Touring Bike!

[mstone]

@Greenbelt 111193 wrote:

The aurora is pretty cheap on the base model, but it doesn’t have disk brakes and it has bar end shifters though.

It’s just about impossible to find an off the shelf loaded touring bike with anything other than bar end shifters not to be cheap but because shimano doesn’t have an approved brifter combination with low gearing. You can do it yourself or get it built custom, but the big manufacturers won’t build something that’s not approved. That said, such a configuration should be cheaper than an equivalent configuration with brifters because the bar end shifters are a heck of a lot cheaper.

As far as the original question, I agree that there needs to be more of a definition of “touring” because the listed bikes are very different.

[elwbikes]

Hm…I guess I want to test ride and see what I like. I already load up my hybrid with what feels like several pounds of groceries (how do I know if I’m overloading it?!), but I’m terrible at estimating weight. I am not necessarily looking to do a super-loaded year-long tour, but more like a week long trip up the C&O and back. The first ride I will be doing with this bike is RAGBRAI, which obviously is supported, so I will probably not put a rack/fenders on it until I’m done with RAGBRAI. I also kind of want a porteur rack, maybe, at some point. It’s hard to describe what I want, I wish I could just buy n+1 bikes until I have one for each type of riding I want to do.

[ebubar]

I know where you’re coming from! It sounds like you’re looking for something similar to what I want as a replacement to my hybrid.

My inane suggestions (that others might not have mentioned yet):

I’d say to maybe also try out a Bianchi Volpe (or its cheaper cousin the Lupo – right around your price range at 1049). Its basically a “do everything” bike. From reviews it appears to do everything fairly well and can take a rack and panniers. Not a full-on-tank of a touring bike, but also not a light as a feather roadie.

A Jamis Quest (what I ride) might work for such applications in a pinch. Can take 28 tires and possibly could squeeze a rack and fenders on there too. Definitely fenders with 25’s. Right at $1K.

You mention the Surly Disc Trucker or Long Haul Trucker (I forget which), but you may also try the Surly Cross Check. I understand that lots of people use these for touring, and I really liked my test ride of one a few days ago. SharrowsDC, local twitter cycling superstar rides one, so it has to be good! In fact, my plan at the moment is to sell some old bikes to get a Surly CC frameset to build up. Silver Cycles in Silver Spring has a BUNCH in stock and Surly is running a special of $150 off a complete bike. That brings it close to your price range!

Finally, I will second the suggestion to look at the Jamis Aurora. The base model is right around $1K, and I think Jamis tends to price their stuff appropriately (most others overcharge for what they sell in my opinion). The current top rider in miles for freezing saddles (I’m sure he’ll see this and comment, as he’s a distance cycling BEAST!) rides a Jamis Aurora Elite I believe. Its not a light bike, but its served his insane mileage quite well! I trust it would do the job for you too.

Good luck on your hunt!

[brendan]

Speaking of Surlys…note that the 26″ LHT/Disc Trucker handles substantially different than the 700c LHD/Disc Trucker. If you’re not super-tall, there are really three varieties of Surly to compare: the Cross-Check, the 700c Trucker and the 26″ Trucker. I say this only because a lot of discussions of the CC vs. Trucker are A/B comparing the 700c models only which might be misleading if a 26″ Trucker is a better fit. You might be surprised by how the 26″ trucker rides.

[dkel]

Surly Straggler!!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8098[/ATTACH]

Braze-ons for everything, can take massive tires with fenders, and sports disc brakes. I’m planning to take mine up the C&O this summer with Rockford. It’s a CX bike, not a touring bike, so it’s a little lighter and sportier, which is good for commuting around here; light touring would work well on it. Bikenetic has a 52cm in stock, last I checked. It’s also available in a 650B version.

[mstone]

@elwbikes 111219 wrote:

Hm…I guess I want to test ride and see what I like. I already load up my hybrid with what feels like several pounds of groceries (how do I know if I’m overloading it?!), but I’m terrible at estimating weight. I am not necessarily looking to do a super-loaded year-long tour, but more like a week long trip up the C&O and back. The first ride I will be doing with this bike is RAGBRAI, which obviously is supported, so I will probably not put a rack/fenders on it until I’m done with RAGBRAI. I also kind of want a porteur rack, maybe, at some point. It’s hard to describe what I want, I wish I could just buy n+1 bikes until I have one for each type of riding I want to do.

Sounds like you’re on the right track with some of the bikes you started with. Don’t look for a touring bike, that doesn’t seem like what you’re after–a short towpath trip doesn’t require much load capacity. I’d suggest looking at more of a rando frame, something that will mostly take a front load, but with the ability to put on a rear rack for more capacity on occasion. You probably don’t need to worry about super low gearing for light touring loads in this area. Good tire clearance is a plus.

[Bruno Moore]

I’m probably not the best person to plug the Jamis Aurora, but Eric’s probably out riding again. An Aurora Elite is what he’s used on all his long rides this winter…and I think we’ve seen how that worked out for him. Of course, he did just build up a VeloOrange frame, so there’s that as well.

Also a Volpe/Lupo fan on general celeste-addled principle, but also because it’s a great “do it all, carry it all” bike. Here’s the Almighty Sheldon Brown’s possibly overtechy thoughts on it.

And, because I know the day may come when (God Forbid!) Valentine makes a final trip to Schwinn Heaven, those parts of me that aren’t leaning toward the Volpe are more than a little intrigued by the Kona Sutra. A little on the spendy side at first glance, yes, but it comes ready-to-roll with what would normally be kinda expensive aftermarket upgrades, like that B-17, rack and fenders, and those bombproof Schwalbes.

[AFHokie]

What about a Specialized AWOL, Trek CrossRip or Giant Revolt?

The AWOL starts out at $1350 while both the CrossRip and Revolt starts out right around $1000. While in Papillion Cycles today I believe I saw a 2014 small Revolt 2 for ~$800. The Revolt does not have front braze-on’s so you’d have to get a little creative mounting a front rack, but is set up for fenders.

I picked up a medium (18.5in) Revolt 1 last summer that I’m very happy with. My list was similar to yours, I wanted something more comfortable for longer rides on trails like the C&O or the GAP and I could also easily do light camping with.

[Slosurf]

@AFHokie 111306 wrote:

What about a Specialized AWOL, Trek CrossRip or Giant Revolt?

The AWOL starts out at $1350 while both the CrossRip and Revolt starts out right around $1000. While in Papillion Cycles today I believe I saw a 2014 small Revolt 2 for ~$800. The Revolt does not have front braze-on’s so you’d have to get a little creative mounting a front rack, but is set up for fenders.

I picked up a medium (18.5in) Revolt 1 last summer that I’m very happy with. My list was similar to yours, I wanted something more comfortable for longer rides on trails like the C&O or the GAP and I could also easily do light camping with.

I have an AWOL and love it. Highly recommended. The Specialized Diverge looks nice. Not a touring bike but looks like a great bike for riding on C&O towpath.

[JimF22003]

@Slosurf 112010 wrote:

The Specialized Diverge looks nice. Not a touring bike but looks like a great bike for riding on C&O towpath.

I rode from Point of Rocks to Whites Ferry on the Diverge (carbon frame version) when there was still sections of snow on the C&O. The bike handled pretty well, but I walked most of the icy sections. I did NOT have fenders so the bike ended up being pretty filthy. This was with the stock 32c tires. It performed pretty well, but it would have been nicer if the trail was dry.

[kwarkentien]

How did you actually put hands on a Diverge? I ordered mine in mid-December and still have yet to receive it. Best estimate for arrival is end of May! I’m pretty frustrated.

[ebubar]

My brother bought a Diverge to start commuting (he’s in California). He seems to like it. I get confused by his rides though. They’re all so flat, which seems odd to me… :p

[Harry Meatmotor]

@kwarkentien 112081 wrote:

How did you actually put hands on a Diverge? I ordered mine in mid-December and still have yet to receive it. Best estimate for arrival is end of May! I’m pretty frustrated.

There was a pretty significant unforeseen demand for these bikes – PM me and I should be able to give you some more info.

[Slosurf]

@kwarkentien 112081 wrote:

How did you actually put hands on a Diverge? I ordered mine in mid-December and still have yet to receive it. Best estimate for arrival is end of May! I’m pretty frustrated.

I saw one at FreshBikes Arlington last week when I was in there for a bike fit. Very nice bike. I bought a Crux last year, which I love. The Crux and AWOL are my commuter rides. Would have been tempted to go for the Diverge, which has a more Roubaix-ish geometry than the Crux.

[kwarkentien]

I placed my order at FreshBikes before Christmas. Apparently the longshoremen’s strike/slowdown is to blame for the majority of the delay in addition to the unforeseen demand and the fact that I need a 49. My bike is most probably sitting in a container ship in the Port of Los Angeles waiting to be offloaded. They are backed up by weeks to months getting the cargo offloaded. Makes me a wee bit pissed since I already put down a substantial down payment and have nothing to show for it. Moreover, the Diverge was intended to be my winter bike for BAFS. Obviously that didn’t work out like I planned.

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