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Touring bicycle

A touring bicycle is a bicycle either
specially designed for, or modified to handleRecumbent  tourers
bicycle touring. What makes a touring bike
different from other bicycles is its abilityRecumbents are very different in that the
to carry gear on racks mounted to the frontrider sits in a seat that's reclined to some
and rear of the bicycle frame. Other commonlydegree. The rider's legs are in front of them
found differences are a longer wheel baseand these bikes either have above seat or
with sturdier wheels for carrying morebelow  seat  steering.
weight, mudguard/fender mounting points,
triple water bottle mounts and a framesetTandem  tourers
that  allows  for  wider  tires.
Tandems are bikes built for two riders and
Types  of  touring  bicyclesmany couples tour on them. They can make it
easier for two riders of different abilities
Touring bicycles are available in manyto ride together but the tandem frame doesn't
different types, such as road, trail,allow for any more luggage than a single bike
recumbent  and  tandem.does. This limitation can be overcome by
pulling  a  trailer.
Road  tourers
Touring  bike  specifications
Road tourers are usually built around 700C
wheels which are the same diameter as aTouring bicycles are usually equipped with
racing bicycle but typically the touring bikeluggage racks front and rear, designed to
will have wider rims and clearance in thehold panniers or other forms of luggage.
frame for wider tires. This is the classicBecause of the increased weight requirements
touring bike. Prior to the 1980s almost alland reliability demands, touring bicycles
touring bikes were built on 700C or similartypically use road handlebars and saddles for
but  now  obsolete  27"  wheels.long-distance comfort, combined with rugged
hubs, heavy-duty rims and 36-spoke wheels to
Recently some builders, especially Thornprovide the durability, reliability and wide
Cycles of England, have attempted togearing essential for loaded touring.
popularise the 26" mountain bike wheel sizeSometimes instead of panniers bicycle
for touring bikes, whether intended fortrailers are towed behind for carrying the
off-road or on-road use. Other builders suchgear; these are sometimes preferred as they
as Roberts and Hewitt have followed suit andprovide a low center of gravity and can be
offer 26" wheeled touring bikes alongsidedetached  easily.
conventional 700c wheeled machines. Claimed
advantages of the slightly smaller wheelTouring bicycle frames typically have a long
include additional strength, worldwide tirewheelbase and stable steering geometry, with
availability, lighter weight and lowernumerous attachment points for luggage racks,
rolling  resistance.fenders (mudguards), lights, water bottles,
tools and spare parts. Chainstays must be
In practice most 26" tires are made forlong enough to accommodate panniers without
mountain bikes so are too wide, heavy andinterfering with the rider's heels during
deeply treaded to be useful on a road touringpedaling, and the entire structure must be
bike. Few lightweight, narrow tires arestiff enough to safely handle long, fast
available for 26" wheels, which negates anydescents  with  the  machine  fully  loaded.
weight advantage from the smaller rim and
shorter spokes. Rolling resistance is hotlyFor gearing touring bicycles traditionally
debated; theoretically a 26" fat tyre (say 38employ wide-ratio derailleur gears, often
mm width) has less rolling resistance than awith a very low-speed "granny gear" for
narrow 700c tire (28 mm width being typicalloaded ascents. However in recent years,
for touring) due to lower casing deformation,because of their robustness and very
but the larger 700c tyre will roll better onlow-maintenance, internal-geared hubs have
rough roads, is lighter and has lessbecome  popular.
aerodynamic drag. In any case, the difference
in diameter between the two sizes is only inTouring bicycles are usually equipped with
the order of one inch (25 mm) or 4%, so itcantilever brakes or linear-pull brakes,
should not make a drastic noticeableinstead of the caliper brakes used on racing
difference.bicycles. The need for mudguard (fender) and
wide tyre clearance precludes the use of
There are numerous variants on thetypical dual-pivot road brakes, which would
traditional road tourer depending on thebe excessively large and flexible if made to
weight carried and the type of terrainfit a touring bike. Some newer touring
expected. They vary from very lightweightbicycles use disc brakes, because of their
bikes, little heavier than racing bikes tosuperior stopping power and improved
exceptionally tough and heavy bikes designedperformance in wet weather. However, tourists
for carrying very heavy loads over theare inherently conservative in equipment
roughest roads. The former are often calledchoice because of the need to repair and
audax bikes while the latter are sometimessource  parts  a  long  way  from  home.
referred to as expedition touring bikes. For
expedition touring, mountain bikes areThus, touring bikes trade off some speed for
frequently used, these can usually be easilyextra utility and ruggedness. This
adapted to touring by the addition ofcombination of features is popular with
panniers  and  road  tyres.commuters and couriers as well.



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