Another touring "what bike" thread - Sub 1K

[Pale Rider]

Oh I wouldn't worry about the "g" word - neither myself or (I am pretty sure @Pale Rider) were ticking you off at all.

Absolutely, granny ring as much as you like from my point of view.

Back on topic, I grasp the need for crawler gears on a tourer, but I wonder if there's much need for a 50 up front.

Two rings, say a 42 and 28, ought to give sufficient range.

That would give some saving in weight, and presumably a two ring derailer is simpler to set up and maintain.

 

[Blue Hills]

I'd be wary of those siren calls calls canuck - palerider uses battery powered legs

 

[Pale Rider]

When I had my cross country (cycle path) MTB I only used the 50 ring a couple of times to see what it was like.

OK with modest cross chaining on the bigger sprockets at the back, but I couldn't see a use for the higher gears the 50 ring provided.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I must have missed the memo....
What exactly is the issue with referring to a granny gear?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Is there inherently "bad" about the sort of 36 spoke wheels supplied with mass-produced flat bar hybrids? I found a clapped out alloy framed Ridgeback hybrid dumped in a bush last year and salvaged the wheels off it. They seem to cope OK with my 200 lbs weight plus a crate of beer lashed to the pannier rack. All-up weight of me + Raleigh hybrid + beer must be about 18 stone.

Just on that...
It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with them, more perhaps that on a loaded bike they are operating at or close to their limits.

If a wheel folds on your way home from the offy it's a complication. If your wheel folds in a foreign country it's a bit more serious. Deadlines, destinations, reservations can all be impacted as well as adding stress - of course, some may thrive on the challenge!

There's also redundancy - especially when getting a new bike. At the concept stage we might be thinking "I want the bike to go to A & B". In a year's time C & D might be looking attractive. If C & D are tougher places, tougher wheels are no harm. (Of course, if C & D are faster then bombproof heavy wheels might be Overkill).
One of the reasons I got my wheels (after touring on generic wheels) was that I have the confidence to ride pretty much anywhere I want to go.

There's a psychological aspect too. A purpose built set of wheels gives comfort whereas an older, less specific set, may well give anxious moments on a tour - the one time I'd rather not be feeling anxious.

There's lots of marketing guff that has to be waded through when researching a bike for touring. For me, decent wheels are one area I will focus on.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

On the 3rd chainring question, I've had two bikes so equipped and never needed them. Indeed, on the current older hybrid that I have, the lowest range / biggest ring has not even been easily selectable for a while, and while that's a straightforward fettle with the cable it probably shows you how little importance it has on that bike that even a brief stint out in the garage tweaking cables is too much effort for the zero payoff I'd get.

The prospect of a loaded bike and possibly tired legs in Devon, the Lake District or the Cairngorms however, and the idea of a lower range starts to appeal, quite a lot.

 

[Captain Sensible]

Kona Sutra bike, 53 cm frame. V.G.C. Probably less than 400 mls from new.

Comes equipped with Schmidt Son dynamo, Lumotec Luxos IQ front light and Toplite mini rear light.

Derby area

Looking for £699.

Colin

Also listed on Facebook & Cycling UK

 

[Pale Rider]

I must have missed the memo....
What exactly is the issue with referring to a granny gear?

In the past, the use of the term granny ring has brought forward objections from a couple of members who regard it as disrespectful to, er, grannies.

Hard to believe, but this is the internet, and there's always someone ready to realign your moral compass.

On the 3rd chainring question, I've had two bikes so equipped and never needed them. Indeed, on the current older hybrid that I have, the lowest range / biggest ring has not even been easily selectable for a while, and while that's a straightforward fettle with the cable it probably shows you how little importance it has on that bike that even a brief stint out in the garage tweaking cables is too much effort for the zero payoff I'd get.

The prospect of a loaded bike and possibly tired legs in Devon, the Lake District or the Cairngorms however, and the idea of a lower range starts to appeal, quite a lot.

There are some gravel bikes which only have two, sensibly sized chain rings up front.

Or simpler still, one ring up front and an MTB style wide range cassette on the rear.

One of those could work if you wanted to go the 'self build' tourer route.

Buy a naked bike, and fit your choice of touring kit - mudguards, racks, bike packing bags, or any combination of those.

 

[Vantage]

In the past, the use of the term granny ring has brought forward objections from a couple of members who regard it as disrespectful to, er, grannies.

I seem to remember a discussion on this very forum where some described the term 'granny ring' as sexist and ageist.
What the hell is the world coming to?

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I seem to remember a discussion on this very forum where some described the term 'granny ring' as sexist and ageist.
What the hell is the world coming to?

I'd describe my granny gear as the most valuable, as the one that will get me out of the worst situations and my comfort gear.
I fail to see how any of those are offensive to grannies! 😀

Having said that, I read a while ago of a campaign to remove gender from nouns in Spanish as they are offensive. I did roll my eyes.
However, these days I'm starting to see an advantage 😀😀

(I'm attempting to learn Spanish)

 

[Blue Hills]

Or simpler still, one ring up front and an MTB style wide range cassette on the rear.

One of those could work if you wanted to go the 'self build' tourer route.

Does anyone do that on a tourer palerider?

I can think of a fair few arguments against, including:

those dinner plate rear cassettes are expensive (barmily so to me)

I can understand performance MTBers using them where they want super simple fast changes on a demanding technical terrain, but this doesn't seem to me to be a great priority on a tourer.

It is always possible on a tour for a ring to develop an issue, either because you have pushed the wear too far or because of damage, and you are then faced with a bike with a slipping drivetrain - annoying and possibly dangerous. I have a bike (non tourer) with a single front ring (21 gear dual-drive) and that is currently slipping when I pull away from lights as of course all the wear at the front is on a single ring. With three rings you can work around things for a while until you can get a fix.

I would imagine that the vast majority of those bikes with dinner plate set-ups are day bikes.

Personally, gear wise for a tourer, I'd go for 9 speed, 22/32/42 or 44 on the front and the wonderful (and cheap) Shimano 12-36 on the back. Will cope with almost anything. Necessary bits fairly freely available.

 

[Blue Hills]

I'd describe my granny gear as the most valuable, as the one that will get me out of the worst situations and my comfort gear.
I fail to see how any of those are offensive to grannies! 😀

Having said that, I read a while ago of a campaign to remove gender from nouns in Spanish as they are offensive. I did roll my eyes.
However, these days I'm starting to see an advantage 😀😀

(I'm attempting to learn Spanish)

If you fancy a little innocent amusement/self-flagellation (take your pic) in the tent tonight hobbes, this is the thread:

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/granny-gear-and-sexism.233918/

(well you did ask, after ticking us off for the odd diversion )

 

[Blue Hills]

By the by canuck, re your point about possible lack of room for stuff on the bars, I can recommend something like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MTB-Bike...ension-/273198800634?var=&hash=item3f9beadefa

I have at least two fitted to different bikes - they carry my twin front lights - one of the lights quite beefy - all solid as a rock.

If you need more room, there's also these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MTB-Bike...a=0&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

I haven't used one of those (don't need) though the design appears to be essentially the same.

Note that each holder arm of these uses two bolts - better than an alternative design which uses a single bolt to clamp onto the handlebars and hold the equipment mounting rail.

 

[Vantage]

I have one of those but mine uses 2 brackets to stop it flexing about. No idea how much of a problem that is.
There's also an attachment that fits to the Rixen&Kaul klickfix bracket if one uses a bar bag.

 

[Pale Rider]

Does anyone do that on a tourer palerider?

I can think of a fair few arguments against, including:

those dinner plate rear cassettes are expensive (barmily so to me)

I can understand performance MTBers using them where they want super simple fast changes on a demanding technical terrain, but this doesn't seem to me to be a great priority on a tourer.

It is always possible on a tour for a ring to develop an issue, either because you have pushed the wear too far or because of damage, and you are then faced with a bike with a slipping drivetrain - annoying and possibly dangerous. I have a bike (non tourer) with a single front ring (21 gear dual-drive) and that is currently slipping when I pull away from lights as of course all the wear at the front is on a single ring. With three rings you can work around things for a while until you can get a fix.

I would imagine that the vast majority of those bikes with dinner plate set-ups are day bikes.

Personally, gear wise for a tourer, I'd go for 9 speed, 22/32/42 or 44 on the front and the wonderful (and cheap) Shimano 12-36 on the back. Will cope with almost anything. Necessary bits fairly freely available.

Seems to me a wide range MTB cassette makes 'one by' a viable option.

I'm no gearing expert, but 40 at the front and 51 at the back sounds like it would give a low enough crawler gear.

I'm certainly no racer, so 40 at the front and 11 at the back would give a high enough top speed for touring.

No front derailer and associated cable and shifter would be a simplicity and reliability benefit.

I concede I'm no fan of front derailers, having had a couple neither of which could be persuaded to work seamlessly.

Outside of the OP's budget, I would be tempted by a hub gear.

The Rohloff I have gives all the range you need and is famously reliable.

Slight downside is it does have more drag than a derailer.

The Shimano Alfine 11 is a more realistic possibility.

It has a decent range, and I'm told the reliability problems that affected mine have been sorted.

Still £300 or more when laced into a quality wheel.