cycle touring

feck sake lads

Cabaal wrote: »

Lads just curious, I'm using a Trek 7.1 FX, how suitable is this for holding panniers either front or back.

I might be mad but I'm thinking of giving touring a go, either just myself or with a friend of mine. Although the first time I went camping was the weekend and prior to that 1997 I'm also going to risk that to

It just seems like a challenge and a good experience for this summer.

cabaakl i take a shot at this i don't know the trek your talking about i'm sure it's a great bike but strong enough is another matter, the problem would be you could have to much flex in the frame making it unstable that's of course when you have it fully loaded up.
my own bike thorn sherpa is a specific touring frame built basically to carry heavy loads plus rider:rolleyes: i too only use rear panniers and barbag but there quiet heavy when loaded then my tent and a few other bits of gear is on the rear rack but the bike is rock solid .
i guess the best thing is to load that bike up and take it for a spin you will soon know if it's up to the job.best of luck on your new adventure hope it works out for you they say it's addictive wants you start touring;)

DualFrontDiscs

Cabaal wrote: »

Lads just curious, I'm using a Trek 7.1 FX, how suitable is this for holding panniers either front or back.

Here's a site where someone uses a Trek 7.2 FX. Presumably they're similar bikes.

Here's their tips page.

DFD.

Cabaal

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Here's a site where someone uses a Trek 7.2 FX. Presumably they're similar bikes.

Here's their tips page.

DFD.

Pretty informative site, looks like they had to make modifications to the Trek 7.2 in order to hold things correctly, other then that and handlebar changes they've been fine by the looks of it

Chazziemann

empirix wrote: »

Lol - even brought a mattress

Id love to do something like that, i wonder would it be tough going on a mountain bike?

All depends on the bike really, can you cycle for long (30km +) without any physical problems??

If not then iam sure it will gt you around for a few days

Captain Havoc

This is the bag I've reduced myself to. I still haven't tried to attach the rack to the bike

feck sake lads

well I'm off to the uk in the morn for 6 days touring hopefully the sun will come out not a lover of cycling in the rain:eek:

thebouldwhacker

I hope the bag serves you well Captain, enjoy your trip!

@Feck sake have a great tour, let us know how things go, places, components etc.

feck sake lads

i sure will report back in a couple week's,hopefully i have everything correctly packed .i have 14lb weight in each rear pannier plus my tent/ stool /pillow (real) crocks on top of rear rack a lot of weight to be hauling around the roads of the uk but i need it all hopefully;)
cheers all see you in a couple week's feck....

DualFrontDiscs

feck sake lads wrote: »

i sure will report back in a couple week's,hopefully i have everything correctly packed .i have 14lb weight in each rear pannier plus my tent/ stool /pillow (real) crocks on top of rear rack a lot of weight to be hauling around the roads of the uk but i need it all hopefully;)
cheers all see you in a couple week's feck....

Any chance of a few pics of your fully loaded rig?

DFD.

feck sake lads

love to oblige honest but i have no idea how to do that but when i get back i will get my son to post a few pic's of the set up i have .his computer is a lot faster that this ancient thing i have:D so keep tuned thanks for asking btw..

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

blorg

Cabaal wrote: »

Lads just curious, I'm using a Trek 7.1 FX, how suitable is this for holding panniers either front or back.

It will be absolutely fine, three UCD students cycled to China on 7.3FXes which are a similar if not the same frame. I toured on a 7300FX myself (shorter distances )

thebouldwhacker

Well done and welcome back feck! Not too many clouds on those pics though....;)

My gf and I are planning a trip from the south to mid wales, more over the country than through it by the gradients we are looking at though.
Did you camp or get a bed while you were there?

blorg

Cabaal wrote: »

Pretty informative site, looks like they had to make modifications to the Trek 7.2 in order to hold things correctly, other then that and handlebar changes they've been fine by the looks of it

None of the changes they made to the 7.2 are essential. This is not to say that they don't make sense, they do, but you could certainly tour on a stock Trek hybrid with a €25 rack on the back. It is also a personal thing; note they say they don't like drops but accept that others do, and have experimented with many different types of bars.

The one thing I would consider pretty close to essential is mudguards, unless you are pretty sure you are not going to see rain (I have toured in Spain without them.) Even without mudguards though many racks will prevent a lot of spray from hitting your bottom.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

thebouldwhacker

Just wondering if anyone can help me with a cycling route from Cork to Rosslare. I'm looking for something without too many hills (gonna be cycling in Wales, there'll be enough of them over there). I'm aiming for a 'scenic' cycle worth doing hopefully off the main roads where possible.
Cheers

blorg

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone can help me with a cycling route from Cork to Rosslare. I'm looking for something without too many hills (gonna be cycling in Wales, there'll be enough of them over there). I'm aiming for a 'scenic' cycle worth doing hopefully off the main roads where possible.
Cheers

I have gone Waterford to Cork via the coast Dungarvan and then through Lismore. This avoids the N25 which is very busy.

The coast Tramore-Dungarvan is very picturesque but it is also bumpy.

This route could work, note it involves a ferry at Passage East which you might want to look into.

thebouldwhacker

Well Blorg you did it again, thats a fine route you posted up, thanks very much. Very soon you'll be having a 'pay per post' system going, something like Mr Skiff.....

feck sake lads

hi folks got back from a fantastic week's touring in the cotswolds in the uk the weather was fantastic for the six days we were there met up with the members of the fell club who treated us like kings the craic was mighty.
hope this link works for a few pic's last pic is me on the right
http.//www,fellclub.org.uk/watlington.htm

thebouldwhacker

I have a few questions for the more experienced tourers, I just weighed my bike
that I'm planning to go to wales on for a week or so next month. It came in at 16kg (with racks no bags), I am used to this bike for the last few years and for what it is I enjoy cycling it but it is a bit on the heavy side, is it too hevey? what kind of weight do ye ride on? I am trying to get rid of the sus fork (which will bring the weight down) for a lighter rigid but as I'm on a tight budget this is proving difficult so my option is to swap the mtb with my brother who has a Raleigh Equipe bike (1980's). The issue with this is that its got down tube shifters and the gearing isn't as forgiving (12 speed), the mtb is a triple with a granny gear at the back with 34T so climbing with weight is comfortable. Also while he has kept it in top nick I dont know how well it would put up with a week of punishment. So it boils down to weight with gears or light without plus fat mtb vs road tyres, the areo position advantage of the road bike doesnt really matter.... Am I being silly? should I stick to the heavy mtb or go with the old but road friendly Equipe?

Thanks

I should add I do have a Trek 1.2 as well but I dont think it would be a good bike for touring. Am I correct in this or am I under estimating its potential?

DualFrontDiscs

@thebouldwhacker

I wouldn't worry about the weight of the bike. My touring bike is 13kg, but let's face it, we're both adding lots more weight to the bike! I would suggest sticking with the mountain bike but get some commuter tires. They'd make a bigger difference to the usability of the bike than swapping the fork, though changing the fork would help (reducing weight and improving road handling).

DFD.

thebouldwhacker

Cheers for that, I'm looking at putting on slicks alright though if I take the mtb I am toying with the idea of keeping the knobbly tyres on and going doing some trails while over there.
You mention in the link that your load is about 10kg, is that about right as an average load? I went out today and put 15kg weights in the bags, I did 35km around Cork city with as many hills as I could find and it went well. Av speed was 19kph (top speed 60kph:D), which made me think what kind of speed do you tip around at when loaded?

DualFrontDiscs

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Cheers for that, I'm looking at putting on slicks alright though if I take the mtb I am toying with the idea of keeping the knobbly tyres on and going doing some trails while over there.
You mention in the link that your load is about 10kg, is that about right as an average load? I went out today and put 15kg weights in the bags, I did 35km around Cork city with as many hills as I could find and it went well. Av speed was 19kph (top speed 60kph:D), which made me think what kind of speed do you tip around at when loaded?

I'd stick with the slicks. You'll spend most of the time on the road.

I normally do 'credit card' touring, which is to say, bring panniers for what I what I need and stay in B&Bs and eat out. This will be my first trip in a very, very, very long time with a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and cooking stove.

You can see from my 'kit list' that I'm only taking one set of 'off the bike' clothes and keeping the cycling gear to a hygienic minimum .

I'd say I'll be closer to 12- 15kg before I actually get out the door though

DFD.

blorg

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

which made me think what kind of speed do you tip around at when loaded?

Depends on the terrain but I have found that it drops off majorly after the first couple of days. 10kg on the bike sounds about right; unloaded my tourer is around 11kg. I don't agree with the "weight doesn't matter as you are loading up" philosophy and did aim to get as light a tourer as possible. On a long tour you feel any extra weight and I really try to minimise the amount I pack. Having said that you can certainly tour on what you have just go a bit slower. Slick tyres will really help.

DualFrontDiscs

Have a look at the Bike Forums Touring forum.

There's lots of advice there, though it is US centric.

I read somewhere recently that 16kph and 80- 100km per day are good 'planning' metrics for 'loaded' touring.

thebouldwhacker

@Blorg, thanks for that, I'll prob be carrying most of my gf's gear too so I'm weight aware alright, that said I have lost nearly 15kg since christmas (the up side of not sitting in an office/car all day anymore) so cycling the bike feels like going back in time...

@DFD cheers for the link and the speeds. I know its an impossible question to answer but its good to have a ball park figure.

blorg

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

@Blorg, thanks for that, I'll prob be carrying most of my gf's gear too so I'm weight aware alright

When I tour with my girlfriend I also carry all the stuff. In that circumstance weight is completely out the window as we are going at her pace which is slower than mine anyway. So it doesn't matter at all how much I am carrying. It's touring solo that weight becomes a factor.

thebouldwhacker

Yea! thats my excuse for going slowly too.
Nice pannier bags! just wondering why no front rack, is it a carbon fork?

blorg

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Yea! thats my excuse for going slowly too.
Nice pannier bags! just wondering why no front rack, is it a carbon fork?

It is a carbon fork but that has no bearing; I have never bothered with front panniers even when I had the mounts. Theoretically it can give more stability but I have never had an issue and it is two more bags to worry about.

DualFrontDiscs

blorg wrote: »

It is a carbon fork but that has no bearing; I have never bothered with front panniers even when I had the mounts. Theoretically it can give more stability but I have never had an issue and it is two more bags to worry about.

Blorg, can you recommend a carbon touring fork with rack mounts?

DFD.