Touring on a road bike

Theaudiobully

Morning all,

I recently purchased a Specialized Allez Sport and have been considering a long weekend away in France later on in the year but I’m a little unsure how to go about carrying my luggage.

I plan on travelling extremely light and staying in hostels/B&B’s. I don’t want to splash out on a touring bike so I’m looking for some info on what options I have. A backpack is totally out of the question, I don’t want a hot, sweaty, aching back whilst I’m cycling. Would I be able to fit panniers on my road bike? Any info would be much appreciated. Sorry if it seems like a daft question, I’m fairly new to cycling.

Thanks

iPete

I'll start by saying that its not a daft question, mostly because I've asked the same thing several times

In a nut shell, I'd say yes, the consensus was that I could in theory travel fully loaded on my Allez sport, if you plan to stay in B&B's then you definitely can.

As you can see in my kit thread, I've now got a rear pannier rack and bags for my Allez but you'll also see the recommendations for using a saddle bag, which I think in your case is highly plausible! I went for a rack to carry more on the trip, for commuting and for the weekly shop.

Fitting a rack is also tricky as the brakes get in the way, as fitted below:
Topeak Super Tourist DX Rear Rack, has a lower mounting point for a lower center of gravity and heel clearance.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Topea ... 360022940/

M:Part Single Bolt Seat Post Clamp With Rack Mount, this solves the fitting issue.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/MPart ... 300005198/

Ortlieb Back Roller Plus Panniers, possibly the best on the market, lighter than the classic version. Don't rush to buy though, I got mine for £92 delivered from Wiggle with an offer. These are probably over kill for your trip.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Ortli ... 360007501/




London to Rome In June, Thoughts?
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12668401

Kit! Touring on a Roadie.
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12670354

100 miles a day, loaded?
http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12688261

Theaudiobully

Fantastic, how does it feel to ride?

bike-a-swan

if it's anything like my trek with a similar setup, twitchy on steeper climbs. mind you, I had camping kit. I'm thinking about trying to fit a decent bar bag to get some weight up front to even the load out for next time

iPete

Theaudiobully wrote:

Fantastic, how does it feel to ride?

I've just been commuting with it so far, so no more than 5-6kgs, often loaded on one side, which can be strange but you quickly adapt. I'll hopefully load it up properly soon and try and put a few miles down.

bigjim

make yourself a brew and read this
http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm

jim

Theaudiobully

Thanks for all the info guys.

Would my bike tyres be suitable for the terrain or would anyone recommend changing them to some more durable ones?

ddraver

I did a 2 week tour on my Roadie (Ribble Audax) last year and it was pretty much fine, all i did was put a shorter stem on (which I had lying around) - I used some of the heavier duty cyclocross wheels from Planet X and carried full camping gear on the back - the only issue with this as its just too much stuff for only 2 bags, It fitted but only just....

The other issue was with the Carbon fork which basically stopped turning the bike at all unless i progressively turned the bars harder and harder until...WHAM...(which was kind of fun after the first few days!)