Whats The Ideal Bicycle For Road Trips?
A Reader Asks…
I’ve done a lot of mountain biking but i don’t know much about road bikes. What would be a good bike to take on a trip like down the west coast. Also a bike that work for commuting. thanks
(Scroll down to see responses)
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2 comments
Yes, a road touring bike is what you want. They look like typical road bikes, but have a longer wheelbases for smoother riding. Look at the distance between the wheels and the frame itself and that will give you a clue that it’s longer than regular sport road bikes. Also, they have a triple crankset like a mountain bike. And they probably have more frame clearance to run wider tires, which are more durable on mixed roads, and safer if you ask me.
Touring bikes also have a lot of threaded braze-ons to accept front & rear racks, and fenders. Fenders may not be ‘cool’, but the first time you get caught in a downpour and your wheels spray dirty road water all up your back and face, you’ll wish you had them.
A lot of people just buy a hybrid bike. I would say that hybrids are great for city riding, but that flat handlebar position gets old after about an hour. Drop bars, like on a touring bike, let you change your hand positions a lot.
New touring bikes aren’t cheap. See if you can find a good used one. Trek made some nice touring bikes for years. The old Trek 520 and 620 come to mind.
Get a touring bike, you can commute with that. It will accept fenders and racks.http://www.faughnan.com/touringbike.html