wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (01/29/85)
> I have a sport/touring Schwinn LeTour and from the recommendations > of the guy at the bike shop, " I need a heavier bike". Any > suggestions. He said I need cantilever breaks, heavier wheels with > four spoke crossing, heavier break pads, different crank shaft,etc. > In other words at least ($600.00) to get me out the door and into a > week long ride in San Fran. or anywhere. Are there any alternatives > that are less expensive?? I love my bike, but did not relize > how much I enjoyed touring at the time of purchase. Beware of anyone who tells you what you "need" to go touring. I've seen people on tours that would boggle your mind, riding bikes that would make you shake your head with wonder/sympathy/amazement/ disgust! What your dealer is suggesting is some really heavy duty touring equipment. The first thing to get straight is: how much weight is the bike going to have to carry? This is a function not only of your weight but how long the trip is (on a longer trip, you have to carry more gear). For example: I weight about 210 lbs. On my last long tour (6 wks) I was carrying about 45 pounds of gear. Assuming that my bike (minus the wheels) weighs at least 25 pounds (don't forget that each water bottle weights about a pound!), my wheels have to support about 270 pounds! For me, the argument for heavy duty equipment makes sense: I have a custom built frame of heavy-duty Columbus tubing, cantilever brakes, and a 48 spoke rear wheel (!)/ 40 spoke front wheel with Super Champion 1-1/4" rims. Also, it might be of interest to note that I bought those wheels midway through the tour, after I had broken a couple of spokes, blown out at least 3 1-1/8" tires, and cracked my rear rim! On the other hand, you probably don't have the kind of mass that I do. Judging from the fact that you are a woman bicyclist (and so presumeably are in good shape), you probably weight between 100 and 140 lbs. Since you are interested in a "week long ride", you probably don't need to carry nearly as much stuff as I did. Your LeTour is a very sturdy machine and will probably serve you quite well. I would recommend to anyone, however, that they use 1-1/4" tires when touring, unless they are VERY light. The difference in speed due to rolling resistance is completely wiped out by the time you will spend fixing your first flat! One more thing: by new "crank shaft" I think you mean a new "crank set". A triple crankset is almost a must for touring, unless you are a VERY strong rider. If you have never ridden with packs before on hills (I mean real hills, like mountains), you don't realize how inadequate your present low gear is. If you can't afford a triple crank, at least try to get a small inner chainwheel to give you some climbing gears. (Note: referring to my first paragraph above, you may be wondering how I can justify this strong advice. In fact, some people don't need low gears when they tour. I had the pleasure of riding from Oregon to Colorado with two English gentlemen who were 65 and 75 (!) years old; the 65 year old was riding a 3-speed, and the 75 year old a 5-speed (give him a break, he's 75 years old, after all!) The damndest part of it was that I (23 at the time) couldn't beat the 75 year old up a hill until 2 weeks into the tour!) By the way, this seems like a good time to point out that I am seeking companions for a tour of northern Washington/Idaho/Montana (<= 3 weeks) to begin as soon as the academic year is over here at UW (about 6/15). Anyone out there in net.land interested? If so, please e-mail me. Happy cycling! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh no! I've got . . . . . HAPPY FEET!" Dave Wagner University of Washington Comp Sci Department wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa} {ihnp4|decvax}!uw-beaver!uw-june!wagner