Now when you go to choose a bike to ride, there a couple different things you will want to consider.
Now there are many different bike companies, and many different models, in many different price ranges, but you have to explore all of your options first before you make your choice, which could be a bad choice if you go with the first bike you see. Check the "big box stores," all of the bike shops in your town or even in another town as well, and even online, there may be a bike online that you may not have heard of that isn't sold in big box stores or bikes shops that you like a lot better than any of the others that you have seen. I Volunteer in a bike shop and i have tried almost every kind of bike from Touring, to mountain, to road, to even 10 speed bike, they are all different and there all for different types of riding.
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In today's newsletter I want to talk about touring bicycles...
because the
most important piece of bicycle touring
equipment you will ever need to buy
is your bicycle!
But selecting the correct bike for your needs is not
always
as easy it first appears. As you will see in a moment, each
of
the five different types of bicycle tours requires a
different type of
touring bicycle. Plus, there are a number
of other types of bicycles that are
available (road bikes,
mountain bikes, etc) that aren't really designed for
bicycle touring at all, but can be used for touring with a
little
effort.
So today, I want to talk the different types of bicycles
you
might use for long-distance touring... and end by giving
you access to a
tool that will make selecting the perfect
bicycle for your bicycle tour that
much easier.
THE MOUNTAIN BIKE
You've probably got an old
mountain bike in your garage
and are wondering to yourself, can I really do
a
long-distance tour on this old thing?
Well, I'll be the first to
tell you that crossing the
country or even riding around the world on a
mountain bike
is entirely possible.
That being said, I'll also be
the first person to tell you that
riding a mountain bike for long distances
is also not the easiest
thing in the world. Most mountain bikes are not made
for extensive
riding on paved roads... so as you will see in a moment,
there
may be a better option!
Mountain bikes are great in some
situations, however. If you plan to
spend a significant amount of time riding
on unpaved roads or
trails, then a mountain bike is an excellent vehicle for
your next
bicycle tour.
THE ROAD BIKE
Maybe you don't have a
mountain bike in your garage, but you might
have a road bike! A road bike is
one of those fast little numbers
you saw Lance Armstrong riding around on in
the Tour de France.
Road bikes are great for long day rides and
supported tours where
your belongings are being carried in a chase vehicle,
but for the
long-distance self-supported tour, road bikes typically won't
cut it.
They're made to go fast, but they aren't made for carrying a
bunch
of gear... and they aren't very comfortable when you are spending
6
or more hours in the saddle each day.
THE RECUMBENT BICYCLE
A
recumbent bicycle is a bike that you sit in as though you were
sitting in a
chair. Many people who ride recumbent bicycles have
back or knee problems,
but some people like them just because
they're fun to ride.
Some
recumbent bicycles are equipped for long-distance bicycle
tours, while others
are not. Do your research before buying a
recumbent bicycle to make sure it
can carry both your gear and get
you up those long hills you will likely be
climbing.
THE FOLDING BIKE
Folding bikes are most commonly known
as commuter bikes, but thanks
to the growing number of long-distance bicycle
travelers, folding
bike companies have begun to produce folding bikes
made
specifically for long-distance tours.
The advantage of a folding
bike is that you can pack it inside a
suitcase and put it on an airplane,
boat, or bus and travel with
your bike in relative ease. Traveling with a
full-size bicycle is
not always easy... so folding bikes (while they may look
a
little funny) do have their advantages.
THE TOURING
BICYCLE
Finally, there is the touring bike. This is a bike
made
specifically for long-distance touring.
What makes a touring
bicycle different than all the bikes
mentioned above?
http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/touring-bicycles-buyers-guide/
Well,
there are a number of things. But here are some of the
features that almost
all touring bikes have in common:
- Touring bikes have wider tires
than road bikes, enabling them
to support more weight and ride in
rougher conditions. Most
touring bikes can handle a fair amount of
off-road riding.
- Touring bikes are usually made of heavy-duty steel.
Because
touring bikes need to carry more weight, they need to be made
of stronger materials.
- Many touring bikes will have
extremely low gears so that you
will have an easier time climbing hills
and mountains.
- Touring bike makers know that you are going to be
spending a
long time in the saddle, so they design the bikes to be more
comfortable on your back, butt, hands, and neck. On a touring
bike you are in a more upright position than you would be on a
traditional road or mountain bicycle.
- Touring bikes are also built
to support racks on the front and
back of the bike, allowing you to
carry up to four panniers
(or bags) on your bike at a time.
Plus, there are a bunch of other little features that touring
bikes
may or may not have that make them better for long-
distance touring.
If you want to see some examples of traditional touring bicycles
made for road touring scenarios, check out the following article:
http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/touring-bikes-bicycles-made-specifically-for-long-distance-touring/
And
if you want to see some touring bicycles that are designed to
handle off-road
conditions, check out the bikes on this page:
http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/26-inch-touring-bikes-built-for-world-travel/
As
you can see, there are a number of different types of bikes to
choose from.
And there are even some other styles of bike that I
haven't mentioned here.
Each has its benefits and its drawbacks.
Picking the bike you will need
for your bicycle tour is ultimately
going to depend on where you plan to go
on your tour, how
long you plan to spend out on the road, how much gear you
plan to carry, and what the road conditions are going to be like
on your
travels.
If you need more help finding the perfect touring bicycle, I've
created a resource for exactly this purpose. It's called "The
Essential
Guide To Touring Bicycles" an you can learn more about
it right
here:
http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/touring-bicycles-buyers-guide/
That's
it for today. Until next time... make it a great day!
Darren
Alff
contact@bicycletouringpro.com
www.bicycletouringpro.com
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In my next post i will be talking about bike maintenance, and where you can go to learn how.
Keep on Biking....
