GoGeezGo : Selecting a touring bike

Rack/pannier set-up for touring paved roads

If you just plan to ride a bicycle short distances over level ground, almost any bike will do.

But if you want to go on extended self-supported bike tours, you should get a touring bicycle, and one that has been designed to do the kind of touring you want to do.

Touring bikes, unlike road bikes, are designed to carry heavy loads, and to be comfortable for long days in the saddle.

Some touring bikes are intended primarily for tours over paved surfaces, while others are equipped with fatter tires and marketed primarily for dirt.

Both varieties usually accommodate front and rear racks for hauling gear and have attachments to enable you to carry several water bottles.

If you plan to tour, your bike should have a low “granny” gear to make pedaling easier up steep hills. Disc brakes will make it easier for you to stop and control your speed.

Before buying any bike, make sure it fits your body. If it doesn’t fit, it will not be comfortable to ride and you are unlikely to spend much time on it.

When it comes to carrying gear on a bike, there are two basic systems: traditional rack/panniers and bike-packing bags.

For touring on paved surfaces, I prefer the racks/panniers, because they’re easier to pack, load and unload, and they accommodate more cargo than bike-packing bags.

If I were racing off road, or doing an off-road route that had a lot of technically challenging parts, I would rely on bike-packing bags, because they’re more streamlined and stable than racks/panniers. Bikes equipped with bike-packing bags are also easier to push through a route’s hike-a-bike sections than bikes with racks and panniers.

For tours that stick to more moderate off-road terrain, I sometimes supplement a basic bike-packing bag set-up with a lightweight rack to accommodate additional cargo.

There is no law dictating how you must outfit your bike to carry your gear. Some touring cyclists carry their cargo in special bicycle trailers. My friend Dave uses panniers on the front of his bike and a homemade milk crate/backpack combo on his rear rack.

As a rule, however, the lighter your load, the happier you will be on a bicycle tour.