The bike
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Travel bike: how to choose it?
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After having carefully considered your route, the place where you will pedal, you will have to choose a frame adapted to the conditions which await you. Indeed, the choice of the type of bike must vary depending on whether we will mainly ride in steep muddy or snowy terrain (fat bike) or on asphalt (road bike, randonneuse). If your main use will be to ride the weekend in the forest to let off steam, a light and flexible ATV will do the trick; on the other hand, for a bicycle trip, some prerequisites are necessary in order to travel serenely on your mount. And even if you do not have the budget for the ideal gear, most bikes will be able to take you to the end of the world even if they are not intended for it: you are not forced to smash your savings because you read somewhere that you need a titanium frame and the latest Shimano drivetrain at all costs.
In this article, we will detail the specifics of the travel bike that we need to leave for more than a year.
What is a good travel bike?
Regarding its prerequisites, a travel bike will need to be:
Adapted to the effort
So you can go uphill without having to push your bike
These criteria are of course to be adapted to each, according to their physical, comfort and budget objectives (we will come back to this right after). Now that we know what we need, we can look at the different components of the bike to find out which parts can be preferred over others. And if you want to know your bike perfectly and master each of its parts, nothing better than carrying out the assembly yourself, or in an associative workshop surrounded by people knowledgeable in the field.
The framework: matter for debate
Choice of material
We could have started by talking about the wheels, since the size of the wheels will depend on the size of the frame; but the debate over the choice of frame - from its geometry to the materials used - is so pervasive that we felt compelled to start there!
The frame is the backbone of your bike, often sold as a kit with the fork. There are aluminum, steel, carbon and titanium frames (by increasing price depending on the material). Carbon and titanium are two excellent quality materials, lighter than steel and with good durability, however their disadvantage is that in case of a glitch you will find it very difficult to repair them abroad. The debate is therefore mainly around aluminum and steel : on one hand aluminum, light and rigid, which allows weight gain compared to its competitor; and on the other hand the steel, heavy and flexible, a real mule that will support the load without breaking. Steel therefore seems to win the fight since it is more resistant, more flexible, and will be easy to reweld abroad in the event of a problem. But on paper only, because there are not very many frames that break, even in aluminum! Purists choose steel out of prudence and that can be understood, but we can trust the robustness of the best aluminum frames on the market. For our part, we will choose wisdom with a steel frame.
Choice of geometry
Classic geometry frame
Trapeze frame
Comfort-oriented short frame
Long sport-oriented frame
Depending on whether your priority is the strength or weight gain, your choice will be more aluminum or steel, with titanium as a material prestige with his remarkable mass-stiffness-strength-elasticity ratio. However, the composition of the frame is not the only criterion to take into account to motivate your choice: its geometry will also participate in the rigidity of the frame (a trapezoidal frame decreases its rigidity for example), but will also define your position on the bike and your commitment when you pedal. Let’s explain: the longer the frame, with a long horizontal tube and a short steering stem, the more you will be tilted forward and therefore in a sporty posture, like on a racing bike. Conversely, the narrower the frame, with a short horizontal tube and a high stem, the more you will be straightened and therefore in a comfortable posture , like on a city bike.
For a travel bike, we will make a wise choice according to our needs: the frame of cyclo-touring bikes (Farrahdmanufaktur TX400 or Intec M01) are very short and make them comfortable bikes a little more sporty than city bikes. Next there are the frame of Randonneuses (Farrahdmanufaktur Randonneur, Genesis Tour de Fer) or gravel bike (Genesis Croix de Fer, Intec F10) wich are more slender and therefore more aerodynamic, but they lose in comfort of use.
The Genesis Tour de Fer, a good compromise in term of geometry for travel
You can play the style of our position by modulating several independent parameters of the structure of the frame itself; the height and angle of the stem and seatpost , or the position of the hanger , will allow you to adjust your position without changing the frame!
Potence de guidon réglable
Wheels: to adapt to the terrain
The wheel of a bicycle is a hub connected by spokes to a rim, with a tire around (and an inner tube but we will not dwell on it since it is easy and cheap to find of good quality).
Choice of rims
If you do not intend to restrict yourself to the road, you will need to take rims large enough to be able to equip them with MTB tires. In order to support your own weight and the weight of the load, they must also be robust (double-walled rather than single-walled). There are several sizes frequently used for cyclo-touring, which will be more or less adapted according to the type of practice (26 ", 28", 29 ", ...). As a general rule, the smaller the rim, the more it will be resistant. This is why the 26 "wheels are more often used by touring cyclists, although there are travelers who pedal with larger wheels. Another advantage leading travelers to choose the 26 "is the ease of obtaining this wheel diameter almost everywhere in the world, unlike other formats which are sometimes more difficult to find.
Choice of hub and spokes
Connected to the rim, we find the spokes which are also likely to bend under load and constraints. This is why it is advisable to opt for reinforced spokes (double or triple-butted), and in sufficient number (wheel in 36 spokes often recommended and easily found everywhere in the world, but in 32 spokes it also works). For the hub, a solid trekking hub like the Shimano hubs (Deore or the range above with XT) will do the trick.
Spokes attached to the hub
Choice of tires
Schwalbe Marathon Plus, the most used range for travel
For the tire, the last essential component of the wheel that should not be overlooked on the travel bike, there is a wide range of possibilities, ranging from narrow section tires (23mm) suitable for road racing for their aerodynamics , with very wide section tires (70mm) for muddy or snowy roads. If you are planning to ride on various terrains like us, from bitumen to sandy tracks, it is better to choose an intermediate section typical of mountain biking around 50mm. There are tires widely recognized on the market, like those produced by Schwalbe, in particular the Marathon, famous for their resistance to any test, to punctures, and their width sufficient to roll on track. Again, all of these choices will depend on your type of practice , your load, your personal tastes ...
Transmission: the real headache
The transmission is what will allow the pedals to induce the rotation of the rear wheel hub, allowing the cyclist to move forward. There are two major types of transmission, systems with gears integrated into the hub (Rohloff) and systems with conventional derailleurs.
Rohloff Speedhub Integrated Gear Hub
Complete transmission group Shimano TX
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The expensive gear system integrated into the hub has several undeniable advantages, such as lower maintenance than on conventional derailleurs and an incomparable service life. On the other hand, their assembly remains complex compared to that of a derailleur, and this system of speeds costs at least 1000 €. If you are afraid for your equipment and you think you are likely to damage it in view of your future travel conditions, this may not be the best choice of transmission, because even if Rohloff customer service seems to have proven, it will take you longer to get the damaged part than for a conventional derailleur.
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The classic derailleur transmission , on the other hand, is very economical compared to the Rohloff system! It is also the most widely used system all over the world: it's easy to find a derailleur on the other side of the planet. Among the 3 giants in the field, we find SRAM , Shimano and Campagnolo , all of which offer transmission groups adapted to different practices in mono-, double- or triple-plateaus.
The important thing about your transmission group is to define the number of teeth you will need on the chainrings and the cassette of the rear wheel to wind up or have a strong resistance under the pedal during a sprint. These data will define your gear and your development (ig the distance traveled after a pedal turn) at different speeds and on your different chainrings. In summary, the less teeth your small chainring has and the more your rear wheel has, the shorter the distance traveled after a pedal stroke: this is one of the objectives on a travel bike, in order to have a development low minimum which allows to pedal with the weight of the load, even uphill. To understand these concepts, we invite you to take a look around here as we have been able to do, that should clear your mind.
Small tray + large cassette = small development
Now that we know the number of teeth we need, there remains the question of the number of plates. The single-plate has resurfaced for several years now in the world of touring, with many defendants of this system widely marketed by SRAM with its XX1 model. The main qualities of the single chainring are the comfort in the cockpit since there is no need to change the chainring to reach the entire range, and the absence of front derailleur ; on the other hand, we see no other interest compared to the double or triple-tray, even rather some faults ... Sorry to the defendants of the single-tray but here are the arguments that we were able to collect:
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The amplitude is necessarily lower than in double- or triple-platter where, for the same cassette, there will be a wider range of ratios.
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The cassette is larger , less stepped, which makes the total weight of a single-deck group similar to that of a double- or triple-deck.
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The prices of parts for single-platter are generally higher.
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The wear of the mono would be more important, even if to date we have personally found no proof of this received idea.
Since we are not looking for riding comfort, the presence of a front derailleur does not bother us and we do not want to fuel the debate any longer, our choice turns rather on multi-platform , remains to think between double and triple. Concretely, the 3 will undoubtedly work. The main thing, as said above, is to establish a well-considered range, suspecting that we will spend more time milling than doing speed spikes at 80km / h downhill on a travel bike. And in this sense, not necessarily necessary to have a large tray when you plan to be heavy and slow ... The double tray seems to be an ideal compromise, but the choice is yours! If you want to easily calculate your developments and your speed according to your transmission, this is where it goes , the calculator is clear and very well done.
Brakes: difficult choice
V-brake rim brakes
Disc brakes
To be avoided in advance for a trip, the hydraulic brakes: no need for a powerful and precise braking on a bike trip, and good luck in case of problems to fix these hyper complex systems across the world ... For rim brakes (cantilever or V-brake) and disc brakes , again the debate does exist on the web. On the one hand there is a simple and really inexpensive system with the V-brake which has the only drawback of using the rim in the long term, and on the other hand a more complex system which is more difficult to maintain but which doesn’t will have no wear effect on the rim. On paper, the choice seems to depend on you. For us, it is necessary to find a happy medium between the budget, the lifespan and the repairability of the parts: concerning the brakes, we prefer to opt for the least expensive solution which is braking on rims, easily repairable, even if a certain wear occurs over time. But several feedback from cyclo-traveler experiences on long journeys suggest that the V-brake only wears the rim after several thousand kilometers. Among these returns, Bertrand (tour-du-mondiste and founder of the site Le braquet de la liberté , little pearl of useful references for the bicycle trip) confides that he should have changed his rims after 30,000 km as a precaution if he had continued his journey equipped with this braking system. It is therefore up to you to decide according to your budget and your preferences, the choice remains very personal for the brakes as you will have understood since almost everything works! And be careful, the frame and wheel models depend on the type of braking chosen.
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Peripherals: almost half the budget!
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When we talk about peripherals, we mean all the almost essential components of the bike such as the saddle and its stem, the bottom bracket, the handlebar stem, the headset, the handlebar, the luggage racks, the saddlebags, the dynamo hub, lamps, USB connector, and we forget! We describe all these elements in the section "Preparing your bike well for the trip".
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Find all the articles ofthe section by clicking here:
Resistant
Since it will carry a long-term heavy load
Minimalist
To be easily repaired and maintained everywhere
Comfortable
To allow the cyclist to ride long without problem