touring frame?

Bikeandhike

Having just returned to touring, I'm in the process of upgrading my old Dawes Tanami. Having got XT chainset, Mavic/XT wheels, 1 1/8 adapter & stem, carbon seatpost, I'm now thinking about a new frame. I carry quite a lot when camping, especially as I'm diabetic & paranoid about running out of food! I managed to rust through my last Reynolds frame, so I'm thinking aluminium. Any suggestions up to about œ300?[?] You lot seem pretty knowledgeable between you so I'll lokk forwrd to your ideas!

simoncp

I've had a couple of frames cheap from here.

http://www.bikesheduk.com/

gordycp

The Surly Long Haul Trucker (steel) frameset makes a fabulous heavy tourer.

œ325 from Wiggle

Bikeandhike

Thanks, simoncp, I've added it as a bookmark. Expect you have to keep checking. Gordy, I've looked at the Surly and it looks great - but I'm still wondering about aluminium.



Anyone know if Cannondale touring frames are available seperately?

vermootencp

If you don't contact Paul Hewitt then you're missing a trick: http://www.hewittcycles.co.uk/

tel 01772-424773

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cold steel

i would really go for a steel frame if i where you. easier to mend than aluminium out in the wilds.[:)]

AlbionLass

Go for steel and take care of it. Look at Thorn and Orbit for starters or go to a top notch builder like Mercian and have them build a frame to your spec.(Not as costly as you might think).

Unknown

and steel so much more comfortable
Steel is real

george

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piedwagtail91

a clubmate spent a fortune on an alu. frame and hated it from the moment he got on it,he'd previously had a steel frame and wished that he'd kept it.

Bikeandhike

OOps - just had my internet crash after composing an erudite & witty reply. Now you'll never know....

Thank you all for your advice - if I go down the steel route I guess there's lots to choose from, & I was very happy on my Condor 20 years ago, but on weight and durability grounds (I thought I WAS looking after my Orbit which rusted through) I'm loth to give up on aluminium - also according to my daughters I'm a stubborn old man. I'm holding out for late youth. Surely there must be some Cannondale riders out there?

Bikeandhike

Just looked at your point, cold steel. I can't imagine myself being able to make any repair to any frame any where on earth! I have visions of someone with a portable welding kit in their pannier....

Unknown

I think you were a bit unlucky with your Orbit rusting through, but on the other hand 20 years is a reasonable lifespan - Alu may not rust but it will not necessarily last as long if it breaks, which is possibly more likely, and if it does it is definitely less repairable. Weight differences between a good steel frame and an alu frame will be small, and on a tourer will be negligible.

Bikeandhike

Sorry, alfablue, I'm not being clear. The Condor got run over (more or less likely to happen to a steel frame??) The Orbit lasted about 8 years.

Nigeyy

A Cannondale rider here.......

I have a road bike in alu, but my touring bike is a steel Dawes Sardar. Personally, I'd not have a problem whatsoever in choosing an Alu; the ride of a bike isn't due to material but many other things including design, tyre pressure, saddle, blah blah blah. I think it's down to the complete package rather than the oversimplification of the single factor of a frame material.

FWIW, I've done 3 or 4 centuries and many half centuries on my Cannondale CAAD4 frame, and never ever, ever regretted the ride of the bike at all. I've been more than comfortable with it. Interestingly, I had a very old 80's steel Fuji that beat the heck out of me (even with lower tyre pressures!).

Since Cannondale tourers have been around for quite a few years, and so have Koga-Myatas(Sp??) an alu touring bike wouldn't hold any fears for me. But then again, frame material isn't a huge factor for me, rather the bike as a whole and if it works for me.







Fight Cystic Fibrosis: do something. http://www.cycleforhaylee.org http://www.cff.org

Boris Dog

I'll answer the Cannondale question too.

I bought an aluminium CAAD 4 Bad Boy frame to build into a commuter cum tourer cum Audax bike and have not regretted it. The intention was to have a do anything bike to suplement my road bike and MTB and this certainly does the trick. I built it with a road compact and flat bars with v brakes but you I could just as easilly used drop bars and some cyclo-cross cantis. It is strong enough to take a bit of abuse including a couple of dings in the seat tube where I came off on an over ambitious crossing of a wet canal bridge.

I have used it on numerous Audaxes (including a 300k, which hurt but was nothing to do with the frame - it would have hurt on whatever) and I have toured on it. It has rack and guard mounts, although no low rider mounts on the front fork. It takes anything from wide nobblies tor 1" slicks. Versatile.

Would I do it again? Yes.

cold steel

Anywhere in the world (except the poles, probably) you can find some one to mend a steel frame. I imagine finding a tig welding kit and a cylinder of argon a little more tricky. I have no problem with aluminium.I have a Merida which i've built up as a upright tourer/hack and it is real fun to ride. A case of horses for courses.[:D]

Nigeyy

Just to further think about the Alu frame situation, particularly regarding steel: First, it is definitely true you have much more a chance to be able to find someone who can weld steel. However, I'm not convinced that this is such an advantage it seems to be.

Welding a steel bike frame up isn't that easy, let alone doing it without a jig. And the chances of finding a master bicycle tube welder are going to be few and far between. So yes, if you're in Outer Mongolia and the frame cracks or breaks, I'd say you have no choice but to entrust your frame to the nearest local welder (which is a better choice than no repair at all). Still, got to be honest here, I'm not sure I'd completely trust that fully loaded frame on that Himalayan descent...... Or let's say you do happen to stumble across a master frame welder (which I've got to say would be pretty fortunate), would they drop their scheduled work to fix up your bike? Would they even be in or down at the pub?

And of course, don't forget there is a cost involved in getting the original finish back (e.g. powder coating,etc). So yes, steel is fixable, but what is the cost? Add up the cost of a professional welder, plus cost of refinishing and to me you're putting a big dent (no pun intended) into the cost of getting that new replacement frame (that didn't break in the first place).

So -all things equal -I'd be marginally inclined to go with a steel frame over alu if I was touring in some incredibly way-out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere place far from civilization and Shimano parts (though of course if you have a badly designed/built and less strong steel frame it makes no difference; I'd still want a well designed stronger alu frame).

I really think both materials are fairly equal (though as I said, if I was going on a *real* expedition, perhaps I'd give an ever so slight nod to steel, but then you do have to seriously ask yourself where you'd be touring). I think design, good welds and good quality frame material are going to be far more important.

And yes, I ride a steel tourer! As was said, horses for courses.



Fight Cystic Fibrosis: do something. http://www.cycleforhaylee.org http://www.cff.org

Bikeandhike

Sadly, funds & family commitments are not going to permit me to travel further afield than Europe (although jibi's photos look so good - I'm green with envy at the thought of touring in Latin America) so ride quality is more important than mendability. (I've also got a theory that anything that can't be fixed with gaffer tape can be fixed with cable-ties...). When I was in Nicaragua in the 80s the US war forced so much innovation that almost anything could be fixed one way or another, but there weren't many cyclists there then to put it to the test. Could you make an emergency repair to a frame by inserting a steel rod into the tube? An academic point, I hope.
The balance of opinion to seems to fall with the steel camp and the difficulty of finding a touring frame in alu would seem to push me in that direction, too. Thanks for all the comments - I'll dither a while longer yet. Maybe long enough to win the lottery and buy titanium....

Unknown

I think steel is first choice because of comfort, repairability and availability secondary. I have seen a chain stay fixed with a spanner and cable ties.