Touring Bicycles

A touring bicycle is a bike that is specifically designed for bicycle touring. Bicycle touring is an activity where you travel very long distances on a bike. The bikes used for touring need to be robust, comfortable, and capable of carrying enough gear to sustain the biker for the duration of the tour.

These bikes might have a long wheelbase, and a more flexible frame. The longer wheelbase makes it easier to avoid pedal-to-luggage conflicts, and the flexible frame helps to improve comfort while on long rides. The wheels on touring bikes are usually very heavy duty, and there will be several mounting points for luggage or gear of different types.

Some touring bikes are for use off-road, but most are designed to be ridden on paved or at least dirt roads. The design will be different for each, as both terrains offer their own sets of challenges. There are a lot of recumbent bicycles in use for touring these days, as recumbent bicycles can achieve higher speeds with more ease.

A lot of touring bikes are, in fact, limited on the amount of gear that they can carry, but this limitation can be offset by pulling a trailer. This is especially popular with recumbent bikes or tandem bicycles, as it is easier to generate the necessary power with these types of designs.

There are several different types of touring bikes. There are road touring bikes, sport touring bikes, expedition touring bikes, mixed terrain touring bicycles, recumbent touring bicycles, and tandem touring bikes. These are all subsets of the touring label, but still fall under this universal category. Some people try to customize their road bike or mountain bike for touring, though it is much easier to adapt a mountain bike for touring due to its heavier, sturdier frame.

Touring on a bicycle can be a very enjoyable activity, especially if you have a lot of time off and enjoy the scenery of the countryside.