Touring frame

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Grobar
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 am
Location: Switzerland

by Grobar

Hi guys,
First excuse me for my english.
I am looking for a proper touring bike as I just sold my previous one wich was a Canyon roadlite (it was more of a commuter in his design).
I often go on roadtrip with my gf or by my own, for example we did 2000km last summer along the danube in Europe and also a few 200-500km long trips in Switzerland. Next september we are planing to go to Marseille from Geneva and then go cycle Corsica. And we have a big plan for 2022, cycle from Alaska to Patagonia in 18 months.

Well now I am looking for a steel touring frame, with flat-mount disc brakes, BSA bottom bracket, mount for 3 bottle water and front+back rack, at least 40mm tire clearance and it need to be able to route dynamo cables from the front hub to the topcap through the fork. I will build exactly the same bike for my gf so the wheel size need to be the same in XS (my gf is 165cm) and S (i'm 171cm), preferably 700''.

I looked at the big brands, Surly, Bombtrack, Genesis, but didn't find the perfect match. Do you guys know a brand wich will correspond to my demand ? Or will I need to buy a handmade frame ?
Thanks!
Last edited by Grobar on Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


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morganb
Posts: 732
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:30 pm

by morganb

Specialized Sequoia ticks most of those boxes. The only thing I'm not sure about is the dynamo routing, I know the fork is designed for a dynamo but I'm not sure if you can route through the topcap. I have toured on mine and it rides great loaded, much better riding with weight on it than without.

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Routing through the fork (and hydro brakes for that matter) aren't really touring things TBH.

I would have said one of the higher end Dawes Galaxies, as that is pretty much the de facto touring bike. But it fails on loads of the OPs requirements, despite being (possibly) one of the most accomplished touring models of all time (maybe?)

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Genesis Tour De Fer 30 looks to be in a similar mold to the galaxy, what about it do you think will cause an issue doing long distance touring?

Grobar
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 am
Location: Switzerland

by Grobar

morganb wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:29 pm
Specialized Sequoia ticks most of those boxes. The only thing I'm not sure about is the dynamo routing, I know the fork is designed for a dynamo but I'm not sure if you can route through the topcap. I have toured on mine and it rides great loaded, much better riding with weight on it than without.
Yes the Sequoia is an excellent bike and on the top of my list, I saw a video showing that the routing is possible. But I am not sure about the carbon fork for touring! Thanks for the feedback :)

Grobar
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 am
Location: Switzerland

by Grobar

mattr wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 9:17 pm
Genesis Tour De Fer 30 looks to be in a similar mold to the galaxy, what about it do you think will cause an issue doing long distance touring?
The Tour de fer comes with postmount discbrakes which I found outdated. The Croix de fer 853 frame is way better in my opinion with thruaxles and flatmount brakes, but the tire clearance is notified for max 38mm which may be not enough when loaded with 15kg on the rough roads of South America.
I don't understand why you say that disc brakes and touring don't go together ? I have some friends who ruined their rim brake wheels in less than 15'000km in Africa because of the dust and the mud + disc are, in my opinion, safer when riding everyday in every condition
Never heard about thoses Galaxies bikes, thanks for the info, I will have a look
Last edited by Grobar on Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dim
Posts: 596
Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2017 11:25 am
Location: Cambridge UK

by dim

surly long haul trucker
Trek Emonda SL6
Miyata One Thousand

mattr
Posts: 4671
Joined: Fri May 25, 2007 6:43 pm
Location: The Grim North.

by mattr

Grobar wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:03 pm
The Tour de fer comes with postmount discbrakes which I found outdated.
you say outdated, I say widely available across the globe.
Grobar wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:03 pm
I don't understand why you say that disc brakes and touring don't go together ?
Did I? Thought I said Hydros and touring don't go together? Which IMO/E, they don't. Anything that you can't guarantee parts and servicing of (or repair yourself at the side of the road) on a loaded, long distance tour is a risk. BB7 and a couple of spare cables/pads will get you round the world.

Grobar
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 am
Location: Switzerland

by Grobar

mattr wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:49 pm
Grobar wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:03 pm
The Tour de fer comes with postmount discbrakes which I found outdated.
you say outdated, I say widely available across the globe.
You are right but I can’t get used to the messy look of the post mount setups. I have to think about it.
mattr wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:49 pm
Grobar wrote:
Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:03 pm
I don't understand why you say that disc brakes and touring don't go together ?
Did I? Thought I said Hydros and touring don't go together? Which IMO/E, they don't. Anything that you can't guarantee parts and servicing of (or repair yourself at the side of the road) on a loaded, long distance tour is a risk. BB7 and a couple of spare cables/pads will get you round the world.
Sorry was tired ;) I’m planning to use trp sphyre mechanical disc brakes.

NickJHP
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:22 am
Location: Canberra, Australia

by NickJHP

Surly Midnight Special? Threaded 68mm BB, three sets of bottle cage bosses, flat mount discs, front/rear rack and fender mounts, takes up to 700Cx42 or 650Bx60, comes in sizes from 40cm up to 64cm.

Image

Grobar
Posts: 79
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:47 am
Location: Switzerland

by Grobar

NickJHP wrote:
Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:31 am
Surly Midnight Special? Threaded 68mm BB, three sets of bottle cage bosses, flat mount discs, front/rear rack and fender mounts, takes up to 700Cx42 or 650Bx60, comes in sizes from 40cm up to 64cm.

Image
Nice frame! Don’t even know how I miss it on the surly website, thanks!


froze
Posts: 430
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:47 am

by froze

Also take a peek at Kona Sutra; Masi Giramondo (this is the one that I'm seriously thinking about getting because it's geared better for heavy loads and steep mountain climbing which is what I will be encountering, it also has a more angled down tube which makes it easier to dismount a heavy loaded bike, both have braze ons for water bottle cages on the fork plus three on the frame (the Kona does this as well) for a total of 5 bottles which is great for my purpose (the Surly does not have braze ons on their forks for cages), this one ticks all my needs), there are two Giramondo's, each have a different wheel size and one comes with the best pannier racks in the business; Dawes Ultra Galaxy; on the lower costing side of things the Ridgeback Expedition is a great deal for a really nice touring bike.

The 27.5 Masi comes with dynamo routing on the inside fork leg, wider tire acceptance front and rear, plus fork has mounts for not only a standard pannier rack but also a porteur rack mount (which isn't a big deal for me) if you don't want as heavy of a load on the front. The blue splatter paint on the 29er is just killer looking to me. Also these two bikes have a bit lower BB drop than the Kona which will make it more comfortable riding when loaded...supposedly. But I don't want as wide of a tire that the 27.5 comes with so I'll get the 700c version instead and settle for the brass paint instead of the blue splatter, plus it comes with those superb racks.

The Kona comes with, again the best in the business rear rack, a full set of fenders plus a Brooks B17 saddle. While the gears on this one isn't as suitable for climbing steep grades as the Masi comes with while heavily loaded those are cheap to replace.

Overall I like the Masi a tad better than the Kona.

Again all of this is just an opinion based on what I found to fit my needs.

MikeD
Posts: 1000
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:55 pm

by MikeD

dim wrote:surly long haul trucker
+1

by Weenie


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