I'm a complete newbie to bike trips. The only ones I've done have been a couple of full day/weekend trips with friends/family, and I have no clue about bike brands or anything.
On this sub it seems like most people have really cool, slim, expensive looking bikes. My question is if anyone goes on longer (weeks/months) trips with a regular bike that an everyday cyclist would use, or have you all upgraded? I'm talking about something like this https://i.postimg.cc/MGK1HVy5/download-21.jpg
(Sorry if this is a really commonly asked question by the way!)
by Oatmealapples
13 Comments
Well, you absolutely can go ona long tour on any bicycle. YouTuber Ryan van Duzer travelled across the US on an oridnary three speed bike. But you know: Can you also travel around the world in an old Polski Fiat 126p? Yes! Is it the best possible choice? Probably not.
You can ride any bike anywhere, but people get bikes for a specific purpose e.g. a road bike, a gravel bike, a mountain bike for the terrain and goals they have.
You can cross the ocean in a rowboat, but wouldn’t it be easier and more enjoyable if you had something built for the purpose?
I hosted a french woman via warmshowers who was touring across Europe on a super basic “normal” bike. Not the Holland style you posted but some kind of bike people just use to cycle in the city. Don’t remember what exactly. But I thought it was super cool! And she’d still go 80+kms each day
I hosted a french woman via warmshowers who was touring across Europe on a super basic “normal” bike. Not the Holland style you posted but some kind of bike people just use to cycle in the city. Don’t remember what exactly. But I thought it was super cool! And she’d still go 80+kms each day
A few years back there was a swedish woman who rode her bike (similiar design) from Sweden to Portugal or Spain, so its definitly doable, but i dont think its very common.
Use what you have. You’re in an echo chamber where people like fancy bikes and showing them off. Not everybody has a separate touring bike, couple of road bikes, a daily commuter.. Well I do, but that’s the result of many years accumulating gear.. I started out with a beater and had many memorable trips with it. In a very direct sense, keeping my interest in bikes and touring is a continuation of those early experiences..
When I touring in central asia, did see quite a few french that were riding across central asia on bikes that looked like they had grabbed off their balconies and attached a couple of panniers and were off on their trip. No garmin computers or satellite communicators. Most relied on off line maps from the likes of [maps.me](http://maps.me) (Google maps coverage in central asia is deficient). One was headed to Lake Baikal, Russia and another crossing China and ending their trip in Vietnam.
I’ve done most of my multi month trips (US coast to coast, South America incl. Peru Divide, parts of Central Asia) on a Giant Escape 3 (cheap city bike) though I switched out tires, wheels, cassette and crank for those appropriate for the grade of terrain I was travelling. I’m an old fart and don’t ride fast in any case.
Start with whatever you have and see if you truly like the activity. The biggest downside is the loneliness if alone or being stuck with the same travel companion(s) for weeks on end, its worse if you have a decent inperson social network at home (you will miss all the gatherings)
I went on a couple of 14-21 days trip on a 2011 specialized sirrus I bought a couple of days prior to my first trip and it was amazing.
I mean an oldschool steelframe touringbike is perfect if you dont need space for a wider tyre, and that is “regular”… but a dutch bike??? Anything is doable but it doesnt mean you should do it😂
[I’d be lying if i said this video didnt inspire me to start my bikepacking, he rides a beach cruiser 200 miles on the C&O towpath] (https://youtu.be/EoOhOeyTkq0?si=jVMBp9QeiGQ4zBpN)
I’ve run across a lot of people using bike like that. They typically are not doing many mile a day though. Think 10-30 miles instead of like 60-100. Typically they have to plan ahead a bit more because if something isn’t right, their ability to move on to the next spot is limited.
You can get a second-hand MTB that would make an AMAZING world tourer for just a few hundred bucks. That’s what a lot of world touring folks are actually using, and I would say that it’s more common than using a purpose built, expensive rig.
The only issues I see with the bike in the picture you posted are lack of climbing gears and ergonomics. You’re just going to be limited in the type of terrain you can ride and how long you can ride comfortably. But those issues aren’t remedied by spending tons of money; just by switching to a different type of bike.
It’s kind of funny that you call that a “normal” bike, though, because in a lot of places, that type of bike is very uncommon.
You can and many do, however I think most prefer a bike that you build or buy that’s best suited for the terrain you intend to ride, your size, and the weight of gear/water/food your adventure requires. For example a regular bike will generally have lower quality, lighter duty components such as rims and spokes that will possibly fail (at the worst possible time) when travelling loaded, fully equipped for weeks/months of bikepacking . For me fit is critical otherwise a long trip on an ill fitting bike can potentially be very painful on the knees, butt and back, and worse possibly turn you off bikepacking altogether. Given the newbie status my advice would be look to look for a friendly local bike shop/mechanic and a pro bike fitter to discuss your trip with, and consider starting with a hardtail mtb and lots of zone 2 training! Whatever path you choose no doubt it will be an adventure!