never toured before

[new2touring]

I am planning on touring cross-country in 2005 and I would like to outfit my current mountain bike for the trip. I currently have attachment points for rear panniers but not fronts. What are people's recommendations on using just rear panniers versus rear and front? What size panniers will be needed for such and extensive trip? And what brand do people recommend?

Also, how do people feel about v-brakes versus disc brakes? I will be riding through Montana and Colorado....

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[EmmCeeBee]

Welcome to touring and to the board. Now's the time to start planning long trips for next summer, so you've already got a head up on being prepared. I'm just in the dreaming stage...

These are my experiences -- and my opinions, you can surely find someone else with different views. For a cross-country trip, I don't see how you could do it using only rear panniers. You're looking at 3 months or so (which puts you before or after the height of summer), plus high elevations in the Rockies. This alone means you gotta carry a minimum of cold weather gear (hat, gloves, wool socks, fleece tights, extra jacket). I'm assuming you'll carry a tent, sleeping bag, camping gear; plus basic tools/spokes/etc. They don't call Montana "Big Sky Country" for nothing. What I'm getting at is this: you'll be self-supporting, which means at least one pannier for the gear I mentioned.

I went through the Big Hole valley in western Montana in the last week of July 2001, and it snowed. Didn't stick to the road, and it was a beautiful, memorable ride -- but it wouldn't have been if I hadn't been prepared.

If you do carry all this gear, and you try to put it all on the back, you'll probably find the bike squirrely. Front panniers are needed to balance the load at a certain point. My wife was riding a mtn bike with rear panniers only on our 2001 trip; I carried all the camping and bike gear to keep her load lighter, but she still had problems with shimmy. On the other hand, my bike (front and rear panniers) was solid as a rock. I love that feeling -- like riding on rails.

One thing I realized, after a week or two on the road, you've collected maps and souvenirs and mementos. Not enough to weigh you down, but we wouldn't have had room if we didn't have my front panniers, which were about 90% full when we started off. Stuffing everything into one set of panniers wouldn't give you that option. (Every two weeks, we mailed a box home with our souvenir accumulation, so we could start again....)

You can get clamps for the front fork for low-riders. You still need eyelets at the dropout for solid mounting, but the clamps will fix them at the upper point. If you have a suspension fork, they make mounts for those, too -- do a google search.

I have a set of basic REI panniers from about 15 years ago. My wife has Nashbar mtn bike panniers (they were on sale last week for $18 !!!!). I realize they won't last as long as the top-of-the-line expensive ones, but they've never failed us. You don't have to spend a lot to get good value.

There are good things about disk brakes, I'm sure. I can see where they'd be an advantage in downhill mtn bike racing -- not necessarily for leisurely touring. My bike has cantilevers; my wife has V-brakes. I've never had problems with them, in thousands of miles of riding, or loaded touring in the Rockies. So if you're considering switching out V-brakes for disk, I wouldn't bother. Just make sure you maintain your brakes. On long, loaded downhills, we'd stop every 10 minutes or so to let the rims cool, but I admit to being overcautious. After all, it was a sightseeing ride, we got points for stopping

-- Mark

 

[daveornee]

Welcome to touring and to the board. Now's the time to start planning long trips for next summer, so you've already got a head up on being prepared. I'm just in the dreaming stage...

These are my experiences -- and my opinions, you can surely find someone else with different views. For a cross-country trip, I don't see how you could do it using only rear panniers. You're looking at 3 months or so (which puts you before or after the height of summer), plus high elevations in the Rockies. This alone means you gotta carry a minimum of cold weather gear (hat, gloves, wool socks, fleece tights, extra jacket). I'm assuming you'll carry a tent, sleeping bag, camping gear; plus basic tools/spokes/etc. They don't call Montana "Big Sky Country" for nothing. What I'm getting at is this: you'll be self-supporting, which means at least one pannier for the gear I mentioned.

I went through the Big Hole valley in western Montana in the last week of July 2001, and it snowed. Didn't stick to the road, and it was a beautiful, memorable ride -- but it wouldn't have been if I hadn't been prepared.

If you do carry all this gear, and you try to put it all on the back, you'll probably find the bike squirrely. Front panniers are needed to balance the load at a certain point. My wife was riding a mtn bike with rear panniers only on our 2001 trip; I carried all the camping and bike gear to keep her load lighter, but she still had problems with shimmy. On the other hand, my bike (front and rear panniers) was solid as a rock. I love that feeling -- like riding on rails.

One thing I realized, after a week or two on the road, you've collected maps and souvenirs and mementos. Not enough to weigh you down, but we wouldn't have had room if we didn't have my front panniers, which were about 90% full when we started off. Stuffing everything into one set of panniers wouldn't give you that option. (Every two weeks, we mailed a box home with our souvenir accumulation, so we could start again....)

You can get clamps for the front fork for low-riders. You still need eyelets at the dropout for solid mounting, but the clamps will fix them at the upper point. If you have a suspension fork, they make mounts for those, too -- do a google search.

I have a set of basic REI panniers from about 15 years ago. My wife has Nashbar mtn bike panniers (they were on sale last week for $18 !!!!). I realize they won't last as long as the top-of-the-line expensive ones, but they've never failed us. You don't have to spend a lot to get good value.

There are good things about disk brakes, I'm sure. I can see where they'd be an advantage in downhill mtn bike racing -- not necessarily for leisurely touring. My bike has cantilevers; my wife has V-brakes. I've never had problems with them, in thousands of miles of riding, or loaded touring in the Rockies. So if you're considering switching out V-brakes for disk, I wouldn't bother. Just make sure you maintain your brakes. On long, loaded downhills, we'd stop every 10 minutes or so to let the rims cool, but I admit to being overcautious. After all, it was a sightseeing ride, we got points for stopping

-- Mark

I agree with everything that Mark said. I add that Old Man Mountain has some very adaptable racks for front of mountain bicycle mounting. see URL:

<http://www.oldmanmountain.com/>

I would test your load and bicycle handling of the load as early as possible.
I would cut down anything that you can easily replenish along the way. Practice setting up "camp" on weekend rides as many times as you can even during winter if possible.... as you may run into winter like conditions along the way.
Practice using everything that you take along in cold, rain, sleet, snow, wind, and blistering heat. Learn as much as you can about your bicycle, your gear, and your route. Talk with locals who tour and find out what they use .... and where they get it. Ask if they have check list that you can get a copy of. Enjoy the adventure.

 

[bikertony]

I am planning on touring cross-country in 2005 and I would like to outfit my current mountain bike for the trip. I currently have attachment points for rear panniers but not fronts. What are people's recommendations on using just rear panniers versus rear and front? What size panniers will be needed for such and extensive trip? And what brand do people recommend?

Also, how do people feel about v-brakes versus disc brakes? I will be riding through Montana and Colorado....

Thanks in advance for the help

Hi, this is my second tour. My first tour was 1 and a half year that took me from China into Tibet, Nepal and India. I only had 2 rear panniers. I used bungie cord to tie my tent to my top tube. I also had a handle bar bag. The sleeping bag and pad, I just tied to the top of rear rack. That was a very cheap way to go. A bit inconvinient, and my stuff was also getting wet. But the handling was good with this setup even through the rough roads in Tibet.

Fast forward to the present. I am currently taking a break after about 1 year of cycling in South America. Custom build my bike with titanium frame. Now here is the funny part. The bike I used on my last tour was a cheap piece of ****. And this one I paid through the roof. Guess which one I had the most problems. Yep, my current bike. Also, I have full front and rear panniers this time plus the handle bar bag. But it makes my front end very wobbly. If you want shocks for the front, I suggest very low travel front fork. As for panniers, I would only recommend 1 brand. Ortlieb, they make the best. Most of the cyclist I encounter in Tibet, Patagonia, etc....usually have Ortliebs. I would get large size for both front and rear. Conventional wisdom says you are suppose to put small panniers in the front. But in a long trip, you need alll the room you can get. As long as you only put light stuff such as clothing in the front, then you will not screw up you handling. I was considering disc brake myself. But there negative points about disc brakes. First of all, you have to really fool around to mount your rack if you got disc brake. The second problem is that in the third world, you are screw if something is wrong with your disc brake. But if you are only doing the States, you will be fine. Good luck. By the way, I have gotten used to the shaky front end.

 

[byfred]

I am planning on touring cross-country in 2005 and I would like to outfit my current mountain bike for the trip. I currently have attachment points for rear panniers but not fronts. What are people's recommendations on using just rear panniers versus rear and front? What size panniers will be needed for such and extensive trip? And what brand do people recommend?

Also, how do people feel about v-brakes versus disc brakes? I will be riding through Montana and Colorado....

Thanks in advance for the help

Be sure and get a good quality Helmet.............some of the "cheap" models offer as much, if not more, protection than the "top end" models but I think the money goes into the overall weight and ventilation. On a long trip, like you are planning, you will have to be putting long, hard, repetitive, days in, and the continual "banging" your head has to endure, can be greatly magnified with a heavy clumsy helmet. I started my touring using a Hockey Helmet and, later on, an original Bell Helmet, (that white shell with a styro-foam liner) and my neck is still paying for it. There are many great helmets available these days, and they are so light and comfortable, you hardly know you have them on............byfred

 

[DOC69]

Also, how do people feel about v-brakes versus disc brakes? I will be riding through Montana and Colorado....

My bike came with disc brakes and all I can say is that if I know I'm going to be doing extended downhill riding, I much prefer disc brakes over rim brakes. Especially in the rain. Just my 2¢...