Re: your worst touring bike

The first self supported camping trip my husband and I made was back in . .
. . . 1995? or so. We left the kids with my mother and rode a three day loop
from her house in Delta, CO.

I had a Trek 1420 with a rear rack. My husband had a Specialized Sirrus with
a rear rack. Both bikes were ill suited for the purpose - but at least my
rear wheel held. The rear wheel on the Specialized broke a couple of spokes
before we limped into Paonia. The bike shop fellow replaced the spokes,
trued the wheel, and politely told us that was way too much weight on a bike
built to go fast. But he thought we could make it the 30some miles from
Paonia to Delta. We did. We had no clue that there were bikes built for the
job.

The Trek is long gone. That was my last diamond frame bike. I now ride
recumbents. My husband gave away the Specialized, but was happy to get it
back when that woman's flirtation with cycling ended. I don't know that he
will ever ride the bike again, it's heavy by today's standards. But he
maintains it's the best fitting bike he's ever owned.

On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 8:48 AM, Scott Loveless <[email protected]>wrote:

> Hi Phreds!
>
> Just for the sake of conversation, what's the most ill-suited bike
> you've ever taken on a tour?
>
> Every once in a while I'll gaze upon my old Schwinn Continental (now
> my fixed gear machine) and think that I could easily turn it into a
> racked and bagged touring bike with just the parts I have laying
> around.  It's all just a mental exercise, since it hangs on a hook
> next to the LHT.  There are, of course, stories about folks riding the
> bikecentennial on a stock Varsity with a Pletscher rack, or men riding
> around the world on pennyfarthings or Raleigh DL-1 roadsters, etc.  So
> I was simply curious - what's the heaviest, clunkiest, non-touringest
> bike you've taken touring?
>
> --
> Scott Loveless
> http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/
>     __o
>   _'\<,_
>  (*)/  (*)
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-- 


Kelly Iniguez
www.slumgullionbicycletours.com