tourist with bike

Best touring bikes 2024: tourers for adventures on two wheels

Although there are many bikes capable of cycle trips, the best touring bikes remain the optimal tool for longer journeys

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Our pick of the best touring bikes

What to look for in a touring bike.

The allure of the open road is one of cycling’s enduring themes. Touring by bicycle allows for this on a grand scale, travelling for several days, often in far-flung places with all your kit strapped to the bike. Of course, micro-adventures closer to home can be just as much fun and still keep the spirit of adventure alive.

Whether you’re planning an expedition abroad or fancy exploring more local roads in far greater detail, a touring bike is the ideal tool for the job. Designed for cycling long distances in comfort, the bikes should be both stable and reliable in their handling, as well as providing all the mounts you need for pannier racks and bags and mudguards . Self-sufficiency is one of the tenets of cycling touring, so the bikes are usually designed with ease of maintenance in mind, too.

The good news for touring cyclists is that the range of bikes available to cater for their needs has grown substantially in the last few years.

In this guide, we've rounded up the more traditional options. If you're thinking of going off-road, perhaps investigate gravel orientated options in our buying guide here , and if you plan to go quick and travel light, see endurance road bikes here .

There's more on what to look for in a touring bike below - but first, here are our top picks of the best touring bikes.

Genesis Tour de Fer 30 touring bike

Specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

This is a bike that's been created exclusively to provide a comfortable and practical ride for a touring cyclist. The Reynolds 725 Heat-Treated Chromoly frame promises a springy ride and an incredibly strong base.

The 160mm rotor mechanical disc brakes are a more modern introduction with a nod to practicality, especially in the wet. Although we’ve found mechanical TRP Spyre brake calipers aren’t quite as powerful or as easy to modulate as a hydraulic brakeset, they are easy to adjust and highly reliable – perfect for a long-distance tour.

A 10-speed Shimano Tiagra drivetrain is about right for a bike at this price point, but in our experience, a 50/39/30 crankset provides gears that are just a bit too big for cycle touring – particularly over hilly terrain. 

But you can always swap this out for a smaller ringed option down the line. We find that with a cassette of 11-34t, going for a granny ring of 26t is generally a good bet.

We’ve always found Schwalbe’s Marathon tyres to be highly puncture resistant and with a good wear rate. In 35c, these are capable of traversing broken roads and tamer gravel, but if you’re planning on spending a large amount of time off road you would want something a bit plumper.

Handily, this bike come with many of the accessories we think are a must. Firstly, mudguards, but also dynamo powered front and rear lights, bottle cages and the Tubus pannier racks front and rear.

Surly Disc Trucker

A spin-off of Surly's much-revered Long Haul Trucker, the Disc Trucker keeps many of the much-loved versatility and can-do attitude, but this time with the addition of mechanical disc brakes and thru-axles – unlike the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 which has disc brakes and QR axles.

Opinion is a little split on thru-axles for touring – if you have any catastrophic issues with your hubs in more remote countries, you're unlikely to be able to find a replacement locally. That said, those kind of hub issues are quite rare and if it does happen you can always get a replacement sent out. For the improved alignment between the rotor and the caliper, we think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

A multitude of braze-on mount means the Disc Trucker is capable of running front and rear bags, full-coverage fenders, two water bottles, a spare spoke and even a pump peg. However, in not coming with these accessories, you will have to factor these into the cost, making the value for money a little less than the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 or the Kona Sutra.

With both 26" and 700c wheel build options available, the Disc Trucker can be as adventurous as you choose. The 26" (in sizes 42-58cm) is capable of taking up to 2.1" tires, while the 700c version (in sizes 56-64cm) has room for up to 42mm tires — both with fenders.

Although touring bikes generally do have a more relaxed position than a typical road bike, designed as they are for comfortably covering long distances, the Disc Trucker does have a particularly high front end. This isn't necessarily a problem, but if you are coming from a road cycling background, you may find just such an elevated position a little uncomfortable 

Made from a CroMoly Steel, the Disc Trucker comes equipped with a Shimano Alivio/Sora drivetrain, with the 48/36/26 triple Alivio crankset and 11-34 9-speed Shimano cassette provides a gearing range we find to be a great balance between top-end speed and low-end winching – particularly if you’re planning on maxing out the rider and kit weight limit of 161kg (355lb).

Kona Sutra All Road touring bike

The gloss black Sutra is made from Kona 's Cromoly steel frame and is kitted out with smooth-rolling Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 700x40c tires on WTB STi23 rims, which are now tubeless-compatible.

The current model has replaced the previous Shimano Deore 3x10 drivetrain with 2x10 chainset from Shimano's GRX gravel range. It's a move that's unlikely to please the touring purists. The 46/30t chainrings are matched with a 11-36t cassette, which sees the bike's gearing range reduced. It should still see you up the steep climbs, just perhaps not in as much comfort as before.

Gone too are the bar-end shifters, replaced with Shimano 10-speed Tiagra road shifters. Again it's quite the change, moving the Sutra from a traditional tourer into a far more modern interpretation. It reduces some of the bike's previous mechanical simplicity, which is appealing if your tours are long and overseas. That said the move to STI levers will appeal if you're used to riding a regular bike.

Another nod to modernity are the TRP disc brakes, which are blend of mechanical and hydraulic, and the frame's thru-axles.

With a Brooks B17 leather saddle, mudguards and a front pannier rack finishing off this tourer, this good-looking bike oozes style.

The leather Brooks saddle does require a bit more care than what you might be used to – it need to be kept covered from heavy rain and needs a semi regular application of cream to keep the leather supple. But by functioning essentially as a hammock, it is exceptionally comfortable and only gets better over time as it moulds to your shape – it wears in, rather than out..

Ridgeback Voyage

Classic styling never goes out of date - and the vintage-looking Voyage has got it by the bucket load, though a redesign means that modern tech has not been overlooked.

The Ridgeback Voyage uses Reynolds 520 tubing for the frame, with a CroMoly steel fork. A rack and full mudguards (fenders) come as standard. 

The Shimano 48/36/26t triple chainset paired with an 11-34 cassette offers a good range of gearing although with relatively large jumps between the gears due to having just nine gears at the rear. 

We don’t find this to be too much of an issue when taking it steady on a cycle tour but would prefer something a little tighter if multiple very high mileage days are planned.

Shifting and braking is taken care of by Shimano's reliable Sora levers and Tektro cantilever rim brakes. The latter certainly help make the Voyage a maintenance-friendly machine - easy to maintain and find replaces for, even in remote locations - although disc brakes may be a preferred choice for all-weather tourers.

Alex rims with a high spoke count are pretty dependable, even if not the flashiest and fitted with 32c Continental Contact tyres, they can handle a little off road, but are best suited to the tarmac.  

Trek 520 disc touring bike

Constructed from Trek's CroMoly steel, the frame has been designed around disc brakes and fitted with a rack and fenders mounts.

The Bontrager Affinity rims are tubeless-ready, which might be worth setting up if you want a bit of a faster ride when commuting. But for long-term touring it’s generally best to stick with inner tubes so as to avoid the added complication of sealant drying out. Bontrager’s 38c H1 hard-case Ultimate tyres offer good puncture resistance themselves.

The drivetrain is a mixture of Shimano parts with Sora shifters. The crankset is a triple, with 48/36/26 tooth chainrings, and the cassette is an 11-36 so you'll have ample gears when the road goes up. TRP Spyre C 2.0 mechanical disc mechanical discs look after stopping.

However, with only nine sprockets on the cassette, the jumps between the gears are a little large, as with the Ridgeback Voyage. But if this does cause you an issue, and if you find yourself not using all of the gears, you could fit a tighter range cassette for smaller jumps.

Like the Genesis Tour de Fer 30, the wheel axles are QR, which can make getting the rotor and caliper aligned properly a little more difficult than with a thru-axle system

The overall weight comes in at 14.26 kg / 31.4 lbs in a size 57, which is lighter than some of the more traditional options.

Cube Travel Pro Trapeze touring bike

Cube offers its Travel Pro tourer in both a traditional crossbar and step-through frame design, with the latter making mounting and dismounting this robust, aluminum bike easy and convenient.

The convenience theme is carried through much of the bike. It's equipped with a Shimano Nexus internal hub gear system and a Gates CDN Belt Drive system which offers super low maintenance compared with a more traditional chain and derailleur system.

With this eight-speed hub, the jumps between the gears is a little larger and the overall range a little lower than you can get with a derailleur system, and it's not quite as efficient. But that said, if you're planning on taking it steady on your cycle tour, those points are pretty immaterial compared to the benefit of much lower maintenance.  

There's plenty of clearance for extra-wide tires and the wheels are currently wrapped in Schwalbe's Marathon Almotion 29x2.15in rubber.

Finishing off this functional tourer are full-length fenders, an adjustable CUBE stand Pro kickstand, a Knog Oi bell, lights (front and rear), and a semi-integrated carrier for pannier bags; these features will have you covered for any adventure.

Salsa Marrakesh

The Marrakesh is designed to take you touring wherever you wish — including a trip around the world if necessary. The frame is built from 4130 CroMoly tubing and has a serious array of mounts. There's room for up to five bottle cages thanks to extra fork mounts plus it comes fitted with front and rear racks. There's even a mount to carry a spare spoke.

Elsewhere there are bar-end shifters and a 3x9-speed Shimano Alivio groupset. The gearing range is designed to get you up the steep stuff even when fully loaded thanks to 48/36/36 triple chainring paired with an 11-36t cassette. The shifters also make roadside maintenance a little easier.

Its world-touring credentials are further aided by its generous tire clearance - 700 x 40mm even with mudguards (fenders), and comes stock with Maxxis Roamer 42mm tires. This means you should eat up the miles in comfort even when the road gets rough.

It's difficult to lay out specific criteria when it comes to choosing a touring bike because the beauty of touring is that it can be whatever you want it to be – there is no single best touring bike for everyone, what is best for you depends on the type of tours you want to go on. However, there are key elements to consider when selecting your two-wheeled riding buddy, which will enable you to get the best touring bike for you.

Touring bike frame

If you're planning a longer trip, and intend the bike to be used primarily for such adventures, then the resilience and comfort of steel is a sensible choice. As such, most of the best touring bikes will feature this metal. The amount you're willing to invest will dictate the weight, strength and character of the steel you end up with.

When looking at steel touring bikes, expect to see the word 'Chromoly' a lot. This is a form of low alloy steel that is used when strength is particularly important. It takes its name from two of the primary alloying (mixing of metals) elements used: “chromium” and “molybdenum”.

If you're planning on using the bike for touring and other duties: club runs, commutes, shorter rides where speed might be more in your interest, consider aluminum or carbon .

Bikes suitable for touring will have a relaxed geometry: a shorter top tube and taller stack to put the rider in a more relaxed position. The wheelbase will be longer, to create a feeling of stability. You'll also notice that the chainstays are longer - this means panniers can be mounted without a chance of clipping your heels and it allows for better distribution when panniers are full.

Touring bike wheels

Elsewhere in the cycling world, we talk about low weight and aerodynamics when it comes to bicycle wheels. And sure, if you're aiming to break a world record on your cycle tour then those are probably still very important areas to consider.

However, if you mainly want to get to somewhere rather far away, and you'd like to arrive there with a wheel that's still true and contains the same number of spokes you left with, then a strong wheel is what you desire. Look for a higher spoke count that you might opt for on a speedy road bike.

The best touring bikes will generally have at least 36 spokes per wheel, tandem touring bike can even go as high as 48. 

Touring bike tyres

It's incredible how much difference a set of tyres can make to a bike. The frame can be designed with comfort top of the agenda, but put on some narrow rubber shoes and pump them up to the wrong tyre pressure and you'll be bumping about all over the road.

Most touring cyclists will want to go for wider tyres - 28mm+, when compared with their road racing cousins. The further off the beaten track you want to go, the wider they should be. If you plan on tackling some light trails, look for 32mm+.

Touring bike brakes

Traditionally, touring bikes had rim brakes and these will certainly do the job for most road-based tours. However, disc brakes do provide far superior stopping power, especially in the wet, and they are now more common than rim brake on the best touring bikes

Since disc brakes don't rely upon the rim to bring the bike to a halt, they also reduce the risk of the rims becoming worn through debris building up on the pads.

Add in that many touring cyclists are carrying luggage, therefore adding to the overall load, powerful brakes that work in all weathers do seem like a sensible addition. However, not everyone likes the appearance of disc brakes on a traditional steel machine and the pads are a tiny bit harder to replace and set up, which is worth considering if you're maintaining your bike on the road.

Luggage and Lights on a touring bike

A purpose-built touring bike will come with pannier racks fitted, as well as fenders and perhaps even built-in lights. These all add to the overall weight, but if the intended purpose requires them, it's no bother.

If you plan to use the bike for other purposes, like group rides, then you may want to look for a bike that comes with eyelets for guards and racks, so that you can remove and fit them as and when.

There's a lot of clever luggage solutions around these days, such as frame bags and oversized saddlebags , that allow you to do away with panniers if you'd rather distribute weight differently.

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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.

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The 7 Best Touring Bikes for Your Next Long-Distance Adventure

These bike-packing-friendly rides are ready for your next multiday tour or cross-country adventure.

Chalk it up to the call of the open road, but there’s nothing more romantic than the idea of a multiday bike tour—hopping onto a capable bicycle and pedaling for days through the countryside and small towns with everything you need strapped to your frame. Bicycle touring isn’t about moving fast—it’s about self-sufficient exploration, and it demands a bike that you can ride comfortably for hours while carrying a heavy load.

In an industry that thrives on specialization, the touring bike is designed to be a versatile machine that can be your everyday commuter as well as the bike that takes you from Portland to Patagonia. Touring bikes differ from “regular” road bikes in a few ways. Here’s what you need to look for.

See our top picks below, then scroll down for more in-depth reviews of these bikes and other great options, as well as helpful buying tips and advice.

The Best Touring Bikes

Best Overall

Salsa cutthroat grx 810 bike.

Cannondale Topstone 4

Most Versatile Aluminum

Specialized diverge e5, what to consider, classic, adventure, and expedition.

Classic touring bikes are typically steel, have upright geometry, long chainstays, and often have fenders and a rear rack for panniers. They can look vintage even if they’re brand-new. The wheels of classic touring bikes are usually 700c and have a high spoke count (32- or 36-hole). Classic touring bikes used to have rim brakes, but mechanical disc brakes are starting to take over the category. Classic touring bikes can have either a flat or drop bar.

Adventure bikes are built to blur the lines between mountain bikes and road bikes . They love pavement, they love gravel, they love dirt, and that’s good because you might come across all of those surfaces during your tour. They typically have a drop bar, mechanical or hydraulic disc brakes, and a “dealer’s choice” of wheel sizes with clearance for a variety of tire sizes. And many adventure touring bikes are equipped to handle a dropper post.

Expedition touring bikes are exactly what they sound like: burly steeds crafted to handle big miles in remote territory. They’re almost always made of steel, with 26-inch wheels and rim brakes. All of this is designed to make them easy to work on and find spare parts for, even if you’re in a tiny town whose name you can’t pronounce.

Touring Bike Materials

Steel is the classic frame choice because it is strong and stiff and can be fixed by any mechanic with a blowtorch in a pinch. But you’ll find plenty of aluminum touring bikes on the market and an increasing number of carbon frames, although repairing a carbon frame in rural areas isn’t really an option. You can find titanium touring bikes that are expensive but tough and light, and the vibration damping can be a godsend on rough roads and dirt .

[Related: 7 Amazing Cycling Tours That Should Be on Your Bucket List ]

Touring Bike Geometry

A handful of subtle differences within touring bike geometries set them apart from road bikes. Touring geometry is more upright, creating a riding position that’s more comfortable during long hours in the saddle. Different bike companies refer to this as their “endurance” or “adventure” geometry. This “endurance” geometry plays out in a handful of different ways.

The wheelbase and chainstay of a classic touring bike is typically longer to make room for rear racks and panniers, and the bottom bracket is typically lower to increase stability. The head tube is typically longer on a touring bike, essentially elevating the handlebar, and there’s more slack, helping to extend the wheelbase. Touring bikes also generally have a shorter top tube, or more importantly, a shorter “reach,” which is the distance from the center of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube. This is designed to keep you more upright, making you reach less for the handlebar.

How We Evaluated

Finding the best touring bikes requires riding hundreds of miles while hauling a heavy load. Our list comprises touring bikes we’ve personally tested, with some picks based on market research and prior brand experience. We dug into each touring bike’s specs and reputation and looked into Bicycling archives to find the best of the best. These touring bikes are tough, weight-bearing, and can confidently take you cross-country.

The Salsa Cutthroat is an ideal match for the performance-focused gravel rider who commonly encounters gnarly terrain on their adventures. It’s nearly a hardtail mountain bike, with a rigid fork and drop bars. Outfitted with a full-carbon frame and fork, a Shimano GRX 1x groupset, and 29x2.2-inch Teravail Sparwood tires, five bottle mounts, and front- and rear-rack mounting points, this bike is ready to embark on your next adventure and deliver a performance-oriented ride for the duration of your journey.

Read Full Review

The Cannondale Topstone 4 is one smooth ride, thanks to a stiff aluminum frame. No, it doesn’t have suspension, but it doesn’t need it: Its bump-absorbing carbon fork is excellent for gravel and trails alike. No hydraulic disc brakes, unfortunately, but for its price, the Topstone 4 is a fantastic adventure bike with mounts to match.

Body-inclusive bike influencer Marley Blonsky, who rides a Cannondale Topstone 4 in size XS, loves this bike. “It’s an amazingly sturdy and versatile bike,” she says, “especially for the money. I’ve done everything from Unbound Gravel to bike camping to commuting on it—it has worked beautifully for everything!"

The Diverge E5 is one of the better do-anything, go-anywhere bikes today. A swap from its stock 38mm-wide tires to 30mm- or 32mm-wide tires can make it feel a sporty road bike, while switching to 700 x 47mm or 650b x 2.1-inch tires gives it some off-roading ability. For adventurers, it’s got frame and fender mounts, plus mechanical Tektro Mira flat-mount disc brakes that are, surprisingly (for its price), reliable and firm.

Our test editor Dan Chabanov loves the Diverge E5 and says it can be set up to do almost anything. “It’s not the perfect tool for any one task; it is capable of doing them all.”

Bianchi Impulso GRX600 e-bike

The Bianchi GRX600 is an e-bike outfitted to handle gravel and steep hills as much as pavement. It has rigid suspension, an aluminum frame, and, thankfully, hydraulic disc brakes for great stopping power. Kenda 700c x 35 tires help riders plow through the muck, plus a tire clearance of 38mm lends it some extra rubber when needed. It's also got plenty of mounts for baggage. The downside? You'll need an outlet to charge that bike once its battery runs out of juice.

“Touring with electric road bikes is an increasingly popular option for riders, and e-bike touring is very popular in Europe,” says Bicycling deputy editor Tara Seplavy . "E-bikes are a good option for hotel/B&B touring, or if you are camping and know that your destination has the electricity to recharge when you arrive.”

Otso Waheela C

One of senior test editor Matt Phillips’ favorite bikes of 2022 and a gravel award-winner for the year, the Otso Waheela C is a versatile carbon ride with a lot of range. It has adjustable rear dropouts which adjust chainstay lengths to 420, 430, or 440mm, and has room for up to a whopping 54mm in either 700c or 650b. It’s also one of the only production bikes with suspension-correct geometry, terrific for extreme gravel riding. And yes: It still has plenty of mounts for carrying baggage.

“Perfect it is not—the bike is a little on the heavy side, and the ride is a bit firm with narrower tires,” says Phillips, “but the Waheela has a long front center for stability with the fast and lively feel of a high-performance bike.”

Surly Disc Trucker

Surly’s Long Haul Trucker has been a favorite of touring cyclists for decades. However, its Disc Trucker, initially introduced in 2012, has been redesigned, giving it the edge over its older cousin. Surly shortened the chainstay length for snappy acceleration and adopted a thru-axle for increased stiffness.

The Disc Trucker also has a decreased stand-over height and increased stack height, which gives the bike a more upright geometry for long days in the saddle. The Truckstop handlebar complements that all-day geometry, and a new fork accommodates pack mounts so you can carry some of your load on the front of your bike. The bike isn’t all new and glitzy; you still get the tried and true 3x9 drivetrain, so you have plenty of gears for the climb.

Niner RLT 9 Steel

What if your bike were actually several bikes that transformed based on your shifting moods or terrain? That’s the concept behind Niner’s RLT9, a super customizable long hauler built for gravel, pavement, dirt…whatever floats your boat. The hand-welded Reynolds 853 steel frame anchors the build, but the RTL9 also features a PF30 bottom bracket that makes it easy to go from the stock 11-speed drivetrain to a single-speed setup. The clearance has room for tires up to 700 x 50c but also fits 650b wheels. You can even add a dropper post to get into the steeps.

Niner borrowed some tech from the mountain bike world, most notably the lower bottom bracket height and a slack headtube angle to boost all-day comfort, and the rig comes stock with Shimano GRX800 components, which are built to handle the dirt and grime of gravel. We also like the 26 different mounting points and the custom bags that Niner makes mount directly to the frame without needing straps or Velcro.

Kevin Cortez is an editor for Runner's World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics covering reviews. A culture and product journalist for over ten years, he’s an expert in men’s style, technology, gaming, coffee, e-bikes, hiking, gear, and all things outdoors. He most recently worked as the Style Editor for Reviewed, a top product recommendation site owned by USA TODAY. He also helped with the launch of WSJ's Buy Side commerce vertical, and has covered the music and podcast industries for Mass Appeal, Genius, Vulture, Leafly, Input, and The A.V. Club. Equally passionate about leisure as he is his penmanship, Kevin dedicates his spare time to graphic novels, birding, making cold brew, and taking long, meandering walks.

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Best touring bikes: Machines for old-school, long distance riding

The best touring bikes to load up for the long haul or just for local load-lugging

• How to choose

The best touring bikes are designed to be loaded up for comfortable long-distance riding, but they're also a robust, reliable option for local riding with a load or just for commuting .

They're a bit old school now, with bikepacking being the trendy fast and light way to ride far, either on one of the best endurance bikes or the best gravel bikes . The availability and range of models reflect that trend, although touring bikes still offer a great way to see the world.

They're built strong, often with a steel frame and fork and have reliable wheels with plenty of spokes for strength, as well as a wide gear range, which may be via a triple chainset with a smaller range of "speeds" in the cassette or hub gear. Expect an upright ride position and comfortable touchpoints.

Luggage is normally carried in panniers and bags attached to a rear rack, often supplemented by a front rack, as well as a bar bag. Mudguards are also normal, making riding more comfortable in all weathers, while multiple bottle cages mean that you can keep hydrated even when you're far from a tap.

Below, you'll find our pick of the best touring bikes and below that is our buyer's guide to how to choose the best touring bike for you.

Best touring bikes: our picks

You can trust Cyclingnews Our experts spend countless hours testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

This Genesis touring bike option comes fully loaded, with front and rear racks, lights and a bottle cage, while its 35mm wide tyres give a comfortable ride. There's a Shimano Tiagra triple chainset, which gives a total of thirty gear ratios, which head below 1:1 for loaded climbing. 

Read more below

Another steel-framed tourer with many of the extras you'll need already there. The Kona Sutra has a high ride position and is equipped with a Brooks leather saddle for a retro touring vibe, although the disc brakes and wide gear range keep it up to date.

Yet another steel-framed option with front and rear racks and an upright ride, the Salsa Marrakesh has 3x9-speed gearing and mechanical disc brakes. Its 42mm Teravail tyres should provide comfort and grip wherever you travel.

Another long-haul steel model, the Disc Trucker has a very upright ride position thanks to its riser stem and yet more rise to its bars. A triple chainset that goes as low as a 26x34t ratio helps with long rides over steep roads.

With 42mm WTB Resolute tyres, the Marin Four Corners is a bike that can handle poor road conditions. The steel frame and fork are robust, while the triple chainset, nine-speed gearing and mechanical disc brakes should prove reliable. 

The Giant Toughroad takes a slightly different tack from most touring bikes, with flat bars, an alloy frame and carbon fork. Its 50mm wide tyres and very wide gear range equip it for off-road adventures.

Best touring bikes

1. genesis tour de fer 30, specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

The Genesis Tour De Fer is a great option in this category. It's a top all-round bike, featuring a solid steel frame, durable tyres, disc brakes and all the practicalities such as three bottle cages, front and rear racks, mudguards and dynamo-powered lights.

Simply put, this is a bike ready for whatever you need to do straight away, whether it's commuting, leisure riding or touring. The bike offers an easy, calm ride, and is comfortable enough to get on and go right away.

35mm Schwalbe Marathon tyres come as standard, with their puncture-proof reputation. The Shimano Tiagra triple groupset gives you plenty of range including a sub-1:1 ratio to haul your loaded bike up the hills. You might need that range, with the extra features adding significantly to the bike's weight though.

2. Surly Disc Trucker

Another do-anything bike, the Disc Trucker features a sturdy and good-looking steel frame and fork. It is, however, more suited to road riding than exploring gravel and mud, though it's not to say that you can't tackle gravel tracks with it. The rise to the bars, paired with a long head tube gives a comfortable all-day ride position.

Mounts for three bottles, a pump, and mudguards add to the practicality, while the tyre clearance will let you get some meaty rubber in there. Surly quotes 2.1" tyre clearance on 650b wheels and the smaller frame sizes come specced with this wheel size for better toe clearance.

A Shimano Alivio MTB triple groupset with Sora road shifters provides steady and reliable 9-speed shifting, although it's quite a low end spec. Like the Genesis and the Trek, the Disc Trucker relies on TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes for reliable, low-maintenance stopping power.

3. Giant Toughroad SLR 1

What do you get when you combine a mountain bike, a touring bike and a gravel bike? No, this isn't the start of one of your dad's jokes, you get the impressively capable Toughroad SLR 1. More suited to the offroad than any of the bikes we've looked at so far, Giant calls it a do-it-all bike capable of commuting, but make no mistake, it's built primarily for dirt and gravel.

There's no suspension fork, but the giant 50mm tyres are a dead giveaway. An 11-42 MTB cassette on the back will also help with tackling the steep stuff, although there's not the absolute range of the triple chainsets on the bikes above. Pannier racks front and back and three bottle cage mounting points mean you can pile on whatever you need to take with you.

There are plenty of modern features on the bike, including thru-axles, hydraulic brakes, and tubeless tyres. A reliable Giant wheelset and Shimano Deore groupset round off this bike. You might find the lack of variation in hand position with the flat bar configuration gets tiring on longer rides though.

4. Kona Sutra

The first thing to strike you about the Sutra is its retro features; the Brooks leather saddle and steel frame give a different look to many of the bikes we've looked at. Disc brakes and thru-axles remind you that this is a thoroughly modern bike, though.

It's another bike for touring and commuting on the road and on some gravel/dirt surfaces. Mudguards and front and rear pannier racks are included, while there are other bosses for more additions if needed.

The 10-speed Shimano GRX gravel groupset with Tiagra shifters gives plenty of range, although not as much as a triple like that specified on the Trek, while the hybrid hydraulic/cable-operated brakes should give a bit more stopping power than the TRP Spyre cable brakes specced elsewhere, they are more of a faff to maintain though. It's a classy-looking bike that can work well anywhere.

5. Salsa Marrakesh

A great-looking steel frame is the first thing to catch the eye on this bike, while the fat 42mm tyres give a signal as to its intentions. It's as comfortable off-road as on, whether you're touring, commuting or just riding for fun.

As with the bikes above, front and rear racks are included, though if you want to add mudguards, be warned that the wide tyres will need to go on a diet ­– down to a 40mm maximum.

It's a solid entry into the touring selection, even if it is a bit on the weighty side, however, though not so much that you'll be struggling under the weight. Components include a Shimano Alivio groupset with Microshift shifters as well as TRP Spyre-C disc brakes and wheels and tyres ready to be set up tubeless.

6. Marin Four Corners

The Marin Four Corners is part tourer, part gravel bike. It's got the clearance for really wide tyres on 650b wheels (which is the stock wheel size specced on smaller-sized frames), but you can also set it up for a more traditional touring configuration with 700c wheels.

The steel frame is bombproof while the long head tube gives an upright ride position so you've got plenty of visibility all around. There are mounts for a rack, mudguards and to lash extra kit to the fork legs, so you can load up to head into the unknown. It's a bike more geared to gravel than the road, unlike the more traditional tourers like the Kona and the Genesis.

7. Trek 520

Marketed as a bike for long-haul travel, the Trek 520 is the longest-running bike in Trek's stable, although its days look to be numbered. The 520 is no longer sold in the UK or US, but international buyers in some countries still have a choice of two specs on Trek's site, including the Sora/Alivio option above.

Like the Genesis, the Trek 520 comes with front and rear racks, although you'll have to add mudguards for all-weather use. Small updates include mechanical disc brakes with a thru-axle alloy fork, while the 9-speed Shimano Sora gearing provides massive range from its triple chainset, albeit with quite large jumps across the 11-36 tooth cassette.

It's also nice to see tubeless-ready wheels specced (although not the tyres), so you can set up tubeless, which should up dependability on long rides. 

How to choose the best touring bike for you

Whether you're looking for a practical way to get to work, want that extra durability so that your bike will stand the test of time or want to travel to far-flung corners of the earth with nothing but a tent and a change of clothes, a touring bike a great addition to your stable of steeds. 

You can still get around quickly – whether you're hitting the roads, gravel paths or other rough terrain – but plenty of space for mudguards and racks, as well as a more relaxed position, make a touring bike a better all-round option than a road bike, a hybrid or a mountain bike. 

The relaxed geometry and more upright riding position are also handy for commuting, and the best touring bikes are often built with durable, easy-to-maintain components so they can be fixed when hundreds of miles away from a bike shop. This lends itself to fewer mechanicals and lower running costs. Steel frames also have a far better chance of being repaired all over the world compared to aluminium or carbon fibre if you're on a big trip.

What types of touring bike are there?

Touring bikes can range anywhere from predominantly road-going bikes with horizontal top tubes and 700c tyres, to rugged mountain bikes with knobbly mountain bike tyres. 

What the best touring bikes tend to share, however, is a durable design, comfortable geometry and the ability to carry luggage. Some opt for bikepacking bags , which usually consist of frame bags and oversized saddle bags, whereas others opt for the traditional rack and pannier bag method of carrying luggage. 

As with any bike purchase, consider the riding you plan to do with the bike. For those looking to travel far and wide, a bike with more luggage-carrying capacity will be preferred. For those who are looking to travel off-road, look for a bike that can handle the rough stuff. Live in the mountains? Look for a wide gear range. 

What's different about touring bike geometry?

Touring bike frames feature a relaxed geometry , with a taller head tube and shorter top tube for a comfortable and more upright riding position compared to a racing road bike. In addition to this, they feature a longer wheelbase, which keeps the bike stable even when loaded with heavy luggage. Since they're designed to be cycled over long distances, they're equally designed to stay comfortable for as long as possible.

If you're a geometry nerd you may notice the trail is a little lower than you'd expect for a relaxed ride, but this is often done to counteract the slowing effect on the steering of a heavy front load to avoid the bike feeling like a barge when laden.

Which gearing should a touring bike have?

Gearing-wise, what you should pick really depends on what type of riding you'll be doing. If you're taking on hills regularly, then you'll want a cassette with larger sprockets on the back. Some touring bikes offer a triple chainset too, with easier gearing on offer compared to a double chainset. The addition of extra gear combinations into the mix will add an extra component to maintain, so those on flatter terrain might prefer a single chainring at the front.

The majority of touring bikes offer standard external gear systems – the chainset, chain and cassette we're all used to. Some do have internal gearing though, with an enclosed rear gearbox which requires a lot less maintenance and is less prone to damage but is heavier and will cost you more. Belt drives are also available – this is a multi-tooth belt instead of a chain, so no regular cleaning or lubrication is required. Hub gears like the Rohloff system are favoured by riders taking on huge worldwide tours for their durability. 

Should I look for rim brakes or disc brakes?

As with much of the cycling world, rim brakes and disc brakes are both available, with rim brakes found more often on lower-end bikes. Rim brakes feature two pads grabbing onto the wheel rims to stop the bike, while disc brakes grip onto a separate rotor on the wheels instead.

Disc brakes feature better and more consistent braking performance, which is useful for a heavily laden bike, and are better in wet weather, though. Both adjustment and maintenance are far easier with rim brakes, however, with an Allen key and some new pads all you really need.

Rim brakes will wear down your rim eventually, prompting a rim swap and wheel rebuild or a new wheel. Whereas that's not an issue with disc brakes, and there's more leeway to keep riding with a buckled disc brake wheel or a broken spoke.

Hydraulic disc brakes are generally maintenance-free in operation, however, if you snag your brake hose on a tree in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, there's little chance of repair unless you packed a bleed kit and spare hose. 

What should I look for in touring bike contact points?

Saddles are an important factor, being the main point of contact with your body. Padded saddles may look more comfortable but looks can be deceiving, with thinner padding usually better for you once you've gotten used to it after a few rides. Saddles should support your sit bones, and additional padding can move the pressure elsewhere and rub more, making things more uncomfortable over time.

If you're planning a long trip and already have a saddle that you like, it may be worth swapping out the saddle that comes with the bike, if you're not sure how comfortable it will be for the long haul.

On a multi-day trip, handlebars need to be comfortable as well. Some bars have a slight rearward sweep, which can feel more natural when riding on the tops. A shallow drop is likely to be more comfortable to use as well.

Which pedals should I choose?

It's worth choosing pedals wisely too. While the best road bike pedals give good power transfer, the best cycling shoes that work with them are difficult to walk in, which could be an issue if touring or even for a trip to the shops.

On the other hand, flat pedals may make it difficult to keep your feet well-positioned for longer rides. They will allow you to use standard shoes, which are easier to walk in, but unless the soles are relatively stiff, your pedalling will be less efficient and you may get foot ache after a long day riding without adequate support.

Gravel bike pedals are a good option, as they still let you clip in for more efficient riding, but the cleats are recessed on the sole of the shoes and so can be walked in much more easily. You'll need gravel shoes to go with them that accept two-bolt cleats. These will have soles designed for efficient pedalling and foot support, but most are not too stiff to walk in comfortably.

Alternatively, some of the best commuter cycling shoes also allow you to fit two-bolt cleats.

You can learn more about the pros and cons of two-bolt versus three-bolt pedals in our explainer.on Shimano SPD vs SPD-SL systems.

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Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages. 

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Really Big Bike Ride

Bicycle Touring Tips, Bike Life And Travel Advice From A Decade On The Road

The distilled wisdom of ten years of bike touring life, cycle touring tips and travel advice from hard-earned miles around the globe.

This article documents my bike touring tips from extensive bicycle travels around the world.

Whether you’re a veteran long-distance cyclist or a bicycle touring beginner , this blog post is here to provide you with invaluable bicycle touring tips, bike travel advice, and bicycle touring inspiration from a decade of bicycle trips.

From getting started as a cycle tourer to choosing the right gear. Overcoming fears and avoiding common mistakes, we’ve got you covered.

In particular, the bicycle touring tips we’ll cover include:

• Beginners Guide To Bicycle Touring
• Bike Set Up for Cycle Touring
• Unsolicited Bike Touring Advice
• Reasons To Go On A Bike Tour
• Who Goes Bicycle Touring
• Is Cycle Touring For You?

Bike Trips We’ve Tried and Loved

• Common Mistakes and Bikepacking Fails

What To Pack On A Bike Tour

• How To Travel With A Bicycle
• How To Budget For A Bike Trip
• Overcoming Fears (Just GO!)
• Inspirational Bicycle Touring Tips (Final Checklist)

But first things first – let’s dive into how to get started as a beginner in cycle touring.

Bicycle Touring Tips And Bike Touring Advice

Getting into cycle touring as a beginner.

Getting into cycle touring as a beginner can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. But fear not, because, with the right mindset and a few key tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a seasoned cycle tourer in no time!

Start by choosing the right bike for your adventure. Look for a sturdy, reliable bicycle that is comfortable to ride for long distances. Consider factors such as frame material, tire size, and gear options based on the terrain you plan to conquer.

I chose the Dawes Galaxy because we got a great deal from Spa Cycles . I chose steel because it’s tough yet flexible and easy to repair anywhere in the world with a basic fabricator. Also for our charity bike ride around Europe, we knew it would be the best type of touring bike.

Get fit on the bike

Next, it’s important to gradually build up your fitness level before tackling longer tours. Start with shorter rides close to home and gradually increase the distance over time.

This will not only help prepare your body but also allow you to test out different equipment and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

I commuted for years before I got near a heavy touring bike . I tested kit and found stuff I liked and got used to long hours in the saddle.

Remember, cycle touring is all about embracing the journey rather than reaching a specific destination. So take it slow, enjoy the scenery around you, and most importantly – have fun!

Our Bicycle Touring Tips For Bike Set Up

When it comes to bike touring, having the right set-up is essential for a smooth and enjoyable journey. Over our decade on the road, we’ve fine-tuned our bike set-up to meet our specific needs.

Our bikes are equipped with sturdy Tubus racks that allow us to carry all of our gear without compromising stability. We also use Ortlieb pannier bags that attach securely to these racks.

Front and rear panniers provide ample storage space for clothing, camping equipment, and other essentials.

Additionally, we have invested in comfortable bicycle touring saddles and double-wrapped bar tape to ensure long hours on the saddle don’t leave us sore or fatigued.

A well-thought-out bike set-up can make all the difference in your cycling adventure. So take the time to find what works best for you and your needs before hitting the open road!

About Cycle Tourers And Unsolicited Bike Touring Advice

Cycle tourers come in all shapes and sizes, from solo adventurers seeking solitude to couples sharing the journey. Some are experienced riders with years of bicycle touring under their belt. While others are newbies looking for a thrilling escape.

What unites them is their love for the open road and the freedom that comes with pedalling through picturesque landscapes.

You’ll meet bicycle tourists from all over the world. Each one with a unique story and reason for embarking on a two-wheeled adventure.

They share a common passion for exploration and a desire to experience life at a slower pace.

Bicycle Touring Tips From Around The World

Whether you’re cycling across continents or exploring your own backyard, being part of this vibrant community will open your eyes to new cultures, forge lifelong friendships, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Every bicycle touring tip you get is from a personal experience. In that context, my unsolicited bicycle touring advice is to make up your own mind.

Treat bike travel tips and cycle touring advice as a kind of recipe. Enjoy the useful, disregard the rest.

Reasons To Go On A Bike Tour?

Cycle touring offers a unique and exhilarating way to explore the world. Bicycle travel enables you to immerse yourself in nature, connect with local cultures, and experience a sense of freedom that is hard to find elsewhere.

One of the reasons why people choose to go on bike tours is for the feeling of adventure.

There’s something incredibly thrilling about embarking on a journey across vast landscapes, relying solely on your physical strength and determination. Plus, being able to cover long distances at your own pace allows you to truly appreciate the beauty of your surroundings.

Long-distance Bicycle Touring Is Fun

Another reason why bike touring is so appealing is its simplicity. With just your bicycle and some basic gear, you have everything you need for self-sufficient travel.

The minimalist ideals of bikepacking and bicycle touring make it easy to plan and organize your trip. Enabling you to focus on what really matters – enjoying the ride and connecting with both nature and yourself.

So if you’re looking for an unforgettable adventure then consider going on a bike tour. It’s an experience like no other!

Who Goes Cycle Touring?

Cycle touring is not limited to a specific group of people. It attracts adventurers of all ages and backgrounds, from solo travellers seeking self-discovery to couples looking for a unique bonding experience.

Young backpackers, retirees in search of new horizons, and even families with children are among those who embark on bike tours.

The beauty of cycle touring lies in its versatility. It appeals to both experienced cyclists and beginners who want to try something new.

With the right mindset and preparation, anyone can enjoy the freedom that comes with exploring the world on two wheels.

So whether you’re an adrenaline junkie or simply someone yearning for a slower pace of life, cycle touring welcomes you with open arms.

Is Cycle Touring for You?

Cycle touring is not for everyone, but it can be an incredible adventure for those who are up for the challenge. It requires a certain level of physical fitness and mental resilience. You’ll be spending long hours on the bike, pushing yourself to new limits.

If you enjoy being outdoors, exploring new places at your own pace, and immersing yourself in different cultures, then cycle touring might just be your thing.

Bikepacking and cycle touring offer a unique perspective of the world that you simply can’t get from any other mode of travel.

However, it’s important to consider factors like weather conditions, terrain difficulty, and personal comfort levels before embarking on a bike tour.

So if you’re willing to embrace uncertainty and step out of your comfort zone, then cycle touring could very well be the adventure of a lifetime!

Over the years, we have embarked on countless bike trips that have taken us to breathtaking destinations around the world.

From cycling through the rugged landscapes of the Pamir Mountains to pedalling along picturesque coastal roads in Morocco , each journey has left an indelible mark on our souls.

One particular trip that stands out is our adventure through the stunning countryside of Vietnam . The vibrant colours, bustling markets, and friendly locals made this a truly unforgettable experience.

Another favourite was our tour through Wainwright’s Coast to Coast , where we were captivated by rolling hills, ancient valleys, and mist-covered moors.

Why We Travel By Bike

These bike trips not only enabled us to explore new places but also provided a unique perspective on each destination. They allowed us to immerse ourselves in local culture and interact with people from all walks of life.

There’s nothing quite like feeling the wind against your face as you pedal along remote mountain trails or cycle past iconic landmarks

In short, these bike trips have brought us immense joy and fulfilment. They have taught us valuable lessons about resilience, adaptability, and embracing new experiences. It’s why we travel by bike !

If there’s one thing we can say for certain it’s this: if you’re looking for a thrilling way to discover the world while staying active and connected with nature – bicycle touring is worth considering!

Common Mistakes Bike Travelers Make

One common mistake that many bike travellers make is overpacking. It’s easy to get carried away and want to bring everything you think you might need. A heavy load can quickly become a burden on long rides.

I had to give away a laptop, a heavy-duty bike lock and 15 pairs of socks on my solo Hippe Trail by Bike trip. Instead, focus on packing the essentials and being prepared for different weather conditions.

Another mistake is not doing enough research about the route and terrain ahead of time. It’s important to have an idea of what kind of roads or trails you’ll be riding on.

A general understanding of any political unrest, armed conflicts, or national uprisings can inform your route planning. This will help you plan accordingly and avoid any unnecessary surprises during your journey.

By avoiding these common bikepacking mistakes , bike travellers can ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience on their tours.

So remember to pack light and do your homework before hitting the road!

What to pack on a bike tour can be a daunting task. This cycle touring and bikepacking kit list can ensure that you have everything you need without carrying unnecessary weight.

First and foremost, it’s important to have the essentials: spare inner tubes, a pump or CO2 inflator, tire levers, and basic tools for any potential repairs along the way.

Additionally, packing lightweight camping gear such as the best tent in the world or bivvy bag, a super lightweight sleeping bag , and cooking equipment is crucial for overnight stays.

Don’t forget to bring weather-appropriate clothing including rain gear and layers for varying temperatures.

Remember to prioritize items based on necessity rather than convenience to keep your load light and manageable throughout your journey.

What To Wear On A Bike Tour?

Cycle touring clothing.

When it comes to what to wear on a bike tour, comfort and functionality are key. Opt for moisture-wicking clothing that will keep you dry during long rides. Lightweight and breathable materials like merino wool or synthetic fabrics are ideal for regulating body temperature.

Layering is important, as weather conditions can change throughout the day. Start with a base layer that wicks away sweat, add a mid-layer for insulation, and top it off with a windproof and waterproof outer shell. Don’t forget to protect your extremities – invest in padded cycling shorts, gloves for grip and protection, sunglasses for eye protection from debris or UV rays, and sturdy cycling shoes with cleats for efficient pedalling.

Remember: pack light and practical!

Camping & Cooking Kit List

When embarking on a bike tour, having the right camping and cooking gear is essential. We’ve learned this through years of experience on the road.

Do you really need a stove and cookset?

While for ultra-long bicycle expeditions, a stove and camping cookset make for a useful companion, it may not be essential.

I barely used a stove on my solo multi-month bike trip. In Southeast Asia and India, it’s easy and preferable to eat at the side of the road. Dry foods, salami, nuts, seeds, fruits and jelly sweets are handy to carry as snacks.

However, in Central Asia, I used the stove at least daily to prepare an evening meal. Ingredients were hard to find but given the expansive distances from settlements, it was a bonus to have a hotel meal on the fly.

How To Fly With A Bicycle If You Have To

Ideally, you’ll leave from our front door fully loaded and ready to go. Cycle to a ferry port and you’ll access the next available landmass.

Alternatively, there are various options available. If you have to fly, a bike bag or box for air travel is handy. A cardboard box is best to protect your bike in transit. The see-through bags are liable to damage the bike in my experience. A new box can be found on the return leg.

Make sure all loose parts are removed or tightly secured. Remove the pedals, tuck the drop bars under the frame and remove the front wheel. Store the wheel next to the frame with a cable tie. Leave the bike in the lowest cog on the cassette. This leaves the derailleur compact for travel.

Don’t forget to pack essential tools and spare parts for any potential repairs that may arise during your journey.

Once abroad, it’s possible to put your bike on all kinds of transport. Huge trains in India, speedboats in Europe, and big trucks in Tajikistan.

How To Budget For A Bicycle Tour

When it comes to planning a bicycle tour, budgeting is an essential aspect that can greatly impact your experience. So how do you go about budgeting for a bike tour? Here are a couple of veteran bicycle touring tips to help you get started.

Consider your daily expenses such as accommodation, food, and transportation. Research the average costs in the countries or regions you’ll be visiting and factor them into your budget. Don’t forget to account for any visa fees or travel insurance costs as well.

In Asia, I travelled on $10 a day which at the time was about £6. Most of that was spent on food.

Think about one-time expenses like purchasing or renting gear and equipment. Determine what items are necessary for your trip and research their prices beforehand. It’s also worth considering any potential repairs or maintenance that may come up during the tour.

By carefully planning and estimating your expenses ahead of time, you can ensure that you have enough funds to fully enjoy your bicycle tour without breaking the bank.

Remember, every cyclist has different priorities when it comes to spending money on their journey – so find what works best for you!

Overcoming Fears: The Ultimate Bike Touring Advice

When embarking on a bicycle tour, it’s natural to have fears and doubts. Will I be able to handle the physical demands? What if something goes wrong?

But here’s the thing – fear is just an illusion that can hold you back from incredible experiences. Pushing through those fears is where growth happens.

Fear is just an illusion

One of our last thoughts before setting off on each tour is always gratitude for the opportunity to explore new places by bike.

It’s a reminder to savour every moment, even when faced with challenges or setbacks along the way. Embrace the unknown, push past your comfort zone, and trust in your abilities – you’ll come out stronger on the other side!

Inspirational Bicycle Touring Tips Before You Go

Bicycle touring is not just a hobby or a vacation; for some, it’s a way of life. It opens up new possibilities, pushes boundaries, and connects you with the world in ways that other forms of travel simply cannot match.

As we come to the end of this article, I hope that my experiences and bicycle touring tips have sparked your curiosity and ignited your wanderlust.

Here are some final words of bike travel advice to inspire and guide you on your cycle-touring adventures.

Bicycle Touring Tips Checklist

• Embrace the journey: The true beauty of bicycle touring lies in the unexpected moments, chance encounters, and serendipitous detours along the way. Be open to new experiences and embrace them wholeheartedly.
• Take it slow: Remember that cycle touring is not a race against time. It’s an opportunity to savour each moment at your own pace. Enjoy leisurely rides through picturesque landscapes, stop for coffee breaks in quaint villages, and take time to immerse yourself in local cultures.
• Connect with fellow cyclists: The cycling community is vast and supportive around the world. Whether online through cycle touring resources or on the road, reach out to other cyclists. Bike travel advice, camaraderie, or even potential travel companionship is possible.
• Stay flexible: Inevitably things won’t always go according to plan – weather conditions may change abruptly or unforeseen circumstances may arise – but adaptability is key when bicycle touring. Embrace these challenges as part of the adventure!
• Keep learning: There will always be more skills to acquire and knowledge to gain when it comes to bike travel – from basic maintenance skills like fixing a flat tire to navigating unfamiliar territories using maps or GPS devices .
• Take care of yourself: Remember self-care during long days in the saddle – stay hydrated, eat well-balanced meals, and give your body enough rest to prevent burnout and injury. Listen to your body and know when it’s time to take a break.
• Leave no trace: As responsible travellers, it’s important to leave the places we visit as we find them, if not better. Dispose of waste properly and respect local customs and cultures.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from our decade on the road, it’s that bicycle touring is as much about mindset as it is about physical stamina.

Cycle with a smile and the world will feed you noodles, get you drunk on xeo and offer you a bed for the night.

Magick happens on the road. Embrace it with an open heart and you’ll be grand.

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Best Touring Bikes in 2024 for Multi-Day Cycle Adventures

Bicycle touring is by far the best way to travel and experience the world on two wheels.

Touring bikes allows you to carry all of the necessities you need for a fulfilling life on the road.

Whether you go out of town on the weekends or looking for a comfortable bicycle for daily commutes to work – down here you’ll find a brief selection of different types of touring bikes.

• You may also like:   Best Bikepacking Bikes: the 14 Models We Recommend

Best Touring Bikes of 2024

1. yuba mundo lux .

Versatile cargo bike

MSRP: $2,499

•  26 x 2.15″ 
• 3×9-speed Shimano Altus 
• WTB SX-23 Rims

The steel-framed Yuba Mundo Lux is built in a cargo style that could be the perfect tourer as it is durable, comfortable, and capable of handling big loads. 

The drivetrain is a 3×9 speed Shimano Altus setup with an 11-36t cassette, and a Shimano Alivio 42x32x22t crankset. The bike has hydraulic disc brakes and huge 2.15″ Schwalbe Big Ben puncture-protection tires that provide grip and durability in all conditions.  

The Mundo Lux comes with an extra-long rear rack, fenders, LED lights, and a bell. Look no further when you want a bike that’s already got plenty of character for touring or everyday urban riding. 

Buy on REI.com

2. Surly Ghost Grappler 27

MSRP: $1,949

• Chromoly steel frame and fork
• MicroSHIFT Advent X 10-speed
• Tektro Mira MD-C400 mechanical disc brakes
• Teravail Ehline 27.5 x 2.5″

The Surly Ghost Grappler is a bicycle that could easily take you around the world (maybe even more than once) if you had the time to do it. With a touring bicycle like this, you can ride on any road and path that you come across and carve your own as well.

The Ghost Grappler gives you some incredible components for the money, so the price is well justified. You’ll get a typical gravel setup with stable geometry and a high-quality Chromoly steel frame.

You’ll be also a durable MicroSHIFT Advent X drivetrain with 10-speed gearing and Tektro mechanical disc brakes. Plenty to take on any gravel climb. In addition, you’ll have a TranzX YSP15 dropper for extra control on descents.

On downhills, control the amount of braking power you need with a set of mechanical disc brakes that stop the massive Teravail Ehline 2.5″ tires from rolling. 

Buy on JensonUSA.com

3. Ride1UP 700 Series

An electric touring & commuter bike

MSRP: $1,595

• Integrated rear rack
• 30-50mi range
• 750W rear hub
• 60Nm of torque

The 700-series by Ride1UP is not your typical touring bicycle as it is an e-bike. Depending on your purposed field of use, it can replace recreational cyclists’ needs to carry pannier bags comfortably and commute easily with a punch of electric assist which is available in both pedal-assist and throttle power.

Although this is not the bike to use for a trip around the world, it is definitely something to consider when it comes to shorter-distance travel. The reason why it is not as suitable for long-distance touring is the fork, which should be rigid, and a single-front chainring derailleur system.

Other than that, we’d love to see more mid-drive electric touring bikes available in the future. Sure, those bikes would cover a tight niché market, which might actually be quite unacceptable to the touring bike communities, but seeing someone cycling around the world with an e-bike would be something to look out for!

Buy from Ride1UP.com

4. Tommaso Sterrata

Best value touring road bike

MSRP: $1,025

• Alloy frame & carbon fiber fork
• Shimano Claris groupset
• Avid BB5 disc brakes
• 700x40c tires
• Weight: 25.4 lb

Tommaso is a company that is well-known for its valuable budget bicycles. They mainly specialize in road bikes, but with the gravel madness at its highest, Tommaso decided to give adventure cycling a try as well.

The result is one of the most beautiful and budget-conscious touring bicycles we have. Tommaso Sterrata is an aluminum travel bicycle with a carbon fork and 40 mm tires.

Italian Design And Top-Notch Engineering.  Tommaso Illimitate is one of the cheapest bicycles in this overview. Therefore, if the price is your only criterium, this is the obvious choice. However, it might be the obvious choice for some other reasons as well.

Obviously, thanks to the super-wide CST Tirent 40 mm tires, Tommaso Illimitate is capable of tackling all types of terrain. The Avid BB5 mechanical disc brakes help as well by providing lots of consistent braking power in all weather and road conditions.

The only setback  is the 11-32T cassette, which might be too small if you plan to ride in very hilly areas. However, the 2x crankset provides some balance by offering you a wider gear ratio.

Buy from TommasoCycling.com

5. Salsa Cutthroat

Salsa knows its way around bikepacking

MSRP: $3,599

Weighing in at 24 lbs, the Cutthroat GRX is Salsa’s vision of lightweight touring bikes. Equipped with Shimano GRX RX400 hydraulic disc brakes, Teravail Sparwood 29 x 2.2″ tires, and stable gravel bike geometry – there’s not too much to add or remove from the bike. It’s ready to roam out of the box.

Salsa Cycles know their way around materials and components, hence the reason the frame and fork are made of carbon. Carbon is the premium frame material, and there are multiple mounts for racks and/or water bottles.

When carrying a bunch of extra gear along, you really need to find the right gear and cadence to keep you motivated. Therefore Salsa has chosen an 11-speed Shimano GRX 600 drivetrain.

Shimano GRX 600 is a mid-range groupset suited for off-road cycling. The longevity of this setup is provided makes it perfect for bicycle touring. 

All-in-all, the Cutthroat is a great touring bike equipped with somewhat foolproof materials and components, making it a great deal to consider. These are components that you wouldn’t want to upgrade when getting a touring bike.

6. Marin – Nicasio+

MSRP: $1,179

Marin Nicasio is a brand-new bike coming off the production line of this California-based company. It’s among the more affordable models on this list, offering fantastic value for the money. If you can afford just one bike but you want to do both on-road and off-road traveling, then this Marin model is a safe choice.

Just like the previous bikes I’ve shown you in this review, it’s built around a lightweight and bump-absorbing steel frame . More precisely, it’s the Series 1 Double-Butted CrMo steel frame .

In terms of components, Marin Lombard 1 is very similar to other adventure bikes in this price range. However, it has some crucial differences that make it even more suitable for pulling lots of weight and covering great distances daily.

For example, it’s equipped with a 1×9 speed microSHIFT drivetrain that features a subcompact 42T crankset and an 11/46T cassette.

The microSHIFT groupset is a common sight on gravel bikes that cost around $900, so there are no big surprises there. It’s a reliable shifting system that’s easy and cheap to take care of.

This Marin also comes with Tektro Road Mechanical Disc brakes and Marin’s double-wall, tubeless compatible wheels that sport 650bx47mm WTB Horizon tires. They’re ideal for gravel rides, but they’re quite fast on tarmac and asphalt as well.

7. Rondo – Ruut ST1

MSRP: $2,999

Another mid-priced adventure bike with all the classical elements to expect from a decent touring / gravel bike. The Ruut ST1 by Rondo features a steel frame and carbon fork for best bump-absorption and front-end stiffness, mounts for fenders and racks, and a drop bar. There’s also the 1×11-speed SRAM Rival 1 drivetrain which is quite a decent choice at this price range.

Besides the numerous rack & fender mounts, the bike comes with 700x40c tires and Rival hydraulic disc brakes. The frame has clearance for 650bx2.1″ tires which is excellent for a touring bike.

Buy on Mikesbikes.com

8. ALL-CITY – Gorilla Monsoon Apex

MSRP: $2,599

The Gorilla Monsoon is an excellent-value touring/adventure bike. With an SRAM APEX 1×11 drivetrain, 612 select steel tubing Chromoly steel frame and fork, and Tektro MD-C550 mechanical disc brakes it has it all. The bike also has unique features like a TranzX dropper post and tubeless-ready rims and tires.

The wide WTB Riddler, 27.5×2.4” tires allow you to tackle almost any terrain you want and All-City packed the frame full of mounts to make this bike perfect for bicycle touring. 

9. NINER – RLT 2-Star 

Niner RLT 9 2-Star has an aluminum frame with an RDO carbon fork. Together, they keep the weight down and provide a responsive ride, which is great if your intention is to travel long distances.

Niner RLT 9 2-Star implores you to take it on an adventure over gravel and dirt road with every component fitted on it. The loudest of them is the SRAM Apex 1  groupset. This is SRAM’s gravel-specific groupset that’s built for the roughest of terrains. It’s incredibly reliable and shifts smoothly in dirt, dust, and sand.

This RLT 9 2-Star model also has a pair of Schwalbe G-One Allround TLE 40mm tires which offer tons of traction even when the bike is fully loaded. If you find yourself racing the dark to find a place to camp, you’ll be in good hands.

The brakes are also SRAM hydraulic discs, which means that they are optimized to provide the maximum amount of power and control in loose conditions, such as gravel or mud.

We’d recommend this bike to all travelers and adventurers out there who are looking for a foolproof bike touring choice to start their across-the-world travels.

10. PRIORITY – 600

Commuter / Touring bike with carbon belt drive

MSRP: $2,299

If you want to get a quality touring bicycle that comes with some handy accessories that you will find useful when you hit the road, you should check out Priority 600. This bike comes equipped with front and rear fenders as well as front and rear lights powered by a front dynamo hub.

Its frame and fork are made of lightweight aluminum which is the favorite material in the bicycle touring the world. It’s incredibly strong and unbelievably light. The fork is rigid and the whole bike is bejeweled with a plethora of eyelets to fit all of your accessories.

The next reason why this is a great bike touring choice is the drivetrain and the components. Namely, Priority 600 comes with a sealed Pinion gearbox and a carbon belt, which don’t require any maintenance.

Pinion simplifies shifting quite a bit. The tires are WTB Horizon 650B, tubeless-ready, so you don’t need to worry about punctures. Therefore, if you’re planning to combine both off and on-road routes on your adventure, this is a great choice.

Braking is done with Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, which are easy to adjust and maintain wherever you are. They offer excellent performance as well.

The conclusion is that you can’t go wrong with the Priority 600, no matter what kind of adventure you have in mind, as it’s a pretty much do-it-all companion.

Buy from PriorityBicycles.com

11. SALSA – Mukluk

MSRP: $4,199

• Lightweight carbon frame
• 26″x4.6″ tires
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• Shimano XT/SLX 12-speed drivetrain

The Mukluk adventure bicycle is optimized for long off-road rides on gravel and dirt roads that you would choose if you wanted to see the backcountry or the bush. All of the features listed above come together in this Salsa bike to create a bicycle that can navigate gravel roads, cobstones, and even mild singletracks.

This version of Salsa Mukluk comes with a premium Shimano XT/SLX drivetrain with a 10-51t cassette. That’s a very decent range that will allow you to actually ride your bike most of the time instead of pushing it.

The tires are massive compared to other adventure bikes 4.6″ wide. Coupled with 26″ wheels, they’ll ensure comfort and grip at all times. They’re tubeless-ready as well, so you can say goodbye to punctures. Finally, this bike comes with SRAM G2 RS hydraulic disc brakes which provide swift stopping power.

Buy on GravityCoalition.com

12. Surly – Bridge Club 

MSRP: $1,499

• Shimano Deore M5100 11-speed
• Surly Extraterrestrial 700x41mm
• Steel frame & fork
• Tektro HD-M275 hydraulic disc brakes

One of the most-coveted touring bikes online is the Surly Bridge Club. This model is obviously equipped with all the essentials for a long-distance bikepacking tour .

The quality of components is quite good for this price range so expect it to perform according to the stats. These include a Shimano Deore drivetrain, Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, Surly Extraterrestrial 41mm tires, and WTB ST i21 tubeless-ready rims.

The Chromoly steel used one this bike is extremely tough and comfortable to ride. As a bikepacking bike, the Bridge Club is loaded with mounts for racks, panniers, frame bags, or all of the above. This bike is great for recreational cyclists who want the best bang for their buck so don’t hesitate to look it up. 

Buy from Gravity Coalition

How to Choose a Touring Bike?

What is a touring bike.

Touring bicycle is essentially designed to accommodate multiple racks for pannier bags and water bottles. Travel longer distances, usually overnight, is a place where a touring bike thrives. They are different from bikepacking bikes in the way the gear is carried on the frame.

Must-have components

• 650b or 700c wheels
• Multiple eyelets for racks, panniers, and water bottles
• Drop-bar handlebar
• Relaxed fit
• Rigid frame
• Generally made of either aluminum or steel
• 2x or 3x front chainring for a wide variety of gears
• Mechanical disc brakes for easy maintenance on the road

With a bike that checks all of the boxes above, you can easily go on a serious cycling expedition, such as the Cairo to Cape Town cycle route , without giving it any second thoughts.

Commuter / Hybrid / Gravel – Which is best for touring?

Apparently, many cyclists confuse these three different types of bicycles because they have some things in common. Touring bikes are bicycles with a rigid fork and plenty of mounts to add the gear on, while:

The commuter bike is widely known as a bicycle that’s used for, yes you guessed it – for commuting. Other times are known as everyday around-town bikes.

Gravel vs. Cyclocross vs. Touring Bikes — Differences Explained

Hybrid bikes on the other hand are bicycles that are a mixture of two worlds – most of the time a mixture between a road and a mountain bike while they are equipped with front suspension and lack the comfort for all-day cycling trips.

Gravel bikes are often related to touring bikes due to their wide range of use, geometry, and build quality. Although a classic gravel bike features more performance-based geometry, components, and set-ups (with 1x chainring, etc)

What are the key features a touring bike should have?

Bicycles that are used to cycle around with all share pretty much the same characteristics. Most of the time, you see those bikes use 650b wheels (27.5″), while there are the occasional 26″ wheels still around.

The frames are made of either aluminum or steel for extended durability, and as a rule of thumb with a rigid fork and a 1x front chainring means lesser maintenance while limited gearing, especially when riding around with excessive baggage.

Is a carbon fork good for touring bikes?

When talking about forks, which take the first beating in most cases, there are three options to choose from. Check out the pros and cons for each material:

• Steel – Cheap, durable, good vibration qualities. Very common as steel forks on touring bikes can accommodate various accessories on the bike.

Beginner Tips for Handling a Carbon Fiber Bike

• Aluminum – Affordable, durable with plenty of eyelets to add racks and water bottles on the fork.
• Carbon forks are common for most road bikes at the sub-thousand-dollar mark, and nowadays some touring/commuter bikes come equipped with carbon forks as well. The reason why most carbon forks don’t have eyelets is that any direct vibration reduces against the fork reduces.

Touring Bike Wheels And Tires

26″ x 650b vs 700c

• 26″ = Commonly used tires that are easily found all around the world.
• 650b (27.5″) Wide and sturdy, great size for gravel & touring bikes. Allows getting the pressure low for harder passes.
• 700c = Best for fast commutes on paved roads

The most popular choice of wheels for touring bicycles are 26″. The reason is that they are stable, comfortable, and easy to find even in the least developed countries in the world. On 26″ inch wheels – instead of 32 spokes, touring bike wheels usually have 36 spokes which make them sturdier.

650b wheels are better for off-roading, while 700c boasts better speed on paved roads. You can fit chunkier tires on a 650b wheel for better, while the selection for 700c is not as wide.

Chain vs belt drivetrain

Touring means going out in the wild elements of nature for extended periods of time, so be prepared to keep the bike up to its best performance. In recent years, we’ve seen many globetrotters use a carbon belt drive instead of the classical sprocket & chain derailleur system.

A Guide to Belt Drive Bicycles – The Advantages and Disadvantages 

As belt drives don’t need any lubrication and have a life expectancy of up to 19,000 miles / 30,000km, it is quite logical to think of it as a perfect alternative.

What components should a touring bike have?

When it comes to the components on touring bicycles, less is always more. You should be looking for simplicity. The reason is that simple components are much easier to repair on the fly if something breaks down while you’re in the middle of nowhere. Still, you should be aiming for quality Shimano and SRAM parts that won’t give in that easily after thousands of miles of abuse.

What bike accessories do you need for touring?

Finally, a touring bicycle is of little use without its accessories. The indispensable ones include racks, water bottle cages, and bike bags. Some travelers also like having a dynamo which allows them to charge their batteries while riding and power bike lights.

How much do touring bikes weigh?

The weight does not play such a significant role when it comes to touring bicycles.

That’s why they are made from heavier materials such as steel and aluminum. Why spend thousands of dollars on lowering the weight of your bike by 500g when you’re going to undo that by carrying a gas canister. When you’re tugging 20-40 lbs of weight with you, a few pounds of weight up or down does not make a big difference.

What’s the difference between men’s and women’s touring bikes?

Although we haven’t listed any specific women’s touring bikes in this list, you can check out our Best Hybrid Bikes for Women to get a broader view of what to expect.

Important Factors to Consider

Touring Bike Frame

The most popular frame materials for touring bicycles are steel and aluminum. Steel is the strongest and the most comfortable material out there. Moreover, it is the easiest to repair in case of any problems. On the other hand, aluminum is not as strong and not as easy to repair, but it is significantly lighter.

Touring frames have longer chainstays and longer wheelbases. This makes them more stable and allows riders to fit them with bike bags and other accessories. They come with numerous eyelets that let you attach racks, bike bottles, and other equipment.

Even though touring bicycles look more like road bikes, they borrow gearing from mountain bikes. They often feature MTB groupsets and gear ranges which makes it easier for riders to climb steep hills under heavy loads. The most popular are 2x and 3x systems with 11-32T cassettes and higher.

Although, it’s been proved that the 1×12 gearing is among the most optimized options for longevity, price, and gearing.

However, you’ll see many belt-drive bicycles coming to the scene due to their internal gearing, and 19,000-mile belt life expectancy!

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About the Author

Sam Millers

5 thoughts on “ best touring bikes in 2024 for multi-day cycle adventures ”.

Starting my research for a bike to do several multi-hundred mile rail to trail vacations

Good luck and have fun! I think this selection is a good place to start.

I did not see one bike that looked like it could handle riggers of touring, 40soke hubs/front rack with mounts, any idiot that tours with too much weight on the front wheels are asking for trouble front rack is a great area for bag lower packs book stove and fuel handle n=bar bag passport/ money and maps and music easily detached/ backpacks clothing tent/ pad/ food for 7days ( big issue water) make sure that everything comes off easy /Been robbed a few times in three different countries/lighting and roll-up solar panel/ something that can be used while riding on the back rack / You would be amazed at what you can get by with less is always better/ cloth hanging on the bike to dry works. and that beer at night sure hits the spot. I use to live on a bike / for months at a time.

What would u recommend for extended touring then? I don’t know

Again many thanks. You have certainly given me much to consider. However, the Tektro CR720 are themselves cantilever brakes too. So I wonder why you have suggested these as a possible alternative to my present Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes on my Ridgeback? They look very similar. I do appreciate your comments on this subject

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13 Best Touring Bikes For Worldwide Travel 2024

Looking for top-tier traditional touring bikes? You’re in the right place. As the cycling industry evolves, particularly in the gravel and bikepacking realms, the landscape of adventure cycling has changed dramatically. Yet, traditional touring bikes, once the go-to for adventure, remain as relevant as ever for fully loaded, long-distance journeys.

What Are The Best Touring Bikes – Our Recommendations

Panorama forillon, koga worldtraveller.

• Tout Terrain Silkroad

Bombtrack Arise Tour

• Falken Jagd Hoplit +

Surly Disc Trucker

Decathlon riverside touring 900, vivente gibb, salsa marrakesh, genesis tour de fer, co-op cycles adv 1.1.

While gravel bikes gain popularity for their versatility, traditional touring bikes continue to be the definitive choice for extensive touring on paved roads and beyond, including off-road expeditions. Today’s variety of touring bikes, catering to a wide spectrum of adventures and terrains, can seem daunting.

This article aims to simplify your decision-making process by focusing on the type of adventures you’re planning. We’ve curated a diverse collection of modern, capable touring bikes suitable for everything from month-long trips to lightweight, credit card-style touring. Here, you’ll find a touring bike for every cyclist, regardless of your preferred style or destination.

Kona Sutra SE

(A Classic All-Road Touring Bike with Modern Touches)

Price: $2,199 USD (about $3,446 AUD)

Bomb proof, rock solid, smooth and comfortable ride. with traditional touring bike components; Brooks Saddle, bar-end shifters and Deore groupset

Weight :  14kg (30.86 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – Kona Cromoly Butted . Fork –  Kona Project Two Cromoly Disc Touring

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore, 26/36/48t crank and Shimano Deore 11-36t 10spd cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.90″ to 120.50″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.56 chainstay 445mm – wheelbase 1,073mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 71mm – Fork offset/rake 50mm. Bottom bracket drop 72mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700c x 40mm With a max tire clearance 29×2.3″ (Check clearance with racks)

• Many mounting options
• Comfy, smooth and rock solid bike
• Clearance for 29×2.3″ tires
• Able to ride MTB sections
• Traditional bar-end shifters
• Rides well loaded or light
• A little sluggish when you need that extra speed for endurance bikepacking events
• Breaks have been known to freeze during winter
• Derailleur hanger is known to break slightly easier then others
• Have had issues with paint quality overtime

The Kona Sutra, my personal bike of choice, embodies the essence of a traditional touring bike while incorporating a 1x gravel drivetrain, a unique twist on the classic design. While the SE model maintains the frame of the Sutra LTD but stands out with its more versatile gear range. An especially notable feature is the stock Brooks saddle, a hallmark of comfort and quality.

On my own Kona Sutra LTD, I’ve managed to fit tires as large as 29×2.3″ without fenders, suggesting the potential for even broader options beyond the standard 700x40c Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires that it usually sports.

The detailed specifications below are tailored to the touring bike variant of the Kona Sutra. However, if you’re intrigued by the prospect of a build more suited to off-road adventures, I highly recommend reading our review of the Kona Sutra LTD .

This bike is astonishingly versatile. I frequently use mine on challenging mountain bike trails , and it’s proven its worth time and again, effortlessly handling jumps and rugged terrain. Its performance as a commuter is equally impressive, proving itself capable of handling a diverse range of conditions.

In comparison to its peers, like the Trek 520 and Surly LHT, the Kona Sutra boasts superior specifications on paper. It features a full Deore groupset and includes bar-end shifters, which add a touch of traditional touring aesthetic.

A bombproof, fun machine that can take you anywhere. Offering a smooth and comfortable ride, it stands out as a rock-solid choice for both enthusiasts and serious cyclists alike.

(A true Swiss Army knife for on-the-go travel bike)

Price: $2,399 CAD (about $2,747 AUD)

Weight :  13.15 kg (29 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – REYNOLDS 525  Steel Fork –  CUSTOM CR-MO 4130 Steel

Groupset & Drivetrain :  2×11 microSHIFT XLE, FSA – FSA OMEGA 2X MEGAEXO, 46/30T crank and MICROSHIFT XLE 11-42T cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.85″ to 111.81″ (0.71 to 4.18 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.55 chainstay 455mm – wheelbase 1,050mm – (steering) headtube angle 71.8 deg – trail 67mm – Fork offset/rake 50mm. Bottom bracket drop 76mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700c x 44mm With a max tire clearance 700c x 50

The Forillon by Panorama Cycles is a steel all-road touring bike that combines a mid-component range with a budget-friendly price, making it an ideal choice for adventurers looking to explore the world. This bike is designed for efficient riding across various road types and maintains stability and ease of handling even when fully loaded with luggage.

At its core, the Forillon is a testament to strength and reliability, a theme that is evident in its choice of components. It features 36 spoke double-walled rims with reinforced eyelets, paired with robust 700x50mm tires, ensuring durability and stability on diverse terrains. The frame and fork of the Forillon are constructed from high-quality materials, including Reynolds 525 steel tubeset and 4130 steel, known for their resilience and long-lasting performance.

The Forillon stands out with its integrated kickstand plate and a plethora of mounting options, which include front and rear racks, fenders, and triple cage mounts on the fork and under the downtube. These features make it an excellent choice for riders who require a bike that can carry substantial gear on extended tours.

Other noteworthy aspects of the Forillon include its low bottom bracket, long chainstays, and a 2×11 drivetrain, all contributing to a comfortable and stable ride.

The bike also boasts mechanical BB7 brakes and bar-end shifters as part of its well-rounded build kit. Additionally, the frame and fork are treated with an anti-corrosion internal ED coating, enhancing the bike’s durability.

The Forillon is not just about functionality; it also has an aesthetic appeal. The frame graphics, inspired by topographic maps and created by Vancouver-based artists Pellvetica, add a unique touch to the bike’s design.

Offered in three sizes and weighing 29 pounds for the medium build, the Forillon is available at a retail price of $2,149 CAD (approximately $1,675 USD) through PanoramaCycles.com. This bike is a reliable, versatile, and stylish choice for those looking to embark on long-distance, all-road touring adventures around the globe.

(The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike)

Price: Approx $6,000

Weight :  17.5 kg (38.6 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Aluminium Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore XT groupset or Rohloff drive belt

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.57 chainstay 477 mm – wheelbase 1,170 mm – (steering) headtube angle 69.5 deg – trail 82.4 mm – Fork offset/rake 50 mm. Bottom bracket drop 60 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : Possibility to mount tires up to 72mm wide

• Can be packed up to 120 kg
• Super stiff for touring
• Built for durability & serviceability
• Includes mini-kick stand on the front rack and other accessories
• Life time warranty on the frame
• More standard touring equipment then most bikes
• Top of the line components
• Dynamo hub and lighting system as standard.
• Not the lightest touring bike on the block
• Quite expensive then most

The KOGA Worldtraveller series, recognized for its robust and versatile trekking bikes, is an ideal choice for all kinds of cycling trips. These bikes are designed to comfortably carry all your essentials, whether you’re gliding over smooth asphalt or tackling rugged gravel roads.

A notable aspect of the series is its unique alloy build. Despite the current popularity of steel touring bikes, the alloy construction of the Worldtraveller provides a solid and reliable alternative.

This bike remains stable and performs smoothly under a touring load, even when outfitted with sensible width tires. This combination of strength and smooth ride quality sets the Worldtraveller apart in the realm of long-distance touring bikes.

The series has been recently updated, with the new WorldTraveller model featuring a total load capacity of 180 kg. It can accommodate tires up to 72mm wide, enhancing its suitability for various terrains. The integrated rear carrier and new frame design contribute to improved rigidity and cycling performance.

For those interested in an electric version, the E-WorldTraveller includes the Bosch Smart System and a 750Wh battery. Customization is a key feature of the range, offered through the KOGA Signature programme.

The Worldtraveller range comprises several models:

• The standard WorldTraveller, a versatile trekking bike with numerous attachment points for luggage.
• The E-WorldTraveller, an electric variant with a Bosch motor and 750Wh battery.
• The E-WorldTraveller Suspension model, featuring a suspension fork with 100mm travel.
• The Worldtraveller Classic, a proven model known for its reliability.
• The Worldtraveller-S, offering choices in front forks, groupsets, and drive belts.

KOGA also offers extensive customization options through their Signature programme, allowing riders to tailor their bike to their preferences. Test rides are available to prospective buyers, showcasing the bike’s capabilities.

Tout Terrain Silkroad II 275

(A Steel Expedition Dream!)

Price: From €5,349 / $5,835 USD or $8,711 AUD

Weight :  From 14 kg (30.09 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Rohloff drive belt

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.52 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,081 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 73 mm – Fork offset/rake 47 mm. Bottom bracket drop 60 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  27.5″x2.0″ / With a max tire clearance 26″ x 2.0″ (50mm) with mudguard, 27.5″ x 2.0″ (50mm) with mudguard, 700C x 42 mm with mudguard

• Steel frame and oversized tubing create a robust structure
• Suitable for various terrains and heavy loads
• Standard with Rohloff hub or belt drive
• Customisable
• High-end components and features contribute to a higher price point
• Limited tire clearance
• Limited availability in certain regions

The Tout Terrain Silkroad is a high-end touring bike designed by the German company Tout Terrain. Known for their specialization in steel bikes for about 15 years, Tout Terrain’s Silkroad incorporates several innovative features and is built for durability and versatility.

The bike’s frame is made from steel tubes manufactured and welded in Taiwan, chosen for their ability to be easily repaired and modified. The Silkroad frames are among the first to pass rigorous safety testing, supporting a combined weight of rider, bike, and luggage up to 180kg/400lb. The bike uses oversized, thick-wall tubing to build a strong structure, which is beneficial for carrying front and rear luggage.

Key features include a steering limiter to prevent cable damage, an integrated steering lock to stabilize the bike when parked, and the option for either double-legged or rear-mounted kickstands. The Silkroad also boasts an integrated stainless steel rear rack designed to be indestructible and compatible with both regular panniers and the specially designed QL3 system panniers.

For power and lighting, the Silkroad uses 12mm thru-axles front and rear for maximum stiffness and alignment, and incorporates SL dynamo wiring in the fork for powering lights and USB chargers. The lighting system features Schmidt lights and a dynamo hub, and a Cinq Plug5 Plus USB charger integrated into the steerer tube.

The bike is equipped with a 14-speed Rohloff hub for the drive system, known for its reliability and efficiency, especially in challenging conditions. It also features a belt drive, preferred for its low maintenance requirements. Hydraulic disc brakes provide reliable stopping power, and the bike allows for the use of up to 203mm rotors.

The Silkroad offers different wheel size options, with 27.5″ being recommended due to the availability of high-quality tires. The bike is also fitted with Tout Terrain’s in-house “Black Label” components and a Selle Royal saddle from the Scientia range.

(Classic Touring Bike Aesthetics)

Price: $1,499 USD / $2,240 AUD (Estimates)

Weight :  14.7 kg (32.4 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – 4130 double butted CrMo, heat-treated front triangle, TA sliding dropouts, rack/fender mounts . Fork –  4130 CrMo, TA, rack/fender mounts, internal hub dynamo cable routing

Groupset & Drivetrain :  BOMBTRACK AMES forged aluminium crank and MICROSHIFT CS-H103 10-speed, 11 – 42T cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.62″ to 115.53″ (0.71 to 4.18 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio 1.51 – chainstay 435mm – wheelbase 1,045 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 68mm – Fork offset/rake 55mm. Bottom bracket drop 70mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : With a max tire clearance of 700C x 40C / 700C x 35C with fender

• Includes dynamo, quality Tubus racks, and lighting for an affortable price
• Microshift bar-end shifters give you the seamless and classic touring bike feel and look
• Affortable price tag
• Only has 32 spokes on wheels
• The mudguards are know for being low quality and breaking
• The frame length is a little short, for that extra stability when under a load, shorter then most touring bikes.

Offering a blend of traditional touring design and modern components, all wrapped in an eye-catching metallic green color that is sure to turn heads.

At its core, the Arise Tour features a double-butted steel frameset known for its adaptability and resilience. Enhancing its touring capabilities are the Tubus touring racks and aluminum fenders, designed to handle all your storage needs while protecting you from the elements. Illumination for those early starts or late finishes is provided by a full lighting system from KT and Supernova, ensuring safety and visibility in all conditions.

The bike’s transmission system is built for reliability over long distances. It features Microshift’s ultra-reliable bar end shifters and a 10-speed clutch mechanism. The wide-range 11 – 42T cassette and a subcompact 46 / 30 chainset make for a versatile and efficient setup, ideal for tackling various terrains with ease.

When it comes to braking, the Arise Tour relies on TRP Spyre C mechanical calipers, coupled with a 180 mm rotor upfront. This setup offers controlled and effective braking, particularly important on those thrilling long descents.

Every component on the Arise Tour has been meticulously selected for its proven reliability and durability. The goal is to let you focus on the joy of riding, rather than worrying about bike maintenance.

FalkenJagd Hoplit +

(Pinion Titanium Touring Bike)

Price: €6,798 / $7,415 USD / $11,000 AUD

Weight :  17 kg (37.5 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Titanium Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Belt Drive

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  WTB Trail Boss 27.5 x 2.35″ / Clearance for 650b x 3″ or 29er x 2.6″

• High quality components made of titanium and almost everything on the bike is tianium not just frame and fork
• Copes well on all surfaces
• Ultimate touring bike build!
• Very expensive

The Falkenjagd Hoplit PI Plus is a standout travel and expedition bike, designed for those who seek durability and reliability on long bike trips. Named after the elite warriors of antiquity, this bike lives up to its name with its robust build and high-quality components.

At the heart of the Hoplit PI Plus is its titanium frame, known for being extremely stable, scratch, and corrosion-resistant. The frame design, featuring a longer head tube and a slightly shorter top tube, facilitates a more upright sitting position, optimal for touring.

A key aspect of its design is the lower bottom bracket, which, by lowering the center of gravity, especially when carrying luggage, results in improved stability.

The bike’s rear triangle is notably sturdy, with chainstays designed for increased tire clearance and comfort. The rear dropouts are a technological marvel, allowing for longitudinally adjustable quick-release axles to optimize belt tension, and incorporating an integrated stand holder and a strap lock.

The Hoplit PI Plus is equipped with the Pinion P1.18 gear hub and a low-maintenance Gates CDX toothed belt, ensuring a smooth and reliable ride. It can accommodate either 28 or 27.5-inch wheels, offering flexibility depending on the rider’s preference for smooth running or damping.

This bike is an all-terrain champion, providing maximum comfort even under high payloads, thanks to its wide tires. It stands out for its high-quality titanium components, including the frame, fork, spacers, stem, handlebars, seatpost, luggage rack, and bottle cage.

Other features include a SON hub dynamo and lighting, a comfortable Brooks Cambium C17 saddle, Falkenjagd Titan Axios racks, Pitlock thru axles with theft protection, Magura MT7 4-piston disc brakes, and SKS Bluemels B65 mudguards.

The Hoplit PI Plus version extends its capabilities with its ability to take tire widths up to 3.0 inches (650B) and 2.6″ (29″). It boasts specially adapted chainstays and rear dropouts, which are adjustable in length for optimal belt tension. The bike’s design also ensures neatly laid cable pulls and flat mudguard and light mounts for a secure and aesthetic finish.

Trek 520 Disc

(The Longest-Running Touring Bike On The Market)

Price: $1,829.99 USD

Weight :  14.2 kg (31.31 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Steel frame / Alloy fork – Trek butted chromoly disc touring, 135×5 mm QR, Tire Clearance: 2″, Color: Diablo Red and Alloy disc touring fork, rack mounts, 100×5 mm ThruSkew.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Alivio with 48/36/26T crankset and 9-speed 11-36T cassette.

Gear Ratios Inches :  19.79″ to 119.81″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.49 chainstay 450mm – wheelbase 1,048mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 65mm – Fork offset/rake 52mm. Bottom bracket drop 70mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700x38c / With a max tire clearance 29 x 2″

• One of the most budget friendly options in the list
• Steel frame is rock solid and feels great
• Perfectly comfortable touring bike
• Long chainstays and a slack head-tube angle offer a stable, comfortable, semi-upright riding position, suitable for both touring and commuting.
• Trek’s history of producing the 520 model since 1983 adds to the trust in the brand and model.
• Frame is however a little on the heavier side
• Stock pedals suck (order replacements if you consider this bike)

The Trek 520 stands as a testament to durability and adventure in Trek’s lineup, holding the title of their longest-running model. This true touring bike is designed for those who yearn for long journeys, offering a perfect blend of stability and comfort through its touring-specific geometry.

With a sturdy steel frame paired with an aluminum fork, the Trek 520 balances strength with practicality, weighing in at a manageable 31.4 lbs / 14.2 kg. It’s equipped with both front and rear racks, ready to handle all the gear you might need for your adventures, making it an ideal choice for the avid tourer.

Renowned for its solid build and reliable performance, the Trek 520 has been field-tested and established as an industry standard. It’s a bike that’s not just ready for your next touring adventure but is also built to last, promising at least a decade of enjoyable riding experiences.

However, it’s important to note that this bike demands regular maintenance to remain in peak condition, particularly in keeping the drivetrain clean to avoid gear hopping. But this small trade-off is worth the exceptional experience it offers, especially considering its versatile gearing range that makes conquering hills feel effortless.

For those looking for even more versatility, the 520 Grand is also an option to consider. Excelling in bikepacking, trail riding, and handling a mix of gravel and pavement, it expands the horizons of where the Trek 520 can take you.

(A staple dirt tourer, just like its predecessor Long Haul Trucker)

Price: $ 1,749 USD or $2,600 AUD

Weight :  15.2 kg (33.5 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – Surly Long Haul Trucker, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel. Fork –  Surly Long Haul Trucker, 4130 CroMoly, lugged and brazed

Groupset & Drivetrain :  3 x 9 Alivio, Sora drivetrain. Shimano Alivio 48x36x26t crankset and Shimano Alivio, 11-34t, 9 speed cassette.

Gear Ratios :  19.42″ to 111.40″ (0.76 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach 1.58 ratio – chainstay 450mm – wheelbase 1,076mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 57mm – Fork offset/rake 45mm. Bottom bracket drop 50mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : 26″ x 46mm With a max tire clearance for 26” x 2.1” tires with or without fenders, or 700c x 47mm with or without fenders

• The steel frame is robust
• 20-30mm taller frames and a 30mm taller handlebar, offer a more comfortable riding position.
• 10 frame sizes, catering to a wide range of rider heights
• Has the heritage of the LHT
• Toe overlap issues
• Not ideal for singletrack or technical trails due to its long wheelbase and less agile handling. (If you want to go off-road)
• No longer has the Shimano 3X10 bar-end shifters
• Smaller frame sizes have an increased standover
• The reduced chainstay length effects its capability as a touring bike
• It now has 32 spokes instead of 36
• No kickstand frame mounts
• A downgrade in drivetrain to Shimano Alivio from the previous Shimano XT
• The price has also increased

The Surly Disc Trucker, known for its reliability and no-nonsense approach, is a drop-bar steel touring bike. A staple among touring enthusiasts, this bike is recognized for its ability to handle long, loaded rides comfortably, though it doesn’t necessarily stand out in terms of its specifications.

Having personally ridden the Long Haul Trucker for thousands of kilometers, I can attest to its suitability as an excellent introduction to bicycle touring.

The 2021 model of the Disc Trucker however, sees some significant updates, including a taller frame and handlebar, additional tyre clearance, user-friendly STI shifters, and more mounting points, along with internal fork dynamo wiring and TRP Spyre brakes.

However, it loses some features like the Shimano 3X10 gearing and bar-end shifters. The Disc Trucker is well-suited for road travel and light off-road conditions but may not be the best choice for more technical or agile riding needs.

(Best Value for Money Touring Bike You Can Buy!)

Price: £1,299.99 / $1,650 USD or $2,463 AUD

Weight :  17.1 kg or 37.7 lbs

Frame/Fork Material : triple-butted aluminium

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano XT Trekking groupset – 26-36-48 triple chainring – (11-36) cassette

Gear Ratios :  18″ to 80″ (0.64 to 2.91 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.47 chainstay 458 mm – wheelbase 1,096mm – (steering) headtube angle 71.5 deg – Bottom bracket drop 54 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  28 x 1.75″ tires / With a max tire clearance up to 29 x 2.4” (estimated)

• Can carry up to 170 kg
• 33 mounting points for various accessories and luggage
• Equipped with Shimano Deore XT and a Brooks B17 saddle (High quality components.)
• Integrated Dynamo Hub
• Lifetime Warranty on frame, suspension, stem, handlebars, and rack.
• Insane value – priced competitively with comprehensive features.
• Heavier at 17kg, which may affect maneuverability and speed.
• Basic Pedals and Grips may need upgrading
• USB charger effective only at higher speeds
• Potential issues with exposed wiring for lights
• Despite having a mount, a kickstand is not included
• Steering lock mechanism to prevent over-rotation may take getting used to

The Riverside Touring 900, by Decathlon, is a highly robust and versatile touring bicycle ideal for multi-day trips, commuting, and carrying heavy loads. A bombproof touring bike, along with the bikepacking friendly Touring 920. These bikes are ready for adventure and for unbeatable value. 

The 900’s key features include a strong and comfortable frame capable of carrying up to 170kg, internal cable routing, 33 mounting points for customization, and reliable Shimano Deore XT components. The bike is equipped with a Brooks B17 Imperial saddle, known for its comfort and durability, and TRP Spyke dual-piston mechanical disc brakes for reliable stopping power.

It also features a USB cycle-to-charge socket integrated into the stem for charging devices on the go, and robust aluminum mudguards. Before embarking on a major trip, it’s advisable to test the bike’s charger to ensure it meets your requirements. Consider whether you’ll need an extra power bank, as the charger requires extensive cycling to power your devices effectively. While it functions, its capacity is just sufficient for navigation purposes with the screen active.

However, it has a heavier frame at around 17kg. But if you don’t tour for speed that little extra weight shouldn’t bother you. And it comes with basic pedals and grips that might need upgrading for better comfort. But for the amount of touring bike you get you can’t beat it for value!

(Legendary Australian Touring / Expedition Bike)

Price: $6,600.00 AUD or $4,420 USD

Weight :  16.8kg (Estimated)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Double butted Cr-Mo touring frame and 1-1/8″ full Cr-Mo, threadless, mudguard, lowrider and electric cable mounts, through axle, steering stabiliser hook.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Andel crankset – BCD 130mm, 5 arm, 165/170/175mm, with FSA QR-1 self-extracting crank bolts. With Rohloff speedhub 500/14, 36H, CC DB, black, external transfer box, OEM axle plate, quick release

Gear Ratios :  extra low gear ratios down to 15.9″ to 83.6″ with options in between or traditional 20.0″ to 105.2″

Geometry (M) : Chainstay 464 mm – wheelbase 1,087mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 67 mm – Bottom bracket drop 75 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes:  Options for: 700C×40 (for road), 27.5 × 2.00 (for tracks), 27.5 × 2.80″ (all-rounders).

• Designed for minimal upkeep, ideal for long tours.
• Made from 4130 chromoly steel, offering stiffness and resilience, especially suitable for touring
• Superior mudguards, ergonomic handlebars, and intelligent dynamo light.
• Integrated rack and rear disc caliper, reducing the need for spacers and long bolts
• Comprehensive Tool and Spare Kit: Enhances self-sufficiency on long trips.
• One of the heavier touring bikes in this list
• Not the most beginner friendly bike – The comprehensive nature of the bike might be overwhelming for new cyclists.

The Vivente World Randonneur (VWR), particularly The Gibb model, stands as a pinnacle of touring and transportation bicycles in Australia. This bike, admired for its meticulous refinements over the years, now incorporates a series of desirable upgrades, culminating in a nearly perfect touring experience.

At its heart lies the Rohloff SpeedHub 500, a 14-speed hub gear known for its unparalleled range and reliability. While this hub adds to the cost and weight of the bike, its maintenance-free nature and durability make it a worthwhile investment for serious riders.

The bike’s 4130 chromoly steel frame ensures resilience and comfort, making it ideal for long rides. Its geometry is finely tuned for stability and ease of handling, enhancing the overall comfort during extended touring. The bike is also notable for its comprehensive tool and spare kit, ensuring riders are well-equipped for any situation.

The hydraulic disc brakes provide consistent stopping power, a crucial feature for safety and reliability. The dynamo-powered USB outlet is a thoughtful addition, allowing riders to charge devices on the go. While the bike may be somewhat daunting for beginners due to its complexity and the initial friction in new gears, its overall design is geared towards low maintenance and high performance.

(Entry Level Traditional Steel Touring Bike Design)

Price: USD $2,049 (About $3,211 AUD)

Weight :  12.25 kg (27 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Marrakesh Triple Butted CroMoly – BB Standard: BSA, 68mm, Threaded – Tire Clearance: 50c – Color: Gold

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Alivio – 11–36t, 9-speed cassette and 48/36/26t crank

Gear Ratios :  20″ to 121″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (55 cm) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.55 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,055 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.8 deg – trail 64 mm – Fork offset/rake 55 mm. Bottom bracket drop 77 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  Teravail Rampart 700c x 42 mm / With a max tire clearance 700c x 40mm tires with fenders and 29 x 2.0″ or Apparently you can run up to 27.5 x 2.6″ tires

• More then enough eyelets for storing gear
• Rohloff hub compatible drop out
• Very comfortable ride
• Traditional touring bikes design and aesthetics – bar-end shifters for example
• It comes with 42 mm tires but the minimum tire for fenders is 40 mm!
• Can only use the Salsa rear pannier rack due to how it attaches to the dropouts.
• The rear drop out swingplate is non-standard. A potential problem if it is damaged with limited access for parts
• The 2020 models in particular has paint chipping issues – even though it looks great
• Smaller frames may have limited space inside the frame for bikepacking frame bags and room for drink bottles
• Heel-striking is a potential issue on smaller frames

Made from a burly steel but heavy frame (not as heavy as some other bikes in this list) the Marrakesh offers a rock solid, stable and comfortable ride as you would expect in a touring bike.

With a dual capability for both off-road and on-road adventures. This bike is versatile enough for touring, commuting, or leisure riding, offering a comfortable experience across various terrains.

Despite its somewhat hefty build, the Marrakesh doesn’t compromise on maneuverability or performance. It comes equipped with front and rear racks, although fitting mudguards requires a slight reduction in tire width from the stock 42 mm tires to a maximum of 40mm. 

The bike’s solid construction is further complemented by a reliable Shimano Alivio groupset, Microshift bar-end traditional touring bike shifters, and TRP Spyre-C disc brakes. Additionally, its wheels and tires are tubeless-ready, enhancing its off-road capabilities.

However, a notable concern for potential owners, particularly those with smaller frame sizes, is the chainstay design. The positioning of the rack is forward by about 20-30mm compared to other models, which impacts the bike’s handling, making it more akin to a shorter gravel bike when loaded.

This setup also raises the possibility of heel strike, a drawback that could affect the bike’s overall appeal as a touring option.

(The Most Budget Friendly Option In This List)

Price From: $1,590 + USD

Weight :  15.6 kg (34.40 lbs)

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Tiagra

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.52 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,083mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 56 mm – Fork offset/rake 55 mm. Bottom bracket drop 75 mm

Tire Clearance:  700x35mm, with fenders, but the frame can accomodate 700x38mm without.

• 36 spoke wheels – strong for bicycle touring
• High quality Busch und Müller lights
• Well-balanced geometry ensures a stable yet responsive ride.
• Budget friendly option
• The Sunnywheel fenders might be a little narrow
• Limited tire clearance only up to 38 mm
• At 15.6kg, it might be considered heavy for some riders
• Not as capable off-road thanks to limited tire clearance

The UK-designed Genesis Tour de Fer 30, drawing inspiration from its sibling, the popular Croix de Fer, stands out as a remarkable blend of innovation and tradition in the world of touring bikes. This model is unique for its slightly longer build than most other touring bikes, providing an added level of stability and comfort for those extensive journeys.

But is it really a “Do-It-All Tourer?” With limited tire clearance, therefore limited off road capabilities it is better suited to traditional road only touring.

At the heart of the Tour de Fer 30 is the reliable Reynolds 725 steel frame, noted for its strength and relative lightness, making it a dependable companion for long-distance travels. The bike’s design is complemented by a chromoly steel fork with quick-release dropouts, further enhancing its durability and resilience.

A standout feature of this touring bike is its high-quality Busch und Müller lighting system, powered by a dynamo hub. These lights not only offer superior illumination for safer riding but also add a touch of sophistication to the bike’s overall design.

The shifting and drivetrain responsibilities are adeptly handled by Shimano’s Tiagra groupset, which includes a triple chainset offering a wide range of gears, ideal for tackling diverse terrains and steep inclines. The 10-speed cassette ensures low-maintenance, consistent performance, a crucial factor for long tours.

In terms of braking, the Tour de Fer 30 is equipped with TRP’s Spyre cable disc brakes, known for their consistent and sufficient stopping power. While they may not be as powerful as hydraulic brakes, their ease of maintenance, especially in remote locations, makes them a practical choice for touring.

The bike rides on robust Sun Ringlé Rhyno Lite rims and is fitted with the legendary Schwalbe Marathon tyres, renowned for their durability and puncture resistance. This combination ensures a smooth and reliable ride across various surfaces.

Finishing touches include Genesis branded components like a 27.2mm seatpost, a flared handlebar for comfortable handling, and a saddle designed for long rides. Practical features such as full-length mudguards, bottle cages, and spacious racks (including a Tubus Tara low-rider front rack and an AtranVelo Tour 365 rear rack) enhance its functionality for touring and commuting alike.

(The Most AFFORDABLE Touring Bike At the Time of Writing!)

Price: 1,699.00 NOW ONLY $1,358.93 USD

Weight :  13.61 kg (30 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Double-butted chromoly steel and Chromoly steel fork with 15mm thru-axle.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore, 48/36/26T crank and 10 speed 11-34T cassette.

Gear Ratios :  21″ to 120″

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.54 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,054mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  Schwalbe Marathon with puncture protection 700 x 38mm / With a max tire clearance up to 50mm

• Reliable Shimano Deore and Deore LX parts for the drivetrain
• Double-butted chromoly steel frame provides stability and a smooth ride
• Can support up to 300 lbs. including rider and gear (140 kg)
• Comes with spare spokes
• Getting on the heavier side but mid range weight compared to other bikes in this list.
• Tight clearance for fenders
• You could question the practicality of hydraulic disc brakes for touring bikes

The Co-op Cycles ADV 1.1 emerges as a robust and reliable touring bike, well-suited for long-distance journeys and heavy-duty touring. A very suitable bike for tackling steep inclines with heavy loads, which is what you want in a touring bike.

Its double-butted chromoly steel frame ensures a stable and comfortable ride, even under heavy loads, and the bike can support up to 300 lbs. The combination of a Shimano Deore crankset and Deore LX rear derailleur, along with the Tektro HY/RD hydraulic disc brakes, underscores its focus on durability and performance.

The bike is particularly noted for its excellent performance on long tours, with users reporting successful journeys over thousands of kilometers. It is equipped with puncture-resistant Schwalbe Marathon tires and comes with custom front and rear racks for carrying essential gear. An ultra-low gear option is also available, making it easier to navigate steep terrains.

However, some riders have noted the bike’s weight as a potential drawback, particularly when compared to lighter adventure options. There are some concerns about the practicality and maintenance of the hydraulic disc brakes for touring purposes.

Comparing These Bikes

Below, I’ve compiled a table featuring key information for each bike, making it easier for you to compare and decide which one best suits your needs. I hope this helps!

Why You Should Trust Cycle Travel Overload’s Advice

Hey I’m Codey Orgill and have been exploring this world by bicycle for over 8 years now! I have a long history with touring bikes, first being introduced to the world of bicycle travel with a classic Novara Randonee touring bike, then a Surly Long Haul Trucker and I now ride the Kona Sutra Touring Bike .

I have ridden my bikes across 10+ countries so far and a lot of trips where I live here in Australia! Lover of bikes and so passionate about researching, riding, and writing 🙂 about adventure-focused bicycles. That’s why I started this blog ! Have helped over 1 million people find, compare, and decide on their dream adventure bike! Nothing means more to me than getting more people out into the world on two wheels!

What Makes A Good Touring Bike? Criteria For Choosing These Bikes

First I wanted to focus on mostly more traditional touring bikes in this list. As I plan to put together a updated guide for off-road touring bikes better suited for bikepacking type adventures.

Comfortable and Stable Geometry & Design: A top priority was the bike’s geometry. We looked for models with a long wheelbase, (average touring bike wheelbase: 1050 to 1070mm) and chainstay to ensure sufficient heel clearance during pedaling, (average touring bike chainstay: 445 to 470mm) and to accommodate rear panniers. The ideal geometry also contributes to a stable center of gravity, enhancing balance and creating a smoother ride. Additionally, a front center of (around 600 millimeters) is ideal for toe clearance and compatibility with front panniers, a typical setup for world-spanning adventures. For predictability and more stable steering a 60 to 70 mm trail is ideal!

Upright Riding Position : An upright riding position is crucial for comfort during long tours. We sought a stack-to-reach ratio of about 1.5 or higher to avoid a hunched-over posture, reducing back strain over extended periods.

Gear Ratio : The gear range was another vital factor. We looked for bikes with a broad spectrum of gears, especially low-end ratios for climbing with a heavy setup. Ideal bikes offer gearing as low as 18 inches for steep ascents and up to 120 inches for comfortable descents, accommodating various touring conditions. However if you are doing lighter touring and commuting, typically up to a 25 inch low gear is a pass, but not for fully load adventures.

Wheels and Components : Quality components are non-negotiable for durability and performance. We ensured that each bike had robust components unlikely to fail during extended tours. Wheel strength is vital, so we preferred bikes with a high spoke count, ideally 36 spokes to support the weight of a fully loaded touring setup. But some of the lighter touring bikes or not so good build quality bikes may have 32 spokes which isn’t ideal.

Weight Considerations : While weight is a factor, it’s less critical in touring bikes. Most selected bikes weigh around 13 to 15 kilograms or heavier, standard for this category. With added gear, this weight increases significantly, but our focus was more on reliability than lightness.

Other Considerations: The bike’s load capacity is a pivotal feature, with higher capacities being more advantageous. Ideally, a robust touring bike should be able to support a total weight ranging from 130 to 180 kg. Additionally, factors like frame stiffness and the configuration of the kickstand are also important considerations for these types of bikes.

What Are Touring Bikes? The Different Types of Touring Bikes

Touring bikes can be broadly categorised into four distinct types, each tailored to different touring needs and preferences. While there are even more nuances within these categories, this classification provides a solid foundation for understanding the diverse range of touring bikes available in the market.

Traditional or Classic Touring Bikes

Traditional or classic touring bikes are built to be tough and withstand the rigors of long, continuous cycling over days, months, or even years. Unlike road bikes, these are designed with a focus on durability and stability. Typically made from steel, these bikes feature an upright geometry, longer chainstays, and are often equipped with fenders and a rear rack for panniers. The wheels are usually 700c with a high spoke count (32 or 36-hole) to endure the demands of bike touring. While classic touring bikes traditionally had rim brakes, mechanical disc brakes are becoming more common in this category. Both flat and drop bars are seen on these bikes, which often have a vintage look, as their design emphasizes functionality and longevity over aesthetic changes.

When discussing traditional touring bikes, the Novara Randonee instantly springs to mind as the quintessential example. With its bar-end shifters, classic steel frame, and comfortable touring geometry, it embodies everything a touring bike should be. This bike holds a special place in my heart as my first introduction to the world of bicycle travel. I’m eternally grateful to both the bike and Eric, the generous legend who gifted it to me. Thanks, mate!

Expedition Touring Bikes

Expedition touring bikes are designed for epic, long-duration trips, such as around-the-world adventures. Made primarily from steel for robustness and ease of repair, these bikes typically feature 26-inch wheels and rim brakes. The choice of these components is strategic, as they make it easier to repair and replace parts, even in remote corners of the globe. These bikes are built for resilience and are capable of carrying all essentials for extended journeys, making them a top choice for serious long-term touring enthusiasts.

These bikes are quite similar to traditional touring bikes but offer even more adventure focused components and parts as standard like kick stands, Dynamo hubs and light setups, and trekking bars or flat swept back alt bars are often more common on these bikes for that extra comfort in the saddle. The Koga WorldTraveller is a perfect example of this category of bike.

Adventure Touring Bikes

Adventure touring bikes or off-road touring bikes are crafted for rougher terrains, such as loose dirt, single tracks, and off-road wilderness paths, making them ideal for exploring less-traveled roads. These bikes are essentially a blend of road and mountain bikes. They usually come with drop bars and either mechanical or hydraulic disc brakes, offering strong stopping power for diverse conditions. Adventure bikes can accommodate a variety of wheel sizes and have clearance for wider tires. Many models are also equipped to handle dropper posts, adding to their versatility for different types of terrain.

For example, the Tumbleweed Prospector is engineered for supreme reliability and performance in rugged terrains. Its design eschews trendy materials for durability, particularly excelling with the Rohloff SPEEDHUB, an internally geared drivetrain known for its resilience in diverse conditions, from deserts to snowy mountains. Unique features like the Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket and custom cast dropouts, coupled with a design focused on maximum mud and tire clearance, make the Prospector a top choice for adventurous global expeditions.

Light Touring or Gravel Touring Bikes

Light touring or gravel touring bikes are similar to gravel bikes in that they offer the flexibility for both on-road and off-road use, but with the added functionality of eyelets for attaching racks. They are designed for carrying lighter loads and are more suited for shorter bike tours or bikepacking trips. Generally lighter in weight than traditional touring bikes, they provide a versatile and adaptable solution for cyclists who prefer a mix of on and off-road experiences. These bikes are often interchangeable with gravel bikes, focusing on a balance between lightness, flexibility, and durability.

In this category, the distinction between gravel and touring bikes becomes more nuanced, existing on a spectrum. Some gravel bikes are adeptly equipped for touring and off-road adventures , thanks to their tire clearance, touring-inspired geometry, and build quality. Others, however, are better suited for lightweight touring, with their capabilities leaning more towards smooth roads or light gravel paths due to certain limitations in design and gearing. This diversity means that while some models excel in rugged conditions, others are ideal for less demanding journeys. A good example of a lighter touring bike would be something like the Fuji Touring Disc or the Salsa Journeyer.

How To Choose A Touring Bike

When it comes to choosing the perfect touring bike, understanding your specific needs and priorities is key to narrowing down your options and making an informed buying decision. Every touring bike offers a unique combination of features, and what works for one cyclist might not suit another. By focusing on what is most important for your touring experience, you can filter through the plethora of choices and find a bike that aligns perfectly with your requirements.

1. Prioritize Your Touring Environment : Are you planning to ride mostly on smooth roads, rugged trails, or a combination of both? The terrain you expect to encounter is a primary factor in determining the type of touring bike you need. For instance, if off-road adventures are your main focus, a bike with sturdy tires and a durable frame, like an adventure touring bike, will serve you well. On the other hand, if you’re sticking to paved roads, a traditional touring bike with smoother tires would be more appropriate.

2. Comfort vs. Performance : Long-distance touring demands comfort, especially if you’re spending several hours a day on the bike. Consider bikes with a geometry that offers an upright riding position, reducing strain on your back and shoulders. However, if speed and performance are more important to you, a bike with a more aggressive geometry might be preferable.

3. Load Capacity and Accessories : Assess how much gear you need to carry. If you’re planning a self-supported tour with lots of luggage, look for a bike with a high load capacity, robust racks, and multiple mounting points. Conversely, if you prefer light touring with minimal gear, a bike with fewer rack options but a lighter frame might be better.

4. Maintenance and Durability : If you’re touring in remote areas, consider the ease of repair and maintenance of the bike. Bikes with simpler, more robust components are easier to fix on the road. The bike’s durability also plays a crucial role, especially in challenging conditions.

5. Budget Considerations : Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Higher-priced bikes usually offer better quality and more features, but there are also great mid-range and budget options that can meet your needs effectively.

Panniers for Touring Bikes

Much like the diverse range of touring bikes available, the market is also rich with various styles of panniers to suit different touring needs. Whether you’re setting off on an extensive cross-country adventure or planning a brief weekend escape, selecting the appropriate panniers can greatly elevate your experience. In this article, we delve into the world of panniers, offering insights into robust touring options, streamlined micro bikepacking choices, and minimalist solutions for those who favor a lighter setup.

What About Specific Touring Bike Handlebars and Saddles?

When embarking on bike touring or bikepacking, comfort is paramount, especially considering the main body contact points with your bike. A crucial aspect of this comfort is finding the right handlebars, which can greatly impact your experience over the many miles ahead. This article focuses on what to look for in touring handlebars and presents some of the best options available.

Choosing the right saddle for your bike touring or bikepacking adventure is a decision that can significantly affect your comfort on long rides. In our latest article, we address the essentials of bike saddle comfort and how to select a saddle that reduces discomfort for extended periods in the saddle.

A comfortable bike saddle is crucial, especially when you’re planning to spend days, or even months, pedaling across diverse landscapes. It’s not just about picking any saddle; it’s about finding the one that fits your unique body shape and riding style. We explore the factors that contribute to saddle comfort, from shape and size to materials and design.

Are Touring Bikes Good For Commuting?

Touring bikes are a great option for commuting due to their unique combination of durability, comfort, and carrying capacity.

Designed for long distances and varied terrains, these bikes are robust enough to withstand the daily wear and tear of urban travel, ensuring longevity.

he upright and relaxed geometry of touring bikes offers significant comfort, which is crucial for daily commutes, especially over longer distances.

This design effectively reduces strain on the back, neck, and shoulders. One of the key advantages of touring bikes for commuters is their ability to carry loads. Equipped with racks and multiple mounting points, they are ideal for transporting work essentials, groceries, or other personal items. Want to use a touring bike for commuting?

While touring bikes are versatile and perform well on different surfaces, making them suitable for various commuting routes, they are generally heavier than road bikes.

This might not be ideal for those who need to frequently carry their bike.

Additionally, they might not be as fast as road bikes, which could be a consideration for those with longer commutes seeking speed.

Moreover, the focus on durability and functionality often makes touring bikes more expensive than some basic commuter bikes.

Despite these considerations, touring bikes offer a reliable, comfortable, and practical solution for daily commuting, balancing efficiency and stability, especially when carrying loads.

Other Touring Bike Reads

• The Tips, 67 bike travellers wish they knew earlier – Beginner Bike Touring Advice
• Best Bike Touring and Bikepacking Handlebars – Everything You Need to Know
• Gravel Bike For Touring – 6 Best Gravel Bikes For Touring!
• 12 Best Front Bike Racks For Touring & Bikepacking
• Best Off-Road Adventure Touring Bikes 2024
• Best Flat Bar Touring Bikes & Expedition Bikes
• Best Touring Bike Kickstands & Everything You Need To Know

About The Author

Codey Orgill, a seasoned bicycle adventurer, has been exploring the world on two wheels for over 10 years. Since embarking on his initial cycling journey, Codey Orgill has traversed numerous countries, experiencing a series of epic adventures.

See author's posts

• Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

Everything To Know About Bicycle Touring With E-Bikes (Electric Bicycles)

There is currently a bit of a divide between those who ride e-bikes and those that pedal under their own steam.

But there need not be.

When it comes down to it, there is no correct way to travel by bike – and my familiarity with e-bikes tells that you can have a very similar travel experience with or without a battery and motor.

This article will take a closer look at e-bikes, their motors, batteries, and the frequently asked questions around e-bike travel.

What Are The Advantages of E-Bikes?

– They offer the speed of running, but with the effort of walking – They get to your destination with more energy for other activities – You can cycle into headwinds and up hills with less of a penalty – You can cover more distance per day with the same effort – They can balance out two cyclists with varying fitness or abilities – They’re great for people with injuries that stop them from riding regular bikes (knee pain, back pain, asthma) – You can complete longer tours in a reduced timeframe – They entice non-cyclists to give bike travel a go – It’s better to be out and about, independent and energised than to travel without a bike at all!

What Are The Disadvantages of E-Bikes?

– They are heavy; often 20-30kg compared to 10-20kg for a regular touring bike – There are more components and parts to go wrong – Your bike may dictate your route given the need for charging – You may become obsessed with your charging opportunities (addicted to main roads and towns) – If you run out of power, you need to ride with the additional weight of the battery and motor – They are expensive

Are E-Bikes Reliable?

A good quality electric system will operate fine for bicycle touring. Most of them are well-sealed and designed to take the shock. Quality batteries and motors will withstand a temperature range of -15 to +45 degrees celsius, as well as sandstorms, mud, snow, hail and bumpy roads. According to Gijs Stevers who cycled from Norway to South Africa with an electric bike, the only problem he ever had was after heavy rain when the computer display fogged up.

What Is Their Range?

Battery range depends on a number of factors: the size of the battery, how hard you’re pedalling, the assistance level you choose, how hilly your route is, how windy it is, your weight, bikes weight, tyre inflation, road surface etc. Basically, the range can be anything from 10km to 300km.

Gijs mentions that if you can cycle at 18km/h on the flat in non-windy conditions, a 250w electric engine can bring you up to 25km/h. A 400Wh battery will assist at this level for up to 100km. If you choose to have less assistance you will achieve an even longer range.

Many people who tour with e-bikes are selective with their electricity usage – saving the power only for the hilly and windy bits. e-bike riders learn to preserve battery by coasting downhill and working the gears as often as possible to make sure they’re always in the optimal gear.

Charging On The Road

It is surprisingly easy to find powerpoints on a bike tour. Most people recharge their batteries at hotels and guesthouses that they stay in along the way, but you can recharge in cafes, petrol stations, churches, offices and supermarkets if you’re polite enough. If you cycle more than 100km per day you may want to consider doing a bit of charging over lunch. A half-charge over a restaurant lunch should get you another 50km down the road.

The full charge time for electric bikes is often 3-4 hours, depending on battery size.

Are They Really Worth The Trouble On A Bicycle Tour?

They can be – it really depends on what you’re looking to achieve on your bike trip. The bike itself won’t be a limitation as the motors are reliable and quick to charge. Power points really aren’t that hard to find in populated parts of the world either.

Gijs suggests that the extra weight incurred on an electric bike is nullified when the motor helps you out in the hills. To combat range, e-bike tourers often carry two batteries. That way if they need to use the highest pedal-assist setting they will still get 100km of range out of their 800Wh worth of batteries.

E-Bike Classes

Pedal Assist (also known as Pedelec): This style of e-bike will assist you only when you’re pedalling. A torque sensor in the motor determines when it should be operating, and this is sometimes combined with a cadence sensor for accuracy. Better quality pedelecs have almost no delay between when you start pedalling and when the motor assists, making the power delivery seamless. Some pedelecs even have the ability to deliver more power when you’re pushing hard, and less when you’re pedalling light.

Throttle: These bikes have a grip-twist or button on the handlebar so that you can choose when and how much power you’d like to use – they operate like a throttle on a motorbike. Throttle systems can be incorporated into pedelec bikes too.

Mid-Drive Motors

Mid-drive (centre-drive, crank-based or central) motors are located at the bike’s crankset. One of the biggest advantages of mid-drive is that it employs the bikes gears which result in optimal torque in a variety of situations (eg. climbing or on the flat). This makes the motor both efficient (better range) and effective (especially on hills).

You can use standard wheels on mid-drive bikes, giving you options for internally-geared and dynamo hubs. Standard wheels also make it quicker and easier to take wheels out to change things like punctures. The mid-drive system is lighter in weight than hub motors. The weight is also located low and central on the bike frame, affecting the bikes’ handling only minimally. There is no need for torque arms or strengthened dropouts on these e-bikes, but you will often require a bike frame designed specifically around these motors.

Most e-bike manufacturers are currently moving towards mid-drive bikes.

Example mid-drive manufacturers include: Bosch, Yamaha, Panasonic, Bafang, Continental, AEG, Impulse, EcoSpeed, MAC, Shimano STEPS.

Hub-Drive Motors

Hub-drive is the most common type of motors on electric bikes. Hub motors can be exceptionally powerful and efficient and are easily fitted to almost any standard bike.

Geared motors (such as the BMC V4) are more efficient in the hills, are smaller/lighter and have no wheel resistance. The trade-off is more motor noise and reduced reliability due to the 10+ moving parts.

Direct-drive motors are more common as they are the quietest motors available. They’re also super reliable because there are no moving parts. The downsides include increased hub weight, and less torque available for climbing hills. It’s worth noting that with some direct-drive motors you can also harness power through regenerative (regen) braking or on descents.

Front Hub Motors

Front wheel motors are simple and elegant and are great for retrofits to regular touring bikes. Front hubs are often preferred in the case where someone wants to use an internally geared hub such as a Rohloff 14s, Shimano Alfine or Nuvinci. The main downside to front motors is that the weight up front affects the handling of the bike.

Example hub brand: Ezee

Rear Hub Motors

Rear hub motors are a popular choice on modern e-bikes as the additional rear wheel weight has less of an effect on bike handling. This means that you can fit really heavy and powerful motors (up to 1500w) to an e-bike to boost the performance. In order to use a rear hub motor, derailleur gearing (or a Pinion gearbox) must be employed. Be aware that strong rear frame dropouts are required for more powerful motors.

Example hub brands: GoSwissDrive, Bionx, Falco, SRAM, Dapu, Xion, TDCM, MAC, ION, A2B

Electric Trailers

A motor connected to your bike isn’t the only way to power yourself along. Electric trailers can also push you along! You can get yourself a Ridekick trailer, or you can even build your own trailer with an incorporated electric front hub. The key advantage of an electric trailer is that if you don’t want to lug around the heavy motor and battery, you can unhitch it in seconds.

Power and Speed

In many parts of the world, electric motors are legally restricted. In Europe and Australia, e-bikes are limited to 250w, while Canada allows 500w and the USA 750w motors. Electric bikes are also speed limited to somewhere between 25-32km/h (15-20mp/h), depending on the country.

Are electric motors more powerful than 250w necessary? To put it simply, a 500w motor can provide twice the assistance, but the batteries will last half as long. Given that range will be important to most bike travellers, a 250w bike with big batteries is quite adequate.

A Bit More On Batteries

E-bike batteries are available in a number of different configurations. The figure that matters most when comparing how far a battery pack will take you is the total energy stored in watt-hours (Wh). Watt-hours are easy to calculate when you know the battery specifications: battery voltage x amp hours = watt-hours . eg. 48V x 11Ah = 528Wh

Batteries are typically found in 24, 36 and 48v configuration and the amp hours are generally between 6-17Ah. This results in batteries in the 200-700Wh range. In essence, the bigger the battery, the more distance you can cover between charges. Keep in mind that bigger batteries with more range are both heavier and more expensive than smaller ones. At the minimum, I’d suggest using one or two 400Wh+ batteries for bicycle touring.

Batteries are mounted under the rear rack, along the seat tube or on the down tube. The best location for a heavy battery is the lowest and most centralised, often along the seat tube – this reduces the effect of the batteries weight on the bike handling.

Electric Bike Prices

Like most things, it is worth investing in the mid-range price point to get a product that is both refined and reliable. Most sources suggest US $1500 at a minimum, but you may need to spend US $4000 to get the product you like.

A retrofit electric kit won’t look as pretty, but it will undoubtedly work out cheaper at sub-$1000 for a midrange battery/motor. You’ll also be able to fit it to a touring-specific bike which you may already have. More on retrofit kits below.

The Top E-Bikes For Bicycle Touring

Although none of these bikes is specifically designed for bicycle touring, they’re all of high quality with decent components. To do a long tour with a heavy load, you may need to swap out the spokes and rims for something more heavy-duty on any of these off-the-shelf bikes.

Don’t forget to test ride as many bikes as you can because there are many different styles of e-bike. Make sure to take note of your position on the bike, whether the bike can carry water and whether there is space for racks and mudguards. If you want to get right into the nitty-gritty learn about frame geometry and see how well suited the bikes are for touring.

Here’s a list to get you going: – BH Emotion Evo City – Cube Touring Hybrid EXC – Diamondback EXC – Easy Motion Evo Race – Felt SPORTe – Focus Aventura Impulse 2.0 – Gazelle Chamonix T10 – Gepida Alboin 1000 – Haibike XDURO Trekking RX – Kahkhoff Sahel Impulse 8 – OHM XU700 – Raleigh Misceo iE – Scott E-Sub Tour – Specialized Turbo – Storck Raddar Zero2Eight – Stromer ST2 – VSF Fahrradmanufaktur P-1000

Retrofit Kits For Touring Bikes

There are lots of different kits that you can buy to turn your regular touring bike into an electric bike. Conversion kits are often cheaper than similarly performing e-bikes. Prices start from a few hundred dollars right up to about US $2000 for some of the more powerful kits. The recommended minimum spend is in the middle price bracket where you can get good value, decent batteries/components and long wear life. Canadian brand Bionx is the highest regarded for their refined products, although their prices do reflect that.

Check out these brands for more information: – Ansmann – Bionx – Dillenger – E-bike Kit – Ezee

What Are Your Thoughts On E-bikes? Has This Resource Changed Your Mind On Them?

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• electric bike
• electric bikes

11 comments

I live in Alaska, I bought and built a Crystalite 72v Brute Ebike kit. I thought I was more or less alone with an electric bike up here, and for a while (about 6 years ago) I was for the most part. Now this concept has taken off (finally) and I feel like I may have bought a dinosaur. This is a 2880 watt system, and the batteries are 14 ah, so the system is 1008 watt hours. I intend to more than double the battery capacity by replacing the lead acid batteries with Lithium Ion batteries (very expensive) to 30 ah. The new batteries are practically the same weight, but will put the machine at 2160 watt hours capacity. After reading this, I am blown away at how powerful this machine is, and Crystalite is not mentioned here as a popular brand. None of the systems mentioned are more than 500 watt hours, and I can see why now. I really don’t need to carry 50 lbs of batteries, nor do I really need a 72v system. 48v probably would be more than enough on a long trip and it would eliminate one third of the weight for the same capacity.

I am very excited to find so much online about Electric Touring because that was my intended use for this machine to begin with, and it’s nice to know I’m not alone. I had also intended to attempt to carry roll up solar panels in case I needed to recharge in a remote area (Like Denali National Park). These are even more expensive than the batteries (twice as much). So obviously this endeavor will be financially challenging, but am really happy that I may have allies out there who can offer their experiences in this rapidly growing field.

I will be visiting this site again for sure.

Thank you very much!! Trace Gentis Wasilla, Alaska

Hi Trace. Thanks for dropping by and I’m stoked you’re digging the info on e-Bike touring! I hope you get some e-Bike trips under your belt soon. Let us know how your new batteries and charging system go. Alee

Hi Alee, Very interesting and complete article, thank you. Giovanni Italy

The new hotness these days is the bafang BBSHD kits. Only mid drive you can buy that handles high power, mine does 1500w which is six times greater than that wimpy european stuff. There’s nothing on the market like it.

And a kilowatt of the new 18650b power density cells only weighs 9 pounds, a couple of those bad boys and you can do hundreds of miles with a mid drive. The future of ebikes is bright indeed 🙂

Those are some impressive numbers – I’ll check out the kits!

Lithium will definitely save you weight. However, stepping down to 48V but keeping the same amp-hour capacity (reducing cell count by 1/3) will also reduce your total energy by 1/3.

I just now finished a cargo ebike with 7kwh of lithium Panasonic battery, that’s 7,000wh! Its 90 pounds heavy, low to ground, & handles great! Its urban commuter mid drive also. So I get more than 300+ miles range. 500wh battery is pathetic! This is how you get around! Capable of 8,000-10,000 watts, its a 103.6v nominal, 68AH battery! I’m on facebook to see the latest look of the bike, its too cool for most, including its 12v system!

Wow – sounds amazing!

As far as I know – a number of airlines don’t allow you to take an eBike on an airplane due to the lithium battery.

I recently did a mid-drive retrofit to my Kona Sutra while touring NZ. The benifits were immediately apparent as the pedal assist helped me slice through headwinds and climb the hills/mountains. A Derringer build and a 36v battery propelled me along when needed at an average speed of 20k/hr using it only when needed. Under these conditions battery life was roughly 7-8 hrs. Charging at gas stations, restaurants, and campgrounds was easy although a full charge from empty would take 6-7 hrs.

Drawbacks?? My triple crankset was reduced to a single dropping the bike from 27 to 9 gears. International travel is a burden as airlines won’t let you travel with the battery. NZ Post also refused to forward the battery. Courier costs as well made this method unattainable. Fears in the transport industries of batteries catching fire have increased these costs. Keep in mind battery innovation is on-going in the industry. New battery configurations are developing yearly and what was new this year can often be obsolete next year. I found this out after arriving in Australia with the intent to simply purchase a new one. I ended up reconfiguring the plug to the motor to be universal and bought a similar size Bafang. Cost for this was half the transport fees. Another concern…I’m a minimalist when it comes to weight. With the battery and motor mid bike and panniers with camp gear on the rear this puts less weight in the front. Speed wobble becomes an inherent possibility. Redistribute weight accordingly!!!

You sound like a closeted gay guy…. you can’t call yourself a minimalist and be into long distance ebike camping. Face it, you are now one of us Riding Large. You found out how wonderful rides can be uphill, into the wind and still have creature comforts along to make everything better. To still have enough energy to take a hike at the end of long-distance days. I carry around 150 lb. of gear, water, and food, and that doesn’t count bike, motor or batteries. As far as speed wobble is concerned I have learned to keep the weight well distributed and I always ride with full front panniers when moving between base-camps. If the front is too light the wobble is Way worse. I use a 14-Speed Rohloff Speedhub and it meshes with the BaFang mid-drive like they were made for each other. Peas and carrots. Would I like to have a “Super” high gear for hard-ball sailing? Sure, but I can run at 35+ on level surfaces if I want to spend the power that way and that’s with full gear. My latest luxury is an inflatable chair. Stop anywhere and be able to recline, maybe under an umbrella even, and enjoy the view.

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How to Travel by Bicycle: a Beginners’ Guide to Start Bike Touring

Last Updated on 11 July 2024 by Cycloscope

How to plan your first bicycle trip on a budget. Find a touring bicycle, gear up, plan your route, and start traveling the world by bicycle.

We are often asked what are the first steps to get started in bicycle touring, and that’s why we wrote this series of bicycle touring guides.

So, how to travel by bike?

Well, there’s a short answer to that: find a bike, pick a destination (or better, just a direction), pack some stuff , and go cycling .

Traveling by bicycle really is for (almost) everybody, no matter your age, physical conditions, weight, training , cycling experience, mechanical skills, or budget. Many bicycle tourists travel with kids and even with their pets.

When we started bicycle touring and bikepacking we were tobacco smokers, alcohol drinkers, out of shape, ignorant about mechanics, and almost broke.

And guess what, we still are almost the same, just less broke, since bike touring surprisingly made us find many working opportunities. There’s only one thing you really need to start bicycle touring, and that is time.

We’re not going to tell you to leave your job unless you really want to start a different life, bike travel may be done in any time frame: you have only a week off during the year. Then plan a bikepacking loop around your backyard.

We met people traveling with less than what we rely on, bike touring is doable with any budget, it just requires a strong sense of adventure and the will to adapt to some discomfort.

Guide: how to find a suitable touring bike for your first bike trip

Unless you plan to cycle really challenging roads and pack a lot of gear, any bike will do. Literally, we saw people touring long distances with granny bikes and even cheap folding ones.

However, the better the bike, the greater the comfort, and the higher the enjoyment. You can check our lists of:

• 18 Great Touring Bikes Under 2,000$
• 21 Best Touring Bicycles Under 1,000$
• 10 Great Woman-Specific Touring Bikes
• Best 2024 Gravel Bikes Under 1500 USD

If you really don’t have a budget to invest in a touring bike, you can use what you have

How to do touring with a road or gravel bike

Do you have a road bike ? Surprise, you can tour with it. The main problem with traveling on race bikes is that they don’t handle the load well, plus the usually narrow tires won’t be good on dirt roads.

What you can do:

• stick to the pavement,
• pack light using a bike-packing setup ,
• or add a bicycle trailer.

Some good bike trailers are Bob Yak, Topeak Journey , and the one of my choice, the  Extrawheel Trailer .

Gravel bikes can also be suitable for touring, there are more and more models out there that cater to the needs of bikepackers. Check out our in-depth article about Gravel Bike Touring – The Why and the 6 Best Gravel Bikes for Touring and Bikepacking .

Check also this > What is Bikepacking? Everything you need to know

Bicycle Touring with an MTB

Old mountain bikes from the nineties are perfect for bike touring, they usually have strong steel frames and can handle a bit of load. Try to avoid suspension forks, and even more full suspension systems: they break easily if they are cheap ones.

Modern hardtail and even full-suspension MTBs can be used for special types of touring. Check our guide about:

> Mountain Bike Touring – The MTB Set-Ups for Bikepacking & Cycle Camping

Travel On a Scrapyard Bike

Don’t you have a bike? Go to second-hand shops, or even to the scrapyard indeed. You’ll probably find a decent frame for a few bucks, or even for free. In the end, that’s how I started .

Don’t forget though, to be sure the bike is safe enough, riding safely should come first on the list of your priorities, an accident can always happen and put an abrupt stop to your tour, and it’s, of course, more likely to happen if your ride isn’t safe.

And by the way, having a cycling insurance policy is always a good idea, no matter what rig you are riding.

Learn How to Turn a Piece of Junk into a Touring Bike

Disclosure: Some of our articles contain affiliate links. This comes at no additional cost for you and helps us keep this website up and running. (as Amazon Associates we earn commission from qualifying purchases)

How to pick a destination for your first bike trip

Where to go mostly depends on the time you have, if you don’t have much of this precious resource, why not start local? Get out of your house and start cycling. If you have a bit more time (I would say at least 2 weeks), you can think of taking a train or a flight and cycle the country of your dreams. Learn here a few useful tips on how to fly with your bike .

Great destinations for bicycle touring first-timers are, for example,  Japan and South Korea , both super safe, camping-friendly, and beautiful, and the great thing is that you can travel to these expensive countries with a very low budget if you travel by bicycle.

Check out our hints on how to budget travel in South Korea  and how to travel in Japan for less than 10$ per day . Another very easy destination is Holland, with its incredible network of cycling paths – that’s where I developed my passion for cycle touring – or the beautiful Serbian part of the Danube River. 

Anyway, don’t be afraid to go cycling also on a more difficult destination, it might be challenging at first but you’ll make it, and the reward will be enormous. Check Kyrgyzstan for example, if you love mountains it won’t disappoint you, you could do a complete tour around the Issyk Kul in less than 10 relaxed days.

For more inspiration have also a look at the bicycle touring adventures of our friends from My Five Acres .

Plan your route

When we first started our long-haul bicycle trip, we carefully planned all the stages of the first ten months, downloaded the GPX tracks, and used them on our GPS device .

Let me say straight that this was the biggest mistake we ever made . We tried to stick to this schedule and missed a lot, cycled for too long on some days, and stopped early on good days when we could have gone further, ignoring suggestions from local people.

While, in our humble opinion, planning too much is useless and even counterproductive on long-term tours (more than one month), it becomes very important when your time is limited. If you have a return plane from a city on a certain date you must be there then.

So here is some advice on how to plan a bicycle tour:

• Plan short of at least one day for each week: this means if you are planning a 15-day trip, plan it like you’ll be doing it in 13 (including the rest days). This way you’ll have the chance to take advantage of whatever opportunity may arise that you didn’t plan before.
• Don’t plan to cycle more than 70/80 km per day, make it 50 (or even less) if there are major climbs involved: of course, this figure may really change depending on the rider, but since you’re reading this, we assume you are pretty new to bike touring. Although you may be a well-trained weekend cyclist, cycling with a load is a totally different cup of tea. Moreover, you’ll be cycling many days in a row, so take it easy and enjoy some relaxation. Most long-term bicycle travelers cycle on this daily average mileage .
• Stick to secondary roads: it’s no fun to cycle on a busy highway just because it’s the shortest way. Bicycle touring is not about the destination, it is about riding in beautiful locations.

Breathing Ice – Cycling Siberia in Winter with Dino Lanzaretti

If you want the help of a little technology to plan your route check this list of the best apps for offline bicycle touring navigation .

Check some more: Advice about bicycle touring on this semi-serious list of 30 rules

As for the bike, having good gear is, of course, nice but not necessary at all . If you’re on a budget just use what you have, a cheap tent, and the sleeping bag might be a little heavier, but who cares? 

If you can’t afford to buy those cool Ortlieb panniers, you can make a pair of waterproof bags out of plastic buckets .

Here below are all the articles from our series about bicycle touring gear essentials (and not essentials).

• Essential Camping Gear for Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking
• Tools and Spare Parts to Bring on a Bicycle Expedition
• Electronic Equipment to Bring on a Long-Haul Bicycle Expedition
• Bicycle Touring Clothing Essentials

Have also a look at

• The Best Online Stores for Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking

Find Out Your Bike Touring Budget

Bicycle touring is seriously the cheapest way to travel , maybe only walking can be compared. We always traveled with 10$ a day each, sometimes we spent a bit more, sometimes a bit less, this makes for 3600$ per year, not an impossible amount to save!

The crazy thing is that you may end up spending less in more expensive countries, at least that was true for us.

If you can’t afford the sleep in a hotel in Japan you simply won’t do it, while is very hard to resist those beachfront bungalows in the Philippines , they look so cheap at 5 to 10$ per night but this will affect your wallet in the long run.

The same is true for restaurants, some places are so dirt cheap that you’ll end up eating in restaurants every day, and that’s not cheap anymore.

So, what are you waiting for? The big, beautiful, crazy world is out there waiting for you to cycle it! 

Learn More > How Much Does it Cost to Travel the World by Bicycle

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The 9 Very Best Touring Bikes For 2024

As we roll into the new year, it’s time to think about the possibility of a 2024 bike tour and a new 2-wheeled companion who’s up for the challenge. As such, this article will showcase 9 of the best touring bikes on the market, including details on what they’re best for, important specifications and more.

Touring is all about the marathon, rather than the sprint, and it demands a bike that you can comfortably ride all day while carrying a load. With this in mind, the best touring bikes are happy rolling across a variety of terrain and capable of hauling heavy loads up hills. They’re also kitted out with standard yet reliable components, so that you can find spare parts easily while on the road, even if you’re in a remote town in the middle of nowhere.

Tip: The touring bikes listed below are ideal for what I would call ‘classic’ touring. I.e., they’re best suited for long-distance touring on mostly paved roads, but capable of riding on dirt and gravel paths etc when necessary.

The 9 best touring bikes in 2024

Note that the very best touring bikes are expensive . If the demands of your tour(s) aren’t going to test the bike too much, it’s really not necessary to buy the best. Unless you want to, of course! If you’re new to touring and just want a bike that will take you comfortably on tarmac roads and bike paths, an entry-level bike would be fine for you.

If you’re a frequent tourer looking for a great bike, this list will help you find your perfect companion. While you should expect to spend upwards of about £1,200 on a new, fully-featured touring bike, rest assured that it should last a lifetime if well cared for.

Cube Touring Pro (£899)

A budget, hybrid-style touring bike.

Fully equipped with a rear rack, taillights and mudguards, the Cube Touring Pro is ready for adventure straight out of the box. It makes it into this best touring bikes list thanks to its exceptional price tag — a bike designed for touring that comes in at under £1,000 is incredible value for money.

This bike is a hybrid at heart, rather than a true touring bike, but take it from me: hybrids can be great for touring. The Cube Touring Pro handles gravel paths with ease, thanks to its plush suspension fork and grippy Schwalbe Range Cruiser tyres. While it may be slower than a typical touring bike, it’ll keep you comfortable over those bumpier roads, happily taking you from A to B without breaking the bank.

Frame: Aluminium Wheel size: 700c Tyres: Schwalbe Range Cruiser, Active, 47-622 Brakes: Shimano BR-MT200 Hydraulic Disc Gearing: 48-36-26T chainset, 12-32T cassette Accessories: Rear rack, mudguards, taillights and kickstand

→ Check out the Cube Touring Pro on Cube. → There are also trapeze and electric bike versions of the Cube Touring Pro, ideal for cyclists with less mobility.

Ridgeback Expedition (£1,349)

A rugged, expedition-ready, flat bar option .

As the name would suggest, the Ridgeback Expedition is ideal for long-haul touring expeditions. While still a touring bike at heart, the Expedition has many characteristics of a mountain bike, making it a great choice for those who need something a little more rugged. It’s got 26-inch Schwalbe Marathon tyres for excellent puncture resistance and off-road capability; a wide range of 27 gears, giving it the ability to climb steep hills with ease, and ergonomically-designed flat bars for added comfort and stability over rough terrain.

Frame: Steel Wheel size: 26-inch Tyres: Shwalbe Marathon GG 26 x 1.75 Brakes: Promax DSK-300 Mechanical Disc Gearing: 48-36-26T chainset, 11-36T cassette Accessories: Mudguards

→ Buy the Ridgeback Expedition directly from Ridgeback’s website .

Ridgeback Panorama (£1,600)

Built to haul heavy luggage over vast distances.

The Panorama is Ridgeback’s most expensive model in their touring bike range, describing itself as “ready for any adventure you have in mind”. A bold claim, if you ask me. But the wheels, dressed in Schwalbe Marathon tyres, are built for toughness, with Jalco’s DM25 rims that are designed for cross-country and trekking bikes.

The wide 11-34 cassette and triple chainset mean that the Panorama will happily climb hills while fully loaded, making it a real packhorse of a bicycle. Paired with a full Shimano drive and TRP Spyre disc brakes, you’ve got yourself a reliable bike capable of taking on the world.

Frame: Steel Wheel size: 700c Tyres: Shwalbe Marathon GG 700 x 35c Brakes: TRP Spyre Mechanical Disc Gearing: 48-36-26T chainset, 11-34T cassette Accessories: Rear rack, mudguards and 3 bottle cages

→ Buy the Ridgeback Panorama from Ridgeback’s website .

Surly Disc Trucker ($1,999 / £1,592)

A much-loved touring bike capable of traversing the globe.

Many consider the Surly Disc Trucker to be the gold standard of touring bikes, as it has everything a cycle tourist would need to traverse the globe. And sure enough, time and testing have proved that this bike can handle a heavy-loaded tour better than a lot of its competitors.

It was originally built as a disc brake version of the Surly Long Haul Trucker. However, the Disc Trucker has now completely replaced its older sibling, as Surly announced in 2021 that it would no longer be producing the Long Haul Trucker.

The Disc Trucker has got tons of useful mounting points, ideal for adding racks, water bottle cages and more, although it doesn’t actually come with any accessories, so you’ll have to factor this into the cost.

Frame: Surly 4130 Cromoly steel Wheel size: 700c or 26-inch Tyres: 700x41c Surely ExtraTerrestrial Brakes: TRP Spyre C Mechanical Disc Gearing: 48-36-26t chainset, 11-34t 9-speed cassette Accessories: None

→ Check the Surly website for bike stores in your local area that stock their models.

Kona Sutra (£2,099)

Stylish and modern, yet very functional.

The Kona Sutra is a sporty, modern take on the ‘classic’ touring bike. In my opinion, the Sutra is a gorgeous bike, thanks to its satin midnight frame and retro brown accents. It’s not just stylish though; it’s also incredibly functional, with hydraulic disc brakes and a reliable drivetrain. It even comes with a Brooks B17 saddle as standard, which die-hard Brooks fans will be pleased to hear.

Additionally, the Sutra comes with pre-installed front and rear racks, ample mounting points for additional gear, and full-coverage fenders, making it exceptionally well-equipped for carrying all your touring gear.

Frame: Kona Butted Chromoly Wheel size: 700c Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 700x40c Brakes: TRP HDC711C Mechanical / Hydraulic Disc Gearing: 11-36t 10-speed cassette Accessories: Front rack and mudguards

→ Buy the Kona Sutra from the Kona Bike Shop.

Genesis Tour de Fer 30 (£2,200)

Ready for epic adventures straight out of the box.

As Genesis themselves say, “the bike you’d turn to if you were to quit your job and embark on an impromptu pedal-powered world tour!” That’s the kind of spirit that’s welcome here.

The Tour de Fer 30 is, without a doubt, a reliable adventure machine. Genesis have dressed the strong Chromoly frame with durable, expedition-worthy components, such as a Shimano Tiagra 4700 3×10 drivetrain and TRP Spyre Disc Brakes. They’ve also included a dynamo hub for year-round, charge-free lighting. You can even add supplementary power banks or USB chargers.

This bike is ready for an epic tour straight out of the box. The only question is: where will you go?

Frame: Reynolds 725 Heat-Treated Chromoly Wheel size: 700c Tyres: 700x35c Schwalbe Marathon Brakes: TRP Spyre Mechanical Disc Gearing: 50-39-30 chainset, 11-34t 10-speed cassette Accessories: Mudguards, front and rear pannier racks, dynamo lighting, bottle cages.

→ Buy the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 directly from Genesis.

KOGA WorldTraveller ( DKK 20499 / £2,443)

Reassuringly expensive; an exceptionally high-quality touring bike designed to take on the world.

As the name would suggest, the KOGA WorldTraveller is equipped with everything you need to travel around the world by bike. It features rugged Schwalbe Marathon tyres, a super sturdy frame, a dynamo hub to power your lights, and a reliable, low-maintenance and low-geared Rohloff hub to get you up those hills while fully loaded. Reliable, sturdy and sporty, you might say this is the ultimate trekking companion.

The WorldTraveller is available in either a traditional diamond or a step-through frame, both of which are available in five sizes. This means your bike should be perfectly fitted to you, something which is absolutely essential when touring. With the KOGA Signature programme, you’re also able to completely customise the bike, with unlimited colour choices for the frame, 3 wheel choices, the option to add electric assistance, and lots more.

Frame: Aluminium Wheel size: 28-inch Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Brakes: MT400 Hydraulic Disc Gearing: 14-speed Rohloff Hub, 11-34 cassette Accessories: Dynamo hub, front rack, rear rack, mudguards, lights, lock, bottle holders, water bottles, bicycle pump and kickstand.

→ Check out the KOGA WorldTraveller on KOGA.

Stanforth Conway Sports Tourer (£3,650)

A sporty touring bike that prioritises speed.

Fast. Agile. Comfortable. The Stanforth Conway is a touring bike built for speed. It was designed in collaboration with adventure cyclist Sean Conway, who went on to claim the record for cycling across Europe using this bike.

At well over £3000, this is a luxurious machine, but every Conway is built to order, with the frame’s geometry fine-tuned to each individual customer.

If you enjoy touring at pace and are happy to splurge, the Stanforth Conway may be the bike for you. It’ll carry panniers , but prefers lighter loads than some of the packhorse-style tourers in this list.

Frame: Reynolds 853 Steel Wheel size: 700c Tyres: Marathon Racer 35mm Brakes: TRP Spyre Mechanical Disc Gearing: 34-50 chainset, 11-34T 11-speed cassette Accessories: Racks and mudguards

→ Buy the Stanforth Conway directly from Stanforth. You’ll need to send across your measurements or arrange a fitting to buy.

Thorn Nomad Mk3 (£1,565+)

A bespoke, expedition-grade touring companion.

Based in Somerset, England, Thorn is a world-renowned producer of bespoke touring bikes.

The Nomad Mk3 is the newest in Thorn’s line-up and is their take on the “ultimate bombproof touring bike.” You can customise many components of your Nomad Mk3, enabling you to bring your dream touring companion to life. It can be built with flat bars or drop bars, with a derailleur or a Rohloff hub, with rim brakes or disc brakes, with 700c, 650b or 26-inch tyres — the choice is yours.

The steel frame is tough, the wheels are strong and the components are high-quality. It handles well in a variety of conditions, including canal towpaths, gravel tracks and forest paths. It can be used for day-to-day transport, or it can literally travel the world.

→ To buy a Thorn Nomad Mk3, you’ll have to contact Thorn to make a fitting appointment.

More great touring bikes

It was super hard narrowing this list down to just 10, and there are plenty more excellent bikes out there. If you’ve not found your ideal steed in my list above, here are a few more great touring bikes to consider:

• Salsa Marrakesh Alivio
• Condor Heritage Disc
• Temple Adventure Disc 3
• Tout Terrain Silk Road
• Cinelli Hobootleg
• Giant Toughroad SLR 1
• Decathlon Riverside Touring 520 – budget option!

About The Author

Lauren Pears is a freelance travel writer and blogger based in London. She writes about active adventure travel, aiming to encourage and inspire travellers to make the most of the great outdoors.

Thank you for reading! If you found this post useful, I’d be grateful if you would consider using the affiliate links below when planning your travels. I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This will help me to keep this blog running. Thanks for your support – Lauren. Hotels –  Booking.com Hostels –  Hostelworld Cheap flights –  Skyscanner Travel insurance –  World Nomads Outdoor gear –  Decathlon  /  GO Outdoors Cycling gear –  Chain Reaction Cycles Alternatively, you could buy me a coffee to say thanks!

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Kinda missed out on the Bombtrack Arise Tour: Great bike for both touring; Long and short distances- plus can handle bikepacking off road on the likes of fire roads and decent gravel. Smaller company, great bike.

Thanks for the recommendation Chuck, I will check it out!

You have completely forgotten the best touring bikes – those from the Oxford Bike Works. URL: https://www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk/

Thanks for the recommendation Alan!

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Hello and Welcome to Bicycle Touring Pro

If you want to start bicycle touring , bikepacking , or traveling the world for days, weeks, months or years on end, but don’t know where to start, this is the website for you!

The goal here at Bicycle Touring Pro is simple: To help you plan and prepare for your own bike tours… and to help you avoid the pitfalls that force so many first-time bicycle tourists to quit their cycling adventures before they’ve even had a chance to begin. That’s what Bicycle Touring Pro is all about!

What Exactly is Bicycle Touring?

“ Bicycle touring ” (also referred to as “cycle touring, bike touring, bike travel, bicycle travel, adventure cycling, and bikepacking”) is the act of riding a bicycle for days, weeks, months or even years on end as you travel across entire cities, states and countries under your own power (without the assistance of a motor).

While bicycle touring is typically an overnight endeavor, a bicycle tour can be a long single-day bike ride; a multi-day event where your gear, food and clothing is carried for you in a vehicle that meets you at various checkpoints along your route; or a solo or group adventure where all necessary clothing, equipment, food and tools are carried on your bicycle.

Download The Free Starter Guide

The best way to quickly and easily learn about the basics of bicycle touring is to download the FREE Bicycle Touring Pro starter guide .

As soon as you’ve requested a copy of the starter guide, you’ll be sent an email containing a link to a PDF document entitled “ How to Become a Bicycle Touring Pro .” In this free 40-page report, you will learn:

• Why so many people love bicycle touring.
• About the different types of bike tours.
• About the types of bicycles used for long-distance touring.
• About the gear and clothing you need to get started.
• How to carry everything you need for your trip on your bicycle.
• About the bicycle maintenance and repair skills you need to know.
• How to select the best location for your bike tour.

Plus, you’ll discover how Bicycle Touring Pro has helped thousands of people conduct their own incredible bicycle touring adventures all around the world.

Watch The Free Video Training

After you’ve downloaded the free Bicycle Touring Pro starter guide, take some time to watch this free 1-hour long training video entitled, “ The Internet’s Worst Bike Touring Advice “.

This is a recording of a live Internet event in which I discuss the worst advice I see other people giving first time bicycle tourists on the Internet.

This information is extremely important for you to know if you are just starting out, because you don’t want to waste your time and money getting ready for a bike tour, only to realize later that you made some major mistakes along the way.

Follow, Like & Subscribe on Social Media

In addition to the website here at www.bicycletouringpro.com , I’m constantly posting new photos, videos and bike touring advice on Bicycle Touring Pro’s various social media channels.

Follow Bicycle Touring Pro’s various social media accounts and you will see the types of bikes we’re riding, the gear we’re using, the distances we’re cycling each day, the foods we’re eating and a whole lot more.

Take a moment right now and subscribe, like or follow Bicycle Touring Pro on Facebook , YouTube and Instagram.

Can Anyone Go Bicycle Touring?

In almost all instances, yes! Bicycle touring is an activity that almost anyone can do. Young people, old people, poor people, rich people, fat people, skinny people, men, women, children and people of all nationalities, religions and sexes. Even people who have never ridden a bicycle before can go bicycle touring with a little coaching.

For more than a decade I have been working with people all across the planet to help them plan, prepare for and execute the bicycle tour of their dreams… and I’ve helped thousands of people from all walks of life conduct their very own bicycle touring adventures!

Whether you’re 18 or 81, you can bicycle tour with a little help and assistance from the Bicycle Touring Pro .

Click here to see what other  Bicycle Touring Pro readers have said about this website,   The Bicycle Touring Blueprint and the benefits they have received from following my advice.

Get Yourself a Good Touring Bicycle

The most important piece of equipment you will need to buy for a bike tour of any kind is your bicycle.

While it may be possible to rent a bike in some instances, and it might also be possible to use a bike you already own, many people who are just starting out with bicycle touring need to do a little research about the bike that is going to be best for them and the type of bicycle touring they wish to do.

Inside “ The Essential Guide To Touring Bicycles ,” I explain why the bike you ride is so important to your overall success as a bicycle tourist… and I detail how using the wrong bike could cost you thousands of dollars and even do damage to your health!

So, before you run out and purchase a new touring bicycle, be sure to read and watch the videos inside “The Essential Guide To Touring Bicycles” and find the bike that’s going to be best for you and your unique situation.

Don’t Make These Common Mistakes

I’ve coached thousands of people through their first bicycle touring experiences and I can tell you that there are several major mistakes I see first-time bicycle tourists making over and over again.

• Waiting Too Long – Don’t wait for years and years to start bicycle touring. Go bicycle touring as soon as you possibly can! Too many people wait until their too old or ill to go on a bike tour. Get out there while you’re still healthy and in good spirits.
• Using A Bad Bicycle – While it’s possible to use almost any type of bicycle for a bicycle tour, it’s worth spending money on a quality touring bicycle , especially if your bike tour is going to be two weeks long or longer. Having a quality bicycle will make a huge difference in the overall comfort and success of your tour.
• Waiting On Other People – While it would be nice to have someone join you on your bike tour, don’t wait around for other people. If you must – go alone or consider joining an organized bike tour where you can ride with other like-minded people. If you wait for others, you might be waiting for the rest of your life.
• Not Understanding How Your Bicycle Works – There are really only a few basic repair and maintenance skills you need to know in order to conduct a bicycle tour, but it’s important that you take some time during the preparation stages of your tour to learn the basics of bicycle ownership.
• Traveling with the Wrong Person/People – Your touring partner has more to do with your success or failure than you might realize. Pick the right person to travel with on your bike tour and you’ll come home with wonderful memories you’ll remember for a lifetime. But pick the wrong touring partner and your bike tour could be doomed from the very beginning.
• Not Understanding the 80/20 Rule – Bicycle touring is 80% mental and 20% physical. Yes, bike touring is a physical activity and you need to prepare your body for the demands of long-distance cycling. But traveling long distances on a bicycle is much more mentally challenging than most people realize.
• Not Enjoying Every Moment – Bicycle touring isn’t always easy or enjoyable. There are times when you’ll be tired, hungry, thirst, dirty, wet or sore. There might even be times when you want to quit and go home. But remember: the challenge, the struggle and the occasional misery are a part of why you’re doing this in the first place. The challenges you’ll face on your bike tour are a part of what is going to make the experience so incredibly memorable in the future!

To learn more about these common bicycle touring mistakes and how to best avoid them, watch this free online training video .

Learn to Conduct Your Own Bike Tours

If you’re ready to learn everything there is to know about bicycle touring and you’d like me, the Bicycle Touring Pro , to walk you through everything you need to know in order to plan, prepare for and execute your first bicycle tour anywhere in the world, then pick up a copy of the book that helped thousands of people learn to conduct their own incredible bicycle touring adventures.

The Bicycle Touring Blueprint is a 400+ page guidebook that takes you by the hand and walks you through the entire bicycle touring process, from beginning to end. The book includes three main chapters divided into more than 100 different sections detailing everything you need to know about how to conduct a short bike tour close to your home, or a long-distance bicycle touring adventure anywhere in the world.

The book comes complete with detailed packing lists, recommended resources, worksheets designed to help you plan and prepare for your first bike tour, plus a whole lot more!

To order your copy of The Bicycle Touring Blueprint (in ebook or paperback format) visit the website at: www.biketourbook.com

Thanks for Being Here!

Thank you for visiting Bicycle Touring Pro. Please know that I’m here for you as both a coach and a friend. I want to hear your stories, I want to know how else I can help you, and I can’t wait to get a photo of you with your bicycle raised up over your head as you stand triumphantly at the finish line of your first bicycle tour!

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How to Travel by Bicycle (Bike Touring Guide)

There are so many beautiful reasons to go bicycle touring. It’s simply for everybody- no matter your weight, physical condition, experience or budget, you can travel by bike!

If you’re planning to do your first bike tour but have ZERO experience, stick around cause we’ve listed all the tips you need to get you started with your ride. 

Bike Touring vs. Regular Cycling

At its core, bike touring is about embarking on long-distance journeys on a bicycle. It’s not just about the destination, but the journey itself. Unlike regular cycling, where the primary goal might be exercise, commuting, or a short recreational ride, bike touring is about exploration, adventure, and self-sufficiency.

Imagine this: Instead of cycling around your neighborhood or through a local park and returning home, you’re pedaling through scenic countryside, exploring new towns, and at the end of the day, you’re setting up camp under the stars or checking into a cozy inn. That’s bike touring.

• Adventure : Every day brings new scenery, challenges, and experiences.
• Flexibility : You decide the pace, the route, and where to stop.
• Connection : Engage deeply with the environment and the communities you pass through.
• Physical Demand : Requires stamina, especially on multi-day tours.
• Preparation : Planning routes, packing gear, and ensuring safety can be intensive.
• Unpredictability : Weather, road conditions, and other factors can affect your journey.

The Joy of Bike Touring

There’s a unique sense of freedom in bike touring. The open road, the wind in your hair, and the thrill of what lies around the next bend. Every pedal stroke brings a new perspective, every mile a new story. And at the end of the day, there’s the satisfaction of setting up camp, reflecting on the day’s journey, and anticipating the adventures tomorrow will bring.

Planning Your First Bike Tour

Before starting a biking tour, there are things you have to plan. Are you going on-road, off-road, or both? What bike should you use on the tour? What should you bring? How far can you ride? Where do you stay at night? Every ride is different. The more details you put into your plan, the more successful your ride will be. 

Bikepacking

Generally, bike-packing is more off-road using wide-tired mountain bikes with shocks. It’s a tour on dirt roads in secluded places. It’s also a great option if you want to go back-country hiking while enjoying the thrills of riding your mountain bike.

Touring in mountainous areas can be demanding so backpackers carry light loads during their rides. Although, carrying less means there is less stuff you need to worry about.

Cycle Touring

If you’re in love with the idea of “living life on the road, then cycle touring is for you. It can range from single to multi-day trips while traveling across towns, cities, or even countries. Cycle tours will require bringing all the gear you would need to travel around sufficiently. Backpacking, on the flip side, demands only the most essential stuff to make cycling less physically demanding.

Getting the Right Bike

On-road ride.

Touring bikes are great for on-road rides. Most touring bikes are pretty heavy because they have steel frames that absorb the cushion of the road. 

You can also go on a road bike, although most road bikes aren’t built for long-distance bike touring. A hybrid combo like gravel bikes also does well on the road. These bikes are lightweight and designed to handle a wide range of different terrain and surfaces.

Off-road Ride

Mountain bikes are still best for off-road riding because you’re gonna be able to do hills and trails that you wanna hit without damaging your bike and hurting yourself. 

When choosing a bike for off-road tours, you should optimize your bike setup by considering your load’s weight, riding surfaces, and terrain steepness.

The Importance of an Upright Riding Position

An upright riding position is crucial for long hours on the saddle. It reduces strain on the back, neck, and shoulders, allowing for a more comfortable and sustainable ride. This position also offers a better vantage point to enjoy the surroundings.

Expert Tip : Look for handlebars that allow multiple hand positions. This can help reduce fatigue and numbness on longer rides.

Geometry and Stability

The geometry of a touring bike is tailored for stability, especially when loaded with gear. A longer wheelbase, lower bottom bracket, and relaxed head tube angle all contribute to a bike that handles well, even when weighed down with panniers.

Example : Consider two cyclists – one on a nimble road bike and the other on a loaded touring bike. While the road bike might excel in a city sprint, the touring bike will shine on a multi-day journey through varied terrains, providing a stable and comfortable ride.

Features of a Typical Touring Bike

• Durable Frame : Often made of steel, which is resilient and can be repaired in remote areas.
• Wider Tires : Provides better traction and comfort on different surfaces.
• Mounts for Panniers and Racks : Essential for carrying camping gear, food, and other essentials.
• Reliable Braking System : Disc brakes are common for their reliability in varied weather conditions.
• Gearing : A wide range of gears to handle steep climbs and fast descents.

Expert Tip : When choosing a touring bike, consider the type of terrain you’ll be covering. For rougher trails, a touring bike with wider tires and a more robust frame might be ideal. For paved roads, a lighter touring bike with a more streamlined design could be the best choice.

Packing Essentials 

Preparing your bike tour list is crucial. What you should pack will depend on the length of your ride and where you’ll be. Below, we discussed how you can efficiently pack when traveling on-road or off-road. 

Panniers or Backpacking Bag?

When planning to do a bike tour, you should bring panniers for storing your stuff. These bags are spacious and built to be attached to the sides of your bike’s front and rear sacks. It can also be detached once you reach your destination. We suggest you get a waterproof pannier to protect your stuff from getting wet during rainy trips.

Panniers are best for long cycling tours where you can store all of your food, clothing, gears, and other essentials. When packing for an off-road trip, opt for a bike packing bag (or the best bike messenger bag ) because it would demand lighter load set-ups than a four-pannier cycling tour set-up.

Choosing your Direction

In choosing your destination, consider the weather and the landscape. The weather will also tell you what you need to pack, how far you can ride, and when you should start pedaling. 

Are you craving mountainous terrain, city view, or both? When choosing a scenic spot, remember to consider going on lean seasons if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic. Or you can look for routes with a few motorists to avoid undesirable traffic jams. 

How Much Will Bike Touring Cost?

If you’re touring America and you already have all the necessary gears you need before you hit the road, you’ll pretty much need $35 to $50 per day to cover your food, camping fees, and repairs and gear replacements. But if you’re planning to tour overseas, here’s a quick breakdown by travellingtwo.com of the possible expenses per day:

• Europe: $39.64 
• Morocco: $40.00 
• Syria: $23.89 
• Iran: $17.16 
• Turkey: $53.97 
• Turkmenistan: $15.21 
• Uzbekistan: $19.09 
• Kazakhstan: $18.07
• Kyrgyzstan: $26.58 
• Thailand: $32.33 
• Cambodia: $34.11 
• Laos: $22.00
• Malaysia: $28.59
• Singapore: $20.70 
• Australia: $33.01 
• New Zealand: $34.67 
• Canada: $30.06 

Basics of Bicycle Touring

1. Understand the Different Types of Bike Touring :

• Day Touring : Short trips that last a day. Ideal for beginners to get a feel of bike touring.
• Credit Card Touring : Multi-day trips where you stay in hotels or B&Bs and dine in restaurants. Lighter load since you don’t carry camping gear.
• Fully Loaded Touring : Carrying everything you need, including camping gear and food. Offers the most freedom but requires thorough preparation.

2. Physical Preparation : Start with shorter rides and gradually increase your distance. This not only builds stamina but also helps you get accustomed to spending long hours on the saddle.

3. Learn Basic Bike Maintenance : Knowing how to fix a flat tire, adjust brakes, and maintain your chain can save you from potential troubles on the road.

Steps to Become a Pro at Bicycle Touring

1. Plan but Be Flexible : While it’s essential to have a route and itinerary, be prepared for changes. Weather, road conditions, or unexpected discoveries might alter your plans, and that’s okay!

2. Pack Smart :

• Essentials First : Prioritize tools, spare parts, water, and food.
• Balance Your Load : Distribute weight evenly between front and rear panniers.
• Limit Luxuries : Space is limited, so only pack what you’ll truly need.

3. Engage with the Community : Join local cycling groups, participate in forums, and connect with experienced tourers. Their insights and stories can be invaluable.

4. Document Your Journey : Maintain a journal, take photos, or even start a blog. Documenting helps you reflect on your experiences and share them with others.

5. Safety First : Always wear a helmet, use lights and reflective gear, and be aware of traffic rules and road conditions.

6. Embrace Challenges : Flat tires, unexpected rain, or steep terrains are all part of the journey. Embrace these challenges as they come, and remember, they make the best stories!

7. Continuous Learning : The world of bike touring is vast. From new gear innovations to different touring philosophies, there’s always something new to learn.

Expert Tip : Start with a short, local tour to familiarize yourself with the experience. It’s a low-commitment way to understand what bike touring entails and to identify areas you need to work on.

Common Mistakes in Bike Touring 

1. Using the Wrong Bike: I t’s possible to use any bike for a bike tour, but using the right bike that’s specific to your needs will make a difference in your overall comfort and success during your trip.

2. Fear of Starting: Start right off! Don’t wait for years of planning before starting to go on a bike tour. Waiting until you’re too old and physically incapable will only bring you lots of regrets. 

3. Not Documenting Your Tour : Capture the most scenic view you’ve seen, the best experiences, and the most beautiful people you’ve met during your bike tour. It’s good to look back on the physical and emotional memories during your bike-tour. 

4. Not Knowing How to Do Minor Bike Repairs and Adjustments : Learn a few repair and maintenance skills before going on a bike tour. These basic things will save you time and money! Not only that, but a well-maintained bike can also ensure a smooth and safe ride.

About The Author

Antonnette Baker

Hey there! We’re Antonnette and Mario, a sister-and-brother tandem who love bikes and biking.

We and our team use our extensive knowledge about bicycles to help you have a great riding experience.

Read more...

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What’s The Best Touring Bike? (2024 Edition)

Posted on 

Touring bike buying advice is a popular topic, so I update this post regularly to keep the details current. If you find any out-of-date information, consider leaving a comment to let me know. Thanks!

Choosing a new touring bike can be pretty stressful for a newcomer to cycle touring – especially when you start looking at the price tags. 

So it’s no surprise the most common question I’ve been asked in 18 years of running this blog is some version of the following:

“Help! What’s the best touring bike for my upcoming cycle tour?”

It’s a perfectly understandable question to ask, because there are a lot of options out there – but answering it calls for a bit of context .

Your choice of touring bike should be mainly informed not by online reviews or paid-for content by sponsored bloggers, but by the kind of tour you’re planning, your unique physiology , your riding preferences as a touring cyclist, and – an oft-forgotten factor – what bikes are geographically available to you.

So the “best touring bike” for a young Brit planning a low-budget tour in Europe would be totally different to the “best touring bike” for an experienced American planning a once-in-a-lifetime, multi-year adventure from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra del Fuego.

Similarly, the best bike for a rider measuring 5 feet (152cm) tall, who also has reduced neck mobility, would be different to the best bike for a fitness enthusiast trying to win a bikepacking race like the Tour Divide.

And if you ask fellow cycle tourers on forums like Reddit what they think is the best touring bike, the answers will inevitably reflect what’s worked best for them , not what’ll work best for you.

(Yes, I am a fellow cycle tourer, but I’m not just going to tell you what touring bike I ride, any more than I’m going to tell you what colour pants I’m wearing!)

Simply put, there are diverse answers to the question of what is the “best touring bike”.

Luckily, touring bicycles are a mature product with decades of heritage. And despite the the confusion created by the rise of bikepacking as an industry buzz-word , there are still plenty of good commercial touring bikes on the market today. These are bikes that have been designed to meet the needs of a broad range of touring cyclists, and are readily available through local bike shops and dealership networks around the world.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the best of them. The list below showcases some of the most time-proven touring bikes being made and sold in 2024, across the full spectrum of budgets, as well as a few lesser-known models to demonstrate what touring bikes for riders with specialist requirements might look like.

Perhaps you’ll find your perfect touring bike here. Perhaps you’ll realise you’re looking for something else altogether. Or perhaps you’ll find something more interesting to read among everything else I’ve written about cycle touring and bikepacking.

This is not an exhaustive list of every single touring bike on the market.

I’m a veteran bicycle traveller with 18 years of real-world experience, and my goal is to help you make the right choice , not to churn out AI-written spam to get on the front page of Google and generate affiliate commission.

My hope is to give you a taste of the diversity of touring bikes available today, rather than overwhelming you with unexplained jargon and things to click on. The journey of buying a new touring bike is not a short one. Reading this post will just be the beginning!

The list of touring bikes below is arranged in ascending price order. I’ve mentioned the worldwide availability of each bike, roughly speaking, and the manufacturer-suggested retail price (MSRP, aka: RRP or list price) in £/€/$ as applicable.

Cube Touring

Decathlon riverside touring 520, fuji touring ltd/disc ltd, ridgeback expedition, ridgeback panorama, surly disc trucker, oxford bike works expedition.

• More rider-recommended touring bikes
• Bonus: The secret to actually choosing the right touring bike

(Many good touring bikes previously on this list have been discontinued, including the Adventure Flat White, Dawes Galaxy, Revolution Country Traveller, and Surly Long Haul Trucker, to name just a few. That’s life!)

Summary: Feature-rich flat-bar trekking bike Availability: Worldwide List Price: £800 / €730 / US$760 / CA$1,090

The entry-level touring bike from the major German bike maker Cube is the affordable and simply-named Cube Touring . The basic model in this extensive range is currently one of the cheapest off-the-peg touring bikes on the market, and is widely distributed across Europe and North America.

If you’re used to the appearance of British or American designed tourers, you’ll notice some big differences, such as the flat handlebars and adjustable stem, the resulting upright riding posture, and the front suspension fork, as well as other details like a kickstand, a hub dynamo, and LED lights as standard. These are all fairly typical features of touring bikes from German and Dutch makers, where utility and comfort takes precedence.

To cater for a diverse customer base, the Cube Touring range comes in several frame variations and sizes, including the classic diamond frame (5 sizes), women’s specific with a sloping top-tube (3 sizes) and a step-through frame for riders with impaired mobility (3 sizes), all in a choice of two colour schemes.

The ‘semi-integrated’ rear rack, which is held in position by the mudguard/fender, is unorthodox, and the seat stays and front fork don’t have standard mounting points, complicating any modifications to the bike’s luggage-carrying capabilities. Riders looking for an entry-level touring bike that can be upgraded in the future may also decide to pass on the Cube Touring for these reasons.

The rest of the specification is impressive at this price. The entry-level Shimano V‑brakes and drivetrain components are sensible. As with any bike, you’ll want to fit your own preferred saddle, but the inclusion of ergonomic grips, lights, fenders and a kick-stand makes the Touring more or less ready to hit the road right out of the box.

All that said, the bike’s strongest selling point is the price. The recent disappearance of several popular entry-level touring bikes has left a gap at this end of the market – one that the Cube Touring happily fills.

• Check out the full Cube Touring range on the Cube website .
• Find your local dealer in Cube’s online directories of stockists in the UK and Europe , the USA , and Canada .
• Don’t buy this bike online. Support your local bike shop ( UK list )!

Summary: Good value forward-thinking light tourer Availability: UK, Europe, Australia List Price: £800 / €800 / AUD1,800

There’s no denying the success of Decathlon ’s no-frills approach to designing, manufacturing and selling sports and outdoor gear. The Riverside Touring 520 is the entry-level model among Decathlon’s touring bikes, and for many riders will be a welcome addition to the sparse options at this lower-budget end of the market.

The Riverside Touring 520 is based on an aluminium frame, whose geometry sits somewhere between the old-school rigid mountain bike and today’s trendy gravel/hybrid rides. The frameset sports a big range of mounting points for more or less any luggage configuration you might imagine, including a front lowrider or fork cages, a traditional rear carrier rack should the semi-integrated stock rack not be to your tastes, and no less than five bottle cages.

The riding position of the Riverside Touring leans towards relaxed and upright, with the sloping top-tube helping with mounting and dismounting, and flat bars with so-called ergonomic grips and bar-ends atop a stack of head-tube spacers, all pointing to a bike designed with the casual or newcomer rider in mind. Comfortably wide 1.75″ tyres will be equally content on asphalt and gravel at the 700C (28″) wheel diameter.

Looking at component choice, Decathlon have specified a 1×11 drivetrain (ie: a single front chainring driving an 11-sprocket rear cassette); unusual on a tourer where riders tend to benefit from a wide and fine-grained range of gear ratios. The hydraulic disc brakes are also an unorthodox choice for a touring bike. 

Both will annoy traditionalists, especially with the reduced choice of gear ratios and the near-impossibility of repairing hydraulics on the roadside. But a quick scan of the many customer reviews of this bike suggest that these concerns are academic. In the regions of the world this bike is likely to be used, spares and repairs for this bike will be abundant. And if you want to take it further afield, you can always fit cable disc brakes and/or a regular drivetrain.

Certainly one of this bike’s great strengths is how widely available it is for test-riding, Decathlon having hundreds of locations across the UK, Europe, Australia, and increasingly further afield, including Turkey, India, China, and the list goes on . Indeed, I can easily imagine a first-time tourer with a reasonable gear budget walking out of the store with not just the bike but a full set of luggage and maybe some camping gear too.

There are only four frame size options, however. Taken together with the wheel size, this may prevent those with short body lengths from finding a good match with the Riverside Touring 520.

In summary, while Decathlon have leaned pretty far into the crossover between classic touring and the gravel bike trend, there’s little to find fault with at this price – and there’s considerably more scope for upgrades here than other entry-level touring bikes in this list.

• Buy the Riverside Touring 520 in the UK from Decathlon .
• The bike is also available from Decathlon branches across Europe , Australia , and beyond .

Summary: Sporty steel-framed light road tourers Availability: UK/Europe/USA List Price: €1,000/1,500

Japanese manufacturer Fuji’s entry-level touring bikes are the Fuji Touring LTD and Disc LTD . The cheaper Touring LTD is the flat-bar model with rim brakes, while the Touring Disc LTD features drop bars and cable-actuated disc brakes with integrated shifter/brake levers. 

They’re both built on a Reynolds 520 cromoly steel frameset, with classic touring geometry and all the usual mounting points. Both bikes feature 36-spoke 700C wheels on Shimano hubs, and mudguards/fenders and a reasonably solid rear rack as standard, but no front rack or lowrider (you can of course add one later).

The Touring LTD has a Shimano Alivio V‑brakes and a 3×9‑speed chainset from the midrange of Shimano’s mountain-bike series of components, while the Touring Disc LTD has a 3×9‑speed Shimano Sora chainset with slightly higher gear ratios, making it more oriented towards lighter-weight road rides, as well as the ubiquitous TRP Spyre cable-actuated disc brakes found on so many touring bikes. For the extra money, the Disc LTD has a generator (dynamo) hub built into the front wheel which is already hooked up to the integrated front headlight – a nice touch.

The Fuji Touring LTD and Disc LTD come in no fewer than seven frame sizes, allowing precise fitting and fewer compromises for short or tall riders.

In summary, both models represent high ambitions in a good-value package aimed at a rider who wants a classic, no-fuss steel-framed touring bike, with the Disc being the sportier and more road-oriented of the two.

• Find a list of global dealers on the official Fuji website .

Summary: Beefy yet comfortable long-haul all-rounder Availability: UK List Price: £1,350

Launched in 2014, tweaked in the years since and now thoroughly tested on longer trips, the Ridgeback Expedition  is a strong contender for best value expedition touring bike on the market.

The current model shares design principles with many more expensive touring bikes designed specifically for worldwide expeditions beyond the developed world: wide-range 3×9‑speed mountain bike gearing, chunky 26-inch wheels, and a comfortable upright riding position. Unusually for a British tourer, it comes with flat bars and bar-end grips for a variety of hand positions. Cable disc brakes are now fitted as standard (the first incarnation had drop bars and V‑brakes).

The Ridgeback-branded integrated grips and bar-ends are modelled on the very popular but expensive Ergon range. The latest version of the Ridgeback Expedition also sees a brazed-on kickstand mounting plate added to the non-drive-side chainstay (though not an actual kickstand).

In many ways, as well as being excellent value for money, the Ridgeback Expedition is one of the most full-featured off-the-peg bikes in this list for extremely demanding trips where comfort and durability over time are paramount. Upgrade the rear rack, add a front lowrider and your favourite saddle, and you’ll be ready for the most remote of the planet’s backroads.

• Read my full review of the legacy 2014 Ridgeback Expedition here , and check the comments for feedback from long-haul riders.
• Like the rest of Ridgeback’s range, the Expedition should be available from any authorised Ridgeback dealer .

Summary: Classic British fully loaded drop-bar tourer Availability: UK List Price: £1,600

The Ridgeback Panorama  is a British-designed, Reynolds 725 cromoly-framed, disc brake-equipped, classic touring bike with a durable selection of 3×9sp drivetrain components from both road- and mountain-biking ranges. 

Its road-oriented frameset is prime for being built up into a fully-loaded, long-haul, asphalt touring machine. Both a front lowrider and a rear rack are fitted as standard – Tubus lookalikes, not the genuine articles, but still a welcome addition for fully-loaded riders who are just getting started.

Potential weak points on the Panorama include the integrated shifters/brake levers, which break away from the principle of separating possible points of failure (although you could theoretically swap them out for bar-end or even downtube shifters). The wheelset components are also nothing to write home about; get the spokes re-tensioned before taking this bike on a long-haul tour.

In spite of these question marks, the Panorama has been around for a long time and is very much tried and tested:  read Tim & Laura’s detailed guest review of the Panorama after a 6,000-mile road test , after which they completed their round-the-world trip on the same bikes.

• The Ridgeback Panorama is available from these authorised UK dealers .

Summary: Customisable road/gravel adventure bike Availability: Worldwide List Price: £1,600 / US$2,050 / CA$2,800

Back in 2012, when the jury was still out on disc brakes as a reliable choice for long-distance touring, Surly produced a disc-specific version of their legendary Long Haul Trucker touring bike, cunningly naming it the Disc Trucker . It has since evolved into one of the most versatile and tried-and-tested touring/adventure bikes on the planet.

The Disc Trucker platform had a major update in 2020, about which more detail on the Surly blog. Wheel diameter now complements frame size, ie: bigger wheels suit taller riders and the vice-versa, for a total of eleven frame/wheel size combinations. If, having tried all the Disc Truckers for size, you still can’t find a good fit, you should probably visit a bespoke framebuilder.

The frame geometry is tight and nimble, with integrated gear/brake levers adding to the sporty vibe. This lack of mechanical separation won’t please everyone, but will certainly please riders looking for a performance boost over the uncompromising solidity often seen in the expedition bike niche.

Similarly to the Kona Sutra (see below), the latest Disc Trucker has bolt-through axles, clearance for fatter tyres, and versatility improvements such as multiple fork mounts for fenders, cages or lowriders, to match the kind of wilder, mixed-terrain rides for which the Disc Trucker is increasingly used.

As ever with Surly, racks and mudguards remain excluded, the intention being for you to fit your own according to your needs.

The garish fluoro-yellow paint option of the current Disc Trucker won’t be for everyone, but Surly tell us that it’s also available in hi-viz black.

• Click here to read my full review of the legacy 2014 Disc Trucker .
• To find a place to test-ride one, start with Surly’s global dealer locator .

Summary: Adaptable, performance-oriented road/gravel tourer Availability: Worldwide List Price: $2,100 / £1,900

Canada-based bike manufacturer Kona have long inhabited the left-of-centre in cycling. The Sutra range, too, is progressively-minded, being one of the first mainstream touring bikes to switch to disc brakes back in the early 2010s.

Since then, Kona have adopted the stiffer and stronger bolt-through axle standard (another first amongst bikes in this list), and tightened up the frame geometry to produce a nimble and sporty cyclocross-inspired steel frameset which remains a touring bike at its core.

In 2022, Kona diversified the platform into several models, including the LTD and SE. The standard Sutra went in a more lightweight direction than in previous years, switching to a road drivetrain and cable-actuated hydraulic disc brakes. Today, this performance-oriented version of the Sutra remains Kona’s ‘modern take on the classic touring bike’ (in their own words), with a Shimano GRX 2×10-speed road-bike gearing, drop bars with integrated shifter/brake levers, mixed-terrain Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tyres, and a Brooks B17 saddle and Brooks bar-tape as standard. This all points to the blend of on-road and off-road use increasingly preferred by riders going on shorter, wilder adventures.

The 2024 Sutra’s luggage-carrying capabilities are diverse and adaptable. For those wanting to use the bike as a fully-loaded world tourer, standard rack mounts are provided on the seatstays and rear dropouts, suitable for fitting any standard pannier rack (perhaps a Tubus Cargo or Logo to match the Tara front low-rider already fitted). For those wanting to stay nimble, frame and fork mounts exist for more or less any combination of bolt-on cages and harnesses.

The Kona Sutra comes in six fine-grained frame sizes. This year’s paint colour is Satin Midnight with bronze gloss decals, in case you were wondering.

• I’ve been riding a Kona Sutra myself since 2012 and I love it.  Read my original long-term review of the legacy model here .
• The Kona website has a handy  list of worldwide dealers so you can find a place to test-ride the Sutra.

Summary: Bespoke, round-the-world expedition bike Availability: UK & Worldwide List Price: from £2,789

Originally a one-off “ultimate expedition bike” built to my exact specification, Oxford Bike Works have been refining and custom-building bespoke Expedition s to order since 2015 from their workshop in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Many have now circled the globe. It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

As standard, each bike features a hand-built Reynolds 525 cromoly steel frame, a choice of 26″ or 700C hand-built wheels, top-end Tubus racks, rim or disc brake options, Microshift thumbshifters, and tons of other expedition-specific touches.

From a baseline specification, each bike is custom-built to the rider’s exact needs and preferences after an in-person consultation and fitting session at their workshop. While most of their customers are from the UK, they will also ship finished bikes elsewhere in the world in special cases.

Oxford Bike Works have now moved all frame production to the UK, both minimising their carbon footprint and allowing even more individual tailoring – especially attractive for riders with diverse physiologies who may find that the commercial bikes in this list don’t cater well for their needs.

• Check out the full specifications of the Oxford Bike Works Expedition .
• Read my 10,000-word epic, How To Build The Ultimate Round-The-World Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures) , which details every design decision that went into this bike.
• Don’t buy this bike online (you can’t anyway). Support your local bike shop ( UK list )!

Yet More Rider-Recommended Touring Bikes

This is not an exhaustive list, because if it was we’d be here all day. But the following bikes have also been recommended by readers of this blog over the years since I first published this post. All have also proven themselves capable touring bikes over time and miles:

• Bombtrack Arise Tour (Germany & Worldwide)
• Cinelli HoBootleg (Italy & Worldwide)
• Fahrradmanufaktur TX-800 (Germany)
• Genesis Tour De Fer (UK)
• KHS TR 101 (USA)
• Temple Cycles Adventure Disc 3
• Trek 520 Disc (USA & Worldwide)
• Vivente World Randonneur (Australia)

…and you’ll find even more options in my massive list of heavy-duty expedition touring bikes available worldwide .

Remember: don’t buy a touring bike online. Support your local bike shop ( UK list ) and have your bike chosen, fitted and customised by an expert whose job depends on getting it just right, just for you!

Bonus : The Secret To Actually Choosing The Right Touring Bike

Finally, I’m going to tell you a secret. 

It’s something other cycle touring bloggers won’t tell you, because they’d prefer you to click on their affilliate links, buy a bike online, and earn them commission.

If you’re having trouble choosing between the touring bikes listed above, the reason is probably because – on paper – they are basically all the same .

They all cost several hundred pounds/dollars/euros. Most of them have steel touring-specific frames, wide gearing, relaxed riding positions, a pannier rack and extra mounts, and drivetrains from the middle of Shimano’s mountain-bike or road-bike ranges. They’re all built primarily for paved roads, but could handle a dirt track or gravel road if need be. They all have two wheels, handlebars, and a saddle.

So how should you choose between them?

The answer is actually very simple.

Visit a touring bike specialist ( UK list ) and take a few bikes for a test ride. 

In doing so, you will discover that the “best touring bike” is the one that’s available in your area and has been set up for you by a touring bike specialist who’s taken the time to understand your needs.

I’ve written a longer post about what to do when you get to this stage of the touring bike buying process, when you’ve got a shortlist of bikes you found online but you’re struggling to choose between them .

And if what I’ve shared with you here still isn’t enough, you can check out even more deep-dive posts about detailed aspects of touring bike choice, including

• three critical questions you should ask at the start of the touring bike buying process ,
• a discussion about what exactly defines a touring bike ,
• my take on what’s really going on when you can’t decide between two bikes ,
• a hugely in-depth article on how to custom-build your own expedition bike ,
• a summary of the debate over disc brakes versus rim brakes ,

and more on my absolutely massive advice and planning page .

Because of all the things you’ll buy for a cycle tour, the bike is the one purchase you really can’t afford to get wrong.

Bogged down in research for your next big bicycle adventure?

I wrote a whole book to help with that. How To Hit The Road is designed to be read at your leisure, making planning a bike tour simple and achievable, no matter the length, duration or budget. Available globally as an ebook or paperback.

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Also relevant to this post:

• How To Custom Build The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures)
• The Best Cheap (Sub-£1,000) Touring Bikes for Low-Budget Adventures
• Surly Disc Trucker Touring Bike: Legacy Review & Detailed Photos

Comments ( skip to respond )

331 responses to “what’s the best touring bike (2024 edition)”.

I’ve just returned from another tour in the mountains on my 2007 Ridgeback Panorama which I got originally as a frame from my LBS and then built it up myself with Shimano XT/Tiagra and tubus steel racks, and then had S&S couplings fitted in 2008. The frame has impressed me more and more every tour. This year I went up Mont Ventoux from Malaucène on a “rest” day from loaded touring and the bike was able to hold its own on the descent to Bedoin against a full carbon road bike confirming that it doesn’t just handle well when loaded up with baggage. For on-road touring, there’s nothing I would change on this bike.

Hi I am Bharat from New Delhi . I am 164 Cm tall and weighing 65 KG. Looking for an ideal world touring bike with straight handle bar . Price no bar. Can go for one time life buy. If I could choose the best one . Plz advice .

This is my version of the best long distance self contained tour bike. Tout Terrain Panamericana with a 1000W BBSHD turing a Rohloff Speedhub. I’ve been riding her for nine years now and have 49K miles on the frame. 

Jack of all trades – https://photos.app.goo.gl/ADgC6oyPM2gyrCq27

Full suspension mid-drive ebike and trailer evolution ‑https://photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8

SunCapture 300W Solar Panel: https://photos.app.goo.gl/rFim5rPsajmDt8NJ6

https://youtu.be/WwwdaVg4Y5M

Hi there, thank you for the article. I have touring riverside 520 – thinking about putting a suspension stem and seatpost – which one do you recommend?

I have honestly never heard of a suspension stem, but there are plenty of suspension seatposts that have been tried and tested ( here’s a good round-up ). The Cane Creek Thudbuster is a classic example.

Appreciate the help, thanks from a new biker

Happy to help!

i am from Sri Lanka and my dream is to find a great road touring bike size 52. we don’t find Road touring in Sri Lanka and cant import as well due to heavy taxes. i know there are some great brands , i like the Genesis and the Kona as well and the Trek 520, if you can recommend one based on your experience please write to me [email protected]

Wow. An actual person. Writing. Pen to paper. This is just O so refreshing! Thank you!!! (At 76 years of age-and an English major to boot, circa 1970–I get so tired of the shit being published today. Gawd–I have to guess at what some stupid software program is ATTEMPTING to say!)

You’re welcome. It’s fast becoming my unique selling point!

I can’t find a Kona Sutra SE anywhere, I think they’re discontinued, so if anyone knows where I can find one let me know.

Yes, you’re right – it looks like Kona have simplified things for their 2024 range, and the plain Sutra is now their classic touring bike once again (as it was for years before the SE was introduced). It looks like you’ll need to add your own rear rack for fully loaded touring, but all the frame fittings appear to be there. I’ll update this post shortly with the new model. Thanks for highlighting it!

My wife’s bike is a basic 2000 Kona Hahana. Persuaded the dealer to sell only frame headset seatpin bars. . Built up better wheels etc tubus racks. Tierra del Fuego to Quito plus many more trips. Still going strong 20 years later. My lovely lightweight Univega bought as a frame lasted until 2013 .The frame broke in Albania survived for 60 km held together with nylon cord and cone spanners. Got it welded by local blacksmith. Now have Surly Troll. Ok .….but will have to go back to Square taper bottom bracket. Wife’s old square tapers have done about 30000 miles. Progress or fashion? Charlie and Bethan

All I can do is repeat the old saying that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Anyone got their hands on a Decathalon Riverside Touring 900? Looks like good all round value, but rarely in stock on their website! Would love to hear some real world feedback on this bike…

I second that – real world stories appreciated!

Hi Tom, I recently cycled from Amsterdam to Genoa covering 2500km in total. I flew into Amster with the bike boxed up. I took with me a carbon frame Ridley Kanzo Adventure, it has all the mounting points and relatively relaxed geometry. I road over every type of terrain and the bike didn’t let me down. What I liked with this bike was that I could arrive at my destination in the evening, remove my pannier bags and then have a light weight roadie feeling for exploring whatever region I had made camp in. The bike also had great performance in the hills. Another plus was that when flying and the bike is boxed up, it’s relatively light weight to transport. This meant that at the start and end of my tour getting the bike boxed up from campsite to train to airport was not such a struggle.

Thanks, Kerry. I really like this approach and I’m heartened to hear carbon frames are now being built to take light luggage loads. Thanks again for sharing!

The 30 year old touring bike you already own becomes the second best, as the next one you buy must necessarily be even better.

I’ve recently gone from a Claud Butler Majestic to a Crossmaxx 28″ Pinion. Naturally, I’m absolutely certain, it’s the best touring bike I could possibly have bought (given my criteria and priorities).

First, let me make this perfectly clear, I’m not a seasoned tourer, so much of what I will say is strictly coming from an amateur. I had to look for a new touring bike after my 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe got hit by a hit-and-run driver and bent the fork beyond repair, but that bike worked great for my needs.

I could not buy a touring bike from anyone in my city of 350,000 people because no one carries them, the only shop that could have ordered me the Trek 520 but there were some things about the bike I didn’t like, plus it was expensive and with lower end parts, much how I felt the Surly Trucker was, having no choice I had to turn to the internet. in 2019 I compared the Kona Sutra SE, Surly Trucker, Fuji Touring, Masi Giramondo 700c, and one other I can’t recall the name. After much debate, I narrowed it down to either the Kona or the Masi, and ended up with the Masi because of the price of $1,450 at the time, the Kona would have cost me $1,950, but in 2019 they didn’t have some of the stuff they now have on that bike so to make it work I had to make some changes which would have cost me even more; the Masi had the best gear ratios for climbing steep grades with a loaded bike of any bike I saw, and at the time Masi was using 180mm rotors on the front and 160 on the rear and I liked the idea of the bigger rotor on the front, Masi has since reduced the front rotor size to 160.

I did make some changes to the Masi, put on RedShift Shockstop suspension stem and seat post, a change I would have done to any other touring bike I would have bought, now I feel like I’m riding in a Cadillac. The stock Kenda Drumlin tires are junk and heavy, I replaced those with Schwalbe Amotion 38c tires; and the WTB saddle was also junk, so replaced it with a Brooks C17; I ended up not liking the front Tubus Tara rack and replaced it with a Blackburn Bootlegger rack which works better for my needs. 

I think the Masi Giramondo 700c is a very worthy touring bike that a person should at least look at, especially if on the lower budget end of things.

Thanks for this detailed contribution – it’s always good to hear about rider experiences with touring bikes other than those listed here. For other readers’ reference, here’s a link to the California based manufacturer webpage for the Masi Giramondo .

About to begin a year of touring with Breezer Radar Expert. A review of it here https://cycletraveloverload.com/breezer-radar-expert-review-best-budget-gravel-bike/ (not me) I changed the tires to Schwalbe G‑One Overland Evo 28″ 50–622 for this purpose 😉

I’m considering the Priority 600, as my new touring bike and wondering if anyone has any history of using one or opinions of this bike? Thx

For reference, here’s a link to the Priority 600 . I have no personal experience of this bike, but I have published my own detailed thoughts on internal gearing systems such as the Pinion gearbox in the context of cycle touring here (most of the same logic applies to belt drive).

I am a multi day ultra cyclist, so tend to go minimalist. However, I have done big touring rides in the past on my trusty 1993 Cannondale T1000 (my 21st birthday present). I think that a Daws Super Galaxy or Cannondale, still make excellent budget touring bikes. I have been racing and touring on a Niner RTL Steel, which is makes an excellent touring bike, with great touring geomtry and lots of mounts for racks — I use a 1x 46t Shinano GRX groupset with an 11–50 cassette. Gravel bikes can may great touring bikes

Happy you’re reinforcing the mantra that the best touring bike might be the one you already have – even if it’s 30 years old! As for gravel bikes, many of them would certainly make good tourers – just not sure I’d advise anyone to buy a gravel bike for touring if touring-specific bikes are also available.

I think I have been riding the “Best” touring bike for the last 7 years. — https://photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8

What an absolute beast! Something with that much detailed customisation can hardly fail to serve its rider’s needs best.

Yes HP and Tom, I would like to know about the Marrakesh too!

Interestingly enough, I still can’t find any long-term rider reviews of the Marrakesh. There are, however, plenty of spam reviews which combine manufacturer specifications and stock photos with meaningless filler like “combining Alivio Trekking derailleurs with the Shimano Sora shifters, you won’t have any problem slowing down or torquing up the bike when needed” (yep, actual quote). As a rule, bikes only get on this list when a consensus emerges from the community of people who’ve used them on tour. I just wish I could find more decent trip reports from people riding this one!

Great list, but where’s the Salsa Marrakech?!

I’ve done a few tours on it and can vouch for it’s quality. She’s an absolute beast and rides like a dream! Packed with touring features and has really well worked out geometry.

PS I don’t work for Salsa.

PPS love the blog mate. Did a 6500km+ around Asia a few years ago and your blog was really reaaally useful. 🤘🤘🤘

Thanks for the comment! The Marrakech was launched in 2015, which in cycle touring circles makes it a newcomer 😉 but you are correct that enough time has gone by now to see real-world results, so I’ll consider it for the next update. Thanks again!

I am looking to buy either Fuji disc touring LTD 2021( priced at 1336 euros) or Trek 520 2021( priced at 1600 euros) . I am really confused , as I don’t understand even though both have very similar specs, why is the trek 520 priced at 250 euros higher? Is trek somehow supposed to be better for some reason that I cannot comprehend or is it price cause of the brand “trek”?

Hi Badri. Prices may differ for many reasons, including import taxes, exchange rates, retailer profit margins, and of course simple pricing decisions by the manufacturer. But my main advice still remains this: if you can’t choose between two bikes on paper, it’s time to visit your local bike shop and take both for a test ride!

Hi I’m from newzealand and touring bikes well decent ones aren’t that easy to come by at the moment because of covid .but I found a Kona sutra the guy had only done about 100 km on it decided he wasn’t going to cycle so sold it and I happen to be at the right place at the right time.great bike to ride and I’m looking forward to my first tour on it in one months time Peter

Unlikely you monitor this anymore, but I’ve been comparing my 80s road bike to modern touring bikes (Croix de Fer and Kona Sutra) and the geometries look the same. Am I missing something or are modern specialist tourers actually very similar to old-school road racers?

Hey Hugh. Actually I make a point of replying to every comment, and I update this post monthly 🙂

Long ago I inherited a hand-built road bike from my grandfather. It was the first bike I’d owned that wasn’t a mountain bike and I was amazed at how fast and light it was, despite being a steel frame. It was a bit on the small side for me, but you’re right that the geometry was quite close to a classic road tourer. The biggest differences you’ll probably find are in the weight (heavier-gauge tubing designed for carrying luggage) and the wheelbase proportional to frame size, although the trend today seems to be for more compact and sporty designs. But the short version is yes, there are certainly a lot of similarities!

Sorry to burst some people’s bubbles.But I want to save you the hassle and frustration. I’ve been touring around north,central and south america,now in Turkey & the Balkans for the last 4.5 years on a 3x9 ‚11–36 cassette Surly Troll 26″ and I can tell you that 26″ anything is absolutely obsolete!! DEAD!! It has been a total nightmare! I can find zero parts for it, anywhere. Definitely forget tires. Impossible! Literally nothing anywhere. Traditional wisdom is gone out the window, China has flooded the market with 27.5/29″ and all the components for these sizes and that’s what killed the 26″ over the last 5+ years. Seriously , almost everything I have for my bike I had to buy off Amazon and getting lucky once or twice when a mechanic spent days looking for parts for me. I’ve spent days and more than 2 weeks stuck in cities looking for what was considered simple parts found “easily”! :9 speed shifters,cassettes,chains,26″ tires,disc rotors 160mm,BB,brake pads,etc…Nada!! Super frustrating! I can’t buy a new bike now but I will sell this 26″ 3x9 Troll in a flash the first chance I get or throw it straight into a river. It’s a shame because it’s a great bike. You can almost still get things for it online, but I think soon these parts will be plased out soon. Due to Covid the shipping is taking weeks and many parts are out of stock now too. I thought that being in Europe people still ride 26″ bikes I might find parts,but no.I’ve been once again stuck Tirana for more than 2 weeks just for a cassette and chain and have to take inferior parts now. If I had a 27’5 or 29″ and 10/11 speed I would have more options. My friends who toured 5–10 + years ago can’t believe this change. All 26″ inch bike frame builders out there need to know this.The market has changed, traditionalists be warned. Good luck!

Hello Ian and thanks for your comment. You certainly sound frustrated! For balance, and for the benefit of my other readers, I’d like to add a few observations:

1. 26″ is a wheel size, not a cassette sprocket count, chain width, shifter indexing system, disc rotor size, etc. It affects rim, spoke, tyre and tube availability. 2. You’re right that the industry is currently swamped with trendy new wheel sizes like 27.5 and 29. But most existing bicycles in the world have 26-inch wheels. These bicycles will always need spare parts and are unlikely to disappear overnight. 3. As for “literally nothing anywhere”, I just walked into my local supermarket and found an aisle of brand new bicycles, all adult sizes of which had 26-inch wheels, and a rack of spare tyres right next to them. I’ve said this before: it’s not just specialist bike shops that sell bikes. This is critical to remember when looking for 26-inch wheel parts in far-flung lands.

That’s all I wanted to add. I hope you get things sorted in Tirana. And I hope you’ll share with us the location of the river you throw your Surly Troll into!

Im fairly sure the Surly Long Haul Trucker promotion pictures are of frames with a different wheel size they are designed for. The picture here looks like a 60cm frame for 700c wheels but fitted with 26″ wheels. This is the same for the picture here as it is on their website, which looks like a 58cm frame for 262 wheels with 700c wheels in place. I own a Surly LHT and theyre great bikes but the frame sizeing can be a bit confusing and the promotional pictures dont help.

I would respectfully disagree, based on the fact that the brake shoes are visibly aligned correctly with the rims. If the wrong sized wheels were fitted to the frame, this wouldn’t be possible. In the past, all sizes of LHT frames have been available for both 700C and 26″ wheels, so I’d guess we’re looking at one of the larger frame sizes for 26″ wheels with the correct wheels indeed fitted. The proportions do look weird at a glance, but it is in fact how these bikes were sold. FWIW the sizing scheme of the Truckers has changed now, so wheel size better complements frame size throughout the range, as mentioned in the latest update to the post above.

Hello Tom — I have a Koga Miyata Globe Traveler which I bought in 2005 from a dealer in Lexington, KY — Pedal The Planet. (Ironically, in 1985, I did a world tour on a Miyata bicycle.) I bicycled the Lewis and Clark Trail that summer, St. Louis to Astoria, OR. 10 years later in 2015 I began a charity ride of the perimeter of the U.S. for Habitat For Humanity and Save The Children (website: usperimeterride.org) and concluded that 12,000 journey in 2017. I’ve been very happy with my Koga Miyata all these years. I’m 71 now, and don’t know if I have any expedition type tours left in me … but I keep thinking. Just wondering your thoughts on the current Koga bikes. I’ve seen a couple of comments here regarding Koga bikes — some positive and couple not (the one regarding the cracked frame). I think that there are no longer any Koga dealers in North America. Am I correct in thinking that? I believe there used to be one in Toronto, and a dealer out in Santa Barbara, CA, that handled parts. Pedal The Planet where I bought my Koga Miyata is no longer in operation. Thank you for all your info on your website!

Aaaand Long Haul Trucker is gone as well. Seems like Surly are phasing out some of the touring bikes.

Same source — LHT FAQ, third answer I think.

That’s tragic – although on closer inspection it does say “for the time being”…

Sadly, Surly will discontinue the Troll model in 2021.

Hi Lukas! Do you happen to have a source for this? I’ve checked the Surly website and social media channels and haven’t found any mention. I just want to be sure that my readers are getting accurate information. Cheers!

Someone asked the question on Surly’s website in Thorn section — Q&A. They asked whether Thorn will be renewed for 2021 and someone from the staff said that they will no longer offer this model. 

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/troll

FAQ section, should still be the first question asked. 

I was planning to build a tourer on Troll frame and I guess now I should buy it before it’s gone.

I wrote ‘Thorn’ by mistake, should be Troll (I also consider Thorn for my build and must’ve been thinking about it.)

Thanks for the reference, Lukas, that’s very useful. I guess it reflects the diminishing popularity of the 26-inch platform, at least for new bikes (and thus for profit margins).

In the premium category I’d add one of the IDWorx bikes such as the All Rohler or oPinion BLT. I visited their HQ last week and Gerrit and his team are amazing. They won ‘bike of the year 2020’ award for their BLT off-road touring bike. https://www.idworx-bikes.de/

I had the Off Rohler in this list since visiting their stall at Eurobike 2014 – it almost wins the ‘most expensive off-the-peg touring bike in the world’ award! I’m keen to see what they’ve created since then. Thank you for the link and the suggestion!

They arent’ cheap that’s for sure. I tried to trade in my wife for a titanium bike, but they only take euros.

Once they start to explain the engineering behind each component you can understand why they arrive at those prices. Also it’s a 4th gernation family of bike builders, they hand build the bikes, their staff are properly-paid, they have sunk lots of money into R&D and make many bespoke components. The attention to detail is astonishing. I spent nearly a day at their HQ with the attention of the owner, his wife, two dogs and their chief engineer. (He did his Masters theisis on Pinion gearboxes). We rode in the German countryside and tested a score of bikes. The customer service is out of this world. If you can afford it, I’d would recommend IDWorx.

Hi Tom, thanks for your help! Now im planning a big tour for a few years in Africa and America, now i have an Avaghon 26 series with Rohloff and Magura but im thinking to change with a 29″ wheels( im 1,81 cm tall ). What do you think about Surly ECR? Thnaks, Fabio.

I have never ridden the ECR so I can’t speak from experience, but I know it’s a well respected frameset. Your height suggests a 29er would be more comfortable in the long run. For planning a big tour you might want to check out my list of expedition touring bikes – this will also help you see quickly which framesets are Rohloff-compatible. Hope that helps!

I think I have “the best” touring bike available… judge for yourselves. Full suspension mid-drive eTouring bike and trailer evolution. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8

Hey Tom. Love this website. Is this still current? I can’t find a stockist that has the Flat White. Even Adventure’s own website doesn’t seem to link to it. Or am I missing something obvious? Thanks

It’s still listed at https://www.adventureoutdoor.co/bike/flat-white — I’ll be updating this article this month and will see if I can find any current stockists.

A look at secondhand market worth it as I picked up Thorn Mercury Rohloff for £1200 (pretty much the price of the hub alone) also have a rohloff on my ti 29er and it has been on 2 other mtb before that ……. pretty much fit and forget.

Hi Tom I am preparing for a number of long term trips in the near future and researched bicycles heavily (including use of your excellent website) and settled on the Ridgeback Expedition. However I have now made three attempts to buy one at cycle shops in a variety of towns and no-one seems able to sell me one! I decided to contact the compnay directly, but no phone number and they say that they take two weeks to answer e‑mails. So I would suggest that customer service might be a factor in choosing the bike to buy (these are not cheap acquisitions after all) and any company that cant even manage to communicate with customers at the point of purchase isn’t likely to have ana dequate after sales customer support! Not sure what to do now, but it definitely will not be a Ridgeback anything Dave

Local bike shops don’t tend to sell a wide variety of bikes here in the UK, they make there money from servicing bikes and selling components so it’s not really a surprise you can’t find a bike shop that sells them. A quick google search has just shown several reputable online retailers that supply the ridgeback expedition and will provide you with any customer support you might require after purchase.

Hope this helps

Thx for the info. About same specs as my modded Moonrun. I use SKF bracket spindle but have cheaper headset but works fine for years now. For carrying stuff I use strongest on market today and that is the rear rack made by Thorn. Fitted with M6 steel bolts I can come a way with most everything I throw at it. I had the frame professionally modified by Marten from M‑gineering after which it was powder coated.

Hello, Thanks for this nice article. Why is the TX-800 striked-through in the list ?

You don’t have the Surly Ogre(700c) or Troll(26″) on your list. I got the Ogre because it was suggested over the LHT or disc version because they are a little more rugged. I went from the US to Panama on an Ogre and never had a problem with it beyond needing new tires, I went with the Ogre because I had a really nice set of 700c rims. NEVER EVER go to Latin America with anything but 26″. I read a few blogs on crazyguyonabike.com and with off road touring the LHT(or disc version) needs welding.

Hello Tom. I cycled Armenia three years ago in a short tour and met an old french man Thierri, walking all the way from france to there. one month after getting home he came to me in Tehran and stayed for few days. in his Photoes, i saw you. i knew you in advance beacause of your movie. The intention of writing for you is that we’ve been in contact for one year or so but suddenly i lost him and i Thought you might remember him and have any news of him. I really hope he is doing well and being healthy. thanks sorry for misspeling

best wishes Saied

Yes, he’s safe and well and back living in France. A true legend and inspiration!

I’m currently cycling in Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. 2000km via the coast, in some pretty demanding scenarios. I’m riding the Cinelli HoBootleg 2018 Touring Bike which has been as tough and reliable as I had hoped it would be. I’m 1000km in of the 2000km and think it’s been a great bike. Intrigued it wasn’t listed in the line up.

Should it be? I think so yet if there is a reason for not rating or listing can you let me know? Recognise you cannot list all Touring Bikes yet it does have a great name in many other review pages.

Anyway — I rate the Cinelli!

One other thing, I think the Trek 920 should be listed. The bikes you have reviewed are very traditional and the Trek 920 certainly makes the available options a little more spicy. Touring bikes are surely headed in the Trek 920 direction wouldn’t you say? D

Tom, what do you think about Verso Tour Gitane? I’m from Argentina, and here there aren’t so many good bikes, and I can buy one Gitane, but I’ve never heard about this model. Thank you

I also haven’t heard about this one. On paper it looks like a pretty decent European-style ‘trekking bike’ – the adjustable stem and the Magura hydraulic rim brakes remind me of some better known German and Dutch models. The drivetrain choices are close to what we use for the Oxford Bike Works Expedition. I’d take a careful look at the rear rack, which doesn’t look too sturdy from the photos, and consider upgrading the tyres if you’re going on a long trip.

This bike has a lot of critical components made from aluminium: the frame, forks and rear rack. The front rack would appear to be the chromoly Tubus Ergo. Going on your previous comments about aluminium Tom you could rule this bike out for some types of touring, for example, where a frame, fork or rack break would cause a major disruption.

Thank you for post. Lot of good reading. However i am bit lost in a choice now. Do you think you can shine a bit light to it ? 

I just now finished 300km testing tour on my road bike Coyotee Route 66. I changed a lot of things in a bike like butterfly handlebars, wheels, saddle, etc etc… 

I was riding in UK from Birmingham to Warrington. But after i come back i had a pain all over my body. And i started to think about a choice all over again… 

Now In 3 days i should start trip about 4000km from UK to Portugal. Do you recommend to buy a new bike this short before? 

I explored variety of options of bikes but seems more or less simmilar. I am concern if i will go for normal touring bike riding will be bit boring. Where Surrly Troll seems bit more fun. I was also thinking about hardtail mountain bike with fork suspension. But this seem as quite slow and tiring on road. And also what you think about newer types as using cargo bike (YUBA), hybrid bike should i think about it ? And also if you have any experience with using electic bikes. With a range above 100miles seems as interesting. Go for it or not ?

Thanks a lot for your answers.

Thanks for the article, i plan to travel from Texas to the bottom of South America next year. I was planning on buying a bike there. Do you know much about American bikes and what would be good for that trip, i’m Over 6 ft and about 95kg now. I’m in china now so i don’t think buying one here would be good but, i’m open

The Surly LHT or Disc Trucker is the classic American tourer and widely available. For your height/weight I’d go for a 700c model in L or XL frame size.

Thanks for this great review. I travel now for last 5 years with a Koga World traveller bike. Very happy with it. Please include in your evaluation next time!

Bought a Koga World traveller three years ago, have been very happy with it. BUT, this summer while on a trip in Scotland I saw a nasty crack on the welding. Tried to identify a Koga dealer, and all those mentioned on their website no longer do Koga. I contacted the customer service via their website form and it took them a week to get back basically telling me to contact the seller. I bought the bike in France, so that wasn’t going to help me much! So I went to the nearest reputable dealer in Pitlochry, they confirmed my worry that the bike was too dangerous to use so bought a cheap, but very good Giant mtb, and continued the holiday. Picked the broken Koga bike up on the way back to France and went to the seller.

The bike has been sitting in the seller’s workshop for THREE WEEKS as they wait for KOGA to instruct them on how to proceed (they are no longer a Koga dealer). The frame comes with a lifetime warranty, but a warranty doesn’t fix a bike. The seller has sent photos, and sent more photos at Koga’s request, but still no instructions. They have contacted the nearest Koga dealer in France and no answer from them either. I even went to the nearest dealer in Germany to see if they could help and they refused.

I have emailed, tweeted, tried calling, but nothing seems to get them to react now.

So my advice would be to stay away from Koga unless you are ok with paying a lot of money with no assurance that you will get any form of support if you have a problem on the road.

This sounds like a terrible story and I’m sorry to hear about it. It does seem unusual that one of the most reputable high-end touring bikes would develop such a fault in the first place, however. I’d be interested to hear what solution eventually arises – I would have thought a crack in a weld under warranty would point to a brand new replacement frame.

Tom I have a dawes titanium (not disks) and I was thinking of upgrading the wheels and brakes for longer audaxes. Do you have any suggestions.

thanks David

If I were you, I’d pay a visit to my nearest professional wheelbuilder.

New Trek 1120 is a whole new dimension. Gearing up now for a Canadian ride.

Having been the proud owener of several Koga bikes for around the world trips unfortunately, since 2016 the quality has been declining. For the amount of money it cost, it is simply not worth it. For 2000 € (which the price of a Koga bike) you can get a lot of bicycle elsewhere.

Hi Tom! Thanks for an interesting article! I’m dreaming of bike adventures, both longer trips and weekend trips and try to find a new bike that can make those dreams come true. Mostly, though, I’ll use the new bike for my everyday commute in Sweden. I’ve been watching the Verenti substance tiara/sora — seems like decent components and good value which I’m pretty sure will fill my commuting needs. But how do you think it would do for longer adventures? I’m mostly concerned about weight, geometry and key component durability. I would be very grateful of a brief opinion! http://www.wiggle.se/verenti-substance-tiagra-adventure-road-2017/

Hi all, Great article — many thanks. Very useful while choosing a bike to undertake a cycle across USA in 2018 (I’ve never had a touring bike before). I chose Trek 520 (Disc brake variety) in the end which I’m really happy with. Good value at £1,000 versus other bikes available, comes with pedals and rear pannier rack and very swish gear changers. Reviews on Trek website largely very positive as well. I went for because I’m quite tall (193cm/6foot4) so was struggling to find a big enough frame in any touring bikes. Surly do large frames but are more expensive (~£1500) and no extras like pannier rack. In the end the 60cm Trek frame firs me very well — we checked standover length and top tube length and because of the geometry of the bike it actually matches some other manufacturers who produce larger frames (eg 62cm). Feel free to contact me on [email protected] if you have any questions or thinking of buying the bike, I’d be happy to help.

Ollie, London

If it is a choice between a smaller and a larger frame, my preference is for the smaller frame because a) provided the steerer hasn’t been cut yet, it is almost always possible to achieve a good fit by putting on a longer stem and raising the seatpost (swapping for a longer one if necessary) b) bigger frames are harder to pack for travel c) it can feel more manoeuvrable

Punish the thing, make the bike work for you, and don’t be limited by the bike or its stuff. Bikes get stolen, plans go squiify and so what if we decide to take the really cruddy road upppp that turns into gravel then kind of goat track then.. and you land up pushing and doing singletrack downhill to .. mud and gravel and finally .. So, my bike came out of a skip, a rusty 2012 Scott Speedster S30. Thrown out! Square section BB, road rims and tyres (I know.. but a good spoke key makes life simple). wide range 9x2 gears. But it takes racks.. The boom in road cycling means 700c and road bike bits are much easier than they were a decade ago — even in Yemen and Iran. Total build cost of my bike: £100 including panniers. Bits and pieces off gumtree, pinkbike, etc. If it get bent, hah. If it gets nicked, hah. The no-compromise bits: ‘fit’ / setup, the saddle, my most comfy/worn SPD shoes, tubeless with goop.

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this!

Hey this is great stuff! However, do you have recommendations for bikes in the US? ‑j

Sure – many of the bikes in this article are from U.S. manufacturers, Surly and Kona being the obvious two. Also check out REI’s range of tourers under the Co-op Cycles brand.

Hi Tom, love your site. I need to thank you not only for an informative site in general, but also for helping me make a decision on a touring bike. Until recently I lived in Darwin, Australia. It’s reasonably isolated and the choice of bike brands is severely limited. Thus, test riding anything decent is out of the question. My wife was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work in France for 6 months so I saw this a a great chance to purchase the bike of my dreams. Armed with advice from your site (and others) I narrowed it down to two bikes — the VSF TX-400 with Shimano drive train, and the Rose Activa Pro 2. As there wasn’t a Rose dealer where we were living in France, the TX-400 was the winner. That was August last year and I haven’t had even a twinge of regret. I love it. Keep up the great work mate. I look forward to following your adventures (and Charlie’s) for many years to come. Cheers, Derek.

I am surprised that Ridgeback is still fitting aluminium racks to its high-end touring bikes when most other brands fit cro-moly. Aluminium whilst okay for components such as wheel rims, handlebars, and seatposts, is too fragile for heavily loaded racks with thin small diameter tubes and suffers too easily from metal fatigue.

I am surprised that serious riders will still accept an add-on rack of any kind steel or not. Every connection is a weak link. Tout-Terrain, Panamericana. http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycles/panamericana/ — not interested in the pinion gearing but you can’t beat the frame.

Hi Tom and readers, Does anyone out there have any experience with or notion of what to do with the following problem? (saddle soreness — chafing). My girlfriend has a typical german woman’s uprightish trekking bike by bulls, and we did just one two week tour on it last summer. She’d never toured before. She found her “intim Bereich” (intimate area) got rubbed a lot by the saddle (wasn’t an issue with short local trips previously), so I ended up buying and trying a new saddle, then a series of the best rated woman’s saddles out there, and all of them did the same rubbing thing. Biking shorts and a gel pad didn’t help fully or much. She thought being more upright helped the rubbing, by taking pressure off the front of the saddle and putting it more on the sitz bones, so I got some big curvy bar ends and cranked them way back, so she can sit totally upright. I even added a nice suspension seatpost. But somehow the pain won’t go away. I’m really at a loss about what to do. I wonder if a new frame would help at all. Anyone find a saddle that really helps with sensitive bottoms? I’m leaning towards getting her a recumbent, but can’t really afford it, and she doesn’t tour with me a lot. I ride a bacchetta giro 20 myself and highly recommend it for touring! Thanks for any advice!

hi Jeff and all, dr. jim parker from cruzbike has compiled some very revealing facts regarding health issues cyclists commonly are facing, i.e. genital numbness & e.d. besides the usual (wrist,back & neck). i do suffer from groin pains riding on my dawes upride racing bike within 30–45 min.

hence for my upcoming uk & european (& car replacement) tour i am opting for an “atl-falter” from radnabel in tuebingen, germany. atl stands for “all tags lieger”(recumbent for everyday-all year/tasks); falter stands for folding. they are not well known outside of central europe, have been handbuild for nearly 30 years and are highly regarded for being — safe (long wheel base, low center of gravity), nimble (sharp turning circle), quick (ergonomic design & pushing against the backrest/very good uphills), comfortable (no neck, groin or wrist pain, full suspension), good load carrying capability [70kg total], “protecting” (see: allwetterverkleidung/foldable fairing/poncho), well engineered and sound workmanship. although dieter baumann (builder) speaks english, the webside is in german only. the atl-falter with rohloff, full chain cover, rear rack, pannier holders, twoleg stand weighs 17–18 kg (chrmo steel). 

you get an better idea about radnabels atl’s watching these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgX6zIViBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsBEvBX_S4o

they have proved themselves also on long distance tours germany to china. happy cycling or as we say in bavaria: “frohes radln” regards reinhard

Ok, my thing about touring bikes, what about the weight?! Most tourers are just too heavy, 17Kg+ steel monsters. “They have to be, for the reliability”…well the only frames I’ve had break were a steel and an Al frame. Maybe you’ll say “blasphemy” but my trekking bike of choice is a modified carbon fibre Simplon “Nanolight” K3. My aim has been the lightest bike but still fit for a tour of up to a month on road. This thing has been faultless for 9 years of mainly mountain tours (and daily commuting). The essentials, for me, are: good hub dynamo lighting, hydraulic Rim brakes (discs are, expletive, Primadonnas), brooks saddle, bike rack, mudguards, oh and lightness. Everything is carbon or titanium, except the wheels, saddle and handlebar. it’s expensive but still less than people spend on fancy packages for their car. Final tour weight is around 9.1Kg. I even made my own bike bags out of lightweight cuben fibre. Yes the bike could be seen as excessively focussed on weight, but nowadays trekking bikes could be a lot lighter than they are, we would have many more people on bikes, heavy bikes stop people biking. J Jones.

I have noticed that all these touring bikes have no suspension in the front wheel. I am curious, why? Does a front suspension affect the performance of these long bike trips?

For most tours it’s simply not necessary. A suspension fork adds complication, meaning more to go wrong. Forks without lockout introduce inefficiency. Finally, most forks are incompatible with lowriders (front racks).

Bikepacking (i.e. lightweight offroad touring) is a different story, but still a small niche.

Is there an easy solution to fitting a front light to my Ridgeback Voyage with a bar bag in situ? I do not want an extending arm attached to the drops with the light above the bag. I was wondering if one can purchase a bracket to bolt onto the mudguard retaining bolt on top of the front forks immediately below the headset. This would have to be offset to clear the cantilever cables. Any thoughts Anthony

A bracket on the fork crown is a common (old-fashioned) solution. Some bar-bags also have a mounting bracket accessory for a light (the Carradice one comes to mind). Or you can wear a headtorch!

Thanks Tom for your reply, I have had lots of comments and thoughts from others on the Cycling UK forum too. As is often the case as soon as one starts looking into things there are loads of solutions available. I have learnt a lot just by looking at the various websites sugggested by people. I have now purchased a good light that will fit on the fork itself and and allow to be positioned pointing down to cover the road in front. Not a dissimilar situation from the old ‘ever ready ‘lamps that we had on our bikes back when I was a child in the 50s and 60s. Though this is a USB rechargeable smaller model. I think this will do the job. So thank you again for your thoughts and I will soon start to read your book on my kindle which arrived today. I look forward to that.

Great site Tom and full of excellent stuff and info. Keep it up.

Kind regards Anthony Brewer

Hi Tom and all, Has anyone any experience of the cantilever brakes designed specifically for tandems and tourers by a company in Seattle USA called Rodriguez bikes., R&E Cycles. They call the design ‘The Big Squeeze’. I looked into this as I am not sure in my mind yet whether my Shimano cantis will work on my Ridgeback Voyage as well as I want on a heavy laden bike on very steep descents. The contact I have had with the American company has been excellent and speedy. They have no distributers or outlets in the UK and the brakes are quite expensive but look with all the information they provide a well thought out and constructed brake. Any comments, opinions or knowledge on this from anyone would be very much appreciated Anthony Brewer

Spa Cycles, a touring specialist fit these. 

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s101p2386/TEKTRO-RX-5-Mini-V-Brakes

I have used them on 4 loaded alpine and Pyrenean tours on my Ridgeback panorama and they have been great. They need fine tuning and true wheels but have plenty of power and work much better than the ones supplied by Ridgeback. My Panorama only cost £450 so I would be reluctant to spend $250 plus shipping on those. Also I am not a fan of the style I think they stick out too much and could cause injury in a collision.

Thank you Phil for your comment on these brakes. I use simialr V brakes on my hybrid as per your link to Spacycles. However as I understand things it isn’t possible (easily that is) to change to V brakes ( which I do like ) without quite some work. I have dropped bars with the gear change incorporated in the brakes. The length of the cable is significant and the possible use of a ‘travel agent ’ to allow for the cable pull etc etc. Are you saying that Spa cycles would change my present cantilver system to these V brakes advertised? As I said I have yet to test my present brakes seriously but will definitely be doing so this spring/summer. Thank you for the recommendation Phil Regards Anthony

No problem Anthony. I ordered them from Spa and fitted them in one hour and I am no expert. May have needed new cables and small sections of outer because of the lengths of the runs but it was straight forward. You can remove the original centre-pull aluminium cable stay as the new cable comes from the side. The original brake levers and repeater levers will work, no new ones are required as the travel is sufficient. I also looked into travel agents to gear up the travel but I agree they are complicated. The mini-vs don’t need the same amount of travel as the full size v‑brake. They are just 85mm not 105mm. Admittedly it is possible with them fitted the level can be pressed right onto the bars, but by that time you would be over the handle bars. The large amount of travel gives you precise control. 

It is very straight forward to fit but you could always order them and get the local bike shop to fit them.

PS the cantilevers supplied on Ridgeback tourers are on the verge of being dangerous on a fully loaded tourer down a steep hill. I recommend changing them to Tektro mini- v brakes I showed you or Tekro CR720 

http://www.highonbikes.com/tektro-cr720-cyclo-cross-bike-cantilever-brakes-front-rear.html?gclid=CjwKEAiArvTFBRCLq5-7-MSJ0jMSJABHBvp0WpP5LLsbie8YcECqv8AAZxpL0R1slUyaJFRFZzcQghoC0YTw_wcB

I don’t like them because as I previously said they stick out too much

Again many thanks Phil. You have certainly given me much to consider. However the Tektro CR720 are themselves cantilever brakes too. So I wonder why you have suggested these as a possible alternative to my present tektro Oryx cantilever brakes on my Ridgeback? They look very similar. I do appreciate your comments on this subject Anthony

the CR720s are used by my co-cyclists on tours and are much better than the oryx design in terms of efficiency. It’s all about the distance from the rim to where the cable connects, much more leverage. I included them as an alternative but would still favour the mini-v’s personally.

they look very different from your once fitted: http://bananarider.com/product/tektro-cr720/

Hi, would you consider Specialized Crosstrail Disc 2017 a good touring bike? I am looking forward to buy my first bike aiming to use it for a long tour (upto 3–6 months) next year around europe.

Also a doog opyion in my opinion: http://www.kross.pl/en/2016/trekking/trans-alp

I’ve recently purchased a Cinelli Hobooleg for £1100, although I’ve only been using it for my 10 mile commute so far I’m very happy with it.

It looks the part and from the reviews I’ve read it will hopefully see me safely around North Wales on my first proper test run later this month.

Looking at the features of these touring bikes they look like early 90s mountain bikes. 26″ wheels?Check. Steel frame? Check. Rigid fork? Check. 7/8 speed drive train with thumb shifters? Check. Braze ons for racks and fenders? Check. I would suggest folks keep an eye out for a good used mountain bike from this era and you could save a bunch while ending up with a bike just as robust, lighter and with higher quality parts(granted, said parts may need some love). I found an abandoned Rocky Mountain Team Comp which has frame tubing better than any of the bikes listed (heat treated tubing by Tange of Japan). The bikes of this era were of very high quality as it was the fastest growing sport then and the competition was fierce with leaps in steel tubing technology. Steel was still the material of choice also. I managed to build my bike up(it was missing a lot of parts) for maybe $500 and I have XTR rear derailleur, Sunrace 8 cassette, Suntour XC thumb shifters, Syncros stem, NOS XT UN73 BB…you get the picture. The additional bonus is a bike that is still quite light yet strong. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who knows nothing about bikes but if you are a bit of a bike geek its pretty rewarding finding a good higher end mountain bike and fixing it up. Parts back then were very well made.

Hey Tom, Edinburgh Bikes have a new tourer out end of the month, http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-country‑2–16

I’m sure it’s similar to your reviewed bike above but would be great to hear your thoughts.

looking at a bike trip in 2018 from shanghai to istanbul semi-supported. been doing self-supported touring on my 25 yo trek 970 but the sour grape machine is ready to be retired. been shopping around and am considering the novara safari–i like the mustache handlebars and the price seems good but worried about the quality of components and whether 700 wheels are potentially a problem…i know 26″ is more the standard when you are in the middle of nowhere. any input would be much appreciated.

Tom, I have been researching touring bikes for quite some time and I think I have found the bike to start touring. Following your advice in this blog I picked up a 15 year old MTB that is in great shape. I will put on touring tires and a rack that I already own and I’m ready to go on some short introductory adventures. Perhaps if I really get the touring bug I will invest in a new bike but for now this will do and the price is right. Thank you.

For anyone currently looking, my local LBS, The Bike Shed Devon, have a bit of a touring sale going on at the moment. Definitely worth looking before making any decisions. http://www.bikesheduk.com/touring-bikes-for-sale

Thank you very much for the tip on discounted 2015 Dawes Galaxy AL bicycles from Evans. I just picked one up for £400!

Evans has also the Dawes Galaxy Cross cromo (steel frame, disc brakes, straight bars) for the same price. Looks like a bargain.

Having cycled and backpacked since I was at school, in my mid 50’s i decided it was time to combine the two persuites and try a spot of weekend touring. Not wanting to spend too much on a bike that i may not get on with, I bought my daughters barely used 2001 Specialized Hardrock off her. It cost me £225 new originally, so she recon I got a bargain at £40 second hand!!! It’s Cr Mo steel frame and rigid forks [not even butted], Acera group set, square drive triple chain rings and 26″ wheels, have a real solid feel, so after fitting Marathon tyres, racks, and bar ends, I treated myself to a pair of 46li Altus rear panniers and a bar bag. Packing lightweight and minimalist, my first weekend away was a real success. On my next outing of 4‑days, a rear spoke went after the first 20 miles, but no rubbing, so I finished my tour in the Cotswolds, but walked up a lot of hills. For my next trip in the Peak District, I had a new twin-wall rear wheel, and a new wider range rear cassette, still walked up many hills, but who cares, I was wild camping, and just making my route up as I went along. I keep looking at new bikes, but don’t know how I would really benefit, the bike just keeps rolling along happily for my short breaks. A new bike may weigh less. My rig weighs in at 16.5kg without panniers, how does that compare with other tourers?

So, the ultimate all-round tourer *is* a 26 inch wheel frame with geometry which looks like my many-times-earmarked-for-the-skip, first generation, double-butted cro-mo mid-80s MTB that’s in the shed? It confirms my own conclusions (though I’m no hardcore global wanderer like yourself). Interesting that it looks as if 26″ wheels will remain relevant. I was thinking there is a gap in the market for a longer and near-horizontal toptube frame style (with, perhaps, 29er wheels), instead of the downhill-style geometry which seems obligatory on all fat-tyre machinery.

[…] spend money on a good bike and the necessary gear you’ll find costs are minimal. Many good quality bikes can be purchased for less than £100. Many travelling bicyclists choose to camp at official […]

Thanks for the advice! I was faffing around for about a year trying to buy a touring bike in the UK but never quite got around to it. I’m now in Vietnam about to set off in a time pressured trip to India (through Laos, Thailand and Myanmar) and I no longer have the same access to the kinds of brands mentioned above(or budgets). I’ve found something called a Windspeed Long Rider touring classic, which is a Chinese brand, and the bike shop is offering a pretty good deal inclusive of accessories. Let’s hope it’s up to the job! Anyone have any experience or knowledge of this bike? Mostly sold only in Asia I think.

Hi. I am trying to choose a bike for touring around the world that would be a slow heavyweight may be some times off road and long term! but in my country there is not a wide choice for me! I have to choose a bike and change it into a touring one! my question is what kind of bikes is good for me! road bikes that mostly used here for races or mountain! here i can find bikes from Merida , giant, Fuji, Scott, specialized! of course I have an old Peugeot mountain bike that i was thinking about changing in to a touring bike but i am not sure! it is too old! thank you 🙂

Finally bought me touring bike, a Specialized AWOL DLT. Took your advice to try it and decided on a medium instead of a large frame (I’m 5′9″) since it was more comfortable. The problem was to find any bike shops who stocks touring bikes in Sweden, found only the AWOL, Kona Rove and Trek 520. As a plus I got a good discount, paid “only” £760 (Evans charges £1160) since the dealer said -“customers ask for touring bikes and then they do not buy them”!

Hi Rob, where in Sweden did you buy it ? I am in Norway (Oslo to be precise) and can´t find any shop stocking touring bikes.

Hi Francesco, http://www.cykelhuset.com sell Specialized AWOL, http://www.jarlacykel.se sell Trek 520 and http://www.fixmybike.se sell Kona. I have only ridden the AWOL and the Rove, both seemed very competent. Just on way back from virgin trip Sassnitz — Berlin, so far satisfied, love the 700x42c tires, perfect for tarmac and gravel!

Tom, for my 21st birthday I got a Cannondale T1000, 22 years and 15000 miles later (low mileage bike) it is going strong. It has been to Paris a couple of times, Amserdam 4 or 5 times and one long trip from Cherbourg to Santander as well as numerous day and weekend UK outings, it has towed a Tag Along for a fair few miles and had a child seat for some of its life. Much of today’s riding is spent on minor roads and tracks around the New Forest and Wiltshire. Few parts have worn out, I am on the second BB, and I upgraded the chainset to an ultegra, other than a couple of tyres, chains and cassettes I have had to do very little. I love the bar end shifters for their reliability, the XT cantilever brakes do a good job stopping the bike, even on 50 mph descents in the Pyraneese with full panniers and camping gear and my 80 kg weight. With an 11 to 32 cassette, 24 speed are fine on a tourer, spacing is well judged. It is really hard to imagine how it could be improved on.….

I just picked up a 2004 Cannondale T2000 for my son’s 13 birthday. Cost just £300 and looks fantastic, in fact looks new. I am surpised how light it is. It Has a few upgrades, including a nice Kinesis fork, which delivers a much nicer ride than my T1000 and it also has a 30 speed XT / ultegra group set and a really nice looking rack. Overall this is the nicest bike I have ever ridden, it is adjusted to perfection and feels really well sorted definately a subtle but noticeable upgrade from the T1000

How does an older mid range tourer like the Cannondale T1000 or T2000 compare with today’s mid range tourers like the Surly LHT or Daws Super Galaxy

To be honest I would be really confident that my Cannondale could tackle a more adventurous tour than I have tried

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – that sums up any longer and more detailed response I could come up with! 🙂

hey tom! an interesting article you have here 🙂 hopefully you can shed some light on my situation. me and my mate are literally just starting out after training, we are planning a big trip! Our trip in mind is taking us from the uk, through france and to the south of spain. we figure that we want a bike that can take the distance, but can also take us as off road as is sensible. we plan on visiting a few cities also! (we’re thinking cobbled streets and some gravelly paths) so im not entirely sure what kind of bracket we fall under, but the bike i have put a deposit down for (buying new) and am collecting tomorrow, is a specialized sirrus, costing 400 pounds sterling. am i looking in the right kind of bike here considering our journey and our plans? 

as far as i understand (our beginner cycling pedigree in mind) pad brakes are risk free and easily replaced, steel frame and forks are more durable. would having flat bar handle bars restrict us some what? hope you can help! thanks, cillian.

For a trip to the south of Spain pretty much any bike will do, as long as it fits you and it can carry your luggage! (I hope you’ve test ridden this bike before buying it – most important thing of all in getting the right bike!)

Check out this blog series if you want any more info on specific components and things…

Thanks for the swift reply there Tom, yeah I’ve ridden the bike, but as I’m a complete novice, it feels better than any bike I can remember riding. I guess I’m concerned about getting a bike with the right geometry and what not! Any unbiased thoughts on the specialised sirrus as my choice? So long as it’s comfortable of coarse, thanks! Cil

Only that it’s not really a touring bike! £500 would get you a Revolution Country Traveller which would be fully kitted out for touring and has had a number of excellent reviews. You could also get a much higher-spec second hand touring bike for that money.

Fit is important, but if you’re buying a new bike it might make sense to get one that’s designed for the job at hand, rather than adapting a hybrid. Just a thought!

excellent advice good sir! its seems for now that we are settling for our hybrids in good faith that they will pay off when we are mooching around cities and taking scenic bridle ways! thanks a lot for the replies Tom, happy cycling!

Safe roads!

Do you or others on this site have experiences with the Co-Motion bicycles for touring (www.co-motion.com)? They are made in the USA (Eugene, Oregon).. 

I have a Surly LHT with many miles on it and wanted to updated to the new 2015 Disc Trucker with the 10-speen 11/36 cassette, but was considering the Co-Motion Americano. There is a LARGE price delta (Americano is around $ 4,100 US$.

Any experiences/feedback is appreciated.

Have a TERRIFIC day!

Darren Alff of Bicycle Touring Pro has it — Co-Motion Pangea — and he loves it! He had it even repainted recently and put back again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XAwqgXhRzc&t=23s See also his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCGE4MRedy8pXEdJb9Vsx‑g

Most of the touring bikes I read about in this section either deal with 700c size wheels or 26″ wheels. I bought a Surly Ogre 29er and it’s been the best commuting/touring bike in my opinion. The wider wheels help to accommodate a wider tire (1.9–2.3) that helps absorb the load that you’d be carrying.

You can fit 1.9–2.3″ tyres on a 26″ wheel too. It is the original mountain bike wheel size, after all!

[…] Redninga for den som vil gjøre grundig research blir da å slå over til engelsk. Et bildesøk på “touring bike” bekrefter at dette begrepet har en bestemt betydning. Søket “which touring bike to buy” gir også en endeløs rekke med relevante og informative treff. Spesielt godt liker jeg rådene til min favorittsykkelblogger, britiske Tom Allen. […]

Hi Tom … any thoughts of including a recumbent in your Best Touring Bike selection? Like say an Azub 6? http://www.azub.eu/azub-5-five-recumbent-bike/

While they are the cost of two or three of the above selections I’m interested in your experience or opinions?

Because they’re very much in a niche of their own, I’d rather do a whole feature on recumbent touring options. Suggestions welcome! In the meantime, have a read of my own recumbent tour last year …

This has been an interesting read — as I’m a devout touring bike user, even though touring the world is not on my horizon. Suffolk and noerh Essex are most definitely part of my equation and between 50 — 110 miles per trip are not unusual along with cycling to and from work.

For 18 years I’ve enjoyed my long sought after 1997 Dawes Super Galaxy, which is now up for a complete drive train rebuild (and a return to drop handlebars but without those awful bar end changers), but I’m also keen to add a second bike to the collection as the Dawes is the only form of transport I have and really do need a bike to get to work for as early as 3am (outside public transport times).

My 2 options are the new 2015 Dawes Super Galaxy or the 2015 Ultra Galaxy. Yes, I’m sticking with Dawes, with my current Super Galaxy’s record why not? Also, I can get the bike via the company bike to work scheme and save some dosh. Whilst the budget is between £2000-£3000, I reason over 18 years this will become a bit of a bargain. So the question of this comment is really this:

What are the benenfits of the Titanmium Frame on the Ultra Galaxy over the Reynolds 853 tubing on the Super Galaxy frame? Do I really need to spend that extra £700?

Please, no comments about lucky you etc — it is 18 years since I last made this big an investment and apart from new tyres and inner tubes and a swap to butterfly handlebars the bike is pretty much as it came out of the shop (despite almost 100k miles of travel and commuting). I see this as the kind of purchase that is similar to that of purchasing a car…

Hi Andrew — what did you decide on in the end and are you happy with that decision? I find myself looking at exactly the same choice to make (Galaxy super vs. ultra). It’s not straightforward!

Although I am not a touring cyclist I put in quite a bit of mileage commuting (around 120 miles per week) using either a steel audax type bike (Ridgeback Mercury), alu hybrid or ancient Dawes Horizon (fitted with studded tyres for snowy/icy days). Fancying doing a bit of touring I recently bought a Revolution Explorer with disc brakes and have been riding it since Christmas. Has to be said that the disc brakes are a revelation compared to any sort of rim brake (I have tried them all apart from hydraulic); no constant adjustment, no rim wear, no filthy aluminium slurry all over the rims, silent and they actually work in the rain ( of which there is plenty here in Lancashire). The latter point saved me earlier this week when I had to do any emergency stop to avoid an idiot driver, I doubt any other sort of brake would have been up to it. And I am talking about BB5s which I understand are budget disc brakes.

I am about to buy an used tourer for occasional touring use for my son, he has a Ribble road bike. Budget £300 and I have a choice of Ridgeback World Voyage 2012 …520 CroMo.…Sora.…Alivio etc or a ‘Dale T800 2003, hardly used, Ally.…CroMo forks…Tiagra.…XT etc. I can easily make decisions at work involving lots of cash…but this one appears to have me foxed!! (I have a stable of steeds and tour on a Roberts Roughstuff, I should be able to choose!!!) Please help! Thanks one and all!

[…] utstyret du velger når du skal legge ut på en lang sykkeltur. På nettsida si har han skrevet om hva som er den beste tursykkelen. I eboka går han atskillig mer grundig til verks. Verdt å nevne er at han legger spesiell vekt […]

you forgot koga miyata 😉

I’ve just bought the 2015 Ridgback Tour.

Ive just this minute seen that aluminium frames have a much lower life expectancy than steel due to the fact that they fatigue — is this true? Ive heard that 5 years is the life expectancy of such a frame even if cared for? Have I bought a white elephant — as I planned to treasure it. Thanks.

I’ve just thinking that all bikes mentioned above are in price of year long trip. My humble suggestion is: buy retail! I bought a trek bike in pawn shop for 180euro and so far this holds for 4 seassons (16000km, regions spread from scandinavia to balkans) and now I’m preparing this beauty for 17000km long trip from czechia to indonesia. Throughout these trips I never broke a spoke (seen this problem many times in my friends Dawes) and punctured so few times that it can hardly be mentioned. So far I spend almost 6 months on the roads and during this time I spend less money than price of the cheapiest bike mentioned above.

So my advice is search it, test it, uprgade it, love it and than… finally ride it,-D Put a piece of your heart and skills into your piece of metal. Relationship between tourbiker and his bike must be stronger than click on ebay. Sorry for english and toilet phylosophy, I’m still upgrading,-D

Tom, I just wanted to say a very big thank-you for helping me choose the right touring bike. After spending many evenings checking your advice and loads of websites, I finally opted for a Dawes Galaxy Classic. I took your advice and went via eBay to Kingsway Cycles of Cambridge. I paid £900 instead of £1300 for a 2014 model! More importantly, it’s the right bike. I’ve only done about 60 miles since Saturday, but it’s really excellent. Kingsway are a great bike shop and really nice to deal with — none of that irritating superiority complex so common in good bike shops. I’d recommend them. Again, thank you. Alistair

Seven things:

Now the bike is bedding-in, before a big trip, have the LBS tighten your spokes and true the wheel(s) as required.

Take the time to ensure that the inside of the wheel rims have wide tape, not plastic or thin tape — you will thank me when you don’t get pinch-flats from the inner spoke nipples.

Chop out the brakes for V brakes. I have the same cantilever brakes, and they’re poor. It’s my next upgrade after upgrading my wheel set — as you can tell, this is real-world experience talking here!

If you fit a Ortleib (or similar) bar mounted bag, replace the existing gear cables with extra long ones since they are a little too short as standard and will crop over time and your gear shifting will become increasing difficult and then the front mech’ will cease working.

If you are running Shimano gearing,chain etc make sure the jockey wheels are not a 3rd party set, if so, buy Shimano ones, they work better than others.

You will notice as you ride, most of the touring bikes you’ll encounter are Dawes; how cool is that?

The enjoyment of your adventure is reflected in the width of your daft Cheshire-Cat grin, so grin, then grin some more!

Fantastic! I hope you get many years of touring enjoyment from it!

Hello Tom & Co.,

Do you have input on preferred bikes / systems for long rides with two young kids? 

Preferably sub-$2,000 (US), with a granny gear, and disc brakes.

I am trying to figure out which adult touring bike (and system) to use with my kids. The four-year old child will be in an attached trailer bike (with coupler), and the two-year old child will be in a chariot trailer behind that (via skewer hub)…unless someone has a better idea.

I already own a Specialized Tarmac for zipping around, and a Santa Cruz mountain bike for the trails. For a few years, I’ve reluctantly used my carbon fiber Tarmac for pulling my oldest child in the Chariot trailer. The ergonomics are all wrong, especially in the hills.

Now I have both a four-year old and a two-year old child, plus we live in major mountains. I want to do LONG family rides, and commutes around town (paved / gravel mixed). Ideally the bike could also be used for (solo) century rides. Once they are older, I’d like to explore multi-day touring with me on the same bike.

Salsa Vaya? Trek 520? Surly LHT, Cross Check, or Straggler? 

Big thanks!

[…] started thinking about this tour; my thoughts immediately went to the tried&true options for bike touring (Surly LHT for example), and I was waiting for a deal to pounce on online for months.  But living […]

3864 miles thus far (26 Sept 2014) around Britain and without doubt the most popular bike is the Dawes, maybe 80% (?) streel framed in the majority, and whilst we are at it, Ortlieb panniers, also in the majority.

I am on a 2008 Dawes SG. Rubbish cantilever brakes — to be replaced in short order. Replaced the wheels as the rims were concave, but she is an eBay Special (£590) likewise the four panniers (£83). Fantastic combo with Tubus steel racks.

Hi Tom, I believe the bikes from German Company Tout Terrain have a good name as well. Namely the “Silkroad” seems a fantastic bike to me. Expensive but has all the gimmicks I like to have (Rohloff and disc brakes). http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycles/silkroad/

i was stranded in london on the 4th aug (after losing my oyster and bank cards) leaving me with just £10 and a predicament a quick look on gumtree found me a nearby bike (complete with 21 speeds and rack and double panniers inc cycle comp for my insane budget and now 10 days later its covered 120 miles and by far best buy ever for a tenner 🙂

ps i live 18 miles away in the subarbs so as to speak

Love the site, especially the discussions on this page!

I’m interested in your views on bar-end shifters. My wife’s Sabbath Silk Route was stolen in Amsterdam recently and she’s loathe to spend quite so much on a replacement. Many of the sub-£1,000 tourers seem to have bar-end shifters and she’s a bit nervous about taking them on. What are the pros and cons compared with integrated brake lever shifters? Quite like the look of the Genesis Tour de Fer but the bar end shifters are the only sticking point.

Pros: Simple, durable, reliable.

Cons: Less efficient to actually operate; inexperienced users whack their knees on them.

For a long-term tourer I’d take bar-end or downtube shifters over STIs any day.

I bought the Tour de Fer and did an 8 day tour in Greece. Its an excellent bike and I’m really happy with it but the bar shifters are annoying. I decided to upgrade the bike with a tubus tara front rack and a son dynamo hub with a plug usb charger. I’ll do a review of the bike later as I’m about to set off on a tour to Singapore something its probably not designed for but it came within my Ride-To-Work budget and I’m not a fan of the 26inch tourers I’d rather take my chances in the bikes shops. FYI the new version has a flat bar instead of drops and a tubus tara lowrider as standard — bonus! Love your site it’s been invaluable in my tour planning

You can always move the bar end shifters up onto the flats using a solution like Pauls Thumbies or SJS do their own version. It’s just a bolt on bracket with a mount for the shifter and a cable stop. If you ride mainly on hoods and flats then they are much easier to reach than down at the end of the drops. Cable maintenance is easier as well.

Many thanks for your excellent website. I’m thinking of doing Land’s End to John O’Groats and have seen a Raleigh Gran Tour at our local cycle shop. It seemed fine on a trial run round the block. Any significant pros or cons that I need to be aware of?

Nick check out the Surly Long Haul Disc Trucker it will be the best Touring Bike you will ever buy and will take you anywhere wheel size go for 26 and you can travel the world buy once not twice

Thanks John. I’ll check it out. 

Another issue that’s coming up is tourers vs endurance bikes. Any strong preferences either way, anyone?

Are you doing an endurance ride? Or are you going on a cycle tour?

Different tools for different jobs…

Hi Tom, I was wondering if you had any experience or knowledge of the Cinelli Hobo? It does seem to come as a fairly complete package as well as a 61 frame which is good for a tall person like myself.

I’m afraid I don’t! Sorry! It does look like a good bike, though.

I have a cinelli hobo for mixed trail touring. I find it incredibly comfortable and a really good load hauler. Some of the stock parts are pretty poor, particularly the FSA alpha drive chainset (replaced with Deore, and the alex rims on sora hubs which i’ve recently replaced. The weakest part of the setup for me is the microshift bar end shifters… I had real trouble keeping them indexed. I have swapped for an old pair of Tiagra STI shifters and these feel much better with a deore chainset and rear mech.

It has shorter chainstays than my old galaxy but still has plenty of heel clearance fitted with ortlieb classic panniers. The bars are the most comfortable I have ever used!

Overall i’m really pleased with it as it suits my choice of riding on mixed road, track and trail with a nice blend of cyclocross and touring capabilities… just a shame the marketing around the bike is so goddamn annoying!

I am planning a touring for next year, I was thinking to get a bicycle with a 29’‘ rim using a 28c tyre, i also plan to use mavic hubs, but i am not sure how tough a mavic hub can be on long touring distances, i guess i may not have problems as far i get some spare bearings and parts for the hubs. any suggestion about the rim sizes? will a 27″ rim do the same job as a 29’’ rim size? I have seen that NS has some cool looking hubs, i know they are for dirt-jump bikes, but those are something i consider dues they are do to resist hard impact of daily trainings, but my doubt is if a a hub for hard impact interfere with speed and smooth riding, by logic i guess it doesn’t interfere depending on what bearing it uses…am i right? Ps.: i enjoy cycling fast. lol

i found some other hub, the DT Swiss looks pretty good… but they don’t have a nice front hub with Disk break, that is what is pity, but i may get normal brakes, cos the disk brake has a high cost maintenance …

Where are you going? Your primary consideration is spare parts availability. 26″ or 700c wheels are the only sensible choice for 99% of tours, and I wouldn’t recommend anything other than Shimano cup-and-cone hubs with loose bearings and easy maintenance, ideally XT. They’re tour proven and won’t need a second thought.

Have found your website invaluable in the preparation of a bike trip my brother and I are making from London to Istanbul on August 10 (our first bike trip). I bought your book this afternoon on Amazon too as it should be a handy guide on the trip.

I’m just about to buy a bike and have come down to the Dawes Galaxy 2014 for £691 and the Raleigh Sojourn, which I founded hugely discounted here for £689 (down from £1,100!): http://www.ashcycles.com/site/raleigh-sojourn-2013 . I’d be very grateful if you (or anyone else on this page) could suggest what you think would be the better buy for my budget of £700?

Cheers, Shaun

Very glad you’ve found this site useful.

In my experience, which touring bike to buy depends on choosing the right tool for the job, and seeing what feels good to ride. I’m going to guess that you’re fairly sure both these bikes will meet your needs, but that you haven’t tried either of them out. So the only useful suggestion I can offer is to see which you can test-ride locally. On paper they’re as good as identical. You can discuss specification charts until the cows come home but it’ll all be irrelevant once you’ve actually started riding.

Ideally you’d test-ride both, but if you can only try one, then at least you can either eliminate it from your shortlist or confirm that it’ll do the job — then buy it.

The other critical reason for testing bikes out is to ensure that you get the right size, as incorrectly-sized bikes are the biggest source of discomfort and even injury on tour.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot for the tip Tom and appreciate you taking the time out to respond to me.

I’m based in HK and so unfortunately won’t be able to test-ride either of them (only a narrow window in London and they have to be ordered in advance), but if you say that the specs are identical then it makes the decision a bit easier — comes down to the aesthetics now!

I’ve got a KHS TR-101, bought from Cycle Surgery. Since these are relatively uncommon, I thought I’d put up my thoughts.

It’s a lovely bike to ride and I’ve done 2 3‑week trips to New Zealand South Island on it, usually somewhere between 50 and 100km a day. But I do think the brakes are not good enough for a tourer — I’m going to switch mine out after realising as I coasted down from Arthurs’ Pass in the rain with a loaded bike that I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to — and the mudguard fittings have been annoying — little plastic clips which pop ou, and which don’t hold the guard far out, so it rubs the tyres if the guard gets even slightly warped. Both easily replaced though. I’ve carried medium weights on it — prob. ca. 20kg — with ease, using both front and back racks and it feels very smooth and well-balanced. In fact, I think it’s the easiest bike I’ve ever ridden in that respect. Even the stock saddle is OK although I’m finally switching to a Brooks.

I don’t find the gears allow me to get up big hills when it’s loaded (but that might be just me — I’m not very gritty about hills.…) but it’s very smooth to handle and way faster than most other bikes off the bigger hills. 

I’ve done almost all on road on it and wouldn’t do off road again after an 80km run on the gravel Mavora Lakes road — it coped but it wasn’t nice (could have been the headwind…).

I’m planning one or two more 3 week tours on it (New Zealand again, and then maybe Sri Lanka) but am trying to work out whether in the long term I should just upgrade the parts, or actually invest in another bike. It’s a lovely cycle though — I’d really recommend it, although if you are looking for a real round-the-world workhorse it might be worth looking at some of the more established models. 

No bike is without problems, it aint about the bike without blood, sweat and tears :-X

Hi Tom — Great site, very informative and helpful. I´m looking at setting up my first Touring / Expedition rig.

Wondering if you wouldn´t mind commenting on Santos Bikes out of Holland? I see they make some great looking touring bikes, but only in Aluminium.…I asked them why they dont do Steel and their reply was that the Steel / Belt Drive combination is not good, ie to flexible and that the belt will wear just as fast as a regular chain, therefore, they go with Aluminium?? Any comment. Also, thoughts on the Belt Drive in Combination with a Rohloff Hub??

I´m looking at a go anywhere, do anything rig…2 week tours in Europe and RTW adventures. 

Thanks if you can help me out and keep up the great work 🙂

Hi guys, spoilt for choices,the steel v ali debate?? V brake or disc??Santos i havent seen but if its dutch id expect its a good bike, like koga who use aluminium for rtw touring(a reason people like ali is light for air transit, and it wont rust like steel) but can be a harsh ride,so invest in a suspension seat and a brooks saddle,backside will thank ya..Roholf or mech?? Roholf belt drive i have met a tourer using and he was happy with it, expensive combo but if it rolls for 100,000klm and comp have good rep. As it comes to preference and trail n error..I a bit like yourself wanted a rtw expadition bike. I got a thorn ripio frame which i then built up myself …doing that i chose my best spec bits xt tubus fsa brookes ergo etc( finding good reductions online) and most important get to know how it goes together ..useful as often u must rely on yourself to fix the problem and keep those wheels rolling:-) i like steel frames as they flex and are more comfortable with luggage…frames i would say are worth considering are as mentioned by others, surly lht , thorn and an excellent other is onone.…another option is to find a good old used bike/steel frame i.e 90’s atb/mtb models by specialised, trek, orange and upgrade as reqiured. Invest in strong wheels if offroading full loaded and good tyres, schwable marathon xr are excellent and after 20,000 klms they still got tread. A final thought an expensive shiny touring bike looks great to the owner and a theif, to protect my ride i wrap the frame in old inner tube and tape so protecting frame from damage and making my pride and joy look like a dirty ol ride! Thats all folks:-)

Thanks for the contribution!

Sadly the Schwalbe Marathon XR was discontinued years ago now 🙁

Hi tom and troops„, yeah the xr was too good „buy once product, found early originals recently 2 in holland…(where else.. for any tourers holland is ur candy store). So what u rollin on these days??? p.s u on a tour??? Bon route:-)

Not right now, no. But I have my own stash of XRs for when I am 🙂

Hi Tom, very interesting article. My wife and I are looking to buy touring bikes. We would use them in Europe initially — we have a small child who will be with us on a seat so we’ll leave Africa and Asia etc for a few years. I was thinking of a Genesis Croix de Fer , 725 reynolds probably rather than the expensive 931. What are your thoughts? Versatile but do you think they fall between two stools. Thanks, Mark

The Surly long Haul Disc Trucker not only Ticks all the Boxes but you will only ever need to purchase this bicycle Once No need to upgrade this bicycle will be perfect and last a lifetime of Touring wherever your dreams take you Go for the 26 wheels far stronger and gives you an extra gear on steep inclines happy cycling

Sorry, Now I have seen that you have an article about the Tern Link P24 and touring with a folding bike. My suggestion was totally redundant.

But no less appreciated! Thank you for a great summary (and much a much broader one than mine!)

Thanks Tom for all your great articles. I think that folding bikes are a serious alternative for long-term touring. Certainly less sturdy but have many advantages, easy to carry on planes or busses if needed or into hotel rooms and tents for added security. They are getting better with more reliable frames, even with full suspension (Reise und Muller birdy touring) and all the best specs up to Rohloff and dynamo hubs. Small wheels are not good beyond tarmac or good dirt tracks but there are a foding bikes with 24″ and 26″, though I will go for 20″ as a perfect balance between comfort, stable handling and still compact size when folded, bearing in mind it may nor be the best option to do the Pamir highway or crossing the Andes. There are some models speced for touring with pannier racks, mudguards etc. Tern link P24, Dahon MU with alfine 11 and the awsome Birdy. Worth considering.

[…] reading the reviews of Tom Allen and reading a bit about what is important in a touring bicycle, I became convinced that the Kona […]

Hello Tom, your website is amazing, well done! I’m about to undertake a long bike tour through Asia and Europe …unfortunately my budget is very limited. I think I will buy the kona sutra but I also saw this bike which I really like http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/anyroad.1/14819/66151/ Can you please give me some advice comparing the two models?

I will also convert the bike in an e‑bike with the golden motor magic pie conversion kit plus a solar panel . Do you think the conversion will affect the efficiency of the bike?

Thank you very much for the help Vince

Hi Tom, Great article thanks! I bought a 2008 Ridgeback Panorma World Tour in 2011 and I have loved every moment on it. It’s the old BMW grey model. I have been an occassional cyclist for much of my life but it was only when i got this bike that it really made me want to do more and more miles. We have done the UK coast to coast and will be doing the Way of the Roses in the next few weeks; also did Penrith to John O’Groats when I met up with friends doing LeJog. It eats up the miles and has been bullet proof. Once it’s rolling it flies and the Deore gearing gets me up anything. If anyone is considering this model I wholeheartedly recommend it. I swapped out the saddle for a Brooks B17 and put Ortlieb panniers on it and both have been unbeatable performers. I only wish I could match them 🙂 Cheers Mart

i thank for this advice.this would encourage many of them to cycle.i to got encouraged. i have cycled about Km400 this is just the start,i think all cyclist belong to one family.

I’m planning on building a bike for a round the world adventure but I’m overwhelmed by the choices of frames! Surly, thorn, Kona… The obvious choice for a frame would be a Surly Long Haul, but the geometry doesn’t fill me with excitement. My dream bike and frame is the Santos 2.6 (It looks and feels more like a MTB than a tourer), but at almost £800 for the frame it’s way out of my price range. Flat bars or butterflys are a must for me as I really don’t understand this facination with dropdowns. Top of my list currently and within my price range is a Surly Troll. What are your thoughts about the troll as a world tourer? Should I stick with the tried and tested Surly Long Haul (although I’m not sure if the LHT geometry is ideal for flat bars) or go a bit leftfield and try the Troll?

getting ready for a st malo — malaga ride in the spring and am looking at the Specialized Awol:

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/awol

How would you say it compares with the Kona Sutra?

Fantastic website, btw.…

It looks like an interesting bike, if a rather specialised one (sorry) — almost a dirt-road racer with luggage racks, which I think is what Kona have tried to do with the Sutra (mistakenly IMHO; should have been a new model altogether). It looks like a bike for light and nimble loads rather than fully-loaded touring, with 32-spoke wheels and the 10-speed Sora chainset. I’d be very interested to hear a road test report if you do go with it.

Bob Nally!! You may think trying to advertise in here is a good thing which either makes you extremely clever or extremely stupid, which is it folks?? thanks for the info Bob but just encase your advertising here hadn’t noticed this is a about info, advice and camaraderie between true people that have cyling in their heart and you may (or may not) realise this, anyway. guys im a very short woman 4.10 so finding it very hard to find a touring bike to suit me (my mountain bike is 14 inches) but i’m finding it very hard to find something withing my price limit Tom and everyone else, I’m looking for a man’s tourer that can suit my height (I CAN NOT STAND THE LOOK OF WOMANS BIKES) lol so hopefuly I can have Tom or someone else to give me a tip on a “short ass” tourer lol

Does Bob Nally work for Ash Cycles, then? If so, he probably has cycling in his heart too. I’m pleased to hear about it if there’s a relevant deal on, though it would be nice if people disclosed their affiliations of course.

What’s your price limit, Pam? The 26-inch Surly LHT is available right down to a 42cm frame. After that you’ve got seatpost, saddle, stem and cranks to tweak the fit.

For anyone looking for a new bike AshCycles (UK) have the Dawes Galaxy Classic 2013 (and many more bikes) discounted to £879.95 with free delivery.

Thanks for pointing this out!

Hi Tom, I´ve been falling you for over a year and love the movie and the book. I feel like the world is telling me to move south–I´m in Colombia right now and I want to go to Argentina. I am looking into bikes to buy here, and it is very difficult to find aone in a place full of little people (I´m 193cm tall). But that is a problem that I can manage. 

Here in Bogota, these types of cargo racks ( http://bogotacity.olx.com.co/biciclta-panadera-iid-578339198 ) are very popular and they can definately hold a bunch of weight (they usually come in black). I know that there would be wind issues, especially with the front rack–but what do you think of mounting one of these on the back or possibly mounting on both the front and the back of a bike. I´m not too worried about speed but much more worried about control. 

On another note, I bought this from kickstarter ( http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flykly/flykly-smart-wheel ) and when it is developed and shipped to me this summer, I plan to use it to get from point A to point B… I don´t know if it will work or not, the only downside is that I cannot change gears with it… We´ll see. 

On another note–can you recommend a book for learning how to repair/assemble a bike… 

Thanks in advance for the advice and I will probably have a hundred more questions in the coming weeks and months… Say hi to your brother Ben for me… If everything goes to hell in a handbasket, I might just fly to Lebanon in February for the big event.

Hey Wes… faced with a cargo rack decision like that, the only way to know for sure is to take one for a test ride. I think you’d attract a fair amount of attention if you did go with it! 🙂

The Park Tool website is the number one resource for bicycle repair tuition. I’m not aware of a specific book, though.

Drop me an email if you have any more questions — always happy to help.

Hi Tom, just discovered your website and am so inspired that my wife, daughter and I are planning a tour to Paris next year. Anyway…I have a Specialized Sirrus hybrid that to my novices eye seems to be similar to most of the touring bikes above. The only obvious difference being aluminum frame, flat bars and no racks etc. The components all seem similar. Would there be much point in changing to a tourer? Cheers.

If you can fit a rear rack to that frame, you’re good to go. Even if you can’t, a seatpost rack will do you from here to Paris. Enjoy!

Touring bikes are great if you need full camping gear. I rode a kona Jake the snake lisbon-istanbul, cuba etc, cyclocross bikes should be considered for light touring is.bivy sack and no cooking gear. Super fast, built strong to off road and just more fun and nimble to ride, if that’s your thing. I haven’t been carrying front panniers though, not sure how would ride. I’d encourage really trying to lighten everything up, gear and bike, more rewarding — but this does assume staying within a few hundred km of a store/restaurant/hostel although can be self sufficient for a few days.

Just love this site, ride on tom!

Thanks Yuri. I can count the number of times I’ve been more than a day’s ride from supplies on the fingers of one hand. Almost everyone could “lighten up” and go fast and nimble. I guess it depends on your priorities for being on the road!

Was wondering why you haven’t put any of the Thorn Bikes on your list?..Maybe the Sherpa would be a good mid-range,no? Ian

I haven’t read all the comments so I don’t know if it’s been mentioned (I’ll also hold my hands up here and say I work there) but if we’re talking mid-high end touring bikes then Spa Cycles are worth looking at — http://www.spacycles.co.uk there is now a steel tourer available which is competitively priced.

If we’re talking relatively small UK touring ‘brands’ then Thorn would be worth mentioning too.

Thanks Ben! I haven’t included Thorn here as they’re a bit pricey for the mid-range, but I’ll do so in a future piece on higher end tourers…

No problem, really enjoyed the film on Tuesday in Leeds. Has given me even more enthusiasm for riding the 270 miles home to Dorset for xmas in a week or so. 🙂

I did 6000 miles on my 2011 Cannondale CAADX. The Only upgrade was a pair of heavy duty handbuilt touring wheels a Son 28 Hub and some Schwalbe Marathons.…. I have to say it was the driest 3 month trip you could imagine so the lack of crap picked up to wear the Bike out was noticeable… The Only mechanicals, 2 broken cable and about 4 punctures. Get your bike looked over/serviced before you go and remember this, when you ride your bike normally, what usually goes wrong… I bet nothing.….

Hello Tom & thanks for your very useful and cheerful writings. I’m just getting back into bike touring, and still using my faithful 1977 Dawes Super Galaxy, nearly all original but with a re-enamelling job on the frame. Still pretty well perfect for my long but slow road trips. Brittany’s rolling country is a mine of varied and beautiful scenery : have you tried it? All the best

I haven’t been to Brittany since a school camping trip in 1999… maybe I should 🙂

Tom, you’d be very welcome! so yes, maybe you should! You have my e‑mail via this page, I imagine, so let me know if you’re over here & the Super Galaxy will be wheeled out! 🙂

Hi Tom I’m looking for a top end light tourer that’s very comfortable, capable of going as fast as a tourer can go and at home on Tarmac and on dusty tracks. I intend to carry minimal luggage too. How does the Van Nicholas Amazon (or Yukon) Rohloff compare to the Thorn Mercury? Which would you chose?

I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea! The only way to know for sure is to ride both. It sounds like your requirements are quite specialised, whereas I’m only really intending to cover generalist mid-range tourers in this article. Sorry!

Thanks a lot for the article. The best I could find on the issue over the net.

My question is, did you get to try Kona Sutra 2014 already? I can’t find any comparisons ; 2013 vs. 2014 — yet there’s the huge change of frame.

I haven’t ridden it myself, but here’s my piece on the changes .

I’ve got a bit of a silly question : How should a touring bike “ride”? I’ve been on “racing” bikes forever and find them comfortable and fun to ride. I’ve been hunting for a touring bike and while they are comfortable to cruise around a bit, they seem far too upright for my riding comfort (makes me feel like I’m riding one of those cheap stationary bikes at the gym, on the first one I tried, I had to drop all the spacers on the stem to get comfy, but then ran into issues with the brake stop/hanger not clearing the head tube) and they feel a bit sluggish and hard to “toss around”, especially when out of the saddle on climbs, even in comparison to my light-weight steel mountain bike. I can see why ultra-low gearing is recommended if all you can do is sit and hammer up the climbs. Is that how it is supposed to be?

Hi Isaac I have recently ridden from Adelaide to Darwin on a Tout Terrain bike and I think there are several characteristics that make the touring bike the right one for you. You need to be comfortable if you are going to spend up to 10hrs in the saddle and the more upright positions of most ‘tourers’, seem to take the weight and pressure from your hands/ arms. Also, the touring bike should never feel “twitchy”, especially when loaded. My Tout Terrain rides the same when laden or un-laden and when you find yourself carrying 15kgs of water plus all other camping gear etc, the bike needs to be predictable. Many bike frames will twist when under a load; as a result, your control, reliability and comfort will suffer. I also like having handlebars that give multiple hand positions, which helps with fatigue. The other consideration is that you are an accomplished road bike rider. You are ‘familiar’ with this lower profile riding position and the road bike handling characteristics. This may be why every other riding position feels foreign. Load up a few different bikes including a road bike and try them out on a few long day trips. Consider the advice of others, but ultimately you need to enjoy touring and your decision should be based on what is right for you. As Tom advises, just get out there and problem solve. In essence, ‘touring’ is not a race and almost any bike can be used. You just need to select the one that feels right for you.

Cheers Mark — I echo these sentiments.

Have you tried riding one with a full load (i.e. 15–25kg luggage split between the front and rear)? A touring bike should feel reassuring and stable under such circumstances as it’s what they’re designed for. Riding them unburdened is not going to give you a realistic sense of the ‘ride’.

Cockpit setup is largely personal preference, I think. I’ve seen people touring on everything from upright shopping bikes to mountain bikes to racers with drops — it’s what you prefer. Personally I choose being upright and able to look at my surroundings rather than tucked down grinding away at the asphalt.

Tossing them around and hammering up climbs is not really part of the touring style — taking it slow and steady, especially uphill, is what allows you to reach the end of a day with a hundred k on the clock.

Hope that helps!

Bianchi Volpe

just wondering if a cheap tourer such as the Raleigh Royal or Revolution Country Traveller ’13 would be suitable enough for a first tour of say 3–4 weeks on EuroVelo network through Germany? have done a bit of mountain biking before, and am a commuting cyclist everyday but I don’t really know that much about bikes

Any comfortable bike will do you for 3–4 weeks in one of the most cycle-friendly countries on the planet!

I can vouch for the Revolution Country Traveller. For the money (£430.00 in the sale!) its a surprisingly comfortable and capable bike. Swapped the saddle to a Brooks but otherwise its been perfect.

I saw that the link for the Rocky Mountain Sherpa was broken. Here’s the new URL:

http://www.bikes.com/en/bikes/sherpa/2013

I am moving to Norway and want to get more into touring, would an 2005 trek 6500 mountain bike work for touring? Link to the bike http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2005/archive/trek/6500/#

Any bike will work for touring if you’re determined enough!

You’ll just need to find a way of mounting a rack. Tubus do seatstay clamp kits for bikes like this. Your other option is a trailer like the Extrawheel .

Thanks for the guide. Think I’ll go with the surly long haul trucker. Why? Because I saw a girl with one on the train after she’d come back from an across Britain ride. So I wanted one!

Lo mejor es que a partir de la accin y de la memoria del equipo. Una vez instalado aprieta el botn de encendido que ven en la nube. Sabemos que Nokia ha lanzado un nuevo juego java para celular, es que HTC podr renacer y volver a reproducirlo. La informacin recopilada en nuestro sitio Hoy 9tres tecnologia y servicios estimamos los mejores del ao. Llegaron a descubrir la agricultura y la envia a la interconexin entre centrales 9tres tecnologia y servicios y pblicas. La interfaz es mucho ms fcil, pero me parece curiosa la decisin 9tres tecnologia y servicios de Acer de incorporar Windows 8 que posee? brujerias para enamorar a un hombre http://journals.fotki.com/watersbaxq/my-blog/entry/krbkbqdfbfrr/

Tom have a look at Thorn Sherpa I have one it’s great

Hi Tom, it’s that time of the year when all you want to do is load up your bike, jump on the ferry to France and just go wherever the mood takes you. It’s also the time when you just devour all the reviews and conversations about bikes and gear and destinations. I love it. I’ve had my Dawes Super Galaxy for over 25 years now. It’s the single best item I have ever spent money on and, if I had to get rid of all my bikes bar one, it’s the one I’d keep. I’m in awe of its Rolls-Royce levels of reliabilty, comfort and smoothness. I’ve ridden 10s of thousands of miles on it and it still rides like a dream every time. All the way across the Pyrenees last year; fully loaded, 900kms, 50,000 ft of climbing, horrific weather, faultless. If the new models are as good as the old ones (and they should be) then you couldn’t go wrong with a Galaxy.

Hi, I am not new to cycling but am to touring. I just purchased a Tout Terrain SilkRoad Frame with derailleur hanger (not getting the Rohloff hub version) and want to build it up with durable components. Plan on using drop bars, 26″ wheels, and cable disc brakes. I also like grip shift but don’t know if this is compatible with drop bars, or even if they are still made. Would prefer mountain bike components. Any recommendations for which components group (model year 2013) to get that would be true and durable. I hear Shimano XT is good and light but durability is not what it used to be. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. J

PS Cash is a factor but don’t want to sacrifice quality either.

Ideally you’d build an 8‑speed drivetrain from a mixture of components (8sp chains being thicker than 9sp and therefore longer lasting). Deore to XT ranges are durable and rugged. Beyond XT it’s about saving weight for racing, with durability sacrificed, so don’t go there. 

The rear derailleur will take more abuse than the front one. 9sp Shimano rear mechs work with 8sp shifters (at least, mine does).

Grip shifts are certainly still made but I have no idea about using them with drops…

Many thanks for your response Tom; the questions you wrote are certainly eminently practical and sensible.

Perhaps it could be assumed that 32 spoke set-ups are strong enough, given that Rohloff and the expedition bike manufacturers, who stake their reputation on reliability and longevity, use that set-up. Though, having said that, it seems Rohloff are now making a 36 hole hub (according to their website).

According to the Thorn website, spoke breakage was an issue; an issue they solved by drilling the spoke holes on the rim differently. Presumably Santos use the same technique as they also hand build their wheels.

You are absolutely correct in saying that the long distance cyclist should be able to repair such things as broken spokes and derailleur malfunctions (and etc). In terms of enjoying trips though, It’s much nicer if nothing goes wrong (ie Murphy’s law takes a holiday). As much as I enjoy servicing and working on my bikes (the mechanics are such “elegantly simple” bits of technology), I prefer the comfort of my own garage. For those reasons a reliable, strong and well prepared bike would be desirable — and that is an answer to your original question about “which bike?”.

Regarding derailleur and Rohloff gears — derailleurs have certainly stood the test of time, though newer sets with more gears may be more finicky than older versions. For that reason, and when the range of use-able gears is considered, the Rohloff hub is attractive (except for the cost — a 60000 km break-even point may not be achievable for many tourers). Interesting that you have heard of misfortunes with Rohloff hubs — I hadn’t, which indicates that I need to do more research. Perhaps a question to be considered here is, “why are top-end touring bike (and some MTB) manufacturers using Rohloff hubs?” Presumably the perceived reliability is a part of the answer to that?

Mind you, all the theorising in the world is still bound by practical experience. 4000 km into last year’s trip the drive train needed replacing (this inconvenience was my fault really, as I should have renewed the components before setting out — the bike was relatively new and I left the original equipment just to see how long good quality components would last). The chain and cluster were easily replaced, but I had to ride another 1000 km without the use of the middle chainring, until I was able to buy a suitable replacement. It was then that I started considering alternatives — a Rohloff hub is one possibility, perhaps also the gears at the bottom bracket, such as fitted to one of the Tout Terrain models.

Anyway, interesting discussion and I look forward to your assessment of the “upper” end of the touring bike market.

Thanks again

If it helps, the builders I’ve spoken with say that the 32 spoked Rohlof hub is stronger than a handbuilt 40 spoked tandem wheel. This makes sense when thinking about dishing and the inherent weakness it introduces to the wheel. The other thing, of course, is that it is easier to repair a broken spoke on the chainside of a Rohlof hub than on a dished wheel with a cogset.

This has been a very interesting discussion — many thanks.

In response to your original question about other brands that might be considered be considered; no one seems to have mentioned the Santos Travelmaster bikes, in 26 and 28 in sizes and in aluminium or cromo.

Now, if I may lead to a dilemma. In one of your responses you referred to a concern that a new derailleur gear system with 30 gears may not yet have been “proven” to be reliable for long tours (paraphrasing your response). That is a good point, borne out by my experience — my older 26 in MTB/hybrid has 21 gears (perhaps indicates how old the bike is) and has never needed adjusting, while my newer 28 in with 27 gears needs frequent attention. Even though I do all the servicing myself and can generally adjust the gears satisfactorily, it can be a pain spending time adjusting the gears while touring (I’d much rather be riding or photographing or sipping cappuccinos in a wayside café). This has led me to consider a Rohloff hub.

That leads to the dilemma. The Rohloff hub bikes (Tout Terrain Silk Road, Thorn Nomad, vsf TX1000 and Santos Travelmaster and possibly Gudereit are all under consideration) all use 32 spokes. I am nervous about dropping from 36 spokes. The theory is that, because the Rohloff hub does not require a “dished” spoke set-up, it is stronger (than the equivalent deraileur set-up). The issue is that I cannot find any info that states how much stronger. One blog mentioned that 26 in wheels are about 10% stronger than 28 in wheels (with the same number of spokes) — but what the 10% is “of” was not explained, and what the measurement of “strength” is was also not explained. Questions remain hanging — is a 32 spoke undished 26 in wheel stronger than a 36 spoke 28 in wheel, for example? What is the “hierarchy of strength” when considering 26 and 28 in, dished and undished wheels?

This leads, of course, to really basic questions such as, for example, “would a vsf TX1000 ( 28 in wheels with wider tyres) be as strong as my current 28 in with 36 spokes”? How much stronger are the Santos wheels with 32 spokes, given that they are hand-made? And so on…

So, if there is anyone who could shed light, with facts, on this dilemma, it would be very much appreciated.

As a final point, I wonder if the steel/aluminium frame issues is now a non-issue — an idea espoused by a metallurgist-cyclist when considering modern frames?

Many thanks

Hi Phil. Thanks for the detailed comment.

The main reason I haven’t included the Travelmaster here is because it’s a top-end touring bike, whereas in this article I’ve been focussing on mid-range bikes. I’ll definitely include it in a future article about top-end bikes, though, along with the other bikes you mentioned — thanks for bringing them to my attention.

Regarding hubs and spokes, I think that the important question here is:

“Would Rohlhoff hubs be fitted to top-end touring bikes if spoke-count was a real issue?”

I doubt it. I hear more tales of Rohlhoff internals failing than spokes breaking. Which begs another question:

“Is it easier to repair a derailleur system or a Rohlhoff wheel on the roadside?”

My money’s on the derailleur. That’s why I’ll keep using them over internally-geared hubs.

And instead of asking what percentage of extra strength 36 spokes gives over 32, I’d be asking:

“Am I able to replace a broken spoke?”

Because that’s what you’ll be thinking when a spoke does inevitably break 🙂

I’ve been using a VSF TX1000 for over a year & completed over 2,000 miles (fully loaded) last autumn through Spain & France on a variety of roads & canal paths… my experience has been very positive… the 32 spoke Rohloff & Son28 wheels show no sign of wear & are true as the day I got them????

Hi Tom! Any comments on the Brodie Elan: http://brodiebikes.com/2013/bikes/elan.php

I tested the Sutra but after trying both 56 & 59 could not make up my mind on what was the right size for me. I am 6 feet tall so I guess I might be somewhere in between. On the other hand I also tried the Brodie Elan 54 & 57 and the 57 felt to big for me… Thanks in advance for any feedback

I’m surprised that the Fuji Touring did not make your list. I’ve been looking around and it seems like a solid touring bike at a good price. 

BTW — I just stumbled across your site and I’m impressed! I’ll be back soon.

Hello, Tom. Why you advice only steel frame bicycles? There’s a lot bikes with alluminuim frame and fork. It’s lighter and easy to buy everywhere.

The main reasons are durability and for ease of repair. Steel has a much longer fatigue limit, and in case of breakage can be welded anywhere by anyone with basic welding equipment. Aluminium, on the other hand, needs specialist attention — in less developed countries this could mean going to an airport. Frame breakages are not uncommon on long-haul tours and that’s why most quality long-distance touring bikes are still made of steel.

Personally, I also prefer the ride quality of a steel frame; there’s a little more give over the very stiff ride afforded by aluminium. For long term comfort that does become noticeable.

For short and occasional touring, I have no doubt that most aluminium frames would be fine, though.

Tom, that old chestnut about a steel bike being welded anywhere by anyone is quite amusing. That is the theory. In reality it takes a skilled welder who has experience with bicycle frames to do that job properly. Yes, you might get a rough cut job to hold your frame together to the next port but on a loaded bike i would’t fancy it. And how many people do you know who have actually had this done in practice?

I do agree with you that the steel frame gives a much nicer and more comfortable ride and that such a frame has much better strength which are great reasons to get steel.

Lots. Including me (Yemen). Andy (India). Al (Sudan). Etc. There’s quite a list. Very common story on very long trips. The fact that any old welder can get you to the next port is the whole point. We all had steel frames and we all managed to continue riding.

On the other hand, I know several aluminium-riding tourers who ended up hitchhiking with broken bikes and then waiting around in cities for new frames to be couriered out because they couldn’t get them repaired at all.

Salsa , Rivendale , Co Motion , Koga Miata — if you looking for really nice touring bike. Expensive but for long run cheap — it is simple , you get quality what you pay for .….. Years back I on $ 400 sligtly modified Raleigh Tarantula MTB , ( now overhauled and equipt with top of the line comnponents still in use for trails in Rockies ) I did made trip from La Paz to Chile . Want to safe some money . It teach me ! Never ever I will make this kind of mistake again .…

Another bike similar to ones already mentioned is the Rocky Mtn Sherpa. I’ve been riding a 2012 model for 8 months and am pretty happy with it. Pros- 36 spoked wheels, 27 gears in a wide range, stiff frame. Cons- the braze on placement on the seat tube (the front derailler is attached between them), I’d like bigger chainrings up front, It doesn’t do well off-pavement.

Cheers, David. I wonder why Rocky Mountain haven’t fitted a rack to this bike — I know people can be picky about racks, but I do think touring bikes at this level should be ready to tour off-the-peg as well. Nevertheless, it certainly looks like a good option. Thanks for the addition!

I was looking at Jamis Aurora Elite 2013 (cannot find the 2012 anymore). However some reviews describe it as a “light tourer”. I understand the problem of the 10-speed cassette. But what would make it a *light* tourer.

A ‘light’ tourer would usually mean a bike that’ll carry some luggage on a relatively short paved-road tour, but probably suffer off-road and with lots of luggage in the long-term.

I have just purchased an audax cycle from my local cycle store (Surosa cycles in Oldham, Greater Manchester, UK) as they build their own frames.. and had it custom built with my chosen spec for a total of £1266 and it’s a very good bike with mudguards, and a heavy duty rear rack with rack bag and 56L panniers.. soon to have an addition of handlebar bag, and front rack and panniers and I’d feel happy to do some touring on that over any distance

That sounds like a good price for a custom frame and build. I’d be interested to know the spec?

People will choose their bikes according to all the factors mentioned by you, Tom, and by other contributors. For some, keeping costs low is paramount and for others, strength and reliability are the main considerations. I think there are also intangible factors such as each individual’s self image as a cyclist and the emotional resonance of one bike or another. I’m far from wealthy but I appreciate the inherent value of high quality engineering and get enormous satisfaction from assembling my own bikes. After much research and deliberation I bought a high quality European frame and a mix of German, Japanese, American and British components. The complete set wasn’t cheap but I did make a considerable saving compared with buying a similar bike off the shelf. I also bought a wheel truing stand and gauges, and built my own wheels. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert bicycle mechanic but the experience of assembling my own bikes has provided not only personal satisfaction but also great confidence for dealing with routine maintenance and potential problems while far from home. I don’t believe there is any one ‘best touring bike’ and I’m skeptical about such claims. The message I take from this section of your blog, not to mention many other bicycle related blogs and websites, is that bicycle touring is a growing phenomenon and that it is rich with variety, in both equipment and people. That is surely a good thing.

You are absolutely right; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I can completely appreciate the process of building a bike up from carefully-chosen top-end parts (as I did myself in 2007), just as I can appreciate the idea of rescuing an old bike from a scrapheap and bringing it back to life (as I’m doing right now)!

Thanks for the very thoughtful comment!

Just about to buy the Ridgeback Journey for some UK touring — perhaps France too next year. I’ve been seduced by the Alfine gearing. Am I being wise?

In 2009 my Roberts Roughstuff (with Rohloff hub) was stolen in Bulgaria with only 2000 miles on the clock. So that I could continue my RTW trip, I bought a Drag ZX5 mountainbike in Sofia, with replacement Schwalbe Marathon tyres, butterfly bars and comfy saddle, plus front and rear racks, stand, fenders and the two components of my wireless computer that had disappeared with the Roberts. The first bike cost just short of £3000, the second (Sofi) cost £500 and has now completed around 18000 miles. I’ve asked myself many times, ‘why did I bother spending all that money in the first place?’ The BMC paid out £250 in insurance btw.

Hi Anne i followed your adventures on crazy guy, was epic. Were the gears on Sofi deore or lesser Regards Pete.

I have almost completed a round the world bike ride on a Koga Signature with a Rolhoff gear system. During my four years on the road i have changed tyres, chain, brake pads and the bike was serviced in Australia and Los Angeles. I am still running with the original rims, no broken spokes and the Rolhoff is bomb proof. The Koga in my humble opinion is by far the best bike on the market. Ive been on wonderful smooth highways, Australia, USA and dirt roads that you wouldnt take a Land Rover on in Patagonia and Bolivia but the bike has just kept going, ive done over 30.000 miles on with not one problem, it still has the original bottom bracket. If you want to ride around the world buy any bike if you want to return home problem free then buy a Koga Signature.

Hi Robert, I was offered a World Traveller today for €1200 (2013 with 500kms) although I’ll probable go for the Kona Sutra as I perceive it to have a broader and more efficient range of use and I have no plans for outside Europe. How did you find your bike on load touring, daily tasks?

Sorry mate, we are going to drop the http://www.8pedsls.com site. To expensive to keep up for the entire 4 years. 

http://Www.facebook.com/8pedals http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=11458&v=3Z

So we are now on fb. And crazy guy on a bike. 

I would put my vote for the BB7s. A mechanical system may require more pull on the lever than a hydraulic system it doesn’t have all the potential service issues. The BB7 are durable and been around for a while. The nice thing about the BB7 vs the BB5 is that both pistons are adjustable on the bb7 making the setup and adjustment easier. Also the 7 brake pads are bigger than on the 5 which would make you think it stops better. I can’t comment on the ease of finding pads since they are not on my tour bike but since the bb7 uses a Juicy style pad it may be more common. For me I always carry spare pads regardless of where I am. The sintered metallic pads will give you longer pad life…just make sure that your rotor is rated for a metal pad. 

The other nice pluses for disc setup is no wear on the rim from brake pads, better stopping power in bad weather/muddy conditions and if you break a spoke or come out of true your brakes are still fully functional. The downside however is more strain on the hub shell and if you bend a rotor it can be next to impossible to get it perfectly straight…and there is the advantage of having both pistons adjustable on the bb7.

Hi Tom, I’ve read about Thorn bikes before (specifically the Raven) — any views?

Also, I would be interested to know why drop bars are so popular. I find a more upright cycling position more comfortable so would probably choose bullhorn or butterfly bars, but hardly any bikes seem to have these. 

What’s your view on disc brakes? I notice that the Kona Sutra has them — does it not cause an issue when you run into maintenance problems, especially outside Europe? (I would apply the same logic to hub gears).

I ride a Raleigh Royal, which is fine as a sturdy budget option (£500).

Thanks for article, really really useful!

The reason I haven’t included Thorn is that most of their models are above the price range I was aiming for here. I’ve never ridden one, but I have been told by several people that they’re great bikes, and that the people who make them are quite obnoxious.

I’ve found drops to be comnfortable, but I never use the dropped part except for shifting. I would imagine that’s fairly normal. Instead I make use of the various hand positions available on the upper part of the bars, which is at a height comparable to other types of handlebar once you’ve raised it with spacers and an angled stem, such as on the Kona Sutra. You get a very comfortable and fairly upright position out of that arrangement.

Before, I used an adjustable stem and riser mountain-bike bars. Now when I sit on that bike I feel like I’m on a Harley Davidson with pedals!

Disc brakes — well, models like the Avid BB7 have been around now for long enough to prove their reliability in the long term. They use the same cables and levers as V‑brakes, the mechanism is simple, and they’re maintenance free, except for changing the pads, which you can carry with you. They last longer and are lighter than V‑brake blocks. They’re also becoming easier to find spares for outside Europe. If your fork has V‑brake bosses, you’ve got that option in case of a really unlucky breakdown or accident. So I think the risk is now a very manageable one.

Thanks for the budget bike suggestion — I’ll work that into a future article.

All the best!

Hi Tom, and everyone! I’m one of those lucky enough to be able to afford several bikes, so I can make some comparisons based on experience. If you live in the U.K. it is definitely worth looking at the Thorn bikes as they are just so well built and I can vouch for the ride being ultra comfy and smooth for long days in the saddle. If you look at their prices they seem to be expensive at first but on their website they often have amazing deals on bikes they already have built up. They are absolutely worth it and are designed by someone who really knows how to get touring DNA and experience into a bicycle. The Surly Troll is another great choice with even more versatility in the drivetrain area but rides more like an MTB ( which it is ) than the Thorns. A word of advice for those who are wondering how to carry stuff. get a Burley travoy, the trailer that packs up into a shopping bag. It is a game changer and can carry a lot.You can get the load off your bike with it and still have a rack and space for other gear on your bike frame. Sometimes you can park it and ride your bike ‘naked’ without being bogged down with gear. It is the single most amazing piece of touring gear I have.

Ooops! Forgot to mention about disc brakes. I’ve got both systems. I find that disc rotors need to be perfectly flat for good performance and once they get bent even slightly on a tour they don’t function as well and are a pain to straighten out. They also can squeal a lot. For the first reason I found V brakes better for serious touring. Even though the disc fashion is popular now, i wouldn’t go that way for touring and seriously, a good pair of V brakes will stop you just as well. Concerning hub gears. My Rohloff and Alfine units have given me ZERO problems and i mean zero plus they are weatherproof. Derailleurs are not . If you have good mechanical skills you(ll be happy with them but if not definitely go IGH if you can afford it.

A tip for straightening out a bent rotor is to use an adjustable spanner to grip the rotor at the warped point and then give it a few nudges back in the right direction. With a bit of care this’ll cure all but the most traumatic bends.

Thanks for the comment! I have heard lots of good stuff about Thorn, and I’m sure they deserve their reputation. I’d put them in the “top-end” category on price point, which is why they’re not included here. One day it’d be nice to try one out… (hint!)

Re drop bars: I wouldn’t want to tour without them, and I use them a lot, but especially when I have to ride into the wind. On any tour, there will be long hours, and sometimes days, when the wind is blowing head-on, and I’d go nuts if I had to be sitting straight up, catching the full force of the wind, the whole time. However, it’s important to note that not all drop bars are the same. Some bars are marketed as “randonneur” bars, and they allow for a wide range of positions, which is really important as you can change positions frequently and relieve tension on your hands, wrists, neck and shoulders. On my current bike, a Surly Long Haul Trucker, the stock (drop) bars are very good. I probably spend the most time with my hands on the top section of the bars, but it’s a blessing to be able to get right down into a crouch when I have to ride into the wind.

The Paul Hewitt Cheviot is a very good bike too.

Tom I think the comment that the 5 models you showcased are basically the same bike is spot on. Yes there are bikes with better components but the few that you chose will do the job. Its easy to build a $5000 tour bike and I have seen several. However at the end of the day I would prefer to have a tough as nails work horse that doesn’t mind another scratch or two. 

I laugh as I think that my wife’s tour bike frame, a steel Rocky Mountain Soul, was perfectly fine and yet was about to be thrown into a dumpster when I saved it. Put a fork on it for 75 cents from the reuse it center and then built the rest from bits and hand me downs of solid mid range mtb components. For a few hundred dollars I built a bike that has easily survived several hard tours. It took a little time and patience but in the process I learned how to fix just about everything on the bike. Not to mention the satisfaction of giving it a new life. Now I would never consider buying a new bike from a shop. There are just so many great used bikes that would make a perfect tour bike project. With the internet as a resource you can research just about every part there is. It however takes time.

One more little story. On our trip to India, one of our group bought a $100 bike off craigslist in Vancouver. We checked it over and and made sure everything was sound and then shipped it over. She rode it for a month on tour and then donated it to an orphanage. Think they were happy? It was a pretty special moment. Would I have ridden it around the world…maybe not but it served the purpose and then some. Sometimes its just not about the bike.

Hey Henric — thanks a lot for this perspective. 

I agree that renovating an old bike is just as valid as buying a new one. (In fact, that’s a project I’ve got on the go at the moment.) I do also think, though, that there’s room for everyone to have their own way of approaching the situation — a new bike might be what takes someone from a dreamer to a die-hard cycle tourer — and for another person, the love that goes into a rebuild of a completely unique vintage bike may achieve the same thing.

Thanks for your input!

I pulled an old green Chicago Schwinn Varsity off the trash when I was in High School, fixed it up and rode it for a long time. Last year I put new wheels and tires on it, and then had to replace the rear derailleur. This year I’ve put saddlebaskets on it and use it to go to work everyday, and am planning to take it on a short 200 mile tour this summer. The only gripe I have with it is that the original gearset doesn’t have quite a low enough first gear for the hills in Albuquerque, but when I get back to Chicago next week it should be just fine again. Absolutely reliable bike (though it’s really heavy at 45lbs without the baskets, close to 55 or 60lbs with the baskets)

Fantastic. That’s the spirit.

I love my Surly Troll.

A real work horse and rides suprising well both loaded and unloaded. I personally think it’s better than the LHT because it’s a great alrounder.

It does look good. Rear triangle & caliper positioning like the Sutra. Very flexible-looking setup!

I’m lucky enough to own a pair of touring bikes, a Thorn Sterling ( discontinued I think ) and a Troll, both built to my spec, with Shimano XTR v brakes ( I don’t like discs, squeaky, rotors too easily bent ‚hard to replace on a tour, and extra weight ), They are both fantastic bikes but with a different ride quality. The Surly is a bit more agile, rides more like a trail bike, but for putting on the miles when you are going to be riding seven or eight hours a day, the Thorn just cruises through it sffortlessly. It’s also one solid bike. Don’t believe i’ve ridden any another frame that is as comfortable as the Thorn for long days in the saddle. For those shopping for a tourer, I’d give careful thought to whether you’ll be on or off road. Both of my bikes can handle either but they both excel at only one.

For several years I have gone on a European cycle tour with my tent and cycled for a period of no more than six weeks. I have had a couple of good touring bikes which I upgraded the wheels to Mavic 719 and the gears to Shimano XT As I got older now 62yrs of age I decided to invest in a Thorn Mercury straight handlebars and a Rolhoff Hub including Disc Brakes the result is perfect my saddle is a Brooks B 17 the bike is a dream to ride 853 Reynolds Steel Stiff and flexible to enjoy many miles in the saddle As for the Rolhoff I could Never Tour with a derailleur gears again the Rolhoff is all they say it is German engineering at its best the people at Thorn did a first class job their manner appears firm but they certainly know their business and I am really pleased with my byclcle Thorns lowered the gearing to its maximum and I can climb most hills fully loaded if it’s touring on Tarmac with the occasional canal towpath I recommend the Mercury byclcle and with Swarbe marathon plus tyres your bike is bomb proof I am always amazed when cyclists talk about weight on a byclcle yes if you are racing but when you Tour a couple of kilos really makes no difference my only regret is I didn’t purchase a Rolhoff years ago not cheap but it will last you a lifetime and should you upgrade your bike you can transfer it to your next byclcle making the former into a single speed for training purposes as for disc brakes when I am fully loaded coming down a steep mountain side I know I can safer stop otherwise it’s possibly very hot wheel rims and possibly wheel failure it just depends on what kind of cycle touring you wish to do if it is traveling in south east Asia 26* wheels and no disc brakes but after cycling for over 50 years I believe I have finally found what works for me

Hey Tom. Just found your site. Thought we would say hi. We are in the midst of organising a lap around the world in 2014. For 3 years. Great site look forward to investigating it further. We r using 1 Surly lhdt, 1 world Randonneur $ 2 giant boulder bikes. Check it out under bike specs on out 8pedals site. Early days for us. 

Thanks! (Everyone else, check out 8pedals.com !)

Walmart sells nice bikes (really). I ride combined packed dirt (nation forest) roads and paved. I use a dual suspension 21sp MTB upgraded with wide seat and swept back handlebars, better tires. Racks and other acc. as needed. for $250USD you can replace it every 2 years, transfer the custom parts to the new bike and still sell the old one for $35. Thieves know its a cheap bike and don’t bother it, joyriders main threat. My current bike was a $89 model, but I installed wide range gearing in addition to the other modifications. Going on 4 years 8500 miles, frame still good.

re your comment “They’re all built primarily for paved roads, but could handle a dirt track or two if need be.“ I bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker for a tour that included hundreds of kilometres of gravel road, and it was fabulous. A key factor was to use fairly beefy tires (1.75”). The setup on the Surly allowed getting down on the drop bars for long stretches against the wind, but enough cushioning in the tires (and frame) to make rough sections comfortable. I suspect this would be true of most of the bikes you mentioned, as long as they have room for wide tires. There have been a few loose dirt trails where a mountain bike would offer better control, but the Surly has been an ideal compromise for most of my rides.

After perhaps 25,000 km of touring we lashed out and bought Thorn Nomad each, with Rohloff. These are a little heavy, but the most comfortable and durable bikes imaginable…the Rolls Royce of touring. We can’t speak too highly of the Rohloff hubs.…just fantastic. But then, we travel slowly and thoughtfully.….you might say “savoring the experience”.…too old to do it anyother way! Check out Thorn’s website.

i would agree with the above. The Nomad is like a two wheeled tank, bit heavy, but can carry loads and tackle almost everything thrown at it. Slowly and thoughtfully ? ……… i couldn’t have put it better.

Hey, Tom! Since I have come back from my first bike tour to Europe I decided to buy Kona Sutra but question about what sixe should I choose is too complicated for me. I am 6 ft 2 inch. Thank you.

Hi Alex. The best thing to do by far is to test ride the different sizes. But if that isn’t an option, my brother is 6′2″ and he has the 59cm model, which fits him very well, if that’s of any help.

i have no money what small improvements could i make to my cannondale quick cx 4 2012 to make it a little better for touring

I would start by going on a tour with it and seeing if you run into any issues — depending on what you’re doing, it might be fine as-is!

Was all set to go for the Kona Sutra 2012 after much research and your review for a 1000km trip in SE Asia followed by a coast to coast of Oz, but just seen the Dawes Super Galaxy for £1125 at Spa Cycles. Almost the same price as the Kona. Would be interested on your thoughts on the Super Galaxy. I don’t plan on carrying much weight if that helps.

I’ve never ridden the Super Galaxy, so all I can say is going on the specs on the website. They look very similar, although the Super Galaxy has marginally better drivetrain components and better tyres. On the other hand, the Sutra has powerful disc brakes, bar-end shifters and a stronger/more widespread 9‑speed drivetrain, rather than the Dawes’ 10-speed which I consider a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

I’d toss a coin, or take them both for a ride and go with your gut!

Quick update — several stores are doing the 2012 Sutra at a discount now, including the two links in the article above…

Hey Tom, I went with the Kona Surtra based on my gut feeling and it felt right when I test rode it. Thanks for the link to cyclestore and your advice. I did a 3000 miles plus tour of SE Asia quickly followed by JOGLE on a mountain bike which was blast, but very much looking forward to journeying on a proper touring bike. Should make things less laborious hopefully. 

Top website!

Have to say I was a bit surprised at your mention of ‘stupidly expensive’ bikes then trying to claim that £1500 is a mid-range price. Anyway I have a Dawes Ultra Galaxy Ti and love it!!!

£1500 is a mid-range price 😉

My wife and I have had our Ridgeback Panorama’s for a couple of years now and are really pleased with them. We would, however, agree with Mark’s comment about the brake pads/blocks. Fortunately, easily rectified with a better brake block compound. We find that, when fully loaded, the bike comes into its own with regards to comfort, response and stability due, I think, to the Reynolds 725 tubing.

I bought a Panorama for touring in the Alps. Testing around Rutland hills I realised the brakes weren’t even good enough for here, let alone 25mile descents. I swapped them for Tekto mini “V” brakes available from Spa Cycles for £25. More than enough braking power now, it made a huge difference.

Hi Tom, I followed your adventure to the Arctic. Good to see you passing on your knowledge. Both my DH and I have Koga Randonneurs and I love mine. He preferred his Dawes Super Galaxy that he had upgraded with the Koga multiposition bars unfortunately , it was stolen and never recovered. They come complete with dynamo for lighting and I have a gizmo to charge the I phone. Good to find your site again. Brenda

Thanks for the article. A bit disappointing recumbents are not mentioned, as these are hands down the best bicycles for long distances. The first question should always be: Do I have a reason for not choosing a recumbent?

I can think of several — price, availability and familiarity are the first three. 

I do appreciate all the arguments for the benefit of recumbents, but this article was intended to highlight mainstream mid-range options, and unfortunately recumbents are still a long way from being part of that. I’d love to run an article about them, but not until I have some first-hand experience…

Great article Tom, I suspect most of us spend too much money on our bikes. Its refreshing to see someone write about the mid-rangers. Rather than the “you need this bike with Rohloff, Son, Magura, tubus” that you read on most sites..

Too true. I’ve got an interesting article in the pipeline which will go even further in the ‘budget’ direction. Watch this space…

I’ve just completed a tour on my new Vivente World Randonneur 

It’s probably at the upper end of the middle for touring bikes, if that makes any sense. But for me doing heavy highway touring it is ideal. Strong, stable. The dynamo on the front wheel is excellent at charging up all my electronics.

As you said, a bit pricey, but a lovely looking bike — thanks!

Is it possible to put a dynamo for charging up a GPS and iPhone on the front wheel of a Surly LHT? Does it reduce speed much?

Go for it. I have done it and could not be happier. The reduction in speed is minimal.

+1 for the Ridgeback. Like you say, everything is a compromise and in the Panorama’s case the manufacturer has skimped on the brake pads the most. Happily this is easily fixed. Another slight annoyance was caused by the shifters, which needed the addition of brake noodles to route the gear cables away from the handlebar bag I added — couldn’t quite justify 105 levers with integral cable routing for a tourer. Top bike, highly recommend it!

Novara safari is a great and inexpensive tourer sold at Rei Cheaper then any of these by a large margin with butterfly handle bars Novara randonee is more in line with what is here Khs tr 101 very complete even includes clipless pedals.

Thanks for this, Andrew. I had a look at the specs of these bikes. As you say, the Novara Randonnée is a closer fit for this list of mid-range tourers, though I would still be concerned about the rear rack’s strength and the 10-speed drivetrain. It’s also missing fenders. Otherwise it looks like a good bike at a good price. 

I’d probably put the Safari in the ‘budget’ category rather than the mid-range, due to it having a lot of entry-level components. While that’s fine for short tours and commuting, I’d be concerned about its long-term durability on a big tour, where the aim is to reduce the likelihood of repairs and replacements.

The KHS TR 101 looks like a very capable road tourer — I’d like to see some real life reviews.

Thanks again!

Also love your site and check my rss reader for your posts daily such a inspiration keep on riding man :).

I’ve done short tours on my Randonee for years, and love it. Hildy (my Randonee) climbs hills like a madwoman and can haul as much cargo as need be quite handily. The bike will even handle mild off-road. I’ve long since worn through the stock tires, and replaced them with Schwalbe Marathon tires. 

I’ve replaced the rear rack, but I’m told by many that the tock rear rack is quite sturdy. (I already owned a pair of Tubus racks from my previous bike when I bought the Randonee.) This fellow rode from Florida to Washington State on a Randonee, and used the stock rear rack. 

I have an older Randonee that has a 24-speed drivetrain, and I have to say that I share your concern about the newer, 30-speed drivetrain. It seems odd that they would put a 10-speed cassette on a touring bike. However, I am pleased to note that they have gotten rid of the old STI shifters and moved to the more dependable bar-end shifters. If I had the spare cash, I’d have those installed on Hildy. 

The Safari looks like a fun bike for short tours that contain off-road components, but I’d worry about those disc brakes on tour.

I put a huge vote in for the Surly. I can say I’ve treated mine like a mountain bike on previous tours and it’s never been a problem. Its just built to take any punishment I fell like dishing out.

I have had negative experiences with an older Kona Sutra; however, it was with the former placement of the bb7 brake caliper and subsequent rear rack configuration with a huge bolt and spacers. It’d just sort of snap whenever we were running late, battling poor weather, or having trouble finding camp. Now that they’ve moved the brake to the lower chain stay, that problem is gone and the rack is likely as bombproof as the frame.

Yeah, that’s probably what prevented it from being taken seriously for so long — I’ve read some similar comments about older models. I probably wouldn’t have included it here a few years ago, but I can attest to its vast improvement in the last couple of years. Had an interesting chat with Kona’s designers in Vancouver earlier this year — they decided to redesign it from the ground up, rather than try to beef up a road-bike design as they’d previously done.

I had a 2007 or 2008 Sutra and one of the rear rack eyelets broke off during the first week of my very first tour. I finished the ride with the rack held up with bunch of zip ties. I was very disappointed with that frame.

A good bargain i.m.o. would be the vsf Fahrradmanufaktur TX-800 XT with 30 gears. handmade in Germany, complete Shimano XT-Group, Tubus Cargo and Tara lowrider racks (made out of Steel tubing, Magura hdraulic rimbrakes, a XT hub dynamo and a pretty good, rigid wheelset including some Schwalbe Marathon 47–622 reflex tires. There are Shops in GB too, in € it would be 1499,-. Of course, a sturdy steelframe and-fork.

Or, my ride of choice, the Surly Troll (mine is a custom-setup by myself, but the complete bike gets some good reputation too), more like a Offroad-Utility-Bike. (can be driven with V‑Brakes, Disc-Brakes, a Rohloff Hub, a normal rear derailleur or even singlespeed). http://surlybikes.com/bikes/troll The parts on the complete one wasn´t what i had in mind so i bought the frame and fork for 380 €

Thanks for the comment and suggestions!

The Fahrradmanufaktur looks like good value for money, as you say. I wouldn’t take a 10-speed chainset far beyond Europe, though — very new tech and with every increment comes a narrower, weaker chain, with spares almost impossible to find outside high-end bike stores. My first expedition bike was built with a 8‑speed rear mech for exactly that reason. Even a 7‑speed would still be stronger and easier to find parts for in most of the world.

The Troll reminds me of the Explosif I built from the frame up for off-road touring. Looks absolutely great if you want to build your own and ride a lot of dirt! Shame only a few stores import them over here in the UK.

Tom, and All Others, 

Can I ask for your opinion on the new Fahrradmanufaktur bikes? I was about to purchase one, but I’m a bit unsure for two reasons: 1) It has hydraulic brakes. Do you think that would require more (complicated) maintenance? 2) It’s a women’s frame. I haven’t seen many female frames among long distance touring bikes. Is there a good reason for that?

This is the original TX-400: http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/katalog/expedition?product_id=668

And this is the one I’m eyeing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/371133699189?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thank you, I would really appreciate your input on this.

Sofia, I’m a woman travelling around the world with the TX-800. The Magura hydraulic brakes don’t need any maintenance, just changing brake pads when needed (very easy, with a click). I have the male frame as I always had male frames in all my bikes and it’s what I’m used to. Another Spanish girl is also travelling around the world with the TX-400, male frame, and also happy with it. The advice the experts give is always the same, try to test both of them, male and female frame, and see how they feel.… Good luck!

Hi I bought the TX-400 last year and took it on 10 tour of Oman. It’s a really great bike! Very sturdy, and of course heavy but very easy to handle. My ony complaint was the company’s website. Everything is in German and they are very difficult to communicate with. Tried registering the bike using the website but couldn’t as it was in German. So a called them and emailed them a couple of times… again with no response. So my worry is that if on a longer trip I need to get spares, how could will their service be?

I guess it was many us who thought the same, as vsf fahrradmanufaktur have translated their webpage into English and Dutch… 

Regarding contact, our experience was totally different. We had a lot of doubts before buying the bikes, and although they kept telling us to contact the retailer, they replied most of them, even sending the bike documentacion translated into English, a list of spares,… Communication has always been in English.

As for their service, I had to use it twice in this trip, nothing serious, and it was very easy. I guess it helped that I was cycling through Germany at that time. They arranged for a shop in Leipzig to tight my cassette that had become lose, and they sent new pedals to another shop in Dresden as I wasn’t happy with the spinning of the ones that came with the bike. So far… so good. Hopefully I don’t need to contact them anymore!! 🙂

I’ve also got a TX800, it’s hugely strong and very well built, and will happily go anywhere a mountain bike will go, even when fully laden. It’s not the fastest bike but very reliable and robust. So far have only ridden the highlands of Scotland (including off-road touring) and a quick trip to Ypres plus 800 miles of commuting but the Zanskar valley beckons… 

To sum up this bike, think flat handlebars and fat tyres. Surly LHT, Dawes Galaxy, Koga typically have drop handlebars / skinny tyres, and will get you there quicker. The TX800 has a very upright position and quick (light) steering, ideal for circumnavigating rocky trails (like a Landover) but if you are the slow lad/lass at the back wanting to keep up then buy something skinnier.

This is a proper trekking bike, suited to carrying heavy loads away from tarmac. (And very reliable commuting, but not too quickly…)

Oh, and it comes in bright black and day-glo brown. It’s a German thing…

Believe it or not, an excelent touring bike is an old style Shwinn Varsity, 1982. With its steel frame, steel wheels, Suntour components, top-pull Diacompe breaks, narrow width drop handlebars, this bike is suprisenly stable and so well balanced you can ride no handed for as long as you like. Mine was a 25 inch frame, 27 inch tires. Tough long lasting and and inexpensive, I paid $175 used. My current touring bikes include crom-moly and aluminum, yet this steel Shwinn is probably my overall favourite

I have toured mainly in Europe always on Tarmac or the odd canal route my byclcle has been a Edinburgh Counrty traveler two years ago I opted for a Genesis day one steel frame bike with a Alfine hub I have since changed the handle bars to straights with bar ends this stopped the pain I developed between my shoulder blades after cycling 90 miles or more I also went to Thorns who fitted a Rolhoff 14 gear internal hub yes it was expensive however I must confess I would Never want to tour on a derailleur system again I appreciate the derailleur system can be easily repaired however the Rolhoff Hub has 14 distinct gears and it certainly does the job beautifully many of my friends who also tour and have cycled on both sets of gears now would not go back to a derailleur system my advice is you can cycle or your on just about any toe of byclcle Tom Allen has proved that but in life you get what you pay for I would personally recommend a steel fram touring bike good set of wheels Swarbe Marthon Plus tyres Bomb proof and a once in a lifetime investment purchase a Rolhoff the world then is your oyster and should you decide to later go for an expedition byclcle you can take your Rolhoff with you and transfer it to your new bike as it gets better with age

Hello we are currently cycling from Barcelona to Australia and using vsf tx400 fahrrad manufakture.the bike is great the only weak point do far are the tyres for us. We have it comes with schwalbe marathon mondiale which for us are not strong enough as we had to repair so many puncture. We think is a great bike and awesome value for money but just consider the tyres. 😊

I bought my VSF 1,5 years ago from a dealer in NL, he says when buying from factory a lot of small adjustments needed to be done by him as the derailleur and that jizz wasnt properly adjusted, same i can imagine with the rear cog. I love how it is specd! Love the front dynamo light as it is bright as hell and the rear light stays on after stopping for a minute or two which is great regarding saftely. The frame (60cm for me) is not to stiff but very comfortable during my 10.000 K trip last year.. Also definitely a rear kickstand is a must, I have always had a centre stand but Rear kickstand has been amazing. I added an Andra Ryde rear rim that has proven to be bomb proof under load. I love the bike. But keep in mind that if you get rimbrakes or discbrakes it is impossiple to change after purchase as the frame is not compatible for both simultaniously.

I bought a Dawes Super Galaxy 2001 second hand in a fairly sorry state. I guess it was 30 years old then. I have ridden through Brittany on it 3 times and use it every day. I’m on my third set of wheels and it has had 2 complete drive train changes. I have been thinking about getting a new bike for 5 years but them I spend $100 on new bits and keep it going. Anyway, it was built to last. Don’t know if the new build quality is as good?

That’s the mark of a good frame!

I’ve picked up a 2013 Kona Sutra from bikes.com.au for $1200. The Dawes is now chained to the shed like the old dog out of Babe (sheep pig). I am loving the Sutra. I use it every day commuting and it is very comfortable. The saddle was hopeless but my old saddle suits the bike well. Anyway, thanks for the advice, think I got a bargain.

Sounds like an extremely good deal. You’re right about the saddle, but I can’t remember buying a single bike for which I didn’t replace it!

Hi Tom I have purchased a Genesis Day One with an Alfine 11 speed Hub To climb the Steeper hills I have changed from a 42 tooth to 38 front ring and an 18tooth on the rear Would this bike be suitable for European Touring can you advise please

Practically any bike is suitable for European touring, as long as it’s comfortable enough to ride all day. You’re never more than a few miles from a bike shop or train station if something goes wrong. I know people who’ve toured Europe on bikes from scrapheaps.

That is not budget.

…or VSF Fahrradmanufaktur TX-400 — either with Rohloff or not. https://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/de/katalog/expedition-2017/tx-400-rohloff-speedhub-14-gang

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12 Unforgettable Vacations That Are Best Done by Bike — Even for Beginner Cyclists

Discover these epic bicycle tours from Croatia to Chile.

There’s no better way to see the world than on two wheels.

You don’t have to be a Tour de France rider to enjoy a long, scenic cycle, either. Everywhere in the world — from the United States to France to Japan — you’ll find excellent bike tours that cater to beginners.

Cycling has been a favorite pastime for people around the globe since the 19th century. The bicycle was invented by Karl Freiherr von Drais in Germany; it was a rather cumbersome “running machine” that didn’t involve pedals, steering, or brakes. When the “modern” safety bicycle was invented by John Kemp Starley in England, it allowed for a free, stable ride — and just like that, cycling started to become a beloved hobby.

Today, along with hiking, mountain climbing, and camping, cycling is one of the most popular outdoor activities for travelers. There are many excellent biking destinations that are perfect for cyclists young and old, experienced and inexperienced. You can take a ride through the mountains in Switzerland or even hop from island to island in the Philippines, Japan, or Croatia with your bike in tow. Ahead, find beautiful biking destinations to plan your vacation around.

Puglia, Italy

In Puglia there are numerous bike tours where you can set your own pace based on your cycling experience and trip type. There’s truly something for everyone — from beginners to advanced cyclists. Give yourself about 10 days to cycle as much of the heel of Italy's boot as possible, patching together an epic route out of country roads and uncongested coastal trails. Along the way, you'll pass through villages, along olive orchards, and by UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many cyclists start among the historic surrounds of Sassi di Matera and pedal towards the coast.

Burgundy and Champagne, France

Sign us up for a trip that involves some easy-going cycling, then rewarded with delicious wine. This region of France is famous for its grapes and cuisine, but it’s also a wonderful place to take in the fresh air and pedal your way through the countryside. Paved and dirt cycle paths cut through sprawling vineyards from Reims, aka "the gateway to Champagne. They wind across Épernay and to the start of the Canal entre Champagne et Bourgogne, which will lead you into the heart of Burgundy. Go ahead and stop at a few vineyards to sample wines along the way; it’s highly encouraged.

Connemara, Ireland

You can see the best of the Emerald Isle by taking one of the many guided or self-guided bike tours in this western region of Ireland. The Connemara Lazy Days tour is particularly popular for beginner cyclists who want a good ride without too much effort. The route loops around part of the Renvyle peninsula, the scenic moorlands and heather-cloaked hills of the Inagh Valley, and fishing villages, typically starting and ending in Clifden, a market town on the coast. The tour entails traveling short distances by bike while enjoying the region’s culture and attractions.

Land’s End, United Kingdom

Cycling from Land’s End in Cornwall, England, to John o’ Groats in Scotland is a classic ride that’s probably for a slightly more experienced rider but makes for an excellent trip nonetheless. This scenic, 1,000-mile trip typically takes between two and three weeks and you’ll see some of the very best United Kingdom vistas along the way. Highlights of the journey include cycling through the beautiful Cheddar Gorge (birthplace of the cheese), numerous castles and abbeys, and city stops in Bristol, Manchester, and Edinburgh.

Lake Constance, Austria

You can actually start a bicycle tour around Lake Constance from either Austria, Germany, or Switzerland, depending on your preference. This massive lake isn’t just beautiful, but it also makes for a highly customizable ride. You can break up the trip into challenging long rides or several short days with stops in the many beautiful lakeside towns. This route, comprised of both paved cycle paths and quiet roads, is easy and flat. You'll get epic mountain views, though, thanks to its proximity to the Alps.

Dalmatian Coast, Croatia

If you’re not into going long distances, try an island-hopping cycling tour where you pedal across the land, then take a boat to the next isle to do it all again. Start in Split or Dubrovnik and pedal your way through the old cities, then hop over to Hvar, Brač, or Korčula. Croatia also has the 100-mile Ćiro trail that connects the country and nearby Bosnia and Herzegovina, if you’re looking for more of a challenge.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Gautier Houba/Travel + Leisure

If you’re looking for a cyclist’s paradise, look no further than Amsterdam. The bike-friendly city has always been welcoming to car-free living, so even the most inexperienced of cyclists can get around easily on two wheels. Of course, since many locals commute by bike, be sure to stay out of the way if you’re in the mood for a slow, scenic ride. Or, better yet, take a guided tour with a local who will take you for a drink at the pub and show you museums along the way.

Colchagua Valley, Chile

Cycling and wine tasting isn’t just for the French. This beautiful region of Chile is also famous for its wines and is an excellent spot for cyclists to take a leisurely, scenic ride with stops for vino along the way. Depending on the kind of vacation you want, you can opt for a more active bike ride or plan for a few short stints that allow for extra wine tasting. There are a few different routes you can take out into the grapevine-covered countryside, mostly following roads, but Santa Cruz is a good place to start no matter which way you go.

Palisade, Colorado

If you haven’t been to the Fruit and Wine Byway , now’s your chance to start planning a trip. The beautiful, 25-mile East Orchard Mesa Loop, one of three planned routes along the byway, through Colorado’s little-known wine country and peach groves might be the best late-summer excursion any cyclist could plan. Travel through the fragrant orchards and lavender fields and breeze along the legendary Colorado River, stopping frequently at tasting rooms on the route.

Travelers Rest, South Carolina

Travelers Rest is becoming a go-to place for cycling enthusiasts to visit (and to live). The Blue Ridge Mountains offer the perfect challenge for advanced bike lovers, but there are also some short and relatively flat trails that are simple enough for even the novice rider to enjoy. There are dozens of routes to pick from, from multi-use greenways to bike-friendly roads that will put you in the vicinity of vineyards, boutique hotels, quaint towns, and lots of cultural points of interest.

Onomichi, Japan

Starting in Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, you can take the path of the Shimanami Kaidō (also known as the Nishiseto Expressway), which connects the city with Imabari in Ehime Prefecture. This 40-mile road in western Japan traverses ocean straits on colossal bridges that connect some of the Geiyo Islands. It was built with cyclists in mind, thanks to segregated cycling and pedestrian lanes.

Visayas Islands, The Philippines

The islands of Cebu, Bohol, Negros, Guimaras, and Panay are all easy places to use two-wheeled transportation to see some incredible sights. Bike tours along the coastlines are some of the area’s most popular excursions, especially since the roads are paved and fairly flat. For the full tour, island hop by ferry with your bike in tow.

Related Articles

Folding Bike Touring: Pros and Cons

By: Author Zachary Friedman

Posted on Last updated: April 19, 2024

Categories Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking , Bikes and Cycling

Home » Bikes and Cycling » Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking » Folding Bike Touring: Pros and Cons

Folding bike touring is becoming an increasingly popular niche in bicycle touring. Folding bikes offer a number of unique advantages over traditional touring bikes. They are easy to transport, versatile, and allow you to travel places that other bikes can’t go. Of course, there are some significant disadvantages as well. Folding bikes are less efficient and can’t haul as much gear. This guide outlines the pros and cons of folding bike touring.

In this guide, I’ll cover bike transportation, maintenance, parts availability, comfort, security, luggage options, efficiency, costs, and much more. I’ll also explain how to choose the best folding bike for touring. I’ll cover foldability, wheel size, luggage, cost, and more. Finally, I’ll outline some of the best folding touring bikes including the Brompton, Bike Friday, Dahon, Tern, Birdy, and more.

I got into cycle touring about 10 years ago. A few years back, I was touring and decided I wanted to skip a section that didn’t look very interesting or safe. It was so much of a hassle to pack my bike for a flight or put it on a bus that I decided to cycle anyway. After that tour, I had the idea to use a folding bicycle for touring. I bought a Brompton and some luggage and fell in love with it. These days, I mostly tour on a folding bike.

I also made this short YouTube video to outline the main points of the article.

Folding Bike Pros

1. you can take folding bikes on buses, trains, and in taxis and ubers.

Folding bicycles pack down small enough to fit in the luggage storage area of buses and trains and in the trunk of any taxi or Uber. If bicycles aren’t allowed, you can simply fold up the bike, slip it into a bag, and nobody will know what it is. It just looks like a large piece of luggage.

2. You can bring your folding bike into your hotel room, hostel dorm, or Airbnb

Many hotel managers don’t want bikes in their rooms. The reason is that bikes are dirty. They can bring mud and grease into the room. You could also damage the walls or doors if your bike hits something while you’re moving it around. While understandable, most bicycle tourists don’t like these policies.

Because folding bikes are so much smaller they can be stored in a large bag. As long as the bag is clean, most hotel managers will have no problem with you bringing it into the room. If you pack the bike before you check in, they won’t even know what it is.

Having your bike with you in your hotel room gives you extra peace of mind. You don’t have to worry about your bike while it’s locked up outside or in a storage room where who knows who has access.

3. Folding bikes are cheap or free to fly with

The biggest benefit I have found to touring with a folding bike is that you can save a significant amount of money on airfare. The bike can fly as a regular checked bag on most airlines as long as it meets the checked bag size requirements.

For most airlines, this means you must pack your folding bike into a package with dimensions totaling less than 62 linear inches (158 cm), and weighing less than 50 lbs (23 kilos). Checking a folding bicycle is usually free on international flights where one checked bag is included in the fare. On domestic flights, you may need to pay $25-$50. You’ll pay whatever the standard checked bag fee is.

Checking a full-sized bike is usually much more expensive. Each airline charges a different rate. Most airlines charge $100-$200 each way. Of course, some airlines are much cheaper. For example, Alaska Air will fly your bike for only $25.

4. You don’t have to cycle everywhere

When you tour with a folding bike, you have the freedom to skip boring or dangerous sections. For example, maybe you’re arriving in a large city and you don’t feel like riding through heavy traffic. You could hire a taxi or Uber to drive you to your hotel. Maybe you’re riding through a flat, dry area that’s not very scenic. You could take a bus to the mountains or the coast and skip that section. If you simply don’t feel like cycling, you can bag the bike and travel like a backpacker.

5. You can explore more places more easily with a folding bike

Maybe while touring you decide that you want to take a budget flight to a neighboring country or nearby island. With a folding bike, you can pack it up and fly relatively hassle-free. You can take a spontaneous cycling vacation if you want to.

You could also store the bike at your hotel’s luggage storage and take a side trip without your bike. If you bike tour on a full-size bike, a side trip may be cost-prohibitive or impossible.

6. Folding bikes are easier to pack up for transport

When flying with a folding bike, you don’t need to go through the hassle of finding a full-sized bike box. You can make an appropriately sized box by cutting and taping smaller boxes to size. You can pack the bike in the comfort of your hotel room.

When traveling by bus or train, you can carry a folding bike bag and store the bike inside of it. Sometimes, you don’t need to pack the bike at all. You can just fold it and place it in the luggage area. Some people have even taken their Brompton folding bike into the cabin of airplanes and stored them in the overhead bin. Check out this cool site for photos.

7. You don’t have to worry as much about getting stranded

If your folding bike fails catastrophically and you can’t ride it, you can hitch a ride back to civilization. You can haul a folding bike in even the smallest of cars. This often isn’t an option with a full-size bike.

8. They are easier to mount and dismount

Most folding bikes feature a step-through frame. This allows you to easily get on and off the bike. You don’t have to throw your leg up over the top tube every time you mount your bike. This can be a plus for older bicycle tourists as well as those with joint problems. Folding bicycles are more accessible.

9. You can bring your folding bike into restaurants and grocery stores

Most restaurant managers won’t mind if you fold up your bike and place it by your table while you eat. When you go into a grocery store, you can carry your folding bike in your shopping cart.

Some Brompton owners even use their bike and luggage as a shopping cart. For example, check out this clever setup. Your bike and gear are less likely to get stolen if you bring them with you.

10. Folding bikes can perform as well as full-sized bikes

You may assume that the small wheels will slow you down. This really isn’t the case. A quality folding bike that is designed for touring can be just as fast and efficient as a full-sized touring bike.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the smaller wheels are significantly lighter. This means they have less rotational mass. They spin up faster and with less effort. Manufacturers also adjust the gearing to compensate for the smaller wheels. You don’t have to work harder to ride a small-wheeled folding bike.

11. You can bring your folding bike into your tent

If you travel with a two-person tent, you can fit the folding bike inside to protect it from the weather or theft. If you are staying at a campground, you can store your bike inside while you are away. This improves security.

12. They a re a conversation starter

Everyone wants to learn about the bike and see how it works. Making friends and meeting people is easy with a folding bike.

13. They can feel more stable

Folding bikes have a low center of gravity. This is because the bottom bracket usually sits lower to the ground. Your luggage also sits lower to the ground because the wheels are smaller. This lower center of gravity can make the bike feel more stable. You can easily maneuver at low speeds. The bike can also be a bit easier to control while descending hills.

14. Folding bikes are easier to transport to and from the airport

One of the biggest hassles of bicycle touring is transporting the bike to and from the airport. When you tour with a folding bike, you can travel to and from the airport in a cab or by public transport. You can box and unbox your bike in the comfort of your hotel.

When you tour on a full-sized bike, this isn’t an option. You have to find a large taxi that can accommodate the big bike box. Full-sized bike boxes don’t fit in small vehicles or in public transport. Your only other option is to ride to the airport with the box strapped to the bike then pack all of your gear there. When you arrive, you have to unpack your bike and assemble everything at the airport. This is stressful. Particularly if your flight leaves or arrives in the middle of the night or if the airport is located far outside of the city.  

15. You have more transportation options when you travel

When you tour with a folding bike, you don’t have to worry about whether or not the airline or bus or train company accepts bikes. This allows you to book whichever ticket you prefer. You could book the cheapest ticket or the most convenient. You can also fly on smaller planes take minibusses that can’t accept full-sized bicycles.  

When you fly with a folding bike, you don’t have to worry about the oversized luggage charge. You pay the regular checked luggage rate. This opens up your airline options.

You can also hitchhike with your folding bike. Because a folding bike is so compact, it can fit in the trunk or back seat of almost any vehicle. This opens up the possibility of integrating hitchhiking into your bicycle tour.

Folding Bike Cons

1. some components wear out more quickly.

Rims, tires, and hubs won’t last as long on a folding bike. The reason is that the wheels need to make more revolutions to travel the same distance as a full-sized bike. Because of this they wear out and need to be replaced more often. For example, you might only get 5,000 miles out of a 16″ folding bike rim. A 700c touring rim might last 15,000 miles. This adds maintenance costs.

2. Folding bikes have proprietary parts

Pretty much all folding bikes have at least a few non-standard parts that are brand-specific. Some folding bikes have more proprietary parts than others. The drawback is that if a proprietary part breaks or wears out, you’ll have to buy a replacement from the manufacturer.

While touring, you may find yourself in a country that the manufacturer doesn’t serve. You may not be able to get the part that you need. Third-party options are usually not available. If the brand goes out of business in the future, you may have trouble finding some parts.

One example of a part that is proprietary on most folding bikes is the frame hinge. Some folding bikes use proprietary brakes, rear racks, cranks, derailleurs, handlebars, etc.

Brompton folding bikes have the most proprietary parts. According to this article, Brompton folding bikes have 1200 proprietary parts. That’s about 80% of the bike. Bike Friday bikes seem to have the fewest proprietary parts. Almost everything is standard-sized.  

3. Some folding bike parts are harder to find

Some folding bike parts are odd sized. For example, 16 inch wheels and tires, short cage derailleurs, and extra long seat posts are common on folding bikes but not on full-sized bikes. Many bike shops don’t keep these items in stock.

Quality wheels and tires can be particularly difficult to find. This can be a problem if you’re touring in the developing world or in a remote region. You may need to have spares shipped in if something breaks or wears out. 

4. They can be uncomfortable

Taller riders can feel cramped on folding bikes. Many models are designed for riders under 6′ 4″. The smaller wheels can also make the ride feel a bit rougher.

5. Folding bikes are more fragile

They just can’t take the beating that a full-sized touring bike can. This is partly because the hinges make for weak spots in the frame. The extra long seat tube and handlebar tube can also create weak spots.

Many folding bicycles also use lower-end parts than standard touring bikes. These aren’t as durable. It’s easier to damage a folding bike than a standard touring bike.

6. Folding bikes are more expensive

A folding bike that is suitable for touring usually costs $300-$600 more than a comparable full-sized touring bike. If you compare a folding bike with a full-sized bike at the same price point, the full-sized bike will come with much higher quality components. A similarly specced folding bike will be significantly more expensive. For example, a mid-range standard touring bike might cost around $1500. A folding bike of comparable quality might cost $2000.

This extra cost is due to the added complexity of the frame and folding mechanism as well as the proprietary parts. These parts are more expensive to design and manufacture because they are built in smaller quantities. Manufacturers have to cut costs elsewhere to meet their price point.

7. Folding bikes can’t haul as much weight

The hinge and long seat post and handlebar post create weak spots. Folding bikes have a lower carrying capacity than diamond frame bikes. Most folding bikes can safely haul around 110 kilos or about 240 pounds. This includes the rider and luggage.

If you’re a bigger person or like to travel fully loaded, that’s just not enough. For comparison, a decent full-size touring bike can easily handle 300 pounds. Some can carry much more. 

8. Folding bikes can be inefficient

There are a number of reasons for this. Most importantly, folding bikes tend to have some flex. There may be some flex at the hinge or on the main frame tube. The long handlebar post and seat post can also flex. Folding bikes are less rigid than full-sized bikes. When you pedal hard, some of your pedaling power can be wasted flexing the frame. The gearing can also reduce efficiency.

The reduced efficiency means you will cover less ground and burn more energy while touring on a folding bike. For example, maybe you’re used to traveling 50 miles per day while touring. On a folding bike, you may only be able to cover 40 miles per day. Over the course of a long tour, this inefficiency adds up. You might cover 200 fewer miles per month on a folding bike than you could on a full-sized bike. 

9. The ride can feel rough

Because the wheels are smaller, folding bikes can’t roll over potholes and bumps as easily. When you hit a pothole, the smaller diameter wheel can fall further into the hole. When you hit a bump, the wheel has a harder time rolling over because the angle of attack is higher.

This makes bumps feel more harsh. This means that folding bikes aren’t as good for gravel and off-road riding. Some folders offer suspension to improve ride quality.

Folding bikes can also feel a bit twitchy due to the small wheel size. Small wheels steer faster than large wheels. When you turn the handlebars, the bike responds quicker. This takes some getting used to.

10. Folding bikes don’t last as long as standard touring bikes

Though you’ll likely get thousands of miles out of any folding bike, it probably won’t last as long as a rigid steel framed touring bike. Depending on the brand, the hinge is a weak spot. Many folding bikes also come with lower-end components that don’t last as long as quality touring components. Most folding bikes aren’t really designed for high mileage.

11. Folding bikes look kind of funny

You’ll look like a clown riding a tiny bike. This bothers some people and others don’t care one way or the other. If you don’t like the look of small wheel bikes, you could choose a folding bike with full-sized 26″ or 700c wheels.

Montague offers a range of full-sized folding bikes. These bikes look different from standard diamond frame bikes but they don’t have the goofy tiny wheel look.

12. Folding bikes attract more attention

People will want to talk to you and ask questions about the bike. They will stop you to ask you what you’re riding and how it works. Some people will simply stare at you as you ride by on your funny looking bike. Whether or not this happens depends on the country you’re riding.

The extra attention can get annoying if you just want to be left alone. It is hard to be anonymous as a bicycle tourist. A fully loaded touring bike always draws some attention.

13. Folding bikes are not ideal for off-road riding

Folding bikes usually come with either a basic suspension system or no suspension at all. There aren’t really any quality suspension components available for folding bikes. The smaller wheels also don’t roll over large obstacles such as roots and rocks as well as larger wheels. Most folding bikes also don’t have room for wide tires. The maximum tire width that most folding frames can accommodate is usually less than 2″. Narrow tires don’t offer as much traction and can get caught in ruts more easily. All of this makes folding bikes perform poorly off-road.

There are folding bikes on the market that are designed for off-road use. If you’re looking for a folding mountain bike, consider the Montague Paratrooper.

14. They are slower

This is a controversial point. Some will argue that folding bikes are slower because the wheels need to make more revolutions to travel the same distance so more energy is lost to friction in the bearings. Some also claim that you need to pedal more while riding a folding bike. This article does a good job of debunking these claims.

Another argument is that smaller wheels slow down more when you hit a bump. There may be some truth to this. This article shows that the speed difference between small and large wheels is minimal. Particularly while riding on the road. Even with all of this evidence, I always feel slower while riding a folding bike. I can’t explain why. 

15. Folding bikes have fewer gears

Many folding bikes only have 6-8 gears. Most only have a single chainring. To compare, full-sized touring bikes usually have 24-30 gears. With fewer gears, it’s harder to remain in your optimal cadence. Your pedaling can become inefficient at times.

There is also a larger step between gears. When you shift, your cadence is disrupted more. This can reduce speed and efficiency. Not all folding bikes have fewer gears. For example, Bike Friday bikes use standard touring gears.

16. It’s harder to hold the bike up when stopping to take photos

Most folding bikes have a step-through frame. When you stop, you can’t use your thighs to hold the bike up. If you take your hands off the handlebars to take a photo, your bike will fall down. This is a minor annoyance.

More Cycling Pros and Cons Analyses from Where The Road Forks

• Drop Bars VS. Flat Bars
• Flat Pedals Vs. Clipless
• Disc Brakes Vs. Rim Brakes
• Tube Vs. Tubeless Bicycle Tires
• Steel Frame Vs. Aluminum Frame

Things to Consider When Choosing a Folding Bike for Touring

Folded size.

The size of the bike is one of the most important considerations when choosing a folding bike for touring. It can determine where you can and where you can’t bring your bike. Generally, the larger the diameter of the wheels, the larger the fold size.

If you plan to fly with your folding bike, try to choose a model that measures less than 62 linear inches (158 cm) when folded. This is the maximum checked luggage size on most airlines. If your folding bike is larger, you may have to pay an oversized bag fee. This defeats the purpose of touring on a folding bike. You might as well ride a full-sized bike. Most folding bikes with 16″ and 20″ wheels meet this size limit.

Bike Friday folding bikes are designed specifically to pack into checked luggage. Brompton bikes pack down small enough to pack as carry-on in some cases. Most Dahon and Tern folding bikes can also fit in a checked bag.

If you plan to take your bike on public transportation, it’s best to choose a bike that is less than 200 liters in volume when folded. You should also carry a bag or cover for your bike. This size of luggage won’t draw too much attention. A larger bike may not be allowed on some public transport. Generally, you should choose a bike with tires that are 20″ or smaller if you plant to take it on public transport.

A few popular folding bikes and their folded sizes include:

• Brompton (16″ wheels): 23″ x 22.2″ x 10.6″ (585mm x 565mm x 270mm) or 89 liters
• Bike Friday New World Tourist (20″ wheels): 32″ x 25″ x 14″ (around 81cm x 64cm x 36cm) or 186 liters
• Dahon (20″ wheels): 26” x 32.3” x 12.6” (66cm x 82cm x 32cm) or 173 litres

Think about how you’re going to tour. If you plan to fold the bike every day to take buses, trains, and public transport, you’ll want to choose a bike that is quick and easy to fold. Some folding bikes, like the Brompton, take as little as 20 seconds to fold.

If you only plan to fold the bike once in a while for flights or to take a bus, you can consider a folding bike that disassembles. These may take 10-15 minutes to fold compactly. 

Personally, I prefer bikes that don’t require any tools to fold. Even if I don’t plan to fold the bike frequently, it’s nice to be able to fold it easily when I need to.

This is possibly the most important choice you’ll have to make. Most folding bikes have either 16″ or 20″ wheels. Less common sizes include 24″, 26″, and 27.5″. There is no perfect folding bike wheel size for touring. You’ll have to make a compromise.

For most, 20″ wheels are ideal. They offer a good combination of performance and portability.

Folding bikes with 16″ wheels are much more compact. The smaller wheels are less efficient and don’t handle as well.

24″ wheels are good if you only plan to fold the bike occasionally. The bike will be much less compact.

If you plan to use lots of public transport, you’re better off going with smaller 16″ wheels. If you plan to ride long distances and only fold the bike once in a while to take a bus or train, larger wheels are better.

To help you decide, check out my guides: 16 inch Vs 20 inch folding bike wheels .

Luggage options

When choosing a bike, consider how you will be carrying luggage. Some models offer more luggage options than others.

Some folding bikes, like those from Bike Friday, can use standard rear racks and panniers like any other touring bike. Rear panniers can carry 40 liters of gear.

Some brands, like Brompton, offer proprietary luggage options that mount to an ingenious front carrier block. This is a luggage mount on the head tube. You can carry as much as 30 liters of gear here. A bikepacking seat bag and handlebar bag are also options.

For more info on luggage, check out my guide to bikepacking bags vs panniers. A cargo trailer is also a great option for touring.

Parts availability

As mentioned earlier, some folding bikes use proprietary parts and uncommon sizes. The part you need may not be available in every bike store.

For example, 16″ tires can be difficult to find. If a hinge breaks, you’ll have to buy another from the manufacturer.

If you plan to bike tour in locations where replacement parts are harder to come by, such as rural regions and the developing world, choose a folding bike with fewer proprietary parts.

This is one major drawback to Brompton bikes. Most of the parts are proprietary. Bike Friday bikes use mostly standard-sized, off-the-shelf parts. Dahon and Tern bikes also use mostly standard parts.

Generally, folding bikes have fewer gears and less gear range than regular bikes. On average, a folding touring bike will have 6-8 gears. How much gearing matters depends on the distances and the types of terrain you plan to ride.

If you’re planning a long cycle trip or you’re touring in an area with a lot of elevation change, you’ll want a wider gear range and more gears. If you’re touring flat regions or spending your time riding in cities, you can get away with fewer gears and a smaller gear range.

For touring, look for a bike with a low gear of about 25 gear inches and a top gear of about 70 gear inches. Try to choose a bike with at least 6 gears. This is sufficient for most tours.

Many higher-end folding bikes come with an internal gear hub. This means the gears are housed inside the rear wheel. This setup reduces maintenance and reduces the likelihood of damage.

There are several drawbacks to internal gear hubs. They usually have larger gaps between gears. They are heavier than derailleurs. In addition, they are a bit less efficient.

Performance

The ride position, frame stiffness, gearing, and wheel size can all affect the bike’s performance. Some folding bikes are only suitable for 20-30 mile days. More performance-oriented folding bikes can handle 50-100 mile rides.

Generally, the best performing folding bikes have 20″ or larger wheels. Frame stiffness is also important. Higher-end bikes are just as stiff as regular bikes. This surprised me when riding a Bike Friday for the first time. There was no handlebar flex. It felt exactly the same as my regular touring bike.

Lower-end bikes can have too much flex. If the handlebar post, seat post, and frame flex too much, energy is wasted. This reduces efficiency. Smaller wheel bikes are also a bit less efficient. The small wheels can get hung up on bumps. They can also feel twitchy.

The ride position is also important. It’s best to take a test ride before settling on a bike so you know it fits your body.

Carrying capacity

Folding bikes can’t handle as much weight as standard diamond frame bikes. If you’re traveling fully loaded with camping gear, it’s easy to go overweight. Particularly if you’re a heavier rider.

Most folding bikes have a max capacity of 220-240 lbs (110-120 kg). Weigh yourself and your gear and choose a folding bike that can handle the weight.

Fit and Sizing

Most folding bikes come in one frame size. If you’re an average-sized rider, this is fine. If you’re particularly tall or short, you may have to compromise.

Exactly how much fit and sizing matters depends on how you plan to tour. If you only plan to use your folding bike to ride around cities and go sightseeing then it doesn’t matter as much. The bike just has to be reasonably comfortable.

If you plan to ride 50+ miles per day and cover thousands of miles, fit becomes extremely important. You will need a bike that is sized properly for your body.

One folding bike company offers multiple frame sizes. That is Bike Friday. They offer 6 frame sizes on their PakiT bike. Many of their models are custom made to order for your body. You give them your measurements and they build the bike for you. If you are tall or heavy, they can build a folding bike to fit you.

Some folding bikes are small and may feel cramped for taller riders. Some offer excellent adjustability and are great for all sizes of people.  

You can improve comfort by installing a new saddle, grips, handlebars, and pedals.

The Best Folding Bikes for Touring

• Brompton: The Brompton is probably the most popular folding bike for touring due to its compact fold size, excellent build quality, ingenious luggage, and large selection of aftermarket parts. These bikes can be customized for any type of touring. They are small enough to fit in the overhead bin of airplanes. Brompton bikes use 16″ wheels. Their touring model comes with a 3 speed internal gear hub and 2 speed derailleur for a total of 6 gears. The main drawback is that most Brompton parts are proprietary. These are also expensive bikes. If you’re in doubt about which folding touring bike is best, a Brompton is a great choice. You can’t go wrong with it.
• Bike Friday: Bike Friday is an American company that specializes in building folding bikes for long-distance touring and air travel. These bikes come in multiple sizes and custom sizes. They use mostly off-the-shelf components. They are well-built, durable, and reliable. They offer two touring models: the New World Tourist (a traditional touring bike) and the Pocket Llama (an off-road or bikepacking bike). These bikes use 20″ wheels. They are expensive bikes. If you plan to do some serious touring or bikepacking, a Bike Friday is the best option.
• Montague: These folding bikes were originally designed for use in the military. They use standard-sized 26″ or 700c wheels. They offer the same ride quality as a regular bike. They are also compatible with regular panniers. Montague offers both on-road and off-road touring bikes. Their most popular model is the Paratrooper. This is a folding mountain bike. The main drawback is that these bikes don’t fold down very compactly.
• Tern and Dahon: These are two of the largest folding bike companies. The offer similar folding bikes with a classic folding design. They offer a wide range of models with 16″ 20″, 24″, and 26″ wheel options. Their lower end models aren’t really suitable for touring. They offer some excellent higher end options that make great touring bikes.
• Birdy: Birdy bikes offer a unique fold that is slightly larger than a Brompton. Most models use 18″ wheels. They offer a wide range of gearing and handlebar options as well as off-road and on-road models. These bikes are popular for touring but they are expensive. The Birdy TouringPLUS is their best touring model. Birdy is a German company.
• Airnimal: Airnimal is an English company that makes high end folding bikes. Most of their models use 24″ wheels. They also offer 20″ and 26″ models. They offer a wide range of handlebar and gearing options. The most popular touring model is the Joey Adventure.
• Moulton: These aren’t really folding bikes. They actually separate so they can be packed for travel. Moulton makes a range of high-end bikes that are capable of touring. The best touring model is the Jubilee. Moulton is an English company.

Final Thoughts

A folding bike is definitely a viable option for bicycle touring. Around the internet, you’ll find ride reports of successful folding bike tours all around the world. People are riding folding bikes across the United States, Pamir Highway, Carretera Austral, through Africa, and beyond. With a solid frame and components, a quality folding bike can be as capable as a full-sized touring bike. 

There are some compromises you need to make when touring on a folding bike. The main benefit of folding bike touring is the ease of transport. You can fold it up and carry it with you on a plane, bus, train, or public transport. This can save you money and time. You can also bring the bike with you to hotel rooms, restaurants, and shops.

The main drawback is that folding bikes generally don’t perform quite as well as full-sized touring bikes. They may not be ideal for long-distance touring. Parts availability can also be an issue. A folding bike that is suitable for touring is also quite expensive.

Have you toured on a folding bike? Comment below with your thoughts and experience! 

Pin it for later!

More from Where The Road Forks

• Drop Bars VS. Flat Bars: My Pros and Cons List
• How to Convert an Old Mountain Bike Into a Touring Bike
• 17 Types of Bicycle Handlebars
• Panniers Vs Trailer for Touring: Pros and Cons
• The Ideal Bicycle Touring Tool Kit
• Recumbent Bike for Touring: Pros and Cons
• Pros and Cons of Electric Bikes

Zachary Friedman is an accomplished travel writer and professional blogger. Since 2011, he has traveled to 66 countries and 6 continents. He founded ‘Where The Road Forks’ in 2017 to provide readers with information and insights based on his travel and outdoor recreation experience and expertise. Zachary is also an avid cyclist and hiker. Living as a digital nomad, Zachary balances his professional life with his passions for hiking, camping, cycling, and worldwide exploration. For a deeper dive into his journey and background, visit the About page. For inquiries and collaborations, please reach out through the Contact page. You can also follow him on Facebook.

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Alain Lapierre

Tuesday 23rd of April 2024

Excellent article, very thorough and shows a lot of experience. We have alao adopted touring with folding bikes 3 years ago and our bike is not in your list, the Helix. I personnally think that the Helix wins on most front, except the price. It has 24” wheels but pack in a suitcase compliant to airline regulations. 11 speeds and a titanium frame. See at Helix.ca for the bike and at freewheels.ca for our multiple trips with those. I welcome other exchange with uou, should be interesting. Alain

Zachary Friedman

Monday 6th of May 2024

I hadn't heard of that bike. I'll check it out.

Wednesday 3rd of August 2022

Great article! I've toured in Hawaii, Japan, and here at home in California on my REI branded Dahon Mu, which has an 8 speed Shimano Alfine internal gear hub. It's plenty of range for normal riding. The bike has a unique air pump in the seat tube, so you always have a pump with you. The bike has been solid and reliable for years now.

If I always had the option to travel with a bike or without, I'd definitely want to have my folding bike with me as much as possible. It opens cities in ways that neither walking nor public transportation can. Yes, in many places it's possible to rent a bike, but I've had hit or miss luck- looking at you Barcelona. With your own bike you know what you're going to get.

Most of the time I stayed at hotels so I didn't need to worry about fully loaded racks and panniers. In Japan I traveled by bus and train, and the bike fit in a special Dahon bag which was supposedly required there. I also had a Samsonite hard case suitcase which I used for the longer travel transfers. The Dahon took a little bit of disassembly- mostly wheels and handlebars off, but easily fit in the standard size suitcase. No weird sized cardboard boxes for a full size bike anymore, thanks.

A comfortable folding bike can be as fast as a road bike- I've gone on group rides with friends and I was never at the back of the pack. I have a comfy Brooks B17 on my bike, so riding all day in 'civilian' (no spandex) clothes isn't a problem. I have done some rides with panniers and a special touring rack that puts the bags pretty far back- heel strike on the bags otherwise. But most of the time I have a nice rear rack bag from Jandd that opens up to a pretty remarkable 18 liters- plenty for an overnight assuming I'll be in a hotel.

The fact you can take the easily take the bike into a tent or hotel room is great for security. In Kyoto I left the bike on the sidewalk outside the ryokan (inn) where I stayed, which was the custom there. Only in Tokyo did I 'lock' the bike with a very thin wire, and I was one of the only bikes with a lock on at all. In other places I use a U lock through the frame and sometimes take the seat with me in questionable places.

The small size is great for daily use too- for quite some time I kept it in the back of my very small car which could never fit a full size bike without an external rack. I'd drop the kids off at school and then go on a nice 12 mile ride before work everyday.

If I could only have one bike it would be a folding bike. They're great.

wheretheroadforks

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

Great review! The Dahon sounds like the perfect travel bike. I'd love to do some touring in Japan one day.

Thursday 10th of March 2022

I don't yet tour on my 20" folders, but I ride heavily around anyway. Last year 2500km on my heavily modified Dahon. Performance-wise, I don't see any difference compared to full sized, but I made sure to squeeze out as much watts as possible - high pressure BMX tires, tubeless, SLX hubs, Claris derailleur, etc. In fact I prefer the folders more, compared to full size. As the center of gravity is nicely low, I can enjoy full downhill at 53km/h without braking, whereas it'd get a bit wobbly on 26". One chainring is a bit of a limitation when pushing the bike up 12% hill, at least I put in 11-36 cassette, to kinda compensate for it. It sucks that there aren't many "good" folders on the market, and these low-enders (by full size bike standards) are still overpriced. I had to "reinvent" a lot during DIY, in order to get to the desired level. For example, air shocks for 20" aren't at all common, or a cassette hub (not freewheel).

Wednesday 16th of March 2022

Good point about the low center of gravity! I agree that there aren't enough good folding bikes. Even the expensive high-end models come with mediocre components.

Robin Draper

Saturday 16th of October 2021

just finished a 750km tour in Quebec on my Tern Link d8. Four of us on the same bikes. 22 lbs of luggage for three weeks. Great bike for all the reasons in the article above. never a sore rear end and great fun for 50-80k per day. Third multi week trip on the bike.

Saturday 23rd of October 2021

Sounds like a great tour. 50-80k per day is a pretty good pace on a folding bike.

Sunday 25th of April 2021

Great insights on folding bikes

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Introducing the Corvid Cycles Curiosity

Previous Dispatch From Mon Sep 23, 2024

Alaska Divide: Bikepacking Across the Great Land

Teased at the Master Bike Builders Show last week, the new Corvid Cycles Curiosity is a made-to-order adventure bike designed for long-distance tours and events on mixed terrain. With features like a custom titanium frame, a Pinion Smart.Shift gearbox, and more, it has all the fixings for a versatile dream bike. Check it out here…

Owned and operated by Chad Corbin, Corvid Cycles is a custom framebuilder in Boulder, Colorado. Corvid has nine (now ten) models listed on the website, but every bike Chad builds is fully customized for its owner. For those who want to learn more about Chad and his process, Lucas and I spent a day at the Corvid shop getting to know the brand and more about Reroot Outdoors, a custom bikepacking bag company run by Shan Wo under the same roof.

The Curiosity is the newest model from Corvid Cycles. It’s a titanium drop-bar adventure bike that’s equally suited for big gravel rides and singletrack rips but excels on long-distance tours and races. It’s designed to fill the gap between the MAP (drop-bar MTB) and the GRT (drop-bar gravel bike), where more tire clearance is needed but a dedicated drop-bar mountain bike is overkill. Although it’s available with any type of drivetrain, Corvid launched the Curiosity at the 2024 Master Bike Builders Show with the Pinion Smart.Shift system and TRP HYWIRE brifters to create a do-it-all drop-bar adventure bike.

Corvid Curiosity Standard Specs

• Pinion C1.12i Smart.Shift and Gates CDX Drivetrain with TRP HYWIRE electronic brifters.
• Clearance for 29 x 2.3″ or 27.5 x 2.4″ tires
• Designed for forks with 405-430mm axle to crown
• 135/142mm rear spacing
• Adjustable dropouts with ISO, flat mount, post mount, 10mm bolt and 12mm thru axle options
• Two bottle mounts and top tube bag mounts included; optional bag, bottle, rack and fender mounts
• Optional bolt-on top tube, frame and down tube bags by Reroot Outdoors
• Optional dropper port
• US Manufactured Pinion bridge, head tube, dropouts and fittings
• Aerospace grade 3Al-2.5V CWSR tubing
• Internal rear brake and shift cable routing
• Internal battery mounting with extended charging cable

Here’s what Chad had to say about the Curiosity: “I’ve been wanting to build this bike since I started Corvid Cycles, but I’ve been limited by the availability of a good drop-bar shifting system. The new Smart.Shift gearbox and HYWIRE shifters have finally made it possible to build my ideal mixed-terrain drop-bar bike. It blends handling characteristics of gravel and mountain bikes, with set-it-and-forget-it stability when touring, while still being nimble and responsive when things get more technical.”

Every Corvid is custom built, one at a time, with geometry and features to fit the rider and riding style. The base frame-only price starts at $3,600 USD; the frame with a Pinion Smart.Shift gearbox, Gates CDX belt, and TRP HYWIRE controls costs $6,400; and a well-appointed complete build with a Wolf Tooth headset, Whisky Parts bar, stem and carbon post, Ergon saddle, and Onyx hubs on Astral rims costs $8,575.

Head over to CorvidCycles.com to learn more.

Further Reading

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info...

A Day with Corvid Cycles and Reroot Outdoors

What’s So Alluring About Titanium Bikes?

The Corvid MAP (More Adventure Please)

Corvid Cycles’ Sojourner

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