Choosing Your Bike
We can here you. You’re saying, “Help! Which bike do I buy? What am I supposed to be looking for in a touring or bikepacking bike?” Take a deep breath; you’re not going to like the answer. Here’s the dilemma: without understanding your needs, it’s impossible to answer these questions, and if you don’t understand your needs, how do you know what questions to ask? We get it. All we can tell you is that there’s no magic to this. Touring and bikepacking bikes come in “all shapes and sizes”. A good bike for cycle touring or bikepacking doesn’t necessarily have to, and probably doesn’t, have “touring” or “bikepacking” in the name; it’s essentially whatever bike you’re the happiest and most comfortable riding for long distances. Period. Let your comfort and enjoyment and the demands of your ride (and wallet) determine your choice. So, the question you really need to ask yourself is not what’s the best touring or bikepacking bike, but rather what’s the best touring or bikepacking bike for me? The only way to answer this is to get your butt onto the seat of as many bikes as you can to feel for yourself what’s right. Ask your buddy if you can try out their bike. Rent a bike when you’re on vacation. Visit some local bike stores and ask for a test ride, and when you’re there be sure to ask them lots of questions. Don’t be shy. They want to help, and if they don’t, go someplace else. Your local bike store is usually the best place to find help and getting fitted to the right bike for you. In the meantime, here are some helpful questions to get you on your way.
What kind of trip are you planning?
Most cycle touring and bikepacking trips are determined based on the following types of factors: How serious are you about cycling? Are you a veteran or a newby? Do you want to ride on short trips or long journeys? Do you want to ride fast or slow? Will you be riding light, medium, or heavy (i.e., how much load will you be carrying)? Is your route primarily on-road or off-road (and what is the mix between them)? These questions will help you determine your choice of touring or bikepacking bike. Think hard about what kind of experience you want to have.
Most cycle touring trips incorporate a mix of these factors. That’s why most bicycle manufacturers offer all-purpose bikes for cycle touring, and it’s also why most of the major bike brands tend to look very similar in terms of specifications and performance ratings. Touring bikes can include bikes that are marketed alternatively as “touring”, “gravel”, “commuter”, “road”, or “mountain”. The thing to keep in mind is that cycle touring (as opposed to bikepacking) is a very traditional and conservative niche within the biking world, with basic specifications changing very little over the years. Personally, for cycle touring we prefer gravel bikes, as they comfortably tackle both on-road and moderate off-road scenarios very well.
Bikepacking, on the other hand, is a relatively modern phenomenon in the biking world, where no two bikes are the same and the market is constantly moving in different directions as trends dictate. In its purest form, bikepacking is all about exploring the off-pavement world – we’re talking about trails and open country here. Consequently, bikepackers typically choose mountain bikes, many of which make an ideal choice for bikepacking. In our opinion, however, like with cycle touring, there's no one bike right for bikepacking. That being said, we don’t recommend full-suspension rigs for bikepacking, as they tend to use up most of the room that you’ll need for storage and gear. Personally, for bikepacking, we prefer lighter weight mountain bikes without crazy suspension rigs and with medium width tires, so we don’t spend most of energy hauling the weight of our bike, especially when it’s loaded with gear. Now that we’ve kicked the hornet’s nest, we’ll leave it at that and focus on cycle touring bikes.
What’s your bike budget?
No Budget
Got no budget for a bike? Don’t despair. As noted above, it’s possible to use any bike for cycle touring, as long as it’s about the right size and it’s comfortable for you. You can get from A to B on a couple of triangles attached to two wheels. Lots of accomplished riders have successfully completed demanding cycle touring expeditions on rusty pieces of s - - t. Bear this in mind as you start surfing the Internet for a new bike or before you head out to your local bike shop.
Modest Budget
Got a bit more dough? Decent touring bikes can be bought new for under $2,000 CAD (or $1,100 USD). Touring bikes in this price range are considered “entry-level”, which is fine. They work well and can serve you well on your cycleventure. They differ from their premium siblings by having cost-saving aluminium frames, cheaper components (i.e., gearing, brakes, etc.), and the capability to accommodate only basic racks. The good news is that, regardless of entry level status or price point, these bikes are designed and built specifically for touring and they even often share the same frameset with higher-end models.
Higher Budget
In the cycle touring world, the accepted wisdom is to get yourself the best bike you can afford. As we have seen above, this may be accepted wisdom, but may not be wise for you. We believe that comfort conquers cost. You don’t need to break the bank to get the best bike for your needs, and you certainly don’t want to compromise your overall trip experience by spending too much on your bike and then cutting back on your actual trip – that’s just dumb. But if you’ve got the silver, you’ve just entered the domain of the premium touring or “expedition bike” where you could be looking at anything between $2,500-$5,000 CAD (or $1,800-$3,700 USD) – in fact, the sky’s the limit. In this price range, you’ll be looking at top-quality, top-performance, full-feature touring bikes that will readily handle most cycle-touring scenarios with ease, and if you treat it properly, it will last you a lifetime. We suggest that, in this category of touring bikes, your top priority is durability. Look for high-quality components and construction principles specific to the demands of touring. You’ll find a large selection of makes and models in this price range and no shortage of salespeople to sell them to you!
What do I do now?
If you’re having trouble choosing between touring bike options in your price range, stop surfing the Internet. On paper, they’re all basically the same, and they’re all similarly priced. Most of them have the same type of frames. Many of them are made in the same factory in China. They all have relaxed riding positions and wide gearing. They all have drivetrains selected from the middle of Shimano’s road-bike or mountain-bike product ranges. They can all accommodate racks and other packs and bags. They’re all built primarily for paved roads and can also easily handle dirt trails and gravel. As we noted above, the best way to select the right bike for you, based on your own personal needs, is to go to your local bike store, talk to the folks there, especially the folks in the repair shop, and take a few models out for test rides. The only way to find the right touring bike for you is to to try them out for yourself — it’s usually the touring bike that’s nearby your home, fits your budget, and has been selected with the help of a professional who understands cycle touring as well as your needs. In the meantime, here’s a handy list of things to look for when you’re shopping for a touring bike.
Wheels and Tires
In the world of cycle touring, we are blessed with a wide range of excellent tire options to choose from — from “armoured” tires and heavy-duty tubes to “tubeless” tires that use a latex sealant to prevent flats and everything in between. We recommend something simple that’s designed for touring, won’t puncture easily, and is easy to maintain. One specification that we recommend for cycle touring is that you select a bike that can acommodate medium-width tires/wheels (between 35-50mm) to handle both on-road and off-road scenarios. You never know when there’ll be a need to go off the tarmac, and you don’t want to risk a puncture. You may also want to discuss wheel diameter with your bike shop pro — 700c/29er, 650b/27.5 in, and 26 in are all apprpriate for touring. If you’re concerned about availability of parts in the region in which you plan to ride, 26 in is often the easiest to find.
Low Gear
The needs of a touring cyclist diverge most sharply from performance and recreational cyclists in the drivetrain. Once you’ve attached your racks and packs and bags and loaded all your stuff, including water bottle(s), pumps, spares, tools, and other equipment, clothing and electronics, and possibly camping and cooking gear on your bike you’ll very quickly see why! Drivetrains are often referred to as “triples,” “doubles,” or “1x ” indicating the number of chainrings on the crank. While triples will offer the most number of gears, many double and single-ring setups approximate the range offered by triple drivetrains. In general, a low gear-inch of 20 is enough to handle all of your cycle touring needs.
Rack Mounts
Check for rack mounts on the touring bike you’re considering, and be sure to ask the bike shop pro what types of racks the bike can accommodate, which may be different based on certain design factors or the type of components, such as disc brakes vs. cantilever brakes (see below). You’ll need to look for what’s called “threaded inserts” to accommodate racks. Rear (and some people also like front) racks provide mounting points for your largest bike packs, called “panniers”, which hang onto the sides of your bike racks and can carry a huge amount of stuff, including clothing and gear. Just make sure that they’re waterproof and durable, and that they can easily be mounted and removed from your racks. Many panniers (and other types of bike packs) double as shoulder bags. Racks also provide places to strap stuff that might not fit well inside other bags and don’t require protection from the elements.
Brakes
Rim brakes have generally, though not completely, given way to disc brakes on most cycle touring bikes. While it’s possible and acceptable to cycle tour with old rim, cantilever, or “V-style” rim brakes (which are fine), disc brakes, which operate in the same way as breaks on a car, offer way more responsive breaking power, especially in wet-weather and are therefore way safer. They come in both cable and hydraulic systems, both of which are good choices.
Handlebars
Handle bars are absolutely a matter of personal preference. They range from basic flat options (like you would see on a mountain bike or “commuter” bike) to hooked dropbars to all manner of goofy looking monkey bars. Our preference is for dropbars, because they offer a wide variety of hand positions, which you will find most comfortable on long rides and especially long days. Talk to, your loal bike shop pro about getting a fitting to determine the right handlebar for you.