Touring bicycle
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This article may contain original research. (October 2009) |
A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for stability and to avoid pedal-to-luggage conflicts), frame materials that favor flexibility over rigidity, such as steel or titanium (for ride comfort), heavy duty wheels (for load capacity), and multiple mounting points (for luggage racks, fenders, and bottle cages).
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Specifications [edit]
Touring bicycle configurations are highly variable and may include road, sport/touring, trail, recumbent, or tandem configurations.
Road touring bicycles have a frame geometry — with a longer wheelbase, shallow seat and head angles — designed to provide a comfortable ride, to prevent conflicts between heels and panniers and to offer stable, predictable handling when laden with baggage. Touring frames often feature provisions for the attachment of fenders and mounting points for carrier racks and panniers.[1]
Modern road tourers may employ 700C (622 mm) wheels — the same diameter as a road (racing) bicycle. Other road touring bikes may feature wider rims and more clearance in the frame for wider bicycle tires. Before the 1980s, many touring bikes for the North American market were built with 27-inch (630 mm) wheels which have a slightly larger diameter.
Other touring bikes use 26-inch wheels for both off-road and on-road use. Some touring bicycles, such as the Rivendell Atlantis and Surly Long Haul Trucker, offer frames designed for 26-inch (ISO 559) wheels or for 700C wheels, with the frame geometry optimal for the selected wheel size. Specially made touring tires for 26-inch wheels are now widely available, especially in developing countries, where 700C may be difficult to obtain. Hence, on the mass ride from Paris to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme asked all riders to use 26-inch wheels.
Factors that affect rolling resistance include tire air pressure, tread and tire width as well as wheel size.[2][3]
Touring bicycles may be equipped with luggage racks front and rear, designed to hold panniers or other forms of luggage and may feature chromoly steel frames and forks. They may also have durable hubs, double-wall rims, and wheels with as many as 48 spokes. To accommodate long rides, touring bikes have comfortable handlebars and saddles.
See also [edit]
- Bicycle
- Bicycle rack
- Bicycle trailer
- Bicycle touring
- Pannier
- Road bicycle
- Saddlebag
- Touring motorcycle
- Utility bicycle
- Mixed Terrain Cycle-Touring
References [edit]
- ^ Ballantine, Richard (2001). Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book. New York: Overlook Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 1-58567-112-6.
- ^ Jobst, Brandt (1996-08-08). "Rolling resistance of Tires". Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ^ Heine, Jan; Vande Kamp, Mark (2006). "he Performance of Tires (Rolling Resistance Tests)". Bicycle Quarterly 5 (1): 1. Retrieved 2/2/2013.
External links [edit]
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