(Matt Murphy) said:Hi, I'm currently planning a bike trip this May to June through
France and Italy. I want to camp while travelling so this means I
will be travelling quite heavy (stove, tent, sleeping bag, etc.). I
want to go about 100 km a day although it's possible that somedays I
could go further.
Conceivably much further, unless you're getting off the bike
frequently to sight-see. After all, on tour you may ride 10 hours a
day quite frequently, and at a very modest average of 15 km/h you can
still cover 150 km in a day.
Have you checked out the Trento Bike Pages? There is a wealth of
information about touring- IMHO the best starting point for touring
on the Web:
http://www-math.science.unitn.it/Bike
Quoted message said:The majority of my biking experience to date is on a triathlon bike.
I know that touring is a slower and steady trip but I enjoy speed on
a bike and so I'm hesitant to use a mountain bike.
Why would you use a mountain bike for touring? Use a touring bike;
there are many to choose from and a Google search will help you find
them. IMHO your best starting point for loaded touring like this is
http://www.bgcycles.com which is Bruce Gordon.
Quoted message said:However, in July I'm planning on going to Iceland and I'll probably
bring the bike I end up buying which means getting something a
little more solid. If anyone has a recommendation on a faster bike
that can endure gravel as well I would love to hear it.
Friends of mine have done Iceland. Twice. "Gravel" is a generous
description for the roads covered in golf-ball to tennis-ball-sized
rocks. They found much of the roads unrideable as a result, not to
mention the winds. In this case a mountain bike or a bike that will
take 40+ mm tires would be helpful- again, Bruce Gordon is the guy to
go to, IMHO.
Quoted message said:Currently I have been recommended the Devinci Caribou, but
apparently it is limited to the skinnier tires and can't be fitted
with knobby tires, etc. The other Devinci bike I was recommended
was the Amsterdam, which is a performance hybrid. I've seen a few
Cannondale models, and the Trek 520 and XO and I am uncertain which
of these (or others) would be optimal for the uses I want.
From your limited description, it's hard to say what might be best to
suit you. You can tour the French and Italian Alps on a "race" bike
with a saddlebag quite well.
Quoted message said:Also, regarding the use of straight vs. drop-down, does anyone who
has toured out there have a suggestion on what is preferable. I
realize drop-down has more options on hand positions, but I've also
heard most people with drop-downs just end up keeping there hands
positioned as if they were straight bars.
Then they're not making use of their equipment for one reason or
another. IMHO the most common being that their drop bars are in the
usual road racer position- low and far away. If the bars are up high
enough, all positions are comfortable and useful (although not
particularly aero, which is an issue for road racers). It's odd,
probably less than 1% of bicyclists race, yet racing bikes for road
and dirt dominate the market perception of cycling.
Personally, I hate flat bars with a passion. My hands go numb almost
immediately and having only one position (unless bar ends are added)
annoys me. When there's a stiff headwind, I like to get down in the
drops and ya can't do that with flat bars. I was out for a calm,
quite ride today with 30+ mph winds out of the north. I spotted a
large club ride (75+ riders) broken up into groups, and noticed how
unhappy the riders on flat bars looked as they struggled much harder
into the wind than the riders with drop bars. On days like that,
flat bars are a major disadvantage. OTOH, some people just prefer
flat bars, or have back or other problems that necessitate their use.
