Bike for touring holiday

eventSec

Hi All

First time poster here, sorry if im posting in the wrong place.

this summer Im looking to go on a bike touring holiday. ive settled on Denmark, it'll be around 300k over 14 days or so, so not too taxing.

I need to buy myself a bike to do this obviously, ive come across a good deal ( i think) but not sure if it would suit the job. Its a trek 7.1 FX. Would this be a good bike for what I want to do?

Anyone any other valuable hint or tips you can give me?

thanks for any replies

laughingboy

Well, it's not the ideal bike for touring, but unless you are confident of buying second hand you won't get the ideal touring bike for less than £400.

To be honest, practically any road-worthy bike would be fine to do 14 rides of say between 10 and 20 miles. So, if you are buying a new bike, you might want to consider what you will use it for afterwards. The Trek will be pretty versatile, but it won't excel in any particular area.

Another consideration: if you are planning to carry camping equipment anywhere remotely hilly, you'll want to pay particular attention to having seriously low gears to get you up the hills. The Trek seems to cater for that. A 34 tooth rear and a 28 tooth chainring will do the trick.

Oh, and If I were committed to riding every day, regardless of weather, I'd want full mudguards.

Enjoy the trip.

iPete

Pretty much any bike. What do you ride now? Are you going to carry all equipment, tents etc?

eventSec

at the minute i dont ride much at all, my brother has a mountain bike so i occaisionally use that.

yeah ill be using panniers to carry everything, small 1 man tent, clothes etc.
i plan to use two panniers, perhaps around, 40litre capacity altogether.

when i get the bike i will start training, doing weekend runs with the weight attached to see how i go.

id be fit enough at present, in the middle of doing a 10k and play football quite regular.

would a trek 7.1 be able to take the weight of that on the rear panniers?

iPete

My Allu road bike says yes, it'll be fine, just make sure its a triple ring up front.


Loads of tips and hints here: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12702169

For the mileage your doing, you should be fine fitness wise.

eventSec

cheers lads

MichaelW

Many of the bike routes in Denmark are gravel roads, mostly fairly flat. I rode them with 32mm tyres with a full camping load (4 panniers). You could ride them with 28mm but wider is better.
There are some hilly bits in the North and there is a long section of bike-path on a beach in the very north, hard-packed sand which acts as a coastal road.

You dont need a special bike for touring in Denmark, the Trek 7.1FX will do the job.

Note that commercial campsites can be quite big and expensive and full of Germans in caravans. There is a network of small campsites: back-garden/farmyard style, small municipal ones and forestry service sites. These have a nominal charge (3 Euro) or are free. They usually have wooden shelters, a cold tap, a drop toilet, occasionally showers.
Finding them on your own is very difficult. Get the guidbook form any tourist info: Overnatning i det Fri
http://www.teltpladser.dk/index.htm
Directions are in Danish with GPS coordinates and thumbnail maps

theot88

Hi
Just to throw a spanner in the works as was:
As said before, practically any bike will do for touring. Last summer a friend and I toured down through France from St Malo (English Channel) to Sete (on the Med'), approximately 1200km in approx 17 days on the road. We carried everything we needed (tools, spares, clothes, 2man tent, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, stove etc etc) and bought food along the way. Tent was strapped under the handlebars (as was the stove on my friends bike) and pretty much everything else went in panniers on the rack (2 bags totalling 38 litres on each bike) We were in no rush and covered about 45-50 miles per day in the northern (flatter) part of the country and about 35 - 40 miles per day in the hills down south. The bikes? I was on a Specialised Hardrock (3x9) and my friend an On-One 456. Yes...hardtail mountain bikes!! Ok so they were fitted with 1inch semi slick tyres pumped up to 80psi but they did still have disc brakes, riser bars and 100mm travel forks! And weighed in at 33kg each fully loaded! Not "Ideal" and driven by financial reasons really, but still made for an epic road trip. Also gives a comfortable riding position and very low gears for long steep climbs. I'm not an expert but the trip sure did teach me alot about what you do and don't need and how to pack etc etc, such things as cable tie-ing spare spokes and cabel ties to the down tube so as they are always there but not taking up any'useful' space.

Hope this helps! Just because it's not 'sensible' or what everyone else chooses, doesn't mean it won't work or be damn good fun!