Touring Equipment

When I rode a 29ers, I was a bit surprised how much better the wheel rolls to the point of almost not needing suspension, so I reckon you should get the rigid frame, ride it and see how it feel before deciding on a suspension.

Oh and 2.5 days 310 miles, was incredible, cycling around Norfolk.

East Dereham to Great Dunmow then through Braintree, Colchester, Ipswich, Lowestoft then up along the coast following it around to Kings Lynn (shit hole) then back to East Dereham.

My bicycle handled perfectly, literally It's the perfect bicycle for me. I got back and put the bicycle in the car and noticed a spoke was snapped but the wheel was still true so when the hell that happened I don't know!

All of our sleeping was done in bivi bags we had one night of rain I just rolled over and hid from it!

Pictures to follow shortly - along with a map of the route, I'd recommend it to all if you fancy a quick trip around some beautiful parts of the country/ coast. I'd quite like to try and do it in 2 days next time, although I'd need some kind of support and a decent sleep on the night in between!

Kings lynn, bloody hell, why go there out of choice!? I have a theory about people that live on marshs, and more specifically, isolated towns at the end of marshs, but I'll spare you my analogy as you've probably come to the same conclusion!
Sweet ride though, i've yet to trying bivi'ing, sounds fun (in summer).

ED - yes, my thoughts exactly, start off rigid, and take it from there.
Next question... internal gears or not. Already have 9spd deore right here, but in the long term would an 11spd alfine be a stupid idea?

go for derailleur, cheap and easy, and have a nice direct feel compare to a hubs gear (have an Alfine II).

it work beautifully, been used for everything from everyday riding to hauling cargo, went through the worst of winter and all that, my bike have eccentric BB, so you may find it annoying to reposition the brake as well to line up with the hubs gear.

as much as I like my hubs gear, I find the 'loose' feel, the lack of direct feel quite odd.

spec, were you using this bivvy? how was it?

http://www.alpkit.com/shop/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16312&category_id=253

Perfect chap, fitted it in one of the compression bags I recommended before, had loads of room in it for clothes too. I also think that you can fold the bivi in to Itself for storage (if that makes sense!)

My only problem with it is that it doesn't have a zip to seal it at the top should you get stuck in rain, but the bivi is so deep you can easily fold it or hold it in place with a couple of pegs.

29er Karate Monkey does look pretty sweet, and only about £300-350 for frameset? DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM DO NOT BUY ON A WHIM

Not sure why, but I just feel 26" wheel is daft for something that will spend 99% of its life on tarmac, gravel and dust. I guess 26" is more sensible for heading out to less developed parts of the world were 700c/29er/36er tyres are not available.
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Tell that to the people who tour on moultons!

Touring on the Moulton is crazy.

There, I said it, perfectly fine if it's on a road, but anything slightly resemblance a road, hard bloody work.

I know, it's possible, just hard work at time (climbing especially).

Anybody got a touring or audax frame 51-53cm they don't want?

Some very good touring advice;

http://joecruz.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/carrying-gear-while-touring-on-a-road-bike/

spinergies carboneZ and trailer? Why not go th whole hog and take a carboneZ TT bike + trailer.

Serious though, some great info in that link for beginners (like me) for what does what to the bike. He highlights my worries about trailers though, reason FOR taking the trailer is so can ride a bike that is quicker and not kill it, against is the trailer might just tear off the dropouts :S

I reckon fig. 2 is perfect, it's the best way to enjoy the scenery AND the ride, someone already did that and have 30kg worth of stuff, and it's winter stuff;

I feel a trailer might be overkill, hasn't ridden a single wheel one though so my experienced is limited to two wheels one, so it probably handle better than I though it would.

need to try it out.

you get a tent/ bivy delux in that setup?

In anything above 4degrees nighttime (so no need for monster winter bag) and with 1x mate to share load of cooking/tools/tent I reckon whats in your picture would be spot on.

Anyone have experience, or advice to which "Touring" Hubs i should go for?
options - 2nd hand Phil's, new Goldtec "Touring", or new Royce "Venus"

I have the option to rebuild my current SS wheelset or build up a new wheelset, as i'm gearing up my Singular for some touring. Currently running Goldtec XC front and Hope pro 2 rear laced to 36h Salsa Gordo's. Front wheel is fine I guess (if i were to keep the gordos) but the rear hub has a narrow spline like 5/6spd (dirtjumper set up?) So the hub is no good to whack a 10spd cassette on without a new hope specific freehub. Bit of a pain and also the Hub is clickey, which is nice for off-road, but shit on quiet country lanes. The rims are nice, but maybe a little wide for what will be mainly road riding. They will hold a 1.5" tyre minimum (from experience) without effecting the shape/ride of the tyre, so fine with the right tyre choice.

So, I could get a Goldtech "Touring" rear hub and rebuild the rear, sorting out a matching front when funds allow.
The Royce Venus and Second-hand Phil's (both 32 hole) would mean a complete new build, but a choice of a more suitable rim, like the Velocity Dyad?

Can't imagine any to be poor. I have a Goldtech track hub rear wheel and a Phil rear fixed/free, both of which are bombproof. Royce Track hubs have been in my dream track wheelset build for ever, so assuming they will hold their own.

For the money, It seems more sensible to buy british (and new) as oppose to second hand phils, but anyone got anything that might highlight one above the rest?

Royce & Goldtechs are both mighty fine hubs. Don't see why higher end hopes couldn't be considered either.

Cheers Brickman, do you use either the Goldtec or Royce?
my experience of Hope hubs, until now, has been they are noisey and tinny, which is why i was avoiding them. I'm sure they may have some smooth rollers, but i cant stand the an overly clickey hub on a quiet road.

I went for Phils because Travis used them on his 10+ years touring around the world, he said that he still use the same hubs, just serviced it every now and then.

touring hubs is better designed for a fully laden touring bike, as oppose to MTB hubs which weren't despite being reasonably strong.

http://www.downtheroad.org/Equipment/Wheels/Phil_Wood_Touring_Hubs.htm

Hub gears: Anyone used/using them? I've only really looked into the Rohloff 14spd and the Shimano 11spd hubs but everything I've read makes them seem like the obvious choice for touring (minimal maintenance, ridiculously reliable, good gear ranges etc).
Is there a catch and do you have to have vertical dropouts?

Also if anyone can recommend a half decent touring frame (not too expensive, happy to buy 2nd hand) with all the mounts, fixings etc you'd expect (something like the Surly LHT), it would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.downtheroad.org/Equipment/Wheels/Phil_Wood_Touring_Hubs.htm

Interesting read, cheers Ed.
If money were no issue I'd go with phils and never look back. However, Im thinking, start with my cheapest (and quickest to get the bike running) option of the goldtec and rebuilding my rear existing wheel. I can't think of a reason to eliminate it from my options, yet.The next few months will give me a chance to "test" it and reassess if needed.
Even though the weather is filthy, while I have some time off in Cornwall I'm keen to dissappear for a few days on the bike.

^
I love the idea of internal geared hub, but even if I could afford a Rohloff I still think " should" anything happen it could leave you stranded. Seems like you can limp out of most situations with an external derailleur set up and chances of replacement parts on the road are easier.
That said so many people do use the Rohloff, maybe they just don't go wrong. I nave no prolonged experience of them. Recycled on here built a serious touring machine using one, maybe has some friendly advice after using it for a while.

That article is comparing Shimano cup and cone hubs to Phil sealed units which is hardly a sensible comparison.

Surely it would be more sensible to compare Phil sealed hubs to any one of the other thousands of sealed hubs on the market?

It's also worth noting that it's a pretty old article too.

Still went for phils, nice to not worry about the wheelset.

Hub gears: Anyone used/using them? I've only really looked into the Rohloff 14spd and the Shimano 11spd hubs but everything I've read makes them seem like the obvious choice for touring (minimal maintenance, ridiculously reliable, good gear ranges etc).
Is there a catch and do you have to have vertical dropouts?

Also if anyone can recommend a half decent touring frame (not too expensive, happy to buy 2nd hand) with all the mounts, fixings etc you'd expect (something like the Surly LHT), it would be greatly appreciated.

I don't think they have any down sides to be honest. Well apart from the fact they weight more, but you wouldn't give a shit about that if your touring.