go on a 3 day 'tour' with some friends. This would mean retrofitting my frame with clamps to accept a pack for the rear (no current eyelets). My bud is adamant that I NOT use the Dean, that it is a road/race bike and will not do well ladened with a pack. "The tires are too thin, the frame is too short, blah, blah, blah". It's only 3 days (alright, 50-60 miles a day with climbing on the East coast), but I cannot afford a new frame, and if I borrow one, I am sure it will not fit as my frame does to me.
Any thoughts?
50-60 miles a day is not much riding; no different than a club ride. So if you feel comfortable with the bike's contact point geometry and saddle I dont see a problem.
What I may have done if I was in your predicament would be to use a stout wheelset; a 23mm rim, if you happen to have one, with 25mm or 28mm tires if they clear your chainstays could give you a cushy ride properly inflated. I would also pay more attention to the spokes; you need enough so if you happen to break one you can still ride the bike, this means no 16/20 and preferably 32/32 or 32/36
Ummm... Ship your clothes and travel size toiletries to each Inn, call them and ask them to hold for you and slip them a $20 (plus shipping cost) to ship anything back to you that doesn't fit in your jersey pockets?
This might be an ignorant question; but since his ride is only 180 miles max, why not just wear a light backpack?
I wear one for my daily commute 34 miles a day, and it's a lot more convenient to me than dealing with racks and panniers. I manage to carry work clothes, clean towel, etc. in a small bag, which is probably as much as you need for a couple nights on the road.
I use a rear rack with panniers on my road bike for credit card touring. Looking at the position of the Carradice seat bag, I'm not sure there's a significant difference in fore-and-aft weight distribution between the Carradice bag and the panniers.
Personally, I wouldn't even consider carrying enough stuff in a backpack for a three day ride; for me it would just be too heavy and restrictive.
If you are considering using a rack/panniers combo, just make sure you have enough heel clearance before you commit to the setup. From past experience, big feet + tight race geometry + panniers = insufficient clearance.
+1 for the back pack. If you're staying in inns, then you don't need much, and you don't need to stock up on food.
All I would put in there is some first aide, a few spare tubes/spokes/tools, a flashlight, you know, the basics, and maybe, MAYBE one change of clothes and rain gear. We're talking under 20 pounds.
I mean, arguably, you could do this tour with nothing more than the clothes on your back, weather permitting. I wouldn't recommend it, but just pack light.
If you can be bothered with the rack, go for it, but as with any tour, bring spare bolts. You'd be surprised how hard it is to find good hardware sometimes.
Not to pile on your friend, but 180 miles in 3 days while not carrying your shelter, food or cooking supplies really isn't a big deal. It could be very fun, but it can easily be done on a race bike. A seatpost mounted rack can be had for as little as $20-30. If it is in your budget the Carradice is even cooler. Get one, load it up and have fun.
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by brianmcg
