specifically for carrying heavy panniers and granting a comfortable ride over long distances with good steering. It has drop handlebars (like a racing bike), but they are set in a more upright position, 700c wheels, and usually a steel frame, mudguards and a triple chain-ring.
Although lighter, a racing bike is not really suited to cycle touring as the frame geometry is more severe and most racing bikes do not come with seatstay lugs for the rear pannier rack (although there are ways of overcoming this). It also does not respond too well to hairpin descents when fully laden with panniers. Having said this, I have done three mountain cycling tours on a bicycle made up of racing bike and hybrid bike components to good effect. The hybrid bike is something between a touring bike and a mountain bike in that it offers the relaxed frame geometry and larger 700c wheels of the touring bike, but has straight or rising handlebars like the mountain bike, at least 21 gears, and a sloping top tube. Cycle tourists who suffer from back or neck pains should definitely ‘test drive’ a hybrid if they are not sure which type of bicycle to choose.
Mountain bikes are robust, affordable and often surprisingly suitable for cycle touring. They usually come with chunky, knobbly tyres which are great for all-terrain adventures, but not suitable for cycle touring on roads. Replace them with slicker, thinner tyres that will reduce the effort you have to exert on paved roads; 26 x 1.5 or 1.75 tyres with good tread are recommended. For mountainous terrain, a triple chain-ring (30/42/52 teeth) together with a Mega-range freewheel/sprocket on the back wheel (11–34 teeth) will get you up the steepest hills imaginable, but smaller range sprockets are usually adequate for most rides.
Folding bikes are becoming increasingly popular for cycle touring, especially if you are also considering using public transport. Brompton and Dahon folding bikes with 20in wheels are sound choices, but make sure you buy one fit for touring (not commuting) and able to carry loaded panniers. There are also folding mountain bikes with 26in wheels. Visit www.foldabikes.com, www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk and www.dahon.com.
If you haven't already got a bicycle for touring, make sure you buy one from a reputable bike shop. They can advise you on the correct frame size for your height. To determine the correct saddle height for a comfortable ride, sit on the bike saddle and line up one of the crankarms with the seat tube, then put your heel on the pedal and adjust the saddle height until your leg is almost straight.
If you plan to camp you will probably need two rear pannier bags, a handlebar bag and a rear rack bag. The rear rack bag is not essential as you can strap gear onto the top of the pannier rack itself (rolled up bike bag and so on), but I find it useful for carrying food, cooking gear, repair kit, spare bike bits and the like. Clothes, tent, sleeping bag and mat can then be put in the rear panniers, leaving the handlebar bag free for valuables. Always line your panniers with durable bin liners to keep everything dry when the heavens open. If these four bags do not suffice, you either need to trim your gear down, or consider front bags, which many cyclists like because they counterbalance the rear panniers.
Make sure you buy a strong, good quality rear rack to take the weight of heavy panniers. Altura make some great bags and their Arran handlebar bag (5 litre) clicks into the Rixen and Kaul quick-release support that can be left permanently attached to the handlebars.
Finally, a frame with two water-bottle carriers is better than a frame that only has one. You can buy still mineral water in 1½ litre plastic bottles at any supermarket or alimentation shop (2 litre bottles are too fat) on a daily basis, rather than having to keep topping up those non-transparent bike bottles which soon make the water taste of plastic.
Repairs
Knowing your bicycle and how to carry out repairs, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, are important considerations in cycle touring. The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes by Todd Downs gives detailed descriptions with photographs covering bicycle basics, maintenance, and all repairs imaginable, and there are many other good, detailed books on the market. Serious repairs, or perhaps the replacement of a component, will inevitably mean visiting the nearest bicycle shop on a tour, but you can usually carry out common repairs yourself on the road. Two of the most common hiccups on a tour are punctures (flats) and broken spokes. Read up on and practise how to remove the freewheel/cassette on your rear wheel before a tour in case you have to replace a broken spoke behind the rear cogs.
Puncture (flat tyre)
If you complete a cycling tour without suffering a single puncture then consider yourself lucky! Since the rear wheel takes most of your weight and the rear pannier weight, it is usually this wheel's inner tube that punctures (and is also the more complicated of the two because of the rear derailleur and chain).
If it's raining, try to find some shelter. Deflate the punctured tyre completely, and if it's a rear tyre puncture turn the bicycle upside down with the saddle on the ground, having removed the panniers. This also protects the rear derailleur from getting damaged.
Puncture repair, Gorges du Tarn (Route 8)
To remove the rear wheel, shift the derailleur to the smallest cog on the freewheel/cassette and innermost front chain ring. Remember where the axle sits in the dropouts. Release the wheel's quick-release (if your bicycle has them), otherwise loosen both nuts either side of the dropouts. Pull the rear derailleur back to allow the cogs to clear the chain. Lift the wheel (you may have to pinch the tyre either side of the brake pads to slip the tyre between them) and pull it forwards to clear the chain and derailleur. If tyres are fat you will probably have to release cantilever brakes or V brakes in order to pull the tyre past the brake pads.
For a front wheel puncture simply deflate the inner tube fully and pull the wheel out between the brake shoes after releasing the quick release or loosening the nuts either side of the dropouts.
Removing the tyre and inner tube: start tyre removal directly opposite the valve area, squeezing the sides of the tyre towards the centre and inserting a tyre lever under the lip of the tyre. Lift this up and over the edge of the wheel's rim, then insert another tyre lever under the edge of the tyre about 3in from the other lever and lift the tyre edge over the rim here too. By sliding and lifting one of the levers sideways, thus releasing more of the tyre's edge, you should soon be able to lift the whole edge of the tyre clear of the wheel's rim on one side.
Pull the inner tube out from inside the tyre, starting opposite the valve area. With most of the tube out now unscrew the nut on the valve and lift the valve out of the valve hole to completely remove the tube from the tyre. Depending on your circumstances, you may now either simply opt to replace the punctured tube with a new one and repair the punctured tube later on at the next campsite or hotel stop, or patch the puncture if you do not have a spare inner tube. Visually check the inside of the tyre and run a thin cloth around its interior, just to be sure there are no sharp objects inside or protruding through the wall that will simply cause another puncture.
If you plan to repair the inner tube, chalk or mark around the hole area after inflating the tube and locating the puncture hole. Next deflate the tube, place it on a flat, clean surface and roughen the puncture area with some sandpaper. Apply a smooth layer of glue around the hole, just slightly bigger in circumference than the repair patch you will attach to it after a few minutes (once the glue has dried and become tacky). Firmly apply a patch that will substantially cover the hole (it will expand when the tube has been inflated) and make sure there are no air bubbles or folds in the patch before inflating the tube. If you suffer a blow out, the hole will usually be too large to repair, so your only option is replacing the inner tube with a spare one.
Happy
