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Whether it's for an overnight jaunt or continent-spanning voyage, bicycle touring covers the subset of cycling where you're traveling from point A to B for leisure and to experience everything in between, rather than primarily for commuting or exercise. Bike touring has been my favorite cycling activity because of how it can be both very relaxing and incredibly exhilarating at the same time, and you get to explore the land more intimately than you ever would by car. I really like this quote from the top of the last thread, as it sums things up perfectly and I often bring it up when people ask why I enjoy going places by bike.Ernest Hemingway posted:It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and can coast down them. ... Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motorcar only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. Bicycles are probably the most energy-efficient way to transport yourself under your own power, and are capable of traveling much further than you might think. With proper planning you'll be able to traverse long distances at a leisurely pace, even with a heavy bike that's loaded down with equipment. Added benefits to traveling on a bicycle is that your transport time is part of the experience instead of just a means to an end, and instead of spending money on gas or tickets that cash goes towards all the food you get to eat along the way.   Types of Bicycle Touring Just like with other cycling disciplines, bicycle touring can take a number of different forms depending on the type of terrain you expect to encounter on your travels. How you intend to shelter and support yourself on a tour also comes into play. Loaded Touring   [Anyone else want to volunteer a picture of their ride?]This is the type I'm most familiar and comfortable with, where you carry everything you need to be self-sufficient. How much you pack onto your bike will depend on where you're going and for how long; camping equipment like tents and portable stoves aren't out of the ordinary, but if you're expecting to be far away from a bike shop for extended periods it's also wise to bring along spare parts and tools to be prepared for any situation. In my experience this is the marathon form of bike touring, where your day-to-day moving speed is slower but you're capable of going enormous distances. I'm right in the middle of Canada and have hosted many bicycle tourists crossing the country (more on this later), and pretty much all of them were of this type. Not just on the traditional West-East/East-West route, but folks who have also traveled here all the way from Tuktoyaktuk, north of the Arctic Circle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUme99UQwO0 Lightweight Touring [Anyone want to volunteer a picture of their ride?] Also commonly referred to as credit card touring, this form of bicycle travel has you carrying very little on your person and instead paying for your food and shelter along the way. I often see this as part of organized tours where there's some form of support vehicle should anything unexpected occur, but it's possible to do it on your own as long as you're traveling through populated areas where you can buy what you need to get by. You can go much faster when not loaded down with so much stuff, but make sure you have a backup plan for when things inevitably don't go according to plan. Bikepacking  [Anyone else want to volunteer a picture of their ride?] This form of bicycle touring is more geared towards off-road riding, away from population centers. Like traditional loaded touring this involves carrying supplies to be self-sufficient, but due to the rough terrain involved extra attention is paid to equipment weight, its distribution on the bike and its effect on handling characteristics. This is where you see bikes that tend to discard the traditional voluminous rack-and-pannier setup for frame, saddle, and handlebar bags. Equipment Bicycle There are many purpose-built bicycles out there suited for touring, but any bicycle you're comfortable riding on for extended periods is a good place to start. My very first touring bike was on a hybrid bicycle I modified and it served me well until I got my current ride. Purpose-built touring bikes will have a more relaxed geometry and a longer wheelbase for comfort and stability during long hours in the saddle, and mounting points for accessories and load-bearing equipment. Gearing tends to be lower to allow for easier pedaling, which is especially nice when going up inclines while carrying lots of gear. Wheels typically have at least 36 spokes for additional strength, and solidly constructed rims to handle additional weight and/or rough terrain. Common loaded touring bikes are the Trek 520, Fuji Touring, Surly Long Haul/Disc Trucker, and the Kona Sutra. Bikepacking bikes can be more varied depending on just how harsh the terrain is going to be, and can run the gamut from gravel bikes with slightly bigger tires to mountain bikes with big fat tires; I'll edit in some entry level bikepacking bikes if someone with more knowledge can offer some suggestions.    Your body's main contact points are going to be your saddle (butt), feet (pedals), and handlebars (hands). Just like with all other forms of cycling, saddles are going to be an individual preference but the same general recommendations apply. You want something wide enough for your sit-bones to comfortably rest upon, but firm enough that they don't sink in and cause the saddle to squeeze up into the nerves under your junk and make things go numb. Some form of pedal retention is nice on long rides, and this can take the form of straps that clip over your shoes, or clipless pedals that engage with a cleat attached to special cycling shoes. Clipless pedals and shoes meant for mountain bikes are ideal, as they use a smaller cleat that allows you to walk around normally when off the bike. Touring shoes are available now that are lighter and don't have the aggressive tread that MTB shoes have, and you can even get sandals that can have SPD cleats attached. I've never used them, but some people swear by them for touring.  A handlebar that allows you to shift your hands into a variety of different positions is ideal; traditional drop bars are good at this, but other designs are available these days that you may find just as comfortable.      Above all the most important thing is to make sure the bike fits your body, which necessitates correct sizing and fit. Make sure to do ample test riding in the conditions you plan to be riding in, with the attachments and equipment you expect to bring with you. I only found out my original wheels were no good before my first tour on a test ride that busted a couple spokes, but thankfully I wasn't too far from home and was able to get a new wheelset before heading out. Containers Unless you're doing credit card touring, you're going to need some way to carry your stuff along with you. Traditionally this is done with racks attached to the front and rear of your bike that allow the attachment of pannier, trunk and porteur bags. Bikepacking bikes are more often seen with frame bags inside the triangle of the frame, and additional roll bags that hang off the saddle and handlebars. This offers less cargo capacity but makes for a more nimble off-road ride. Some form of waterproofing is usually a good idea, even if it's just some rain covers that go over your bags.   Cargo Everyone's comfort zone is different and what may be too much gear to one person is not enough to someone else. I usually head straight out from my home or the airport so I like to come prepared. This is what I brought with me for my longest trip, a six-week ride across Japan from Fukuoka to Tokyo. I think the only thing I never used was my lock because, as I discovered, people can just leave their million yen bikes leaning on the side of a building without having to worry about it being stolen. I think I used it to pound some tent stakes in.  Logistics Planning Especially when planning your first overnight trip, tools such as the Strava heatmap are handy for seeing the routes that are used by other cyclists. Pull up your area and a place nearby that looks like it would be nice to camp or spend the night, and chances are there's going to be routes more interesting than the highway that leads straight there. Tools such as Strava (currently a paid feature) and RideWithGPS (currently free) allow you to plan your route in finer detail, with features such as printable cuesheets that tell you where to turn, or turn-by-turn directions on a GPS device. It is strongly recommended that a dedicated bike computer or GPS is used for navigation, as the phone apps accelerate battery drain and can leave you without a lifeline in the event of an emergency. Shelter If you're not staying at a hostel, you're probably camping. Sometimes things don't work out and you might not reach your destination in time, or there aren't any places to stay between points A and B, which are a couple nights away. Experience with wilderness camping is handy when you're out in very rural areas, or stealth camping in more populated places. Stealth camping in particular is highly dependent on where you're traveling through and the level of risk involved if someone (or something) stumbles into you. Whenever I had to do it, I opted for the most public-looking land I could find like a park and setting up out of the way, and leaving the place as clean as it was when I got there.   Another option to consider are communities such as The very first person I hosted was someone who was traveling across Japan the same time I was, but we were always just ahead or behind each other. When she asked to stay at my place I noticed her name was the same as one of the signatures in a guestbook at the top of a mountain I climbed right before I got there, which was such an amazing coincidence. It's also good for when things don't go so well... Emergencies  Just like with any other form of cycling there's some risk involved, except now there's the additional possibility of crashing somewhere far from home in an unfamiliar place. I slipped at speed going down a mountain and broke my collarbone on my last day of riding, but because I was in touch with amazing SA peeps in Japan (especially super-awesome bike-thread regular Stringent who picked my broken rear end up from the hospital) it wasn't even a fraction as bad as it could have been. Travel insurance paid for an upgrade to first class for the flight home, which was worth breaking some bones if I'm going to be completely honest. I was able to pay the favour back soon after when one of the people I hosted got hit by a car and I did some legwork for them here, and thankfully she wasn't messed up as bad as she could have been. These days apps like Strava have real-time tracking links you can provide to your contacts as long as you have a data connection, which isn't a bad idea when you're going to out-of-the-way places or traveling on your own. Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 25, 2020 12:28
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Reserved!
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Jul 25, 2020 12:29
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I have no idea how they compare but Shimano just announced a re-release of their original SPD sandals earlier this month. I'm certainly curious, but not enough to spend over a hundred bucks on something I ultimately might not like. https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/information/news/the-legend-reborn--shimano-s-25th-anniversary-spd-sandal.html
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Jul 25, 2020 17:17
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My touring bikes have been aluminum with steel forks and I've never found them uncomfortable or weird to handle with a ton of gear strapped on. The main benefit to steel on a touring bike is that if you're in a real jam way out in the country, any place equipped to do any sort of welding can work on a steel bike whereas aluminum welding requires a specialized rig and skillset. I'm starting to consider getting a new frame since my 2006 Devinci Destination's rear triangle eyelets are starting to give up the ghost. One of the seat stay eyelets needed to be tapped a size larger a couple years ago due to deformation, and a couple weeks ago when reinstalling my rack the threading on the frame by the RD just detached into a wire spiral. I was able to tap that one too but I'm starting to think fatigue from my crash is starting to catch up to it, since that was the side I skidded on at high speed. Back in the day I thought the Soma Saga looked cool, but after hearing about the Wolverine dropout issues I became less interested. Are there any decent frames to look at that are possible to get from suppliers in Canada? I'd just be moving all my components over, including a Disc Trucker fork and 700C wheels, although if touring frames and forks with thru-axles exist now and play nice with 9-speed components I might not be opposed to waiting even longer until I have more cash to replace those as well. SimonSays posted:I'm going on a week-long tour in two days, now I feel mighty, thanks for the inspiration, thread. Sweet, can't wait to hear you tell us all about it! Wherebouts are you headed? Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jul 25, 2020 |
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Jul 25, 2020 20:09
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SimonSays posted:I really like my Saga, the frame has been through a lot of revisions and the dropouts are forged in one piece, go for it if it's the right geometry for you. In Canada you should look at the Bassi Hogs Back if you're not going for a Soma or Surly. Oh sweet, it'd be neat to replace my Devinci with another frame from a Quebecois company. The only thing it doesn't seem to have that my Destination has is 180mm rotor compatibility, because I want to take all the braking I can get when going downhill with as much gear as I usually take. All of the other common touring frames seem to only go up to 160mm, unfortunately. It's a weird thing to want, but does anyone still make frames that have both cantilever and disc brake mounts? My Destination has that and I've thought about setting up a backup V-brake for when I'm barreling down a mountain at motorcycle speeds. A hundred pounds of bike does a good job of overcoming drag and making you haul rear end, but I felt like I had to be perfect with my cornering and braking technique so that I wouldn't run into brake fade at the worst possible moment. A drag brake hooked up to a friction shifter would be cool but nobody makes them any more, so a separate set of redundant brakes seems to be the only other option. Edit: Oh man, Soma Sagas used to have both but they discontinued it a couple years ago, so I'd need to find a NOS frameset. If they can take 180mm rotors then it'd be almost perfect (perfect being something with thru-axles). 
Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Jul 26, 2020 |
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Jul 26, 2020 10:20
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CopperHound posted:Troll still has both, though I can't say I have ever experienced, or even heard of, brake fade with mechanical discs and metallic pads. Hahahah yup. Thankfully I didn't go over the guardrail, but I got to watch my front wheel break free from its forky prison and yeet off the side of a cliff. That accident was mainly due to trying to conserve braking power for when I really needed it in the corners, so I was going 80km/h when I started braking but I didn't have enough power and went a bit wide into a patch of gravel in the shoulder. Thankfully I skipped down the road on my right side instead of plowing into the wall so I got away with just a broken clavicle, some bruised ribs and plenty of road rash. The only things I needed to replace on the bike were the fork, wheel and front rack. The place where I really ran into problems was the downhill portion of the Kuragari pass, which I didn't realize at the time was the steepest road in Japan and apparently the ninth steepest in the world. Parts of it hit 30%-40%, I seriously thought there was going to be a tunnel because every time Strava told me there was going to be a stupid climb like this there ended up being a tunnel cutting through the mountain.   https://pjammcycling.com/climb/1365.Kuragari-Pass-East Turns out I wasn't the only one. When I eventually got to the top of the mountain an old lady sat me down and gave me water and fed me, and made me sign a guestbook. It was cool to see how many other people also experienced the same thoughts and then suffering I went through.       The downhill was absolutely terrifying because of the grade combined with the narrow streets and blind corners. I had no choice but to ride on the brakes the whole way down, and even then I was hitting 50-60kph. When I gave my bike a once-over when I got to Kyoto my pads were completely glazed over.  Also, that was the guestbook that had the entry from the person who asked to stay with me a month or so after I got back, and I hosted her for about a week. I really think the best part of bike touring is all the incredibly cool people you meet and get to know. 
Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 11:42 on Jul 26, 2020 |
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Jul 26, 2020 11:38
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SimonSays posted:I think nobody makes a tourer that can take 180mm because you'd have to beef up the fork blades so much they'd become even more uncomfortable. I'm jealous of the springy forks on Sagas from before they went disc, a friend has one and it looks so good. Aww man, it's just one size larger than what I'd need. Although that's probably a good thing because there's a good chance I'd have done an impulse purchase. The disc trucker fork can take 180mm rotors, but obviously no canti mounts. I was running 160mm before I crashed though. https://surlybikes.com/uploads/downloads/80-000128_INST.pdf Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Jul 26, 2020 |
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Jul 26, 2020 19:21
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I think that it's just more likely that you'll have to do some walking when doing a bikepacking route due to the terrain, but that's about it. When I got to that stupid climb I had to walk much of it even though it was paved, and even that was a struggle at times. Whenever the grade was getting to absurd levels I saw these circular cutouts on the road which I assume is to give cars extra traction. I started calling them gently caress you dots. 
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Jul 27, 2020 02:06
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That's incredibly awesome.
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Aug 3, 2020 03:57
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Hell yeah I love me a fully loaded bike like that. More weight means faster descents (just make sure your brakes are up to the challenge).
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Aug 30, 2020 04:49
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I got the Abus Granit X-Plus because it seems to be the u-lock with the best strength to weight ratio. I also bring a cable with me that I can wrap around my tent so I'll be woken up if anyone tries to spirit it away in the middle of the night, but I'm thinking that bike theft out in the sticks isn't nearly as much of a problem as it is when you're in cities. I don't know if it's any worse here than elsewhere, but It bums me out every summer to see a couple news articles about someone riding across the country and getting their bike stolen while sightseeing. Fortunately it seems that most times when that happens they quickly get the fundraising done for a new bike, if not just having a new bike and gear donated to them from a local shop. On one of my first tours I was having breakfast at a place in the woods and saw an article in the newspaper about a guy from Germany riding across the country who got his ride jacked. A few days later I wake up and start packing my campsite when I notice him using the next spot over so we chatted and he told me how quickly he was able to get back on his feet again due to the cycling and Mennonite community around here.
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Sep 10, 2020 06:16
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Can it take SPD cleats?
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Sep 20, 2020 16:57
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I and a bunch of people I know tour and just camp in general with the MEC Tarn 2, some of them decades old. It's stupid they discontinued it in favour of more expensive brands and welp now they're bankrupt.
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Nov 3, 2020 23:58
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I was really surprised to be getting Warmshowers requests this year because we started going into lockdown before the touring season started, so these were people deciding to go on a cross-Canada tour in the middle of a pandemic. Not saying you're going to be doing it but those people just seemed irresponsible to me.
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Jan 23, 2021 13:10
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A rolled up sleeping pad standing on its end works as a basic stool if you're not too tall.
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Aug 22, 2021 10:46
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I don't find it to be so. I've got a 3/4 size inflatable pad, it folds in half lengthwise and rolls up when not in use. A small bit of that egg carton foam mat seems like it'd be pretty handy though, especially if the weight is negligible. What's another 2oz when my standard loadout is fifty pounds.
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Aug 22, 2021 11:10
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I have a pair of Columbia shoes with the outdry construction that I've been happy with. Wore them during my first hunt when there was snow on the ground and my feet were surprisingly warm and dry. Light and breathable too so they were my everyday-wear shoes and they worked fine in the pedals. I think these are them, or at least they look the same. https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5054-279/Terrebonne-Outdry-Extreme-Light-Trail-Shoes
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Aug 23, 2021 10:57
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Washlets at every convenience store in Japan was a godsend for keeping my junk clean and fresh.
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Sep 20, 2021 22:24
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The Warmshowers Facebook group might be a good way to find like-minded cycle tourists.
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Jul 15, 2022 01:34
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If you're touring with a rack a small solar panel is great for charging all your various USB gadgets. I'd have my Elemnt, my phone, and one other device plugged in and as long as the sun was up I'd have enough power to keep everything topped up at 100% even while in use. With a power bank connected in-line that can charge and supply power at the same time you're also covered for multiple rainy days.
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Jul 18, 2022 05:12
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kimbo305 posted:I dunno if I was too early an adopter, but the panel I got in 2014 was junk. What's the cheapest model that can charge a battery? I'm using a 15W Anker panel that was the top pick on the Wirecutter back in 2017. Their top pick now is a 28W charger, however it has double the panels which might make mounting a little trickier depending on your setup. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-portable-solar-battery-pack/ I would either have it mounted on my rear panniers when I was loaded up, or on my front rack when just riding around.  
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Jul 18, 2022 17:59
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When I was trying to decide between a dynamo and a panel for charging all my various electronics I found that while they're great for lights, they top out at 3-5W. On top of the hub you also need to get a charger that turns the energy from the dynamo into a USB output, and all the recommended ones I was finding were way more expensive than just getting a panel with three times the output at any speed as long as the sun was up. However if you don't mind the cost and aren't touring for something like multiple weeks, a dynamo might be enough to extend the life of an in-line battery for an entire trip.
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Jul 19, 2022 10:44
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Do they even make rear dynamo hubs? That's a whole extra wheel that could be generating electricity!
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Jul 20, 2022 00:20
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Go for it, I'm hoping to add links to a couple peoples' tours in the second post so people who are new can see some first hand touring experiences.
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Sep 2, 2022 15:54
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How are HY/RD brakes for touring? Is it less work than regular hydro brakes to service them in the field? I'm guessing you want to be careful with not getting mineral oil/brake fluid on the rotors and pads, so you need to have a somewhat clean and organized workspace if you end up having to do a bleed. I know lots of people recommend mechanical over hydraulic on unsupported tours, but I've never actually serviced hydraulic brakes before so I don't know how overblown the risk is.
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May 10, 2023 07:05
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I've been noticing them getting a lot more aggressive with their donation emails. Wild that it's been taken over by a grifterwitch. Why did they even need to dump so much money into app development, just use the loving website for Christ's sake (I know, this is a problem with the internet as a whole). The Facebook group lists TrustRoots as an alternative, anyone have any experience with it? https://www.trustroots.org/circles/cyclists
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Jul 8, 2023 20:51
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i say swears online posted:this is a great article but super depressing WS has since threatened a lawsuit in an attempt to have that taken down. https://bill-watts.blogspot.com/2023/07/why-does-warmshowers-charge-membership.html https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pg3M-dbegSN12w9s3fy6qrWrBlJoYOy2/edit?pli=1
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Jul 16, 2023 01:40
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kimbo305 posted:Anyone tracking this closely? Only went up read this today and both that new post and the original are deleted. Looks like both of them were archived. https://web.archive.org/web/20230719004010/https://bill-watts.blogspot.com/2023/07/warm-showers-is-not-what-it-seems.html https://web.archive.org/web/20230719004022/https://bill-watts.blogspot.com/2023/07/why-does-warmshowers-charge-membership.html edit: also, it looks like they deleted all of the community discussion forums around the time this thread was made talking about where some of the finances are going. Seems pretty shady that a volunteer community isn't allowed to have a place that talks about said community. https://archive.is/PWTMK Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 07:55
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It's not just the financials, but the way they were dismissing concerns and banning longtime users when trying to ask questions relating to stuff like safety. What kicked off that initial lawsuit was the guy just trying to get community feedback on how to handle someone who's clearly mentally ill who knows your address. Witch lady seems to only want positive articles about WS since that helps with her grift on the podcast circuit, and stymies any constructive discussion that gets in the way of that.
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Mar 20, 2024 00:17
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lol one of the ratings on your account now on the new website is how much money you've donated to them, get the gently caress outta here. Am I having a stroke or does every month that doesn't actually start on a Monday looks all messed up? They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this when the old site was completely, perfectly fine. 
Coxswain Balls fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Mar 20, 2024 |
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Mar 20, 2024 05:59
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