I'd like to go on a bike tour in august

[Irulan]

where are you starting from? Did I miss that?

[amyp]

Oh! I didn't state where I am starting. Im starting in Portland, OR. Yes, we are planning on camping and I have done overnight camping/tour with a friend once.

Ya, I usually commute by bike to the grocery store and such but probably have never carried a lot of weight. I've never had to use front panniers. I mostly carry a backpack and I've carried up to 20lbs during the school year.

My friends are nice when I start to slow down on a group ride. They stick with me so I think I will be fine. I need to look for tires as well. I hope they have options for 650 wheels.

Well I have 2 months until august!

[shootingstar]

I would never want to go on a bike tour and ride for several hrs. every day for a week @ 50-120 km. each day with a backpack of weighted stuff on my back.

Front panniers make sense when you also have rear panniers so that you're more balanced on the bike. It takes minor adjustment for first few spins on bike to have weight on your front. It's not a big deal. Your trip sounds short enough that your total required weight for whole trip is not like cycle touring for several months where one may need to cycle with more belongings/gear.

[Becky]

The Serfas Urbana is one of the widest 650c tires I've seen. It could be an option if there's enough clearance in your bike.

[goldfinch]

The Serfas Urbana is one of the widest 650c tires I've seen. It could be an option if there's enough clearance in your bike.

Terry also sells a 650c x 28. I have never found or heard of anything any wider. I owned a Terry Symmetry for a while and it had the 650 x 28's on it.

[shootingstar]

Let us know how your trip goes. I'm sure you'll have a great trip. Usually with friends it always is.

[Sky King]

Here is what I ride - 650B X 42 Grand Bois Hetre You would be hard pressed to convince me of a better touring tire. I have about 2,000 miles on my set.
Just got home from our 2nd annual Owyhee Scenic Byway ride - 104 miles on dirt & gravel roads on a fully loaded bike, they perform like a champ. One of our fellow riders commented that
he thinks he should trade out his Schwalbe Marathon Mondials as I was rolling faster than he was (nah, I just have stronger legs, hee hee) Anyway I would certainly recommend them
if they will fit your fork and brakes. I do run them with a "Mr Tuffy" style liner as we have so many goathead thorns here but I don't notice that slowing me down.