Short touring on a Specialized Dolce Triple?

[eveisdawning]

Hey guys,

I'm a total newbie here. Hello! I'm very new to road biking (I just got my road bike in November, and as I live up north in the snowy regions, haven't had a ton of opportunities to ride). I'm even newer to touring, as I have never done any.

I ride a Specialized Dolce Triple, and I would really like to do some LIGHT touring this summer. Nothing crazy, just shorter trips at first, preferably stopping at a campground, although that depends on some of the answers that you guys give here. First of all, is my bike even appropriate for this kind of touring? I know it's definitely not okay for long tours, as it's an aluminum/carbon frame, but I wondered if it might work for shorter (60 mi.) trips. Do you think it would stand being loaded up with a rack and some gear?

I would love to get a dedicated touring bike, but from what I've seen, they're really expensive, and as a graduate student, I can't really swing that right now. If my bike seems like a bad idea for tours, what would you guys recommend? Are there any budget-friendly touring bikes out there?

Thanks!!!

[csr1210]

No advice to offer, but I'm in the same boat. I have a Specialized Dolce and husband has a comparable bike. We are interested in trying out touring (more like credit card touring), but don't want to spend money on buying touring bikes unless we decide we like it / want to do more.

We also realize that our bikes are not designed for touring, but can we at least "get by" with some minor accommodations?

1. Could I use a trailer? From what I've been reading, this would be doable.
2. Racks? I don't want to put much on it, but I've read that clamps are a definite no on carbon seat stays. I've seen some alternatives like old man mountain, etc that attach to brake bosses (?), but is that also too much stress on the frame?

Are there any of you who tour (or started touring) on road bikes? How did you deal with these issues?

Thanks - really looking forward to any responses to this thread!
-Christy

[eveisdawning]

Hey Christy,

I asked this question on another forum, and got a few good responses, if you're interested, you can check it out here: http://www.reddit.com/r/bicycling/co...ke_what_to_do/

Hope that helps.

[csr1210]

Thanks for the info! You're lucky you have the mounts for a rack -- unfortunately for me, mine is an earlier year model with the carbon seat stays and no rack eyelets - rats!

Good luck on your touring -- be sure and let us know how it goes.

[eofelis]

I went and looked at the reddit link you posted. Folks had a lot of good info there for you. I was going to suggest the bikesdirect touring bikes but they may not be small enough for you (I'm 5'2", so I keep an eye out for small frames).

Depending on how light you are going your bike would probably do just fine for short tours. I load my LHT with 30-35lbs, and for me that's plenty.

I would consider light to be half that, at most. Then you'd have to invest in lightweight gear if you are camping....

[eveisdawning]

Thanks surlypacer! I am perfectly fine with investing in some lightweight gear, and I have some available already. No matter which way I go, it will involve dropping some cash to get started on this, so I've already accepted that! I was just hoping to get away with not purchasing a $1000+ touring bike for a bit longer, and it seems like that’s definitely possible for the very light touring that I’m talking about.

[ridebikeme]

I would definitely recommend using a rear rack vs a trailer. Quite often wheels on road bikes are not as strong as on touring bikes made for added loads/weight. Over the past couple of years, I have a had couple of customers arrive at the shop while on a tour. Both were riding road bikes with trailers, and both had broken several spokes. To give you some history, both bikes were only a couple of years old, one rode by a man about 180 pounds and one by a woman who weighed 140.... both were carrying loads that were about 40 pounds.(front and rear combined) And these are only the most frequent bikes that I've seen, defintely have seen lots more over the years.

On a touring bike, you can choose to use either, but on a road bike I truly think that you are safer with a rear rack.

At any rate, it's your decision to make. Have fun and enjoy your adventure !

[Dog]

Hi Eveisdawning. I have a 2003 Bianchi Veloce (aluminum with carbon). Two years ago I did a 4-day/300+ miles touring ride down the WA coast with my neighbor. I pulled a borrowed B.O.B. trailer. I added heavier tires and a stronger axle and a light rack to my bike. We camped, so I carried my tent and camping gear. I was told the trailer would be easier on my bike than loaded paniers. This was my test run to see if I would enjoy touring. I loved it and last year I purchased a Surly LHT and a lightly used B.O.B. off Craigslist. I'm planning a couple of short tour rides this summer/fall with the long range goal of riding across the U.S. someday. You may want to consider a B.O.B. as it worked well and I felt more visable on the road too.
Good luck! Touring is addicting.

[oz rider]

Nothing crazy, just shorter trips at first, preferably stopping at a campground, although that depends on some of the answers that you guys give here. First of all, is my bike even appropriate for this kind of touring? I know it's definitely not okay for long tours, as it's an aluminum/carbon frame, but I wondered if it might work for shorter (60 mi.) trips. Do you think it would stand being loaded up with a rack and some gear?

I would love to get a dedicated touring bike, but from what I've seen, they're really expensive, and as a graduate student, I can't really swing that right now. If my bike seems like a bad idea for tours, what would you guys recommend? Are there any budget-friendly touring bikes out there?

You can tour on anything. Like you don't need a delivery van to move a TV. 60 miles isn't going to put you in outback Afghanistan where you need a girl with a welder to fix a busted frame. And any touring you can do without buying a dedicated tourer will make your preferences and future choices better informed. I did a long trip (lightly supported) last year and our group had tourers, cx, flat bars, a rigid mtb and a lefty 29er. It's just about your comfort and load on the current bike, and how you choose to carry the load, and you have some responses on that. Your LBS might have some ideas too, if you take the bike in. The triple's gearing will be good for touring. Some bikes have a recommended load weight (see the archive on the Spec website or ask the shop if one applies to yours), and the lighter your wheels, the less the load generally. But if your load is light and you can find a way to strap it on, go for it. The ACA has some good info on light touring too; it's a broad church. Have fun.

[NadiaMac]

I did a 500 mile loaded tour on my bianchi eros donna road bike equipped with panniers. (this bike does not have frame bosses or other hardware for rack mounting, and it has a carbon fork)

I found a rack that could be mounted through the quick release and onto my caliper brake mounts for the rear (axiom) and a front rack that mounted through the quick release and braced onto my carbon front fork (Old Man Mountain, who by the way, provided custom clamps to mount the rack onto the front fork). My wheels were sturdy ksyriums and I had no problems with the wheels (but carried extra spokes and truing equipment just in case). My load was about 55-60 pounds.

A note on gearing. I had a standard road triple on this bike (30-27 largest gearing), and it was a bit of the grind on the steeper climbs we encountered (we had sustained portions of 8 and 10 percent grade, and even up to 12% grade. This was a bit of a grind for me. I powered through it but my friends with touring bikes (and thus more mountain bike gearing) spun up those climbs with greater comfort and less overall fatigue. This may not be an issue for you depending on the terrain you encounter, your strength, daily mileage etc.

I ran into folks with trailers on the tour and this seems like a decent option as well. I'm not sure how easy it is to travel with the trailer though. It was pretty easy to remove the pannier racks for boxing and shipping. Something to consider.

[kris7047th]

Sorry to revive an old thread .. I just bought a Dolce Sport Compact 2011 model and you can mount a rack. This rack came with the RackTime Panniers that I bought a few months ago DIRT CHEAP for under $40.00. However, I prefer to use the Ortlieb Sport-Packer Plus bags that I have.