CYCLE TOURING CANADA

Dedicated to Enjoying Canada on Two Wheels

You have many options for touring bikes these days. Many are touring on mountain bikes, or hybrid/comfort bikes. These can be an affordable way to get a solid bike with a strong frame. Most of these also come with the low gearing that you want for loaded touring. You can have them ready to tour by simply adding fenders and racks, and hooking your panniers on. Oh yeah, if they came with knobby tires, trade them in sfor something slick or semi-slick. It will not only save a lot of energy, it will also save listening to the rumble those knobs make on the pavement!

Trailers can be hooked to nearly any bike these days, from dual suspension mountan bikes to road racing machines and everything in between. There are a variety of different styles of trailers available, such as the single wheel BOB trailers (Yak or Ibex) or the two wheeled trailers such as the Burley Nomad. I have never used a trailer, so I am not going to weigh in on whether trailers are better than panniers or vice-versa. I think like most things bike related, you need to find what works for you. There are pros and cons to every choice. I do know that however you carry the weight, it really isn't an issue until you try fighting gravity by going up a hill, then you are reminded of the weight you are carrying or pulling.

Our bikes are traditional touring bikes-diamond frame, 700c wheels, drop bar, low geared bikes with stout frames designed to carry a load. Marilyn and I both ride Cannondale T800 touring bikes ath we bought in the year 2000. They have been more than we hoped for. That said, they are no longer quite original. After about 3 years I replaced my saddle with a Brooks Team Pro-a beautiful piece of leather that I got from a friend for a great price. Marilyn replaced her saddle after the original one broke, also getting a Brooks Team Pro, but unfortunately having to pay the real cost at a bike shop. The gearing changed alos to something more suitable for heavy touring. The bikes came with a 30/42/52 crankset and an 11-32 cassette. We did several trips with this, but at times with front and rear panniers it seemed that a few lower gears would be nice. Currently, I have a crank with 22/38/48 chainrings with the 11-32 casssette. Marilyn has 24/39/48 chainrings, with the same cassette. They may seem like odd gears, but they actually make a lot of sense. The large and middle rings are small enough for nearly all of your riding needs, but when you get to something really steep, you have really low gears to help you up. And nobody riding with a fully loaded bike needs a 52 tooth chainring. The shifters were upgraded this year form the original Tiagra STI shifters to Ultegra STI. The Tiagras worked well for us, but had developed a lot of play, and began skipping shifts, so it seemed they were indeed wearing out-not unreasonable after 5 years riding in all conditions. The new Ultegras feel oh-so-nice!