A touring bicycle is a road bicycle designed for long-distance travel, and especially bicycle touring. Typically, touring bicycles are a mix of mountain and racing bicycle components, with special, heavy-duty frames designed to carry specialized luggage and other components specific to long-distance riding. Some cyclists prefer recumbent bicycles for long-distance travel. A road bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads, as opposed to rough terrain. ... Modern touring bicycle Bicycle touring is a recreational activity, which involves touring and exploration or sightseeing with the use of a bicycle. ... A mountain bike in the forest Freeriding on a Hardtail freeride bicycle A full suspension Mountain Bike A rider during a Cross Country race A mountain bike, mountain bicycle or ATB (All Terrain Bicycle) is a bicycle designed for riding off-road, either on dirt trails or other unpaved environments... An aluminum racing bicycle made by Raleigh and built using Shimano components. ... Recumbent bicycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Touring bike specifications

Modern touring bicycle

Touring bicycles are usually equipped with luggage racks front and rear, designed to hold panniers or other forms of luggage. Because of the increased weight requirements and reliability demands, touring bicycles typically use road handlebars and saddles for long-distance comfort, combined with rugged hubs, heavy-duty rims and 36-spoke wheels to provide the durability, reliability and wide gearing essential for loaded touring. Sometimes instead of panniers bicycle trailers are towed behind for carrying the gear; these are often preferable as they provide a low center of gravity and can be detached easily. Touring Bicycle (this picture was taken by me, Khurram Hashmi, July 2004 at Topanga State Park, Los Angeles, California) My Bicycle Commuting and Safety Page File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Touring Bicycle (this picture was taken by me, Khurram Hashmi, July 2004 at Topanga State Park, Los Angeles, California) My Bicycle Commuting and Safety Page File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For the locomotive, see Pannier tank locomotive A pannier is a basket, bag, or similar container, possibly large, and carried either in pairs slung over the back of a beast of burden, or attached to a bicycle or motorcycle. ...

Touring bicycle frames typically have a long wheelbase and stable steering geometry, with numerous attachment points for luggage racks, fenders (mudguards), lights, water bottles, tools and spare parts. Chainstays must be long enough to accommodate panniers without interfering with the rider's heels during pedaling, and the entire structure must be stiff enough to safely handle long, fast descents with the machine fully loaded.

For gearing touring bicycles traditionally employ wide-ratio derailleur gears, often with a very low-speed "granny gear" for loaded ascents. However in recent years, because of their robustness and very low-maintenance, internal-geared hubs have become popular. Mountain bicycle with Derailleur gears 9x multiple sprockets of a Derailleur gear Derailleur gears are a gear system commonly used on bicycles, consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. ... Hub gears or internal gears are a type of gear system used on bicycles. ...

Touring bicycles require stronger brakes than typical road bicycles, so they are often equipped with cantilever brakes or linear-pull brakes, instead of the caliper brakes used on racing bicycles. Some newer touring bicycles use disc brakes, because of their superior stopping power and improved performance in wet weather. Bicycle brake systems are used to stop a bicycle. ... An aluminum racing bicycle made by Raleigh and built using Shimano components. ... Close-up of a disc brake on a car On automobiles, disc brakes are often located within the wheel The disc brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel. ...

Thus, touring bikes trade off some speed for extra utility and ruggedness. This combination of features is popular with commuters and couriers as well.

External links

• Adventure Cycling - Research, Develop, and Map Bike Routes
• Georgia and Florida Bike Touring Information