Using racing bike for touring

I used a racing bike to tour with, once. I only carried about twenty
five pounds (It was just an overnighter), on standard rear and front
lowriders, no HB. But it still handled terribly.

The geometry on a racing frame is all wrong for carrying cargo. It's
designed for nimbleness, not stability, which is what you need if you
are going to be loading it down.

This doesn't mean you can';t tour with your racer, however. Just invest
in an axle mount trailer, like the B.o.B. Yak or similar. This takes the
weight of the frame. You'll still notice a handling difference, but it
won't be insurmountable.

"May you have the wind at your back.
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

If you haven't bought it yet and like many of us you don't race why buy a
racing bike? Plenty of great bikes out there that fill your bill like Heron,
Waterford, whatever Rivendell is selling now in that vein (they have a couple
and I don't know what's available).
Phil Brown

(Yvonne) writes:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful
or were there any problems?

Lots of people have toured all over the world on racing bikes- among
others bikes not ideally suited for the task. You can get a clamp-on
pannier rack for the front fork or the rear triangle (I'd go with the
former, actually) or you can use a saddlebag like a Carradice or a
Baggins. Saddlebags are my preferred mode.

www.carradice.co.uk
www.wallbike.com
www.sheldonbrown.com
www.rivendellbicycles.com

I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

If you're *buying* a bike, then buy one that will be suited to the
intended purpose. There are several touring bike options on the
market, although the options are limited compared to race bikes. At
the entry level range, you can't do better IMHO than the Bruce Gordon
BLT for a true touring bike. Another option would be a Romulus or
Atlantis from Rivendell.

www.bgcycles.com
www.rivendellbicycles.com

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 13:16:46 -0500, Sheldon Brown
wrote:

The most common mechanical failure with bikes overloaded for touring is
spoke breakage in the rear wheel. For a load like this, I'd recommend a
pair of low-rider _front_ panniers. Most front wheels are way overbuilt
compared with rears, and it is very unusual to have any problems in front.

This also will provide more even weight distribution, and avoid issues
of heel clearance with the rear panniers.

For about 5 years now I've been using a front low rider rack only. It
works really well for me. I see almost no people doing it around
Chicago. People think balance is poor. Of course it is harder to ride
with no hands, especially with only 1 pannier, which is what I do most
of the time, but my experience is that the front end has more inertia
and in fact the front tire is more likely to grab the pavement. Spoke
breakage in the rear wheel is reduced.

I think hitting heels on a pannier is only an issue if you use the
largest panniers. I have size 13 (Euro 48/49) feet and never came
close to hitting medium sized MEC panniers on cyclocross frames. Not
even close.

These days road racing bikes often do not have any eyelets, making it
difficult to attach anything to the frame. Cyclocross framesets are
much more suitable to setting up with racks.

It's also sometimes feasible to temporarily install a touring fork on
a racing bike for this purpose.

Yeah, or even a cyclocross fork, which are pretty easy to find. This
is a much better solution, then you can put the other rack on the back
for lighter weight stuff.

Bob VonMoss

Bike-Chicago Email List
http://home.mindspring.com/~bvonmoss/bikechicago.html

You might also use a seatpost rack for light/bulky stuff like a sleeping
bag.

Sheldon "Front Loading" Brown

On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 15:28:39 -0400, Commuter Cyclist
-an-address wrote:

real touring bike ...
relaxed geometry, better gearing and
so on).

These days the geometry on most of the remaining touring frames is not
that relaxed. For example, most touring bikes have a head angle around
72-73, which is about the same for the regular road racing frames.
Usually the head tube is 1-2 cm less than comparable frames and the
chain stays are longer. Even the seat tube angles are about the same.
Of course TT bikes have very aggressive geometry compared to a touring
frame.

Cannondale touring frame geometry:
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/geo-21.html

size XL
head tube angle: 72.5
seat tube angle: 73
top tube length: 22.5"
seat tube to top: 23"
fork rake: 5.3cm

Cannondale road bike ridden by team
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/geo-14.html
size 58cm
head tube angle: 73.5
seat tube angle: 73
top tube length: 22.5"
seat tube to top: 23"
fork rake: 4.5 cm

differences: touring frame head angle is 1.0 degree more slack and
forks have 8mm of more fork rake.

In article , Yvonne
wrote:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it succesful or
were there any problems?
I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

I admire your minimalist thinking... In fact, I had met such a person
who did this in one of our club tours 4 years ago. He used an Air
Friday and was carrying around 30-40lbs of load.

While we carried 4 panniers on our loaded bikes, he carried just 2
bags. One big waterproof bag bungeed on his rear rack and 1 handle bar
bag with lots of pockets mounted on his drop bar. In both bags, he has
almost everything we carried in 4 panniers! A tent made by Henry
Shires (Virga and super light), 2 titanium pots with a stove that fits
in it, clothing, sleeping bag and food plus enough space for some
tools.

His experience had been to put most of the load at the rear and then
some at the front to achieve acceptable stability. He had 30lbs rear
and 10lbs front, but he had a rear rack attached to his Air Friday. In
your case, you can probably get a monster saddle bag to do the same.

Ofcourse, I am more biased towards using a touring bike for touring
purposes.
To be honest, I had toured once with a racing bike before on an
organized sagged tour. I loved the handling of a race bike if all it is
carrying is just yourself. The nimbleness and the finese feeling on
the hills, flats and downhills are far different than the slow, stable
and cadillac type riding of touring bikes. I had tried doing something
similar to the guy with an Air Friday, but I never developed a real
liking to strapping stuff on my race bike. I never felt safe and
secure like I do with my touring bike.

Hope this helps.

Sheldon Brown wrote in message ...
There are a number of front racks/panniers that don't require braze ons.
It's also sometimes feasible to temporarily install a touring fork on
a racing bike for this purpose.


A couple of the Old Man Mountain racks
( http://www.oldmanmountain.com/index.htm ) mount to the skewer
instead of dropout eyelets. Their "Ultimate Low Rider" front rack
would be able to carry your entire load easily.

Jeff

Yvonne who? writes:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it successful
or were there any problems?

I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

Try looking at the pix at:

http://tinyurl.com/adls

These are all "racing" bicycles, the only kind I would consider for my
touring. Early pictures are Cinelli and Masi bicycles and some of the
later are Ritchey and Johnson frames.

Jobst Brandt

Chris Zacho The Wheelman wrote:

I used a racing bike to tour with, once. I only carried about twenty
five pounds (It was just an overnighter), on standard rear and front
lowriders, no HB. But it still handled terribly.

The geometry on a racing frame is all wrong for carrying cargo. It's
designed for nimbleness, not stability, which is what you need if you
are going to be loading it down.

My experience is rather different. I use my Cannondale R800 (criterium
frame) with a handlebar bag and rear rack holding panniers for week-long
bike camping trips. Sure the bike handles a little different with the
extra load, but I've never noticed any stability or other handling
problems. The bike has no clearance for fenders, but the rear rack serves
as a reasonable substitute for one on the rear and I strap on some cut up
plastic soda bottles under the down tube with zip ties to deflect spray
from the front tire away from my legs and feet.

I believe that some racing bikes are longer than others ? My racing bike
experience was with a TSX-UL frame @ 220 lb. I crumpled the down tube when I
locked the ft. brake , dog jumped out in front of me. I had bought the frame
used and had no gripes with Bianchi, I emailed them and explained the
situation, there reply was that I was 60 lb. more than the typical bike
racer and that I should get an EROS with a cheaper. heavier and stronger
frame. I bought an EROS and two other Bianchis that I like very much. I
guess the point is (you) may have more to do with the touring on a race bike
than the bike.
wrote in message
...
Yvonne who? writes:

Has anyone used a racing bike for touring (carrying 15kg/35lbs max)?
If you have, what pannier system did you use, and was it successful
or were there any problems?

I've been looking at an entry level racing bike for this purpose.
It doesn't have braze-ons for panniers and have been advised that a
seatpost carrier would be unsuitable for this weight.

Try looking at the pix at:

http://tinyurl.com/adls

These are all "racing" bicycles, the only kind I would consider for my
touring. Early pictures are Cinelli and Masi bicycles and some of the
later are Ritchey and Johnson frames.

Jobst Brandt