extended touring q's

[MeraY]

What would be a good bike for extended touring?would it be able to take corners without having to dismount and man handle?what would also be a good trailer?baggage for the bike?what would you bring on a 500 mile ride?what would this all cost?sorry,I actually joined just to ask this.although I really like this forum

 

[Christophe Noel]

You need a blue bike. :sombrero:

Seriously, I don't think you provided enough information to get a solid answer. Are you planning to travel on pavement, dirt roads, or singletrack trail? Is this the only trip you plan to do, or do you have other trips in mind eventually? Where is this trip you have planned?

 

[MeraY]

You need a blue bike. :sombrero:

Seriously, I don't think you provided enough information to get a solid answer. Are you planning to travel on pavement, dirt roads, or singletrack trail? Is this the only trip you plan to do, or do you have other trips in mind eventually? Where is this trip you have planned?

I was thinking pavement AND dirt roads and single track trails.I was thinking of biking from colorado springs,to las vegas.then down to L.A.I was thinking I would need a bike with gearing for the mountains,although I don't know what it would be like on the flats of nevada.I would like to take around 1 month of vacation to complete this.

 

[MeraY]

How would one prepare for such a long ride?what about training for steep grades?

 

[Christophe Noel]

Co Springs to LA by way of Vegas? I suppose there's some cool spots along the way, but that's going to primarily be a traditional road tour. It would be pretty tricky to fold in everything from singletrack to loooooong stretches of tarmac on anything but a mountain bike fitted with light panniers.

For stretches of pavement like you would encounter, the ideal platform is a proper road touring bike, but that would rule out any singletrack. The best platform for singletrack is without question a mountain bike of some flavor, but that isn't always the most effecient for riding a thousand miles of road shoulder. I think you'll have to make a pretty serious comprimise if you want to do it all.

One thing is for certain, once you get to Durango or Grand Junction, your singletrack options westward are near zero outside of a couple sections here and there.

 

[MeraY]

Co Springs to LA by way of Vegas? I suppose there's some cool spots along the way, but that's going to primarily be a traditional road tour. It would be pretty tricky to fold in everything from singletrack to loooooong stretches of tarmac on anything but a mountain bike fitted with light panniers.

For stretches of pavement like you would encounter, the ideal platform is a proper road touring bike, but that would rule out any singletrack. The best platform for singletrack is without question a mountain bike of some flavor, but that isn't always the most effecient for riding a thousand miles of road shoulder. I think you'll have to make a pretty serious comprimise if you want to do it all.

One thing is for certain, once you get to Durango or Grand Junction, your singletrack options westward are near zero outside of a couple sections here and there.

The only thing that's scary for me,is riding on a road,and seeing that most people don't pay attention to bicycles,and doing this for 800 plus miles.I think I should start small and work my way up,with baby steps.would a 400 mile ride be a good start for a beginner extended touring rider?what would one pack for one of these trips?I was looking at some single wheeled trailers,those are super neat,I think it will work better than a two wheel,since you won't be as wide,it leans with you,and it can hold 75lbs

 

[Christophe Noel]

Eventually, you'll have to decide what you want out of these miles. Traditional road touring is a great way to knock out the miles. It's pretty easy to put 50-80 miles in an average road touring day. I've done a lot of road touring and for the most part, it's fun enough, but in some places it can be outrageously boring. Imagine stretches of road like those through Kansas that are strait and flat for hundreds of miles. Ick.

There are more and more people getting off the pavement and folding in more off roads. From where you are, you could do a nice loop of a few days using a mix of paved and gravel forest roads. For that, you could use a touring bike or mountain bike. If you want to fold in any singletrack, that will be a mountain bike.

Regarding trailers, that's just one way to haul your kit.