Light Touring on an Allez

enoonan

Lo All,
As the title suggests I am thinking of doing some light touring on my Specialized Allez. Not the best geometry for touring I know but its all I have at the moment. Will have to wait a while to get a Long Haul Trucker!!
I am considering buying a single wheel cargo trailer as even if I dont take to the touring I will have a use for it and I'm not keen on a rack.
On the bike I have a set of Aksiums with 700x25 tires, I am going to put on a spare compact chainset I have but my cassette, 9 spd, is 12-25. Would this be ok or would I need to go for a wider ratio on the rear like a 12-27/28 or even more? I'm guessing the wheels and tires will be ok as most of the weight will be taken by the trailer.
Considering doing a 5 day trip around Limerick/Clare/Galway covering about 100/120km a day.

Any advice or useful comments welcome.

Thanks in advance

Eoin

mr spuckler

i;m gonna pitch up in here to see what responses come back...am doing mizen to malin in august on a CAAD9 with a seatpost rack and bag & handlebar bag only. i've bought a new cassette to give me a chance up steeper climbs with the weight on the back, that said i'll only be carrying 5 or 6kg extra anyway.

i had looked at a single wheel trailer but decided against for various reasons, stress on rear triangle, stability etc. why so against a rack if only light touring btw?

enoonan

Thanks Mr Spuckler
What cassette did you end up putting on?

The reason I am not keen on the rack is that with a tent, sleeping bad, cooking gear and clothes etc I didn't think that the 700x25 tires would be able to take the 15/20kgs extra. I'm about 95kg myself so thought it would be too much weight.

Eoin

mr spuckler

i got a 12-30 but haven't fitted it yet. waiting on a couple of other bits including a new chain before i get down to that work.

i'd hoped to do a proper tour also including camping, cooking for myself etc but couldn't figure out a reasonable way of doing it on a roadbike and didn't want to buy a new bike, hence going with the much lighter option.

it's a tough one to work out, there doesn't seem to be an ideal trade-off between the weight you're trying to carry and the bike you're planning on doing it on!

enoonan

Yeah I was wondering about the weight so I went and weighed the tent, sleeping bag and cooking gear and that all came to less than 5kgs so I would say I will be in or around 10kgs or so in total extra weight.
Hopefully I will get on ok with the bike as it is. Just looking online a 12-27 cassette is nearly €50. Not sure if its worth it for the few days.

Eoin

Bunnyhopper

This blog might be worth a look,

http://www.thecycleguy.com/

He's riding a Specialized Tricross Sport Triple, but he has a couple of posts on the question of trailers: Which Trailer? and The BOB Builder. He has quite a load, too much for panniers, as he's on a long tour so your priorities might be different.

feck sake lads

i'm thinking of selling my thorn sherpa touring bike if i get a good price. it has all top notch gear tubus front andrear racks hold on i'll post a pic.
http://z10.invisionfree.com/Travelling_Light/index.php?showtopic=884&st=0&#last

scroll down a wee bit take a look all top of the range gear.size 510small thats how thorn measure it. i'm 5.6 so if your 5.4 to say 5.7 it would be perfect.;) also thinking of selling my ortlieb panniers. tent .can be view anytime

eoin88

I have an Allez and recently did a weekend tour around the Ring of Kerry. I brought a sleeping bag and tent but not cooking gear. Had about 8 kg of extra weight in total I reckon. I have a rear rack fitted and Ortlieb rear panniers. Worked a treat for me, the extra weight didn't affect the handling that much. I didn't change the cassette either, my 12/25 34/50 setup was grand even heading up Moll's Gap and Coomakiste. I'm probably about 20 kg lighter than you though...


Great spot for a picnic. by eoin88, on Flickr

enoonan

Thanks Bunnyhopper, there is some nice reading in those. That Burley Nomad looks like the dogs nadds but its way out of my budget!!

Feck Sake Lads - you had my heart rate up there for about 10 seconds!! I'm afraid I am 6' 2" so it might be a little bit small. Pity though.

Eoin88 - Thanks for that info. Did you have any problems with the heel clearance and the panniers? I have a set of panniers but the extra weight and the clearance were two of my main concerns. Do you have 23s or 25s on the rims? Ring of Kerry and West Cork are on the menu for next year if this work out!!

feck sake lads

no worries best of luck with the tour , just put a good set of tyres on that bike and you'll be fine.

enoonan

Thanks Feck Sake Lads.
Most appreciated.

titanan

enoonan wrote: »

Thanks Bunnyhopper, there is some nice reading in those. That Burley Nomad looks like the dogs nadds but its way out of my budget!!

Feck Sake Lads - you had my heart rate up there for about 10 seconds!! I'm afraid I am 6' 2" so it might be a little bit small. Pity though.

Eoin88 - Thanks for that info. Did you have any problems with the heel clearance and the panniers? I have a set of panniers but the extra weight and the clearance were two of my main concerns. Do you have 23s or 25s on the rims? Ring of Kerry and West Cork are on the menu for next year if this work out!!

Here's a Sherpa that should fit you on gumtree. It's for sale on the CTC forum also, the seller is a regular poster so it should be kosher.

http://m.gumtree.com/thorn-sherpa-expedition-touring-bike/v?adId=105124344#Thorn%20Sherpa

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=65059

enoonan

Thanks for that Titanan.
Reckon I will hold tough a while and see how I get on with the Allex this time around. If the bug bites I will be going searching for a proper touring bike though.

Thanks again

Eoin

feck sake lads

enoonan wrote: »

Thanks for that Titanan.
Reckon I will hold tough a while and see how I get on with the Allex this time around. If the bug bites I will be going searching for a proper touring bike though.

Thanks again

Eoin

Eoin listen that sherpa on gumtree is a snap honest thorn tourers are the best honest my sherpa is an excellent tourer believe me i would be looking a hell of a lot more for mine..

mr spuckler

you're thinking of selling your gear FSL? it really went that badly?

feck sake lads

mr spuckler wrote: »

you're thinking of selling your gear FSL? it really went that badly?

Afraid so but such is life..i still have my road bike look and my favourate raleigh 753 that i'm going to use for light touring .
trying to sus out a dynamo front wheel for it and a bag support for my carradice camper saddlebag..
no i won't be doing any more longish tours not worth the hassle. yes i'm selling my sherpa /panniers/ tent, but only if i get what i'm looking for i spent a small fortune on all this gear and i ain't letting it go for feck all;)
i have a lad in the ukraine real interested in the bike so see if he buys.

couerdelion

eoin88 wrote: »

I have an Allez and recently did a weekend tour around the Ring of Kerry. I brought a sleeping bag and tent but not cooking gear. Had about 8 kg of extra weight in total I reckon. I have a rear rack fitted and Ortlieb rear panniers. Worked a treat for me, the extra weight didn't affect the handling that much. I didn't change the cassette either, my 12/25 34/50 setup was grand even heading up Moll's Gap and Coomakiste. I'm probably about 20 kg lighter than you though...


Great spot for a picnic. by eoin88, on Flickr

Hi Eoin, which rear rack did you get and how did you find it? Using my Allez for M2M in September and still have rack and panniers to sort.

enoonan

Feck Sake Lads - To be honest I wouldn't be able to stretch to it at the moment. I realise that its going for peanuts but will have to wait and see down the road.
Thanks again though

Eoin

clonmahon

eoin88 wrote: »

Great spot for a picnic. by eoin88, on Flickr

I looked through the photos of your Kerry trip, some really nice images, well done.

enoonan

Hi Clonmahon.
I'm afraid thats a different Eoin. Its Eoin88 that has done the touring on the Allez already.

Same name and bike = confusion!!

Eoin

feck sake lads

enoonan wrote: »

Lo All,
As the title suggests I am thinking of doing some light touring on my Specialized Allez. Not the best geometry for touring I know but its all I have at the moment. Will have to wait a while to get a Long Haul Trucker!!
I am considering buying a single wheel cargo trailer as even if I dont take to the touring I will have a use for it and I'm not keen on a rack.
On the bike I have a set of Aksiums with 700x25 tires, I am going to put on a spare compact chainset I have but my cassette, 9 spd, is 12-25. Would this be ok or would I need to go for a wider ratio on the rear like a 12-27/28 or even more? I'm guessing the wheels and tires will be ok as most of the weight will be taken by the trailer.
Considering doing a 5 day trip around Limerick/Clare/Galway covering about 100/120km a day.

Any advice or useful comments welcome.

Thanks in advance

Eoin

had a look at your photos well done fantastic i done a lot of that route myself what a beautiful country we live in magic when the sun shines.;)

clonmahon

enoonan wrote: »

Hi Clonmahon.
I'm afraid thats a different Eoin. Its Eoin88 that has done the touring on the Allez already.

Same name and bike = confusion!!

Eoin

Which ever Eoin it is, he has a great eye. As FSL says when the weather is right Ireland is a very beautiful place

eoin88

enoonan wrote: »

Eoin88 - Thanks for that info. Did you have any problems with the heel clearance and the panniers? I have a set of panniers but the extra weight and the clearance were two of my main concerns. Do you have 23s or 25s on the rims? Ring of Kerry and West Cork are on the menu for next year if this work out!!

I didn't have any problems with heel clearance, the Ortlieb panniers are great as they're adjustable so I was easily able to push them as far back on the rack as possible. I do have another cheap set of panniers which I just use for going to the shops, my heel does occasionally clip them so I'd advise spending a little more and getting a decent adjustable set. As regards tyres, I have 23mm Gatorskins. Seeing as I weigh less than 70 kg and wasn't carrying much extra weight I didn't feel it necessary to fit wider tires. Plus I wanted to keep the costs down!

eoin88

couerdelion wrote: »

Hi Eoin, which rear rack did you get and how did you find it? Using my Allez for M2M in September and still have rack and panniers to sort.

I used the rack that came fitted on my Giant Escape commuter, it's almost identical to the Tubus racks. Had a bit of trouble trying to fit it, one of the rivnuts on the seat stay is directly behind where the brake cable meets the caliper. Couldn't work a way around it so had to use a p clip to attach the rack to that seat stay. Worked out fine other than that!

eoin88

clonmahon wrote: »

Which ever Eoin it is, he has a great eye. As FSL says when the weather is right Ireland is a very beautiful place

Thanks clonmahon, I think when you're cycling around Kerry it's very difficult to take a bad photo! Had been meaning to post a few of those snaps in the 'Photos taken on your cycle' thread actually, must get round to that.

enoonan

Thanks for the info Eoin88.
Might look into the rack and panniers option a bit more but reckon I will need the slighty bigger tyres for the weight!!

Thanks again

Eoin