I am planning on cycling from Paris to Mongolia this summer. Currently I have a Ribble carbon road bike (pictured below).
I plan to put these hardened tyres on to reduce the puncture risk along the way: https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Continental/Grand-Prix-4-Season-Clincher-Tyre/67U.
Being on a budget id ideally not buy another bike and would quite like to use my current one regardless.
Has anyone have experience with using a similar type of bike on a trip like this and have any understanding on whether this is a good idea or not?
by Zestyclose_Tip_4181
10 Comments
You could slam a saddle bag on it and do some light bikepacking trips with it, but for a months long loaded tour, that’s just not the right bike.
Not a very good bike for long distance sel support bike touring.
Look at touring bikes with sturdy frames and wheels, attachment points for racks, wide gear range.
Here’s a good example,:
https://www.fujibikes.com/products/touring-disc-21
You should do a smaller trip with the bicycle before committing to something like this. You will likely find the frame is too weak to carry your gear and your tires are far to thin to handle the sort of roads you will encounter
Depends on your travel style. If you have a support vehicle tagging along with supplies, accommodations, etc., a zippy bike could be fun!
Bike touring is a great and relatively accessible way to travel. I don’t want to be a downer, but how much have you toured? The trip you’re describing would be into some pretty remote regions, and this bike is not a reasonable choice. I’m also a little concerned that you’re mentioning a tight budget in the same post with such an ambitious trip; even done as cheap as possible, that trip won’t be cheap.
My suggestion would be to look into a used, serious touring bike and work up to at least a few weeklong trips where you can try out your rig and gear.
Gonna need more spokes on the back wheel to take more weight otherwise wheel might collapse. Riding position also looks like it’s for racing, which would become uncomfortable after a few hours, particularly with weight on the palms
I can recommend the Surly LHT.
You would be much better on a Décathlon old mountain bike than on the bike pictured.
Horrible choice for a tour like that even with ultralight bikepacking bags. Many of the roads will be rough or dirt. The tour will likely also take multiple months so the cost of a new bike will be small compared to the total trip costs of food, lodging, supplies, and flight home.
The gearing, tires, frame, and wheels are all the wrong type of tool for this job here. At a minimum I’d get a gravel bike for this with 40c tires. A better solution might be a touring bike depending on how much camping gear you have.
If you planned to ride around Western Europe on the Euro Velo routes a road bike would probably be ok but not for a trip so on such undeveloped roads no way.
You should go for it. The bike might not make it there but you’ll have fun, and even if not, you’ll have an adventure.
I suggest you check out /r/ultralight and get your gear weight down to thru-hiker levels (5-10kg) and bring plenty of spare spokes. Be prepared to walk your bike or hitch on very bad roads.
I’ve hosted dozens of cyclists in Asia who’ve come from Europe and never seen a carbon bike with radial wheels, but you never know. They typically take about 8 months, but that’s on heavy ass metal bikes with a lot of stuff.