After our last tour we learned some things about the equipment we choose for our adventure. We also did a small camping trip along BC railway grade trails. In places the gravel was large and very loose. Since we were finding ourselves on loose serfaces more and more I knew we needed larger volume tires, possibly with a more knobby tread. Our old Nishiki Internationals could not accomodate anything larger than a 32mm tire so it was time to get new bikes.
The requirements of the new bikes would be the ability to accomodate large tires with fenders. A 40mm tire would be wide enough on a 700c wheel and a 1.5 or even 1.75 on a 26" wheel. The Surly long haul trucker is affordable and has long chainstays for good fender clearance and comes with a full suite of braze-ons. The 1-1/8" headtube also offers greater handlebar adjustablilty and, in the case of large frames, much needed front end stiffness to improve handling.
There are many different kinds of touring bikes available today and there are several different types of touring. my next post will be on how to choose the bike that is best for you.
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