Our touring bikes
Fortunately, a lot of information about touring bikes is now available, especially in the German-speaking part of the Internet, about how a touring bike can be equipped. In this article, we want to briefly add our two cents as to why we personally made some decisions regarding certain components. We don't want to lay claim to having eaten wisdom with spoons. The reality is that many people ride very different bikes and most of the time they all have a good time! In some cases, we only made the specific equipment decisions because the touring bikes were purchased for the purpose of long-distance trips - some things would have looked different with touring bikes for tours of two to three weeks each. We do not go into every detail of the bikes here, but limit ourselves to a few aspects that we feel have been discussed the most by other bike tourists. We do not receive any sponsorship from manufacturers, which is why we are free to report on our experiences.
0) The basic principle
According to our perception, there are two basic principles when putting together touring bikes: a) "Keep it simple and stupid" and b) as low-maintenance as possible (maintenance "free" doesn't exist anyway...). With bikes based on both principles, one can embark on long journeys. Principle a) states that components that are as technically simple as possible should be installed, which are available worldwide and can also be maintained and repaired as easily as possible. The advantage of this approach is obvious. In addition, a bicycle based on this principle can be configured at comparatively lower cost. Matthias' first touring bike was designed strictly according to these criteria. However, experience with this has persuaded us to switch to low-maintenance bicycles for our “kleine Runde”. The most important reason for this was that we want to enjoy the time more. "Are you already cycling or are you still screwing?" This question came up more often with the old touring bike. Of course, important regular work also has to be done on the low-maintenance bikes, but after only about 7,000 km (4,350 miles) including the preparatory tours on the new bikes, we can already say that the effort during the trip is no comparison to Matthias' first touring bike! Good components save time and nerves. Not necessarily money, but from a certain age, time and nerves are more valuable ;) In addition, it is difficult for us to assess to what extent the advantage of "worldwide availability of spare parts" really has an effect in practice - systems such as derailleur gears are being rapidly diversified by the manufacturers. In the worst case, the components are still "stupid" but no longer "simple". We have come to terms with the reality that something can always break on the bike for which no suitable spare part can be found at the current location. That's the way it is. By choosing low-maintenance components, we have therefore tried not to let this risk get out of hand. Technically, our bikes are both almost identical in order to have maximum overlap when it comes to tools and spare parts.
1) The frame
Like many others, we have also opted for steel frames. A high level of durability is attributed to the material. In addition, the weight of a steel frame does not have to be greater than that of an aluminum frame, because the lower tensile strength of aluminum means that more material is required for the same strength. We are also of the opinion that the frame is certainly the last place on a highly loaded touring bike where weight should be saved. But it is certainly more important than the material that the frame a) really fits, b) is designed for the load of a bike tour with luggage and c) is well made. We found what we were looking for at the Norwid company in Neuendorf near Elmshorn in Germany: here the frames (“Spitzbergen” model) were custom-made for our body proportions. The other components were selected together with us and the Norwid bikes were fully assembled. We decided on 26" for the tire size because the wheels get extra stability compared to the larger 28" wheels - that can be important because the wheels are very heavily loaded when cycling.
2) The drivetrain
For the gears, we opted for the Rohloff Speedhub hub, which has been approved by many touring cyclists. Matthias rode with derailleur gears on his first touring bike, but at some point the tolerance for the constant silting up of the components ran out and the subversive efforts of the front derailleur were also a reason not to rely on this system anymore. The Speedhub hub is a blessing on the other hand. The dirt stays outside. If nothing else goes wrong, important maintenance involves adjusting the chain and cable tension and changing the oil every 5,000 km (3,100 miles) (implementation is simple). It may be heavier than derailleur gears, but on a (loaded) touring bike you can save weight in other places than on the gears. Another big advantage is that a spare sprocket and a spare chainring are hardly significant, both in terms of mass and pack size, and can also be fitted without special tools - a huge difference to derailleur gears, where a full sprocket set + two or three chainrings and chain whip would be significantly heavier in the pannier. When it comes to the hub gears, the question of "chain or belt" remains: here, as an exception, we opted for the chain because of the significantly better availability of spare parts.
3) The brakes
After we were used to (hydraulic) disc brakes on our everyday bikes, there was no way back for us to cable rim brakes. The added controllability of the braking force and the better braking performance in the wet improve safety. Another big advantage is that the wear takes place next to the brake pads on the brake disc and not on the rim - a fact that should not be overestimated, especially on sandy and muddy roads! A replacement brake disc for long journeys is also of little importance, a replacement rim, well, we have never seen it before, but we have seen rims that have been braked through. Incidentally, our frames still have additional sockets for accommodating rim brakes if everything really goes wrong... We have previously ridden hydraulic disc brakes from Shimano (BL-T8000, on our everyday bikes) and now Magura (MT4, on our touring bikes). Both are good brakes! Changing the brake pads is a bit easier due to the magnetic holder on the Magura brakes. We also felt we had fewer problems adjusting the brakes after changing pads or rotors compared to the Shimano brakes. Another big advantage is that thanks to the very good documentation of the Magura system, it is much easier for us to understand which combination of brake disc and pad material is best suited for our purposes. For us, a big minus point with the Magura MT4 is the mounts for the brake levers (a lot of plastic...), where one of the clamps (also plastic - the clamp!) broke immediately after adjusting the brake levers, although we were painstakingly accurate to the order of the screws and their torque. We have replaced the clamps with aluminum versions, which now give us a slightly better sense of security.
4) The loading
In order to store our seven things (we definitely don't belong to the "ultralight group", because we don't want to cycle without some comfort...), we use panniers and a duffel bag at the back and panniers at the front of the Lowrider front rack. Things that need to be within easy reach are stored in the handlebar bag. When distributing the weight, we follow the rule of thirds: two thirds on the rear axle, one third on the front axle. Of course, it is also important that the left and right sides are loaded with approximately the same weight. So we have no problems with the handling of the bikes. We use Ortlieb models for the panniers. The main reason for this choice is that if the bag hangers break, they can be replaced relatively easily with a torx (hex socket on older models) screwdriver! That's a huge plus compared to manufacturers who rivet the mounts. We have already seen defective brackets on bags from Ortlieb, Vaude and MSX, and experienced them ourselves. This can happen due to material fatigue or falls. With the Ortliebs, however, the damage was quickly repaired themselves with spare parts, which saves time, money and stress and is also more sustainable.