My Experience -> NYC to Baltimore with Adventure Cycling Maps - Page 2

first, i have no direct experience of riding a bike with the s&s couplings though i've seen a few up close. they seem quite solid. i couldn't notice any movement though i applied some pressure and torque. probably the best option would be to buy a bike built with them. if you want to retrofit a current bike, you'd have to tear down the bike, strip the paint, have them brazed on and then get a new paint job.

a bike's geometry means the length, angles and overall balance of the tubes. touring bikes and racing bikes are diametrically opposed as to what features you want. in a racing bike you want light weight for obvious reasons, a stiff frame that will deliver more power to the drive train because the frame will not flex so much, and a shorter frame with seat tube, head tube and forks much more vertical for nimble handling in curves and in quick manuevering in a pack.

what you want out a tourer are things like all day comfort, ease of handling, stability with heavy loads, more flexible but tough frame and features a frame that will accept fenders & have plenty of braze ons, wide gearing range so you can go fast when the wind is at your back but can also climb long hills with (relative) ease. essentially, the frame will be more stretched out, the seat and head tubes will lean more to the horizontal, and the fork will be raked more.

i wouldn't worry too much about the stock chainrings and rear cassette, because these are easily changed and is actually nice to have two sets: one for everyday geared a bit more for speed, and another for touring.

i mentioned the volpe as a compromise type frame. it has a number of good points, but wheelbase and chainstay are a tad on the short side.

hmm. what bike would i pick?

dream, cost-no-option, custom bikes to drool over:

http://www.richardsachs.com/gallery/index.htm
http://www.peter-mooney.com/index.htm

http://www.waterfordbikes.com/2005/d...k/ac/index.php
british maker who does the s&s. nice frame at good price:
http://www.bobjacksoncycles.co.uk/pr...products_id=43

compare the co-motion's tig welded frame and price to those above

js, i'm going to leave off here. i was going to be working on one of my bikes today but find myself drooling over bike pictures instead. i'd better get back to the real world for a bit. look up some of the frame builders from the s&s page in your search engine. there are tons

wotcha, interesting comments re. the maps. We've been pointered towards using them next year on our California coast trip, but having never toured in the US before we've no idea what they're like.

Re. the saddle ... leather Brooks saddles are the business. I think the B17 is possibly the most popular one but mine's a Champion Flyer (with springs) and i wouldn't swap it for anything

what bikes ? - personally Dawes or Bob Jackson (if you can get them in the US that is ?)

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Ovenchips

philso

Sorry for the long wait for the post but wanted to do an experiment.

There was the NYC Century last Sunday and my co-worker got me into it. I usually never do those things but it was a great opportunity to test to ride my Trek 5000 for a long ride through NY streets which are pathetic at best.

Well the results were I was able to do the century starting at 6:30am and finished by 3:30pm which was great but on the other hand. I got a flat which cost me an hour in time and I was much more sore than when I did it on my Cannon BadBoy. On the BadBoy it took me till amost 7pm to get the same amount of distance covered but I was carrying much more weight and did stop for atleast two meals and the terrain in PA makes NYC look like Florida. On the Trek my knees, ankles, shoulders and hands were much more sore, more than I expected. I felt every bump and pothole in the road and the funny thing was that I was doing it in low gears. I was using my middle front ring and not a very high speed back ring. I found the whole experience strange but I am sure I will get a new touring bike and the Trek can not do it.

philso also since you really know your stuff, I am experimenting with my gears to see how I can get the most speed with my power. Being a math kind of guy shouldn't the second front with a small back ring equal the same as the large front and large back ring. I am definitely stronger and better than before but I feel I always get passed on some up and down hills because I do not know how to use my gears...any suggestions or manuals you can lead me to. There must be a science to this...

I am sure I want to go for the S&S coupling because I really want to travel to places I can not ride completely without planes. I really want to ride in Japan and the West Coast. It seems too much to carry without the S&S coupling. I need it to be sporty also but can do sport/middle touring. Some guys travel with them with these special bags but they look tough.

Some guys are recommending the Treks FX 7200 or 7700 (??) and some are saying go cyclocross with the LeMond Pompadour (??). Too many bikes I have even been looking at the Time trial bikes for fun, what a design

I am babbling now and sorry for the way I word stuff when it comes to the tech of bikes I am a newbie for sure.

-js

I am sure if you have done European touring, USA should be no problem for you folks.

The maps are exact but like I said not for the faint of heart...

-js

js - centuries can go either way: real b_ll-busters or great fun. i used to do a century when i lived in northern california many years ago. i used my touring bike; just pulled off the fenders, rack and generator light. i usually came in at about the top 85% mark, at least the first 2 or 3 years. if i had trained and had a 2 or 3 pound lighter bike, who knows? i wasn't taking it that seriously. about 5 miles or so before the finish, the race went down the main street of a very small town with a lot of people out clapping and cheering you on. the last several years i did them, i'd hop off my bike, run into a couple of bars and let people buy me beers. dropped down to around the 80% level but what great fun!

gearing can be a science i guess, but i never paid much attention to it. basically, it's good to have some very high gears for any king of riding; racing or touring. what kind of gear ratio you want with your small chainring and large cog on the rear will be determined by what kind of climbing you'll have to do and how much weight you'll be moving. since i tend to do a lot of touring and there are a lot of mountains around here, i tend to stick with a pretty wide spread. however, if you think you'll be both racing and touring, it's easy enough to swap rear clusters and chainrings a day or two before. keep one tight cluster for racing, one with a big spread up to about 32 teeth or so for touring, and maybe even a 3rd mid-range one for everyday riding.

if you get a "sport" or "light" tourer with and adaptable gearing system, you can do well enough in both worlds.

hey philso,

I just noticed that your location is Japan...I leave for Tokyo tomorrow for a couple weeks on business...

Do you know Tokyo and surrounding areas? Do you know where I could rent a bike and some good parks or routes to ride?? I am also looking for some local gyms. I will be staying in Shinagawa area.

Also since you are the mechanic here, given the stock one that comes with the Trek 5000 which other rear clusters or chainrings I should get if I plan on doing some racing and touring...also what tools do I need to change them...my mechincal skills are showing for sure...

-js