Best bike for long distance touring?

[john peck]

Why do you think you need any kind of suspension fork for long-distance touring? Lots of people travel all over the world on fixed-fork bikes, often on atrocious roads and trails. Relatively few have major catastrophes.

I also don't see many suspensions here:

I watch theses videos in a daily basis. Virtual vacations have preserved my sanity in lock down. Right now
we have a real problem. Too many people pent up by C-19 are now hitting the road & creating more
greenhouse gases at the worst possible time. I drove 120 mi. in the last 3 days looking for somewhere
locally to ¨recreate¨. That´s as much as I drove in a 3 month period during 2020. I am consumed with guilt.
We must recognize the serious nature of global warming & the millions of climate refugees it has & is creating!
Bike touring is a wonderful option & would be so much better if there were more routes safe to use.!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I watch theses videos in a daily basis. Virtual vacations have preserved my sanity in lock down. Right now
we have a real problem. Too many people pent up by C-19 are now hitting the road & creating more
greenhouse gases at the worst possible time. I drove 120 mi. in the last 3 days looking for somewhere
locally to ¨recreate¨. That´s as much as I drove in a 3 month period during 2020. I am consumed with guilt.
We must recognize the serious nature of global warming & the millions of climate refugees it has & is creating!
Bike touring is a wonderful option & would be so much better if there were more routes safe to use.!

Yes, I was averaging about ten miles per week (on the car) this time last year.

You and I are are very lucky because in WA and OR there is pretty accessible infrastructure for decent bicycle travel close by. And by "infrastructure" I don't just mean bike paths and the like: you also need to consider things like campgrounds with hiker-biker campsites, cyclist-friendly hotels, and decent bike shops.

Bluntly you can't go far wrong in Washington for a First Bike Trip if you just go to the San Juans. There are decent campgrounds and hostels that are fine places to stay (although not all of the campgrounds are particularly helpful for an e-bike, and I've yet to find a hotel or motel there that will let me put a bike in my room). The towns are all interesting hangs and frankly there is less hassle traveling the islands by bike than by car.

Planning a trip right now: it will start and end at my front door and traverse Eastern WA to the Idaho border and back.

 

[john peck]

Yes, I was averaging about ten miles per week (on the car) this time last year.

You and I are are very lucky because in WA and OR there is pretty accessible infrastructure for decent bicycle travel close by. And by "infrastructure" I don't just mean bike paths and the like: you also need to consider things like campgrounds with hiker-biker campsites, cyclist-friendly hotels, and decent bike shops.

Bluntly you can't go far wrong in Washington for a First Bike Trip if you just go to the San Juans. There are decent campgrounds and hostels that are fine places to stay (although not all of the campgrounds are particularly helpful for an e-bike, and I've yet to find a hotel or motel there that will let me put a bike in my room). The towns are all interesting hangs and frankly there is less hassle traveling the islands by bike than by car.

Planning a trip right now: it will start and end at my front door and traverse Eastern WA to the Idaho border and back.

Lucky indeed, I bought a discover pass,(do I need it on a bike?) So many camps, etc. & certainly more
routes than many states. I´ve considered the San Juans but that stretch from Oak Harbor to Anacortes
is a wee bit daunting traffic wise especially now that the roads are already full of tourists. Still upgrading
the ´bus bike´, very frustrating getting suitable parts for this ´vintage´ bike. My attempt to electrify it was
a complete bust, stays just to narrow,same with the fork. Your ride sounds great; need company? I
might be able to keep up. I can carry two 13ah & an 8ah on the bike without need of a trailer, but have
multiple trailer options. A supported group ride would be cool. ( safety in numbers?)

 

[EMGX]

I didn't modify the stock axle, I made a thru axle from some 12mm aluminum rod with a center hole. It isn't pretty but it works with the trailer, it has only been on the bike when I used the trailer, otherwise I use the stock axle.

View attachment 65976



View attachment 65977

I did take the BH gravel bike on a 3 day tour/ride last October but didn't end up taking the trailer that I made the thru axle above to pull it. Instead I carried what I brought in panniers.

If the weather cooperates I'm planning several days camp/ride in eastern Oregon in May before it gets hot in June. The gravel bike did fine but the frame and/or 24 spoke wheels seemed a little weak for hauling gear. This time I'm pretty sure I will take an old Walmart Schwinn Hybrid that I recently added a TSDZ2 mid drive to. It has a sturdier frame with 36 spoke wheels and I have two batteries that I will have in the trailer instead of mounted on the bike to keep the bike weight low. The QR skewer for the trailer also fits this bike without having to rig something up like I did for the gravel bike thru axle. I'll carry lighter stuff in the panniers.

 

[john peck]

I did take the BH gravel bike on a 3 day tour/ride last October but didn't end up taking the trailer that I made the thru axle above to pull it. Instead I carried what I brought in panniers.
View attachment 85292


If the weather cooperates I'm planning several days camp/ride in eastern Oregon in May before it gets hot in June. The gravel bike did fine but the frame and/or 24 spoke wheels seemed a little weak for hauling gear. This time I'm pretty sure I will take an old Walmart Schwinn Hybrid that I recently added a TSDZ2 mid drive to. It has a sturdier frame with 36 spoke wheels and I have two batteries that I will have in the trailer instead of mounted on the bike to keep the bike weight low. The QR skewer for the trailer also fits this bike without having to rig something up like I did for the gravel bike thru axle. I'll carry lighter stuff in the panniers.
View attachment 85290

Eastern Orygun......yeah! Good place to get as far from the city as possible. Ah to be a high plains drifter again.
Too bad, realistically I´d have to drive or take 3 wks. riding to get there. My restoration of my acoustic bike
is near complete. so I could catch a train to Portland,(yike), & bus it as far as the Dalles. March would have
been better, frosty mornings. I bet it´s getting hot already.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Lucky indeed, I bought a discover pass,(do I need it on a bike?) So many camps, etc. & certainly more
routes than many states. I´ve considered the San Juans but that stretch from Oak Harbor to Anacortes
is a wee bit daunting traffic wise especially now that the roads are already full of tourists. Still upgrading
the ´bus bike´, very frustrating getting suitable parts for this ´vintage´ bike. My attempt to electrify it was
a complete bust, stays just to narrow,same with the fork. Your ride sounds great; need company? I
might be able to keep up. I can carry two 13ah & an 8ah on the bike without need of a trailer, but have
multiple trailer options. A supported group ride would be cool. ( safety in numbers?)

While there is a lot of traffic north of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, the shoulder is very wide and there are scenic and interesting alternative routes. Where it gets heinous is at Deception Pass Bridge, which is busy, shoulderless, and with a narrow busy walkway that isn't really feasible to walk a bike on. I've crossed that bridge on a bike many times and every time I did it I swore I'd never do it again.

Fidalgo Island also has too much traffic and no shoulders, but if you get off of 20 at the first turnoff (left turn at Pass Lake onto Rosario Road), you get yourself onto quieter and slower roads to Anacortes or the ferry terminal -- although still with poor shoulders and some scary sight lines.

For a supported group ride I'd recommend an itinerary about like this:

1. Day one: start from Swinomish Casino, ride through Anacortes to the ferry terminal, take the boat to Orcas Island, ride (preferably on quiet roads) to Eastsound. Stay at Mount Baker Farm. Golden Tree Hostel is unfortunately closed.
2. Day two: go back to the ferry, take the boat to San Juan Island. Stay at Lakedale Resort. Explore the island.
3. Day three: go back to the ferry, stop off at Lopez Island and explore. Take the ferry from Lopez to Anacortes and ride back to the Swinomish Casino.

You could easily add extra days to such an expedition -- in particular an extra day or morning on Orcas to ride to the top of Mount Constitution would be a good idea, although you could also easily kill a day exploring more of San Juan Island or Lopez Island. Another option is to start from Bay View State Park and ride the Padilla Bay Shore Trail and the wide shoulder on busy Highway 20 to the Casino.

Note that none of the proposed days are particularly ambitious either.

This tour could just as easily be done unsupported.

I'm not yet even sure that the eastern WA trip is even possible or sane, in particular coming back across the northern part of the state and in the northeast where I suspect some of the roads I want to ride are still full of snow. There is one very long day from Soap Lake to Davenport that is 80+ miles without any good places to charge on the way.

 

[john peck]

While there is a lot of traffic north of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, the shoulder is very wide and there are scenic and interesting alternative routes. Where it gets heinous is at Deception Pass Bridge,

I'm not yet even sure that the eastern WA trip is even possible or sane, in particular coming back across the northern part of the state and in the northeast where I suspect some of the roads I want to ride are still full of snow. There is one very long day from Soap Lake to Davenport that is 80+ miles without any good places to charge on the way.

Yes, there is a kinda side rte for that stretch from the pass to Anacortes that´s less ´heinous´, but I´ve done
the San Juans & not really eager to return. I´m not sayin that those who never have should balk; Itś a worthwhile
trip. Itś flat & fun riding around Fidalgo too.
I didn´t realize the rte. you were thinking about was that far north. I was thinking more in terms of the Iron Horse/
John Wayne....or anywhere with a bit of fishing along the way. My real desire is to get back to the John Day
River country without having to drive. Now that my acoustic is near ready, I can bus it. That bike is really light,
& geared super low to haul my beat up old carcass.

 

[BTfl]

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