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Touring Bikes Frames, Best Framesets, and
Bicycle Frame Geometry.
The frame is the most critical component of any bicycle. A touring
bike frameset is the heart and soul of the machine. It determines the
bike's handling, feel, and comfort. Once a frame is purchased and
components assembled around it, the frame is difficult to change. This
is the most critical choice to be made.
Touring bike frames last for decades.
You will replace worn out parts and may
upgrade components on your bike. A frame will probably be used for
years unless you made a mistake in frame selection and had to be
replaced it. These mistakes include buying the wrong size or
the inappropriate type of frame for the intended use (road, mountain,
touring). In short, if you
buy wisely you have just added another member to your family but if you get
something you do not like you will find out how hard such a thing is to
sell.
There is a lot of debate and strong opinions in the
bicycle world about "what is the best frame". I believe that there are
minimum acceptable quality standards for frame material and workmanship.
In addition, specific frame types are designed for
specific applications. These issues are
fairly cut and dry with little disagreement. After these minimum
standards are met the "best" is abstract and involves unclear choices.
The different materials available for building bicycle frames is one of the most
fiery topics
of discussion anywhere touring cyclists gather. Building bikes frames with aluminum, steel, carbon fiber,
titanium,
or other bicycle frame materials are all options. Each bicycle frame material has
its pros and cons but this is not completely agreed upon as well. I believe that the most important variable
usually left out of the debate is factoring in things like the riders size,
weight, strength, and preferences. The same frame will feel completely
different to everyone who rides it. A large, strong, heavy rider may
think a frame has to much energy robbing flex and feels "dead". A small, light rider may
think the same frame is too stiff and has a harsh ride. Even riders of the
same size and weight can have different opinions about how the same bike
feels when ridden. There is no frame material or design that is right
for everyone.
(A full discussion of frame materials: Steel
verses
Aluminum coming soon)
Test rides are seldom possible with the
majority of high end touring bikes sold in America/Canada because most
touring bikes and frames are not stocked by local bike shops. These choices have to be made
by looking at catalogs and manufacture's internet web sites. At first
there may seem to be a huge variety of touring bikes and frame choices but
once you boil it down to tubing, geometry, and construction techniques choices
are limited. The two main choices for touring bike frame material are aluminum or steel, with increasing
interest in titanium.
All bikes need to fit the rider correctly.
The first and foremost aspect of a bicycle frame is that it
needs to fit correctly. Similar to shoes; bicycles are sold in different
sizes. The wrong size will be uncomfortable, handle badly, and forever
ruin the appeal of the bike. A correct fit will make a cheap frame ride
better and a high quality frame feel like an extension of your body. It
makes me sad when I see a touring cyclist on a beautiful and expensive frame but
obviously the wrong size for the rider.
The problem with determining the correct touring bicycle frame
size is that there are many differently philosophies and measurement systems.
I have no idea which system is the best.
Different frame geometry is confusing. I ride a 63 cm road bike, a 23 inch Mt. bike and my
current 26 inch wheeled touring bike has a 60 cm frame. All of these bikes
fit the same rider, me. It is also interesting to note that if I bought a
700c wheeled touring bike 700c I would have yet another frame size.
Few bikes sold on the floor of the local bike shop will
satisfy the high end touring bike shopper. More experienced touring bicycle shoppers buy
their bike or frame on the
internet through mail order. This means that the frame sizing is purely a
measuring and mathematical formula. Cindie's first touring bike
bought for our current trip was too small. There was no time to return it.
She dealt with it for two years. She often complained of neck and hand pain.
When we switched to our new bikes and one that fit her correctly her riding pain
went away.
I believe that the method and accuracy of the measuring system
is as important as the tubing brand. I suggest picking a brand and model
and consulting the dealer about fit. They are experts for their particular
product.
Touring bike wheels:
26 inch or 700c
The decision between 700 cm and 26 inch will have to be made early in the frame
shopping process. Brake mounts and frame geometry can not be changed.
There are essentially two choices in wheel sizes when it
comes to standard (not recumbent or other) touring bicycles. The width can
vary but the diameter is either 700c or 26 inch. I do not know how one got
to be measured in metric and the other in inches. To my knowledge this is
only done in North America. Typically mountain bikes use
26 inch and road bikes use 700c wheels. 26 inch wheels are slightly smaller than
the 700C wheels.
700c (road bike size) Road
bike or 700C wheels are the most common size available for touring bikes in
America and Canada. A 700c wheel meant for commuting or loaded self
contained bicycle touring will be wider, beefier, and heavier than a wheel
meant for a road racing bike.I
Novara Randonee Bike 700c touring bicycle
Click for more information
26 inch (mountain bike size)
Far less common is a touring bike that incorporates a 26 inch or
mountain bike wheel. Twenty-six inch wheeled touring bikes will have the
same size wheels as a mountain bike but the frame geometries are much different.
The main advantage to 26 inch wheels is tires and tubes can be bought throughout
the world. 700c tires are very difficult to find in developing countries.
26 inch wheeled touring bikes are rare in the USA and Canada. I personally
prefer 26 inch wheel for several reasons especially when touring
internationally. (wheel
information page)
26 inch wheel touring bicycle
Click for more information
(expanded discussion of the
26 inch vs. 700c debate coming soon)
Frames with Bicycle Touring Specific Geometry
Many different types of frames have been retrofit for touring.
I have seen cyclocross, hybrid, triple ring road bikes, and lots of mountain
bikes carrying people in their travels. If you mostly use the bike for
something else and only occasionally tour then this may work well. The best
bicycle for travel is an actual
touring bike. Touring bicycles are designed from the ground up for the specific
purpose of traveling with loaded panniers. This is not to say that a touring bike could not be used for
other applications like commuting, dirt roads, and recreational
road riding. By nature touring bikes are multi use. Touring bicycle geometry has many unique details that make it best
for travel but these key features are described below.
- Long Wheelbase: Bicycles meant for loaded touring have a long wheelbase (the distance between
the two hubs). This is beneficial in many ways. This keeps the bike
steady for all day riding. It takes less effort to balance and hold the bike
up. A long wheelbase reduces the quick agility necessary for road
racing but is much better for long distance cruising. A long wheelbase
carves turns instead of being jittery. Sure, you can not turn as tight as
a road bike
but most public roads are not like a race course. A long wheelbase provides plenty
of room so heels to not hit rear panniers and toes and fenders do not collide.
-
Low center of gravity: Lowering the center of gravity by lowering the
bottom bracket
(crank set) of a touring bike is essential to all day comfort. Lowering
the bike makes loads noticeably easier to control with less effort. Lower
cranks also means that pedals will be
closer to the road and even gentle turns can not be pedaled through.
Because road racers often pedal through turns road bikes do not have a bottom
bracket as low as a touring bike. Mountain bikes are designed to clear logs or rocks in the
trail. Mountain bikes need high clearance just like a 4x4 truck. For this reason they have the highest bottom
brackets of all
bikes. This is the exact opposite need of a touring bike which is low to the ground
for cruising. This is like the difference between a four wheel drive truck
and a luxury sedan.
(Coming soon: detailed discussion about bicycle
touring on a mountain bike.)
- Designed to carry heavy loads on racks: Touring bike frames must be strong. They will usually
weigh more than a road or mountain bike frame. Because of the extra weight
carried on racks touring bikes experience different forces and stress points
compared to
other bikes. Touring bikes are specifically designed to deal with these
forces just like a pick up truck is made to carry a load.
- Attachment points: Built in attachment points and
brazons for racks, fenders, extra water bottles,
pumps, lights, and more can be retrofit on some bikes. These adaptations are
usually much weaker than an eyelet designed specifically for attachment.
If you want to be sure you can mount all your stuff to your bike get a touring
bike.
Suspension
or Front Shocks
I personally have never experienced bicycle touring with a
front shock or other types of frame suspension. I have owned and ridden several
mountain bikes that had a suspension front shock fork but I have never used these bikes
for traveling. My mountain bikes were for single track trails.
I know what a suspension mountain bike feels like but that does not seem the same
as the new breed of road specific suspension forks.
I have always been comfortable just using a sold front fork
when touring. It is possible that if I tried a suspension
fork I may like it in the future.
This is an undecided subject for me. I fear adding unnecessary
moving parts. Suspension forks require regular maintenance and will
eventually experience
inevitable
breakdowns.
In the past it was always a big mystery as to how to mount
front racks and panniers to a suspension fork. I have seen many interesting
home made solutions. Fortunately this has been
recently solved with a commercially available front rack (see below).
Designed for suspension forks the Shock treatment front rack from Delta is
made from welded tubular aluminum to ensure rigidity and strength while
keeping the weight low. Includes stainless steel, anti rust hardware and
specially designed clamps that won't harm your forks. Works great with Delta
Compact panniers or any mid sized bag. Black.
The paint job is the least
important aspect in choosing a touring bicycle. Usually if a bike
frame is high quality then the paint will equal this quality and not have premature
problems. Colors are very limited. Many high end touring bikes come with
only one color option. I suggest you find the bike you like and hope
that you like the color.
I prefer my touring bicycles to be as
unnoticeable as
possible. If a bike looks bland it appears inexpensive. A
bright flashy paint job with a well known logo is the first pick among thieves. Dull colors do not
scream money and become obnoxious in poor countries. Dark colors blend into other bikes
used by locals.
Cindie and I often find ourselves hiding in
the woods and camping without permission or security. In these cases
it is best to hide or at least be discrete. Most touring cyclists will do this
out of necessity. Because we are hiding I also like my
touring bikes, panniers, and tent to be as camouflaged as possible. I like black, grey or any other darkish
color. I suppose that olive drab would be an ideal color but I have
never seen this.
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