Hi.
I am thinking about getting myself a touring bike to complement my roadbike, which I do nto feel is well suited to multi-day adventures. Something sturdy, with points for fixing panniers, lots of gears and all that.
If I am to get one at a local dealer off the shelf, which one should I go for?
There are no ālocal dealer off the shelfā touring bikes in Taiwan, as far as I know. The ones that are available usually have to be ordered. Iād love for someone to prove me wrong but thatās what I found. After shopping for a touring bike for 6 months, I ended up getting a Giant CX bike with rack and fender eyelets (TCX-3) because touring bikes are really hard to find in Taiwan and I was mainly after a road bike with big tires (I donāt do multi-day tours with gear). The only touring bikes Iāve seen in a show room in Taiwan are a Surly LHT at Famous Bike in Taichung and a beautiful brown Trek 520 (a very small size, I remember) at the Trek shop in Tianmu.
But hereās all the available in Taiwan stuff I came across in my search -
Surly CrossCheck (more multi-use) and Long Haul Trucker (more dedicated touring) are good choices but you might have to order and wait for one.
Salsa Vaya, ditto on probably having to wait for one
Whyte Kings Cross (very relaxed geometry CX bike with discs)
Masi Speciale Randonneur (discontinued but there might be some 2011 models floating around still, there were back in May anyway)
Speedone T-25 (really nice local brand touring bike, but tires max out at 28c, not sure if thatās a problem for you)
Louis Garneau LGS-CT (discontinued in Taiwan for 2012, might be able to special order one or find a used one)
Oh and Wookiee posted this nice local brand touring bike in another thread
spinburn.com.tw/performer/pr ā¦ cts_id=155
Hope that helps. Good luck, and let us know what you find!
Great Reply! Wonder where i find them.
My Surly LHT hasnāt let me down, nearly a decade on now.
Bought mine outside the ROC though. I know theyāre made here, but good luck getting hold of one (esp if youāre a taller rider).
Nice review by PB.
Any luck so far?
I have located a few dealers of Surly here, and I guess I could get one in.
An alternative, however the frame is a little small at 54cm is this one:
I like the parts they use, however again, I would not know how it was before trying it out thoroughly, and buying one and having it sent over would possibly be too much of a gamble.
At 184cm with a regular inseam, I would be at 56cm or 58cm frame size, I guess.
I have seem touring bikes advertised down to NT$20k, and will keep looking on and off, I guess.
The Surly LHT is a heavy bike, yeah?
thirdwave-websites.com/bike/ ā¦ rucker.cfm
It would be awesome for touring flattish countrysides, but remember where you live.
When I was looking for a tourer, I would have been happy with what I had mentioned earlier:
[quote]Oh and Wookiee posted this nice local brand touring bike in another thread
spinburn.com.tw/performer/pr ā¦ cts_id=155[/quote]
A KLM, Masi or performer sold locally would suit. Iād upgrade the usual low~middle components offeredāTiaga/XT to a higher-range SRAM, Rival or even Force, and youāll be ready to go.
You might be right, this is a preparation for a bike ride around the island in the first half of 2013, and I think that I will end up with all the luggage, my GF is not all that strong.
To PaddyBās list I would also add the Specialized Tricross, although he says they donāt have any more in stock. I got mine, the only XL in Taiwan, late last year and have been riding it happily ever since. Itās got rack eyelets in the front and the rear, and itās only heavy because I put fenders and racks on it. Not only does it work for touring, itās a great all-around bike.
I agree with Wookiee that you donāt need a steel bike to tour in Taiwan. There are plenty of aluminum bikes that can handle touring. When youāre climbing a long hill with luggage, I promise you and your knees will rue every last bit of extra weight youāve got.
Good luck, and congratulations on finding a girlfriend willing to ride around the island with you! Iāve always wanted one of those.
Her idea actually.
I bought a Surly lht when I first moved to Tw.
I kind of regret doing so. Itās far too over engineered for touring in Tw.
Were I to buy again Iād look at a Surly cross check or similar. I think that you can now order some with low rider eyelets on the forks.
Btw have a look for the Surly lht users Google group. There is a handy spreadsheet showing how well different users have fitted to their bike size based on their own height
[quote]Oh and Wookiee posted this nice local brand touring bike in another thread
spinburn.com.tw/performer/pr ā¦ cts_id=155[/quote]
This looks like a pretty nice setup. Iām looking at a 2+ month tour in Japan next summer and a trip around Taiwan sometime after that (maybe a year later). I have so much to learn and so many decisions to make on gear.
Awesome plans. 
Iād suggest a few to several smaller tours first with all the gear you think youāll be toting for your longer tours.
I think most tourers carry way, way too much gear. Youāll find that you can do without most of what you think youāll NEED. For the summer, I carry 7 kilos of gear, including racks. In the winter (CNY) only 2 extra kilos. I overnight in motels, though, but a good hammock tent and a ground clothāfor where there are no treesāplus a sleeping bag would only add a couple extra kilos.
I often blaze by folks struggling on flats, or pushing their bikes up hills, with their panniers packed to almost overflowing and with additional stuff strapped on. Youād think they were on a round-the-world tour instead of a thousand kilometers round the island.
Just go out over long weekends after you get set up and start eliminating things you donāt use. Your tours will be much more enjoyable, and your knees and back will thank you.
[quote=āAbacusā][quote]Oh and Wookiee posted this nice local brand touring bike in another thread
spinburn.com.tw/performer/pr ā¦ cts_id=155[/quote]
This looks like a pretty nice setup. Iām looking at a 2+ month tour in Japan next summer and a trip around Taiwan sometime after that (maybe a year later). I have so much to learn and so many decisions to make on gear.[/quote]
Iāll certainly be out quite a bit in the spring on the weekends.
The gear thing will be a constant battle. I had my backpacking gear down 5 kgs (plus food/water obviously) when I was on the PCT 5 years ago so my camping gear will be pretty light for this but a lot of other stuff will be coming along. Iāve thought about a hammock but Iāve never been comfortable sleeping in a hammock despite what others say. Iāll go with a big tarp (1 lb) and the Thermarest NeoAir mattress. The weight will come from 2+ kgs of camera equipment and tablet PC. Itās coming.
Iām trying to convince myself that Panniers will be better but I really like this trailer. freeparable.com/t2 I wouldnāt need all of the cargo room but it would be so nice to just throw everything in one bag in the morning. Of course I would have things sorted into stuff sacks but I used panniers for a 9 day trip and it was a pain because I had to pack a lot of things singularly to get them to fit. I could never find anything.
Each to his own on touring. Iāve met people with all the panniers, saddle bag, handle bar bag - all overflowing with āstuffā. I think they take far too much, but theyāre happy enough to pedal (and push) it all to their destination each night, and then enjoy their luxuries.
Then you have dudes like Mr. Ultralight himself, Igor Kovse. Sleeping on a pad of bubble-wrap 
.
Re the Surly, yes itās at the heavy end of the scale, I think mine with back-rack is about 13kg. Add some more grams for the front-rack when itās on. Mind you, Iāve taken that up the 80km of the Central Cross a few times, and fully laden with 4 panniers + tent up 5000m mountain passes, so itās not going to stop you. Just make you a little less fast 
. It is unncessary just for Taiwan though.
Never ridden with a trailer. Sure, only 3.5kg. Thatās still 3.5kg though, before you load the gear. Wouldnāt it make you more likely to carry more? Easy to just keep loading a trailer. At least with panniers youāve got to keep them balanced, and that makes you keep an eye on the weight.
Finally, I give you a pic of Mr. Kovse.
Come to think of it, I really donāt get the point of loaded touring in Taiwan. Rooms are cheap, food is cheap and available pretty much everywhere, you are always within a days ride of civilizationā¦ whats the point?
I think one of those new endurance bike with discs is really the way to go for touring and long rides in Taiwan. This Specialized model even has rack and fender mounts if you wanted to bring a bit of gear along. Comfortable enough for long rides but you have a nice nimble bike for all the other times when you arenāt touring.
specialized.com/tw/en/bikes/ ā¦ isccompact
Shame they donāt offer the Expert model with 105 and BB7ās in Taiwan. Iād be all over that like flies on shit.
Some people like camping and donāt like crappy, cheap hotel rooms and cheap Taiwanese food.
This beats the hell out of a hotel room imo.
LoShan Rec Area campground by abacus07, on Flickr
[quote=āNuitā]
Then you have dudes like Mr. Ultralight himself, Igor Kovse. Sleeping on a pad of bubble-wrap .
[/quote]
Pussy uses a bike stand. What an obvious choice for an immediate 500gm weight reduction right there.
500 km ride: 6.8 kg bike, rain jacket, wallet with credit card. Thatās all you ned in Taiwanā¦ that, and a place to wash your shorts out each night.
I like the performer, but hope it can be set up for easy climbing - also I am 184cm, would their biggest one be big enough?
Andā¦ Thank you all!
[quote=āMr Heā]I like the performer, but hope it can be set up for easy climbing - also I am 184cm, would their biggest one be big enough?
Andā¦ Thank you all![/quote]
I would think so.
To be sure, walk over and check out my Ti touring bike, which is about the same size as the largest one performer offers.