To build up a bike or to buy a new one...

[Mrs Robinson]

I have a bad history with cars and developed a phobia of driving and being a passenger in cars. Out of frustration from feeling trapped, I decided on a whim to buy a bicycle so I could make short trips. That was 5 months ago, and I have absolutely fallen in love with riding my bike. I spend every moment I can riding, thinking about riding, or tweaking my bike set-up. I was actually disappointed when it was time for a pre-planned vacation, because it meant I wouldn’t get to ride for two weeks.

When I bought my bike I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I just knew I wanted to get around town. I didn’t know I would ride every day, rain or shine, in 30F or 80F. The little research I did told me to head to my LBS and that’s what I did. I went in thinking I wanted to look at the Trek 7.2FX. I tried those first, and while I didn’t really know what I was looking for I didn’t think I felt comfortable on the 7.2FX, so I ended up leaving on a Fuji Absolute 2.3.

After much tweaking to make it comfortable for anything more than short jaunts, it is serving me reasonable okay. I have added a stem riser, butterfly handlebars, a Brooks saddle, as well as a storage, lights, etc.. I travel slowly, mostly on roads but occasional trails too. I have done two overnight trips, I have a six-day trip planned for July and I scheduled the last of my vacation time so I can take a 13 day trip in September. While I haven’t done a long enough trip to confirm it yet, I could see myself enjoying long term touring if I could find a way to afford to do so.

I have been thinking I wanted to upgrade the Shimano Tourney/Altus components and I wanted to build wheels with Dynamo hubs. At this point, I am questioning whether to keep working on my current bike – I do enjoy the tinkering and all that I have learned by doing so. However, it probably makes more sense to invest in a touring bike at some point. My husband cringes when I tell him how much anything costs for the bicycle because he builds motorcycles and cars for less.

I’d appreciate hearing some experienced thoughts on whether to keep working on the set up I have, or to start again with a base that’s more designed for touring.

 

[cyclintom]

I think that you'd probably discover a "real" touring bike with drop bars more comfortable over the long run you probably might rebel at the time it takes to get your shoulders, arms, wrists and neck to accept the position.

As for the Shimano components. While these really aren't bad components you wouldn't see much if any difference if you went up to Ultegra which is the only step up to make if you're going to do that at all. Though there is a Chinese company that makes shifters compatible with Shimano derailleurs called "Microshift" These shift up using your index finger and down using your first finger. The advantage of this is that women with shorter hands don't have to turn the entire lever so far. And they are available in all speed combinations.

Do NOT build wheels. Factory built wheels are cheaper than buying the parts and you would have to learn under an expert to properly tighten the spokes on bicycle wheels. Taylor makes wheels in just about every size with a dynamo hub usually for less than $70 on Ebay. Believe me, bicycles are a whole lot cheaper than motorcycles if you are building them from parts.

 

[Froze]

Derailleur selection depends on the gear range you're going to be using, most touring bikes use MTB gear range and Ultegra won't handle those wide ranges, so either Deore or XT would be the route to go, the XT can handle up to 36, but I think Deore only goes up to 34 but double check because I think they increased it. For example if your rear sprocket is going to be larger than 30 teeth then you need a long cage derailleur and only MTB derailleurs make long cages. Medium cage derailleurs are road/sport derailleurs and can handle up to 30 teeth; I wouldn't use Ultegra for touring when 105 would work perfectly fine for lower cost.

I haven't found any factory built wheels that have a dynamo already built and ready to go though I could be wrong, but I think you will need that custom built which if you don't go crazy with the rim you can have this done for less than you think. If your LBS can't do it you can always call Peter White; see: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.php Peter White is the type of guy that wants to tell you what you need in a wheel, all you do is tell him you want a dynamo, how the dynamo will be used, and he may ask for your body weight and gear weight you'll be travelling with, and an estimate of how much you want to spend, then he will tell you exactly what you need and he's always right! And if you build the wheels according to his advice he has a lifetime warranty he puts on.

Your most expensive part is going to be the dynamo hub, not the rims, spokes, or labor. In regards to the dynamo hub read this: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/sanyo.php Pay attention to the drag, the Sanyo is cheaper than the Schmidt but it has a lot more drag than the Schmidt so read that page then you can decide how much you want to spend on a dynamo hub. Also you need to make sure you get the right light voltage that will match up with the voltage output of the hub, again Peter White can make that all easy for you.

On your regular (non dynamo) hub ask Peter White about any decent hubs on closeout, that could save you some money.