travel bike off road

Best touring bikes 2024: tourers for adventures on two wheels

Although there are many bikes capable of cycle trips, the best touring bikes remain the optimal tool for longer journeys

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Our pick of the best touring bikes

What to look for in a touring bike.

The allure of the open road is one of cycling’s enduring themes. Touring by bicycle allows for this on a grand scale, travelling for several days, often in far-flung places with all your kit strapped to the bike. Of course, micro-adventures closer to home can be just as much fun and still keep the spirit of adventure alive.

Whether you’re planning an expedition abroad or fancy exploring more local roads in far greater detail, a touring bike is the ideal tool for the job. Designed for cycling long distances in comfort, the bikes should be both stable and reliable in their handling, as well as providing all the mounts you need for pannier racks and bags and mudguards . Self-sufficiency is one of the tenets of cycling touring, so the bikes are usually designed with ease of maintenance in mind, too.

The good news for touring cyclists is that the range of bikes available to cater for their needs has grown substantially in the last few years.

In this guide, we've rounded up the more traditional options. If you're thinking of going off-road, perhaps investigate gravel orientated options in our buying guide here , and if you plan to go quick and travel light, see endurance road bikes here .

There's more on what to look for in a touring bike below - but first, here are our top picks of the best touring bikes.

Genesis Tour de Fer 30 touring bike

Specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

This is a bike that's been created exclusively to provide a comfortable and practical ride for a touring cyclist. The Reynolds 725 Heat-Treated Chromoly frame promises a springy ride and an incredibly strong base.

The 160mm rotor mechanical disc brakes are a more modern introduction with a nod to practicality, especially in the wet. Although we’ve found mechanical TRP Spyre brake calipers aren’t quite as powerful or as easy to modulate as a hydraulic brakeset, they are easy to adjust and highly reliable – perfect for a long-distance tour.

A 10-speed Shimano Tiagra drivetrain is about right for a bike at this price point, but in our experience, a 50/39/30 crankset provides gears that are just a bit too big for cycle touring – particularly over hilly terrain. 

But you can always swap this out for a smaller ringed option down the line. We find that with a cassette of 11-34t, going for a granny ring of 26t is generally a good bet.

We’ve always found Schwalbe’s Marathon tyres to be highly puncture resistant and with a good wear rate. In 35c, these are capable of traversing broken roads and tamer gravel, but if you’re planning on spending a large amount of time off road you would want something a bit plumper.

Handily, this bike come with many of the accessories we think are a must. Firstly, mudguards, but also dynamo powered front and rear lights, bottle cages and the Tubus pannier racks front and rear.

Surly Disc Trucker

A spin-off of Surly's much-revered Long Haul Trucker, the Disc Trucker keeps many of the much-loved versatility and can-do attitude, but this time with the addition of mechanical disc brakes and thru-axles – unlike the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 which has disc brakes and QR axles.

Opinion is a little split on thru-axles for touring – if you have any catastrophic issues with your hubs in more remote countries, you're unlikely to be able to find a replacement locally. That said, those kind of hub issues are quite rare and if it does happen you can always get a replacement sent out. For the improved alignment between the rotor and the caliper, we think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

A multitude of braze-on mount means the Disc Trucker is capable of running front and rear bags, full-coverage fenders, two water bottles, a spare spoke and even a pump peg. However, in not coming with these accessories, you will have to factor these into the cost, making the value for money a little less than the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 or the Kona Sutra.

With both 26" and 700c wheel build options available, the Disc Trucker can be as adventurous as you choose. The 26" (in sizes 42-58cm) is capable of taking up to 2.1" tires, while the 700c version (in sizes 56-64cm) has room for up to 42mm tires — both with fenders.

Although touring bikes generally do have a more relaxed position than a typical road bike, designed as they are for comfortably covering long distances, the Disc Trucker does have a particularly high front end. This isn't necessarily a problem, but if you are coming from a road cycling background, you may find just such an elevated position a little uncomfortable 

Made from a CroMoly Steel, the Disc Trucker comes equipped with a Shimano Alivio/Sora drivetrain, with the 48/36/26 triple Alivio crankset and 11-34 9-speed Shimano cassette provides a gearing range we find to be a great balance between top-end speed and low-end winching – particularly if you’re planning on maxing out the rider and kit weight limit of 161kg (355lb).

Kona Sutra All Road touring bike

The gloss black Sutra is made from Kona 's Cromoly steel frame and is kitted out with smooth-rolling Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 700x40c tires on WTB STi23 rims, which are now tubeless-compatible.

The current model has replaced the previous Shimano Deore 3x10 drivetrain with 2x10 chainset from Shimano's GRX gravel range. It's a move that's unlikely to please the touring purists. The 46/30t chainrings are matched with a 11-36t cassette, which sees the bike's gearing range reduced. It should still see you up the steep climbs, just perhaps not in as much comfort as before.

Gone too are the bar-end shifters, replaced with Shimano 10-speed Tiagra road shifters. Again it's quite the change, moving the Sutra from a traditional tourer into a far more modern interpretation. It reduces some of the bike's previous mechanical simplicity, which is appealing if your tours are long and overseas. That said the move to STI levers will appeal if you're used to riding a regular bike.

Another nod to modernity are the TRP disc brakes, which are blend of mechanical and hydraulic, and the frame's thru-axles.

With a Brooks B17 leather saddle, mudguards and a front pannier rack finishing off this tourer, this good-looking bike oozes style.

The leather Brooks saddle does require a bit more care than what you might be used to – it need to be kept covered from heavy rain and needs a semi regular application of cream to keep the leather supple. But by functioning essentially as a hammock, it is exceptionally comfortable and only gets better over time as it moulds to your shape – it wears in, rather than out..

Ridgeback Voyage

Classic styling never goes out of date - and the vintage-looking Voyage has got it by the bucket load, though a redesign means that modern tech has not been overlooked.

The Ridgeback Voyage uses Reynolds 520 tubing for the frame, with a CroMoly steel fork. A rack and full mudguards (fenders) come as standard. 

The Shimano 48/36/26t triple chainset paired with an 11-34 cassette offers a good range of gearing although with relatively large jumps between the gears due to having just nine gears at the rear. 

We don’t find this to be too much of an issue when taking it steady on a cycle tour but would prefer something a little tighter if multiple very high mileage days are planned.

Shifting and braking is taken care of by Shimano's reliable Sora levers and Tektro cantilever rim brakes. The latter certainly help make the Voyage a maintenance-friendly machine - easy to maintain and find replaces for, even in remote locations - although disc brakes may be a preferred choice for all-weather tourers.

Alex rims with a high spoke count are pretty dependable, even if not the flashiest and fitted with 32c Continental Contact tyres, they can handle a little off road, but are best suited to the tarmac.  

Trek 520 disc touring bike

Constructed from Trek's CroMoly steel, the frame has been designed around disc brakes and fitted with a rack and fenders mounts.

The Bontrager Affinity rims are tubeless-ready, which might be worth setting up if you want a bit of a faster ride when commuting. But for long-term touring it’s generally best to stick with inner tubes so as to avoid the added complication of sealant drying out. Bontrager’s 38c H1 hard-case Ultimate tyres offer good puncture resistance themselves.

The drivetrain is a mixture of Shimano parts with Sora shifters. The crankset is a triple, with 48/36/26 tooth chainrings, and the cassette is an 11-36 so you'll have ample gears when the road goes up. TRP Spyre C 2.0 mechanical disc mechanical discs look after stopping.

However, with only nine sprockets on the cassette, the jumps between the gears are a little large, as with the Ridgeback Voyage. But if this does cause you an issue, and if you find yourself not using all of the gears, you could fit a tighter range cassette for smaller jumps.

Like the Genesis Tour de Fer 30, the wheel axles are QR, which can make getting the rotor and caliper aligned properly a little more difficult than with a thru-axle system

The overall weight comes in at 14.26 kg / 31.4 lbs in a size 57, which is lighter than some of the more traditional options.

Cube Travel Pro Trapeze touring bike

Cube offers its Travel Pro tourer in both a traditional crossbar and step-through frame design, with the latter making mounting and dismounting this robust, aluminum bike easy and convenient.

The convenience theme is carried through much of the bike. It's equipped with a Shimano Nexus internal hub gear system and a Gates CDN Belt Drive system which offers super low maintenance compared with a more traditional chain and derailleur system.

With this eight-speed hub, the jumps between the gears is a little larger and the overall range a little lower than you can get with a derailleur system, and it's not quite as efficient. But that said, if you're planning on taking it steady on your cycle tour, those points are pretty immaterial compared to the benefit of much lower maintenance.  

There's plenty of clearance for extra-wide tires and the wheels are currently wrapped in Schwalbe's Marathon Almotion 29x2.15in rubber.

Finishing off this functional tourer are full-length fenders, an adjustable CUBE stand Pro kickstand, a Knog Oi bell, lights (front and rear), and a semi-integrated carrier for pannier bags; these features will have you covered for any adventure.

Salsa Marrakesh

The Marrakesh is designed to take you touring wherever you wish — including a trip around the world if necessary. The frame is built from 4130 CroMoly tubing and has a serious array of mounts. There's room for up to five bottle cages thanks to extra fork mounts plus it comes fitted with front and rear racks. There's even a mount to carry a spare spoke.

Elsewhere there are bar-end shifters and a 3x9-speed Shimano Alivio groupset. The gearing range is designed to get you up the steep stuff even when fully loaded thanks to 48/36/36 triple chainring paired with an 11-36t cassette. The shifters also make roadside maintenance a little easier.

Its world-touring credentials are further aided by its generous tire clearance - 700 x 40mm even with mudguards (fenders), and comes stock with Maxxis Roamer 42mm tires. This means you should eat up the miles in comfort even when the road gets rough.

It's difficult to lay out specific criteria when it comes to choosing a touring bike because the beauty of touring is that it can be whatever you want it to be – there is no single best touring bike for everyone, what is best for you depends on the type of tours you want to go on. However, there are key elements to consider when selecting your two-wheeled riding buddy, which will enable you to get the best touring bike for you.

Touring bike frame

If you're planning a longer trip, and intend the bike to be used primarily for such adventures, then the resilience and comfort of steel is a sensible choice. As such, most of the best touring bikes will feature this metal. The amount you're willing to invest will dictate the weight, strength and character of the steel you end up with.

When looking at steel touring bikes, expect to see the word 'Chromoly' a lot. This is a form of low alloy steel that is used when strength is particularly important. It takes its name from two of the primary alloying (mixing of metals) elements used: “chromium” and “molybdenum”.

If you're planning on using the bike for touring and other duties: club runs, commutes, shorter rides where speed might be more in your interest, consider aluminum or carbon .

Bikes suitable for touring will have a relaxed geometry: a shorter top tube and taller stack to put the rider in a more relaxed position. The wheelbase will be longer, to create a feeling of stability. You'll also notice that the chainstays are longer - this means panniers can be mounted without a chance of clipping your heels and it allows for better distribution when panniers are full.

Touring bike wheels

Elsewhere in the cycling world, we talk about low weight and aerodynamics when it comes to bicycle wheels. And sure, if you're aiming to break a world record on your cycle tour then those are probably still very important areas to consider.

However, if you mainly want to get to somewhere rather far away, and you'd like to arrive there with a wheel that's still true and contains the same number of spokes you left with, then a strong wheel is what you desire. Look for a higher spoke count that you might opt for on a speedy road bike.

The best touring bikes will generally have at least 36 spokes per wheel, tandem touring bike can even go as high as 48. 

Touring bike tyres

It's incredible how much difference a set of tyres can make to a bike. The frame can be designed with comfort top of the agenda, but put on some narrow rubber shoes and pump them up to the wrong tyre pressure and you'll be bumping about all over the road.

Most touring cyclists will want to go for wider tyres - 28mm+, when compared with their road racing cousins. The further off the beaten track you want to go, the wider they should be. If you plan on tackling some light trails, look for 32mm+.

Touring bike brakes

Traditionally, touring bikes had rim brakes and these will certainly do the job for most road-based tours. However, disc brakes do provide far superior stopping power, especially in the wet, and they are now more common than rim brake on the best touring bikes

Since disc brakes don't rely upon the rim to bring the bike to a halt, they also reduce the risk of the rims becoming worn through debris building up on the pads.

Add in that many touring cyclists are carrying luggage, therefore adding to the overall load, powerful brakes that work in all weathers do seem like a sensible addition. However, not everyone likes the appearance of disc brakes on a traditional steel machine and the pads are a tiny bit harder to replace and set up, which is worth considering if you're maintaining your bike on the road.

Luggage and Lights on a touring bike

A purpose-built touring bike will come with pannier racks fitted, as well as fenders and perhaps even built-in lights. These all add to the overall weight, but if the intended purpose requires them, it's no bother.

If you plan to use the bike for other purposes, like group rides, then you may want to look for a bike that comes with eyelets for guards and racks, so that you can remove and fit them as and when.

There's a lot of clever luggage solutions around these days, such as frame bags and oversized saddlebags , that allow you to do away with panniers if you'd rather distribute weight differently.

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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.

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Cycle Travel Overload

Bikepacking & Adventure Cycling

13 Best Touring Bikes For Worldwide Travel 2024

Looking for top-tier traditional touring bikes? You’re in the right place. As the cycling industry evolves, particularly in the gravel and bikepacking realms, the landscape of adventure cycling has changed dramatically. Yet, traditional touring bikes, once the go-to for adventure, remain as relevant as ever for fully loaded, long-distance journeys.

What Are The Best Touring Bikes – Our Recommendations

Panorama forillon, koga worldtraveller.

• Tout Terrain Silkroad

Bombtrack Arise Tour

• Falken Jagd Hoplit +

Surly Disc Trucker

Decathlon riverside touring 900, vivente gibb, salsa marrakesh, genesis tour de fer, co-op cycles adv 1.1.

While gravel bikes gain popularity for their versatility, traditional touring bikes continue to be the definitive choice for extensive touring on paved roads and beyond, including off-road expeditions. Today’s variety of touring bikes, catering to a wide spectrum of adventures and terrains, can seem daunting.

This article aims to simplify your decision-making process by focusing on the type of adventures you’re planning. We’ve curated a diverse collection of modern, capable touring bikes suitable for everything from month-long trips to lightweight, credit card-style touring. Here, you’ll find a touring bike for every cyclist, regardless of your preferred style or destination.

Light Touring or Gravel Touring Bikes

Kona sutra se.

(A Classic All-Road Touring Bike with Modern Touches)

Price: $2,199 USD (about $3,446 AUD)

Bomb proof, rock solid, smooth and comfortable ride. with traditional touring bike components; Brooks Saddle, bar-end shifters and Deore groupset

Weight :  14kg (30.86 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – Kona Cromoly Butted . Fork –  Kona Project Two Cromoly Disc Touring

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore, 26/36/48t crank and Shimano Deore 11-36t 10spd cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.90″ to 120.50″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.56 chainstay 445mm – wheelbase 1,073mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 71mm – Fork offset/rake 50mm. Bottom bracket drop 72mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700c x 40mm With a max tire clearance 29×2.3″ (Check clearance with racks)

• Many mounting options
• Comfy, smooth and rock solid bike
• Clearance for 29×2.3″ tires
• Able to ride MTB sections
• Traditional bar-end shifters
• Rides well loaded or light
• A little sluggish when you need that extra speed for endurance bikepacking events
• Breaks have been known to freeze during winter
• Derailleur hanger is known to break slightly easier then others
• Have had issues with paint quality overtime

The Kona Sutra, my personal bike of choice, embodies the essence of a traditional touring bike while incorporating a 1x gravel drivetrain, a unique twist on the classic design. While the SE model maintains the frame of the Sutra LTD but stands out with its more versatile gear range. An especially notable feature is the stock Brooks saddle, a hallmark of comfort and quality.

On my own Kona Sutra LTD, I’ve managed to fit tires as large as 29×2.3″ without fenders, suggesting the potential for even broader options beyond the standard 700x40c Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires that it usually sports.

The detailed specifications below are tailored to the touring bike variant of the Kona Sutra. However, if you’re intrigued by the prospect of a build more suited to off-road adventures, I highly recommend reading our review of the Kona Sutra LTD .

This bike is astonishingly versatile. I frequently use mine on challenging mountain bike trails , and it’s proven its worth time and again, effortlessly handling jumps and rugged terrain. Its performance as a commuter is equally impressive, proving itself capable of handling a diverse range of conditions.

In comparison to its peers, like the Trek 520 and Surly LHT, the Kona Sutra boasts superior specifications on paper. It features a full Deore groupset and includes bar-end shifters, which add a touch of traditional touring aesthetic.

A bombproof, fun machine that can take you anywhere. Offering a smooth and comfortable ride, it stands out as a rock-solid choice for both enthusiasts and serious cyclists alike.

(A true Swiss Army knife for on-the-go travel bike)

Price: $2,399 CAD (about $2,747 AUD)

Weight :  13.15 kg (29 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – REYNOLDS 525  Steel Fork –  CUSTOM CR-MO 4130 Steel

Groupset & Drivetrain :  2×11 microSHIFT XLE, FSA – FSA OMEGA 2X MEGAEXO, 46/30T crank and MICROSHIFT XLE 11-42T cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.85″ to 111.81″ (0.71 to 4.18 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.55 chainstay 455mm – wheelbase 1,050mm – (steering) headtube angle 71.8 deg – trail 67mm – Fork offset/rake 50mm. Bottom bracket drop 76mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700c x 44mm With a max tire clearance 700c x 50

The Forillon by Panorama Cycles is a steel all-road touring bike that combines a mid-component range with a budget-friendly price, making it an ideal choice for adventurers looking to explore the world. This bike is designed for efficient riding across various road types and maintains stability and ease of handling even when fully loaded with luggage.

At its core, the Forillon is a testament to strength and reliability, a theme that is evident in its choice of components. It features 36 spoke double-walled rims with reinforced eyelets, paired with robust 700x50mm tires, ensuring durability and stability on diverse terrains. The frame and fork of the Forillon are constructed from high-quality materials, including Reynolds 525 steel tubeset and 4130 steel, known for their resilience and long-lasting performance.

The Forillon stands out with its integrated kickstand plate and a plethora of mounting options, which include front and rear racks, fenders, and triple cage mounts on the fork and under the downtube. These features make it an excellent choice for riders who require a bike that can carry substantial gear on extended tours.

Other noteworthy aspects of the Forillon include its low bottom bracket, long chainstays, and a 2×11 drivetrain, all contributing to a comfortable and stable ride.

The bike also boasts mechanical BB7 brakes and bar-end shifters as part of its well-rounded build kit. Additionally, the frame and fork are treated with an anti-corrosion internal ED coating, enhancing the bike’s durability.

The Forillon is not just about functionality; it also has an aesthetic appeal. The frame graphics, inspired by topographic maps and created by Vancouver-based artists Pellvetica, add a unique touch to the bike’s design.

Offered in three sizes and weighing 29 pounds for the medium build, the Forillon is available at a retail price of $2,149 CAD (approximately $1,675 USD) through PanoramaCycles.com. This bike is a reliable, versatile, and stylish choice for those looking to embark on long-distance, all-road touring adventures around the globe.

(The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike)

Price: Approx $6,000

Weight :  17.5 kg (38.6 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Aluminium Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore XT groupset or Rohloff drive belt

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.57 chainstay 477 mm – wheelbase 1,170 mm – (steering) headtube angle 69.5 deg – trail 82.4 mm – Fork offset/rake 50 mm. Bottom bracket drop 60 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : Possibility to mount tires up to 72mm wide

• Can be packed up to 120 kg
• Super stiff for touring
• Built for durability & serviceability
• Includes mini-kick stand on the front rack and other accessories
• Life time warranty on the frame
• More standard touring equipment then most bikes
• Top of the line components
• Dynamo hub and lighting system as standard.
• Not the lightest touring bike on the block
• Quite expensive then most

The KOGA Worldtraveller series, recognized for its robust and versatile trekking bikes, is an ideal choice for all kinds of cycling trips. These bikes are designed to comfortably carry all your essentials, whether you’re gliding over smooth asphalt or tackling rugged gravel roads.

A notable aspect of the series is its unique alloy build. Despite the current popularity of steel touring bikes, the alloy construction of the Worldtraveller provides a solid and reliable alternative.

This bike remains stable and performs smoothly under a touring load, even when outfitted with sensible width tires. This combination of strength and smooth ride quality sets the Worldtraveller apart in the realm of long-distance touring bikes.

The series has been recently updated, with the new WorldTraveller model featuring a total load capacity of 180 kg. It can accommodate tires up to 72mm wide, enhancing its suitability for various terrains. The integrated rear carrier and new frame design contribute to improved rigidity and cycling performance.

For those interested in an electric version, the E-WorldTraveller includes the Bosch Smart System and a 750Wh battery. Customization is a key feature of the range, offered through the KOGA Signature programme.

The Worldtraveller range comprises several models:

• The standard WorldTraveller, a versatile trekking bike with numerous attachment points for luggage.
• The E-WorldTraveller, an electric variant with a Bosch motor and 750Wh battery.
• The E-WorldTraveller Suspension model, featuring a suspension fork with 100mm travel.
• The Worldtraveller Classic, a proven model known for its reliability.
• The Worldtraveller-S, offering choices in front forks, groupsets, and drive belts.

KOGA also offers extensive customization options through their Signature programme, allowing riders to tailor their bike to their preferences. Test rides are available to prospective buyers, showcasing the bike’s capabilities.

Tout Terrain Silkroad II 275

(A Steel Expedition Dream!)

Price: From €5,349 / $5,835 USD or $8,711 AUD

Weight :  From 14 kg (30.09 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Rohloff drive belt

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.52 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,081 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 73 mm – Fork offset/rake 47 mm. Bottom bracket drop 60 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  27.5″x2.0″ / With a max tire clearance 26″ x 2.0″ (50mm) with mudguard, 27.5″ x 2.0″ (50mm) with mudguard, 700C x 42 mm with mudguard

• Steel frame and oversized tubing create a robust structure
• Suitable for various terrains and heavy loads
• Standard with Rohloff hub or belt drive
• Customisable
• High-end components and features contribute to a higher price point
• Limited tire clearance
• Limited availability in certain regions

The Tout Terrain Silkroad is a high-end touring bike designed by the German company Tout Terrain. Known for their specialization in steel bikes for about 15 years, Tout Terrain’s Silkroad incorporates several innovative features and is built for durability and versatility.

The bike’s frame is made from steel tubes manufactured and welded in Taiwan, chosen for their ability to be easily repaired and modified. The Silkroad frames are among the first to pass rigorous safety testing, supporting a combined weight of rider, bike, and luggage up to 180kg/400lb. The bike uses oversized, thick-wall tubing to build a strong structure, which is beneficial for carrying front and rear luggage.

Key features include a steering limiter to prevent cable damage, an integrated steering lock to stabilize the bike when parked, and the option for either double-legged or rear-mounted kickstands. The Silkroad also boasts an integrated stainless steel rear rack designed to be indestructible and compatible with both regular panniers and the specially designed QL3 system panniers.

For power and lighting, the Silkroad uses 12mm thru-axles front and rear for maximum stiffness and alignment, and incorporates SL dynamo wiring in the fork for powering lights and USB chargers. The lighting system features Schmidt lights and a dynamo hub, and a Cinq Plug5 Plus USB charger integrated into the steerer tube.

The bike is equipped with a 14-speed Rohloff hub for the drive system, known for its reliability and efficiency, especially in challenging conditions. It also features a belt drive, preferred for its low maintenance requirements. Hydraulic disc brakes provide reliable stopping power, and the bike allows for the use of up to 203mm rotors.

The Silkroad offers different wheel size options, with 27.5″ being recommended due to the availability of high-quality tires. The bike is also fitted with Tout Terrain’s in-house “Black Label” components and a Selle Royal saddle from the Scientia range.

(Classic Touring Bike Aesthetics)

Price: $1,499 USD / $2,240 AUD (Estimates)

Weight :  14.7 kg (32.4 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – 4130 double butted CrMo, heat-treated front triangle, TA sliding dropouts, rack/fender mounts . Fork –  4130 CrMo, TA, rack/fender mounts, internal hub dynamo cable routing

Groupset & Drivetrain :  BOMBTRACK AMES forged aluminium crank and MICROSHIFT CS-H103 10-speed, 11 – 42T cassette

Gear Ratios :  19.62″ to 115.53″ (0.71 to 4.18 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio 1.51 – chainstay 435mm – wheelbase 1,045 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg – trail 68mm – Fork offset/rake 55mm. Bottom bracket drop 70mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : With a max tire clearance of 700C x 40C / 700C x 35C with fender

• Includes dynamo, quality Tubus racks, and lighting for an affortable price
• Microshift bar-end shifters give you the seamless and classic touring bike feel and look
• Affortable price tag
• Only has 32 spokes on wheels
• The mudguards are know for being low quality and breaking
• The frame length is a little short, for that extra stability when under a load, shorter then most touring bikes.

Offering a blend of traditional touring design and modern components, all wrapped in an eye-catching metallic green color that is sure to turn heads.

At its core, the Arise Tour features a double-butted steel frameset known for its adaptability and resilience. Enhancing its touring capabilities are the Tubus touring racks and aluminum fenders, designed to handle all your storage needs while protecting you from the elements. Illumination for those early starts or late finishes is provided by a full lighting system from KT and Supernova, ensuring safety and visibility in all conditions.

The bike’s transmission system is built for reliability over long distances. It features Microshift’s ultra-reliable bar end shifters and a 10-speed clutch mechanism. The wide-range 11 – 42T cassette and a subcompact 46 / 30 chainset make for a versatile and efficient setup, ideal for tackling various terrains with ease.

When it comes to braking, the Arise Tour relies on TRP Spyre C mechanical calipers, coupled with a 180 mm rotor upfront. This setup offers controlled and effective braking, particularly important on those thrilling long descents.

Every component on the Arise Tour has been meticulously selected for its proven reliability and durability. The goal is to let you focus on the joy of riding, rather than worrying about bike maintenance.

FalkenJagd Hoplit +

(Pinion Titanium Touring Bike)

Price: €6,798 / $7,415 USD / $11,000 AUD

Weight :  17 kg (37.5 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Titanium Build

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Belt Drive

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  WTB Trail Boss 27.5 x 2.35″ / Clearance for 650b x 3″ or 29er x 2.6″

• High quality components made of titanium and almost everything on the bike is tianium not just frame and fork
• Copes well on all surfaces
• Ultimate touring bike build!
• Very expensive

The Falkenjagd Hoplit PI Plus is a standout travel and expedition bike, designed for those who seek durability and reliability on long bike trips. Named after the elite warriors of antiquity, this bike lives up to its name with its robust build and high-quality components.

At the heart of the Hoplit PI Plus is its titanium frame, known for being extremely stable, scratch, and corrosion-resistant. The frame design, featuring a longer head tube and a slightly shorter top tube, facilitates a more upright sitting position, optimal for touring.

A key aspect of its design is the lower bottom bracket, which, by lowering the center of gravity, especially when carrying luggage, results in improved stability.

The bike’s rear triangle is notably sturdy, with chainstays designed for increased tire clearance and comfort. The rear dropouts are a technological marvel, allowing for longitudinally adjustable quick-release axles to optimize belt tension, and incorporating an integrated stand holder and a strap lock.

The Hoplit PI Plus is equipped with the Pinion P1.18 gear hub and a low-maintenance Gates CDX toothed belt, ensuring a smooth and reliable ride. It can accommodate either 28 or 27.5-inch wheels, offering flexibility depending on the rider’s preference for smooth running or damping.

This bike is an all-terrain champion, providing maximum comfort even under high payloads, thanks to its wide tires. It stands out for its high-quality titanium components, including the frame, fork, spacers, stem, handlebars, seatpost, luggage rack, and bottle cage.

Other features include a SON hub dynamo and lighting, a comfortable Brooks Cambium C17 saddle, Falkenjagd Titan Axios racks, Pitlock thru axles with theft protection, Magura MT7 4-piston disc brakes, and SKS Bluemels B65 mudguards.

The Hoplit PI Plus version extends its capabilities with its ability to take tire widths up to 3.0 inches (650B) and 2.6″ (29″). It boasts specially adapted chainstays and rear dropouts, which are adjustable in length for optimal belt tension. The bike’s design also ensures neatly laid cable pulls and flat mudguard and light mounts for a secure and aesthetic finish.

Trek 520 Disc

(The Longest-Running Touring Bike On The Market)

Price: $1,829.99 USD

Weight :  14.2 kg (31.31 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Steel frame / Alloy fork – Trek butted chromoly disc touring, 135×5 mm QR, Tire Clearance: 2″, Color: Diablo Red and Alloy disc touring fork, rack mounts, 100×5 mm ThruSkew.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Alivio with 48/36/26T crankset and 9-speed 11-36T cassette.

Gear Ratios Inches :  19.79″ to 119.81″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.49 chainstay 450mm – wheelbase 1,048mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 65mm – Fork offset/rake 52mm. Bottom bracket drop 70mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  700x38c / With a max tire clearance 29 x 2″

• One of the most budget friendly options in the list
• Steel frame is rock solid and feels great
• Perfectly comfortable touring bike
• Long chainstays and a slack head-tube angle offer a stable, comfortable, semi-upright riding position, suitable for both touring and commuting.
• Trek’s history of producing the 520 model since 1983 adds to the trust in the brand and model.
• Frame is however a little on the heavier side
• Stock pedals suck (order replacements if you consider this bike)

The Trek 520 stands as a testament to durability and adventure in Trek’s lineup, holding the title of their longest-running model. This true touring bike is designed for those who yearn for long journeys, offering a perfect blend of stability and comfort through its touring-specific geometry.

With a sturdy steel frame paired with an aluminum fork, the Trek 520 balances strength with practicality, weighing in at a manageable 31.4 lbs / 14.2 kg. It’s equipped with both front and rear racks, ready to handle all the gear you might need for your adventures, making it an ideal choice for the avid tourer.

Renowned for its solid build and reliable performance, the Trek 520 has been field-tested and established as an industry standard. It’s a bike that’s not just ready for your next touring adventure but is also built to last, promising at least a decade of enjoyable riding experiences.

However, it’s important to note that this bike demands regular maintenance to remain in peak condition, particularly in keeping the drivetrain clean to avoid gear hopping. But this small trade-off is worth the exceptional experience it offers, especially considering its versatile gearing range that makes conquering hills feel effortless.

For those looking for even more versatility, the 520 Grand is also an option to consider. Excelling in bikepacking, trail riding, and handling a mix of gravel and pavement, it expands the horizons of where the Trek 520 can take you.

(A staple dirt tourer, just like its predecessor Long Haul Trucker)

Price: $ 1,749 USD or $2,600 AUD

Weight :  15.2 kg (33.5 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Frame – Surly Long Haul Trucker, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel. Fork –  Surly Long Haul Trucker, 4130 CroMoly, lugged and brazed

Groupset & Drivetrain :  3 x 9 Alivio, Sora drivetrain. Shimano Alivio 48x36x26t crankset and Shimano Alivio, 11-34t, 9 speed cassette.

Gear Ratios :  19.42″ to 111.40″ (0.76 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach 1.58 ratio – chainstay 450mm – wheelbase 1,076mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 57mm – Fork offset/rake 45mm. Bottom bracket drop 50mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) : 26″ x 46mm With a max tire clearance for 26” x 2.1” tires with or without fenders, or 700c x 47mm with or without fenders

• The steel frame is robust
• 20-30mm taller frames and a 30mm taller handlebar, offer a more comfortable riding position.
• 10 frame sizes, catering to a wide range of rider heights
• Has the heritage of the LHT
• Toe overlap issues
• Not ideal for singletrack or technical trails due to its long wheelbase and less agile handling. (If you want to go off-road)
• No longer has the Shimano 3X10 bar-end shifters
• Smaller frame sizes have an increased standover
• The reduced chainstay length effects its capability as a touring bike
• It now has 32 spokes instead of 36
• No kickstand frame mounts
• A downgrade in drivetrain to Shimano Alivio from the previous Shimano XT
• The price has also increased

The Surly Disc Trucker, known for its reliability and no-nonsense approach, is a drop-bar steel touring bike. A staple among touring enthusiasts, this bike is recognized for its ability to handle long, loaded rides comfortably, though it doesn’t necessarily stand out in terms of its specifications.

Having personally ridden the Long Haul Trucker for thousands of kilometers, I can attest to its suitability as an excellent introduction to bicycle touring.

The 2021 model of the Disc Trucker however, sees some significant updates, including a taller frame and handlebar, additional tyre clearance, user-friendly STI shifters, and more mounting points, along with internal fork dynamo wiring and TRP Spyre brakes.

However, it loses some features like the Shimano 3X10 gearing and bar-end shifters. The Disc Trucker is well-suited for road travel and light off-road conditions but may not be the best choice for more technical or agile riding needs.

(Best Value for Money Touring Bike You Can Buy!)

Price: £1,299.99 / $1,650 USD or $2,463 AUD

Weight :  17.1 kg or 37.7 lbs

Frame/Fork Material : triple-butted aluminium

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano XT Trekking groupset – 26-36-48 triple chainring – (11-36) cassette

Gear Ratios :  18″ to 80″ (0.64 to 2.91 ratio)

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.47 chainstay 458 mm – wheelbase 1,096mm – (steering) headtube angle 71.5 deg – Bottom bracket drop 54 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  28 x 1.75″ tires / With a max tire clearance up to 29 x 2.4” (estimated)

• Can carry up to 170 kg
• 33 mounting points for various accessories and luggage
• Equipped with Shimano Deore XT and a Brooks B17 saddle (High quality components.)
• Integrated Dynamo Hub
• Lifetime Warranty on frame, suspension, stem, handlebars, and rack.
• Insane value – priced competitively with comprehensive features.
• Heavier at 17kg, which may affect maneuverability and speed.
• Basic Pedals and Grips may need upgrading
• USB charger effective only at higher speeds
• Potential issues with exposed wiring for lights
• Despite having a mount, a kickstand is not included
• Steering lock mechanism to prevent over-rotation may take getting used to

The Riverside Touring 900, by Decathlon, is a highly robust and versatile touring bicycle ideal for multi-day trips, commuting, and carrying heavy loads. A bombproof touring bike, along with the bikepacking friendly Touring 920. These bikes are ready for adventure and for unbeatable value. 

The 900’s key features include a strong and comfortable frame capable of carrying up to 170kg, internal cable routing, 33 mounting points for customization, and reliable Shimano Deore XT components. The bike is equipped with a Brooks B17 Imperial saddle, known for its comfort and durability, and TRP Spyke dual-piston mechanical disc brakes for reliable stopping power.

It also features a USB cycle-to-charge socket integrated into the stem for charging devices on the go, and robust aluminum mudguards. Before embarking on a major trip, it’s advisable to test the bike’s charger to ensure it meets your requirements. Consider whether you’ll need an extra power bank, as the charger requires extensive cycling to power your devices effectively. While it functions, its capacity is just sufficient for navigation purposes with the screen active.

However, it has a heavier frame at around 17kg. But if you don’t tour for speed that little extra weight shouldn’t bother you. And it comes with basic pedals and grips that might need upgrading for better comfort. But for the amount of touring bike you get you can’t beat it for value!

(Legendary Australian Touring / Expedition Bike)

Price: $6,600.00 AUD or $4,420 USD

Weight :  16.8kg (Estimated)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Double butted Cr-Mo touring frame and 1-1/8″ full Cr-Mo, threadless, mudguard, lowrider and electric cable mounts, through axle, steering stabiliser hook.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Andel crankset – BCD 130mm, 5 arm, 165/170/175mm, with FSA QR-1 self-extracting crank bolts. With Rohloff speedhub 500/14, 36H, CC DB, black, external transfer box, OEM axle plate, quick release

Gear Ratios :  extra low gear ratios down to 15.9″ to 83.6″ with options in between or traditional 20.0″ to 105.2″

Geometry (M) : Chainstay 464 mm – wheelbase 1,087mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 67 mm – Bottom bracket drop 75 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes:  Options for: 700C×40 (for road), 27.5 × 2.00 (for tracks), 27.5 × 2.80″ (all-rounders).

• Designed for minimal upkeep, ideal for long tours.
• Made from 4130 chromoly steel, offering stiffness and resilience, especially suitable for touring
• Superior mudguards, ergonomic handlebars, and intelligent dynamo light.
• Integrated rack and rear disc caliper, reducing the need for spacers and long bolts
• Comprehensive Tool and Spare Kit: Enhances self-sufficiency on long trips.
• One of the heavier touring bikes in this list
• Not the most beginner friendly bike – The comprehensive nature of the bike might be overwhelming for new cyclists.

The Vivente World Randonneur (VWR), particularly The Gibb model, stands as a pinnacle of touring and transportation bicycles in Australia. This bike, admired for its meticulous refinements over the years, now incorporates a series of desirable upgrades, culminating in a nearly perfect touring experience.

At its heart lies the Rohloff SpeedHub 500, a 14-speed hub gear known for its unparalleled range and reliability. While this hub adds to the cost and weight of the bike, its maintenance-free nature and durability make it a worthwhile investment for serious riders.

The bike’s 4130 chromoly steel frame ensures resilience and comfort, making it ideal for long rides. Its geometry is finely tuned for stability and ease of handling, enhancing the overall comfort during extended touring. The bike is also notable for its comprehensive tool and spare kit, ensuring riders are well-equipped for any situation.

The hydraulic disc brakes provide consistent stopping power, a crucial feature for safety and reliability. The dynamo-powered USB outlet is a thoughtful addition, allowing riders to charge devices on the go. While the bike may be somewhat daunting for beginners due to its complexity and the initial friction in new gears, its overall design is geared towards low maintenance and high performance.

(Entry Level Traditional Steel Touring Bike Design)

Price: USD $2,049 (About $3,211 AUD)

Weight :  12.25 kg (27 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Marrakesh Triple Butted CroMoly – BB Standard: BSA, 68mm, Threaded – Tire Clearance: 50c – Color: Gold

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Alivio – 11–36t, 9-speed cassette and 48/36/26t crank

Gear Ratios :  20″ to 121″ (0.72 to 4.36 ratio)

Geometry (55 cm) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.55 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,055 mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.8 deg – trail 64 mm – Fork offset/rake 55 mm. Bottom bracket drop 77 mm

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  Teravail Rampart 700c x 42 mm / With a max tire clearance 700c x 40mm tires with fenders and 29 x 2.0″ or Apparently you can run up to 27.5 x 2.6″ tires

• More then enough eyelets for storing gear
• Rohloff hub compatible drop out
• Very comfortable ride
• Traditional touring bikes design and aesthetics – bar-end shifters for example
• It comes with 42 mm tires but the minimum tire for fenders is 40 mm!
• Can only use the Salsa rear pannier rack due to how it attaches to the dropouts.
• The rear drop out swingplate is non-standard. A potential problem if it is damaged with limited access for parts
• The 2020 models in particular has paint chipping issues – even though it looks great
• Smaller frames may have limited space inside the frame for bikepacking frame bags and room for drink bottles
• Heel-striking is a potential issue on smaller frames

Made from a burly steel but heavy frame (not as heavy as some other bikes in this list) the Marrakesh offers a rock solid, stable and comfortable ride as you would expect in a touring bike.

With a dual capability for both off-road and on-road adventures. This bike is versatile enough for touring, commuting, or leisure riding, offering a comfortable experience across various terrains.

Despite its somewhat hefty build, the Marrakesh doesn’t compromise on maneuverability or performance. It comes equipped with front and rear racks, although fitting mudguards requires a slight reduction in tire width from the stock 42 mm tires to a maximum of 40mm. 

The bike’s solid construction is further complemented by a reliable Shimano Alivio groupset, Microshift bar-end traditional touring bike shifters, and TRP Spyre-C disc brakes. Additionally, its wheels and tires are tubeless-ready, enhancing its off-road capabilities.

However, a notable concern for potential owners, particularly those with smaller frame sizes, is the chainstay design. The positioning of the rack is forward by about 20-30mm compared to other models, which impacts the bike’s handling, making it more akin to a shorter gravel bike when loaded.

This setup also raises the possibility of heel strike, a drawback that could affect the bike’s overall appeal as a touring option.

(The Most Budget Friendly Option In This List)

Price From: $1,590 + USD

Weight :  15.6 kg (34.40 lbs)

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Tiagra

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.52 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,083mm – (steering) headtube angle 71 deg – trail 56 mm – Fork offset/rake 55 mm. Bottom bracket drop 75 mm

Tire Clearance:  700x35mm, with fenders, but the frame can accomodate 700x38mm without.

• 36 spoke wheels – strong for bicycle touring
• High quality Busch und Müller lights
• Well-balanced geometry ensures a stable yet responsive ride.
• Budget friendly option
• The Sunnywheel fenders might be a little narrow
• Limited tire clearance only up to 38 mm
• At 15.6kg, it might be considered heavy for some riders
• Not as capable off-road thanks to limited tire clearance

The UK-designed Genesis Tour de Fer 30, drawing inspiration from its sibling, the popular Croix de Fer, stands out as a remarkable blend of innovation and tradition in the world of touring bikes. This model is unique for its slightly longer build than most other touring bikes, providing an added level of stability and comfort for those extensive journeys.

But is it really a “Do-It-All Tourer?” With limited tire clearance, therefore limited off road capabilities it is better suited to traditional road only touring.

At the heart of the Tour de Fer 30 is the reliable Reynolds 725 steel frame, noted for its strength and relative lightness, making it a dependable companion for long-distance travels. The bike’s design is complemented by a chromoly steel fork with quick-release dropouts, further enhancing its durability and resilience.

A standout feature of this touring bike is its high-quality Busch und Müller lighting system, powered by a dynamo hub. These lights not only offer superior illumination for safer riding but also add a touch of sophistication to the bike’s overall design.

The shifting and drivetrain responsibilities are adeptly handled by Shimano’s Tiagra groupset, which includes a triple chainset offering a wide range of gears, ideal for tackling diverse terrains and steep inclines. The 10-speed cassette ensures low-maintenance, consistent performance, a crucial factor for long tours.

In terms of braking, the Tour de Fer 30 is equipped with TRP’s Spyre cable disc brakes, known for their consistent and sufficient stopping power. While they may not be as powerful as hydraulic brakes, their ease of maintenance, especially in remote locations, makes them a practical choice for touring.

The bike rides on robust Sun Ringlé Rhyno Lite rims and is fitted with the legendary Schwalbe Marathon tyres, renowned for their durability and puncture resistance. This combination ensures a smooth and reliable ride across various surfaces.

Finishing touches include Genesis branded components like a 27.2mm seatpost, a flared handlebar for comfortable handling, and a saddle designed for long rides. Practical features such as full-length mudguards, bottle cages, and spacious racks (including a Tubus Tara low-rider front rack and an AtranVelo Tour 365 rear rack) enhance its functionality for touring and commuting alike.

(The Most AFFORDABLE Touring Bike At the Time of Writing!)

Price: 1,699.00 NOW ONLY $1,358.93 USD

Weight :  13.61 kg (30 lbs)

Frame/Fork Material : Full Steel Build – Double-butted chromoly steel and Chromoly steel fork with 15mm thru-axle.

Groupset & Drivetrain :  Shimano Deore, 48/36/26T crank and 10 speed 11-34T cassette.

Gear Ratios :  21″ to 120″

Geometry (M) : Stack/Reach ratio – 1.54 chainstay 455 mm – wheelbase 1,054mm – (steering) headtube angle 70.5 deg

Tires and Wheel Sizes (Tire Clearance) :  Schwalbe Marathon with puncture protection 700 x 38mm / With a max tire clearance up to 50mm

• Reliable Shimano Deore and Deore LX parts for the drivetrain
• Double-butted chromoly steel frame provides stability and a smooth ride
• Can support up to 300 lbs. including rider and gear (140 kg)
• Comes with spare spokes
• Getting on the heavier side but mid range weight compared to other bikes in this list.
• Tight clearance for fenders
• You could question the practicality of hydraulic disc brakes for touring bikes

The Co-op Cycles ADV 1.1 emerges as a robust and reliable touring bike, well-suited for long-distance journeys and heavy-duty touring. A very suitable bike for tackling steep inclines with heavy loads, which is what you want in a touring bike.

Its double-butted chromoly steel frame ensures a stable and comfortable ride, even under heavy loads, and the bike can support up to 300 lbs. The combination of a Shimano Deore crankset and Deore LX rear derailleur, along with the Tektro HY/RD hydraulic disc brakes, underscores its focus on durability and performance.

The bike is particularly noted for its excellent performance on long tours, with users reporting successful journeys over thousands of kilometers. It is equipped with puncture-resistant Schwalbe Marathon tires and comes with custom front and rear racks for carrying essential gear. An ultra-low gear option is also available, making it easier to navigate steep terrains.

However, some riders have noted the bike’s weight as a potential drawback, particularly when compared to lighter adventure options. There are some concerns about the practicality and maintenance of the hydraulic disc brakes for touring purposes.

Comparing These Bikes

Below, I’ve compiled a table featuring key information for each bike, making it easier for you to compare and decide which one best suits your needs. I hope this helps!

Why You Should Trust Cycle Travel Overload’s Advice

Hey I’m Codey Orgill and have been exploring this world by bicycle for over 8 years now! I have a long history with touring bikes, first being introduced to the world of bicycle travel with a classic Novara Randonee touring bike, then a Surly Long Haul Trucker and I now ride the Kona Sutra Touring Bike .

I have ridden my bikes across 10+ countries so far and a lot of trips where I live here in Australia! Lover of bikes and so passionate about researching, riding, and writing 🙂 about adventure-focused bicycles. That’s why I started this blog ! Have helped over 1 million people find, compare, and decide on their dream adventure bike! Nothing means more to me than getting more people out into the world on two wheels!

What Makes A Good Touring Bike? Criteria For Choosing These Bikes

First I wanted to focus on mostly more traditional touring bikes in this list. As I plan to put together a updated guide for off-road touring bikes better suited for bikepacking type adventures.

Comfortable and Stable Geometry & Design: A top priority was the bike’s geometry. We looked for models with a long wheelbase, (average touring bike wheelbase: 1050 to 1070mm) and chainstay to ensure sufficient heel clearance during pedaling, (average touring bike chainstay: 445 to 470mm) and to accommodate rear panniers. The ideal geometry also contributes to a stable center of gravity, enhancing balance and creating a smoother ride. Additionally, a front center of (around 600 millimeters) is ideal for toe clearance and compatibility with front panniers, a typical setup for world-spanning adventures. For predictability and more stable steering a 60 to 70 mm trail is ideal!

Upright Riding Position : An upright riding position is crucial for comfort during long tours. We sought a stack-to-reach ratio of about 1.5 or higher to avoid a hunched-over posture, reducing back strain over extended periods.

Gear Ratio : The gear range was another vital factor. We looked for bikes with a broad spectrum of gears, especially low-end ratios for climbing with a heavy setup. Ideal bikes offer gearing as low as 18 inches for steep ascents and up to 120 inches for comfortable descents, accommodating various touring conditions. However if you are doing lighter touring and commuting, typically up to a 25 inch low gear is a pass, but not for fully load adventures.

Wheels and Components : Quality components are non-negotiable for durability and performance. We ensured that each bike had robust components unlikely to fail during extended tours. Wheel strength is vital, so we preferred bikes with a high spoke count, ideally 36 spokes to support the weight of a fully loaded touring setup. But some of the lighter touring bikes or not so good build quality bikes may have 32 spokes which isn’t ideal.

Weight Considerations : While weight is a factor, it’s less critical in touring bikes. Most selected bikes weigh around 13 to 15 kilograms or heavier, standard for this category. With added gear, this weight increases significantly, but our focus was more on reliability than lightness.

Other Considerations: The bike’s load capacity is a pivotal feature, with higher capacities being more advantageous. Ideally, a robust touring bike should be able to support a total weight ranging from 130 to 180 kg. Additionally, factors like frame stiffness and the configuration of the kickstand are also important considerations for these types of bikes.

What Are Touring Bikes? The Different Types of Touring Bikes

Touring bikes can be broadly categorised into four distinct types, each tailored to different touring needs and preferences. While there are even more nuances within these categories, this classification provides a solid foundation for understanding the diverse range of touring bikes available in the market.

Traditional or Classic Touring Bikes

Traditional or classic touring bikes are built to be tough and withstand the rigors of long, continuous cycling over days, months, or even years. Unlike road bikes, these are designed with a focus on durability and stability. Typically made from steel, these bikes feature an upright geometry, longer chainstays, and are often equipped with fenders and a rear rack for panniers. The wheels are usually 700c with a high spoke count (32 or 36-hole) to endure the demands of bike touring. While classic touring bikes traditionally had rim brakes, mechanical disc brakes are becoming more common in this category. Both flat and drop bars are seen on these bikes, which often have a vintage look, as their design emphasizes functionality and longevity over aesthetic changes.

When discussing traditional touring bikes, the Novara Randonee instantly springs to mind as the quintessential example. With its bar-end shifters, classic steel frame, and comfortable touring geometry, it embodies everything a touring bike should be. This bike holds a special place in my heart as my first introduction to the world of bicycle travel. I’m eternally grateful to both the bike and Eric, the generous legend who gifted it to me. Thanks, mate!

Expedition Touring Bikes

Expedition touring bikes are designed for epic, long-duration trips, such as around-the-world adventures. Made primarily from steel for robustness and ease of repair, these bikes typically feature 26-inch wheels and rim brakes. The choice of these components is strategic, as they make it easier to repair and replace parts, even in remote corners of the globe. These bikes are built for resilience and are capable of carrying all essentials for extended journeys, making them a top choice for serious long-term touring enthusiasts.

These bikes are quite similar to traditional touring bikes but offer even more adventure focused components and parts as standard like kick stands, Dynamo hubs and light setups, and trekking bars or flat swept back alt bars are often more common on these bikes for that extra comfort in the saddle. The Koga WorldTraveller is a perfect example of this category of bike.

Adventure Touring Bikes

Adventure touring bikes or off-road touring bikes are crafted for rougher terrains, such as loose dirt, single tracks, and off-road wilderness paths, making them ideal for exploring less-traveled roads. These bikes are essentially a blend of road and mountain bikes. They usually come with drop bars and either mechanical or hydraulic disc brakes, offering strong stopping power for diverse conditions. Adventure bikes can accommodate a variety of wheel sizes and have clearance for wider tires. Many models are also equipped to handle dropper posts, adding to their versatility for different types of terrain.

For example, the Tumbleweed Prospector is engineered for supreme reliability and performance in rugged terrains. Its design eschews trendy materials for durability, particularly excelling with the Rohloff SPEEDHUB, an internally geared drivetrain known for its resilience in diverse conditions, from deserts to snowy mountains. Unique features like the Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket and custom cast dropouts, coupled with a design focused on maximum mud and tire clearance, make the Prospector a top choice for adventurous global expeditions.

Light touring or gravel touring bikes are similar to gravel bikes in that they offer the flexibility for both on-road and off-road use, but with the added functionality of eyelets for attaching racks. They are designed for carrying lighter loads and are more suited for shorter bike tours or bikepacking trips. Generally lighter in weight than traditional touring bikes, they provide a versatile and adaptable solution for cyclists who prefer a mix of on and off-road experiences. These bikes are often interchangeable with gravel bikes, focusing on a balance between lightness, flexibility, and durability.

In this category, the distinction between gravel and touring bikes becomes more nuanced, existing on a spectrum. Some gravel bikes are adeptly equipped for touring and off-road adventures , thanks to their tire clearance, touring-inspired geometry, and build quality. Others, however, are better suited for lightweight touring, with their capabilities leaning more towards smooth roads or light gravel paths due to certain limitations in design and gearing. This diversity means that while some models excel in rugged conditions, others are ideal for less demanding journeys. A good example of a lighter touring bike would be something like the Fuji Touring Disc or the Salsa Journeyer.

How To Choose A Touring Bike

When it comes to choosing the perfect touring bike, understanding your specific needs and priorities is key to narrowing down your options and making an informed buying decision. Every touring bike offers a unique combination of features, and what works for one cyclist might not suit another. By focusing on what is most important for your touring experience, you can filter through the plethora of choices and find a bike that aligns perfectly with your requirements.

1. Prioritize Your Touring Environment : Are you planning to ride mostly on smooth roads, rugged trails, or a combination of both? The terrain you expect to encounter is a primary factor in determining the type of touring bike you need. For instance, if off-road adventures are your main focus, a bike with sturdy tires and a durable frame, like an adventure touring bike, will serve you well. On the other hand, if you’re sticking to paved roads, a traditional touring bike with smoother tires would be more appropriate.

2. Comfort vs. Performance : Long-distance touring demands comfort, especially if you’re spending several hours a day on the bike. Consider bikes with a geometry that offers an upright riding position, reducing strain on your back and shoulders. However, if speed and performance are more important to you, a bike with a more aggressive geometry might be preferable.

3. Load Capacity and Accessories : Assess how much gear you need to carry. If you’re planning a self-supported tour with lots of luggage, look for a bike with a high load capacity, robust racks, and multiple mounting points. Conversely, if you prefer light touring with minimal gear, a bike with fewer rack options but a lighter frame might be better.

4. Maintenance and Durability : If you’re touring in remote areas, consider the ease of repair and maintenance of the bike. Bikes with simpler, more robust components are easier to fix on the road. The bike’s durability also plays a crucial role, especially in challenging conditions.

5. Budget Considerations : Set a realistic budget and stick to it. Higher-priced bikes usually offer better quality and more features, but there are also great mid-range and budget options that can meet your needs effectively.

Panniers for Touring Bikes

Much like the diverse range of touring bikes available, the market is also rich with various styles of panniers to suit different touring needs. Whether you’re setting off on an extensive cross-country adventure or planning a brief weekend escape, selecting the appropriate panniers can greatly elevate your experience. In this article, we delve into the world of panniers, offering insights into robust touring options, streamlined micro bikepacking choices, and minimalist solutions for those who favor a lighter setup.

What About Specific Touring Bike Handlebars and Saddles?

When embarking on bike touring or bikepacking, comfort is paramount, especially considering the main body contact points with your bike. A crucial aspect of this comfort is finding the right handlebars, which can greatly impact your experience over the many miles ahead. This article focuses on what to look for in touring handlebars and presents some of the best options available.

Choosing the right saddle for your bike touring or bikepacking adventure is a decision that can significantly affect your comfort on long rides. In our latest article, we address the essentials of bike saddle comfort and how to select a saddle that reduces discomfort for extended periods in the saddle.

A comfortable bike saddle is crucial, especially when you’re planning to spend days, or even months, pedaling across diverse landscapes. It’s not just about picking any saddle; it’s about finding the one that fits your unique body shape and riding style. We explore the factors that contribute to saddle comfort, from shape and size to materials and design.

Are Touring Bikes Good For Commuting?

Touring bikes are a great option for commuting due to their unique combination of durability, comfort, and carrying capacity.

Designed for long distances and varied terrains, these bikes are robust enough to withstand the daily wear and tear of urban travel, ensuring longevity.

he upright and relaxed geometry of touring bikes offers significant comfort, which is crucial for daily commutes, especially over longer distances.

This design effectively reduces strain on the back, neck, and shoulders. One of the key advantages of touring bikes for commuters is their ability to carry loads. Equipped with racks and multiple mounting points, they are ideal for transporting work essentials, groceries, or other personal items. Want to use a touring bike for commuting?

While touring bikes are versatile and perform well on different surfaces, making them suitable for various commuting routes, they are generally heavier than road bikes.

This might not be ideal for those who need to frequently carry their bike.

Additionally, they might not be as fast as road bikes, which could be a consideration for those with longer commutes seeking speed.

Moreover, the focus on durability and functionality often makes touring bikes more expensive than some basic commuter bikes.

Despite these considerations, touring bikes offer a reliable, comfortable, and practical solution for daily commuting, balancing efficiency and stability, especially when carrying loads.

Other Touring Bike Reads

• The Tips, 67 bike travellers wish they knew earlier – Beginner Bike Touring Advice
• Best Bike Touring and Bikepacking Handlebars – Everything You Need to Know
• Gravel Bike For Touring – 6 Best Gravel Bikes For Touring!
• 12 Best Front Bike Racks For Touring & Bikepacking
• Best Off-Road Adventure Touring Bikes 2024
• Best Flat Bar Touring Bikes & Expedition Bikes
• Best Touring Bike Kickstands & Everything You Need To Know

About The Author

Codey Orgill, a seasoned bicycle adventurer, has been exploring the world on two wheels for over 10 years. Since embarking on his initial cycling journey, Codey Orgill has traversed numerous countries, experiencing a series of epic adventures.

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Gravel bikes are not 90’s mountain bikes here’s why, 12 of the best touring bikes – ready for your next adventure, best touring bikes – 10 best touring and adventure bikes 2024, fat tire bikes – should you get a fat bike, 5 best fat bike trailer ideas, best budget hardtail mtb for bike adventures.

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• Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

Complete List of Off-Road, Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

Table of Contents

Criteria for selecting these adventure touring bikes, a bit more on adventure touring bikes.

• 26+ 27.5+ 29+ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

29″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Drop Bar

• 29″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Flat Bar

27.5″ Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes – Drop Bar

27.5″ adventure touring & bikepacking bikes – flat bar, 26″ adventure touring & bikepacking bikes.

Are you looking for a bike that will be able to take you deep into the wilderness? Perhaps you’re planning an expedition across a remote African desert or maybe it’s a rough touring route through the Peruvian Andes. Whatever your plans, today I’ll be introducing you to as many adventure touring bikes as possible.

Let’s explore!

Clearance for >2.20″ Tyres I’ve settled on this width because it allows for standard mountain bike tyres to be fitted.

Front and Rear Rack Compatible While many of you probably have the intention to use bikepacking bags – having rack compatibility simply gives you more options, and that ain’t a bad thing.

Ample Bidon and Cargo Cage Mounts Most bikes in this list have 3+ bidon mounts, including a couple of cargo cage mounts.

Fender Compatibility Preferable Some of you may scoff at the idea of taking fenders on a bike adventure, but the number of times I have issues with mud or debris is limited to a couple of times per year. Fenders keep you and your bike nice and dry, so don’t write ’em off just yet.

I’ve split this list into categories based on wheel diameter, tyre width and handlebar style. I think these are some of the most important characteristics of an adventure touring bike, as they largely determine the type of terrain your bike will handle. I generally recommend flat bars for adventure touring, you can read why  HERE .

All tyre widths and diameters can be fast and capable as long as they’re appropriately matched to the terrain. Check out my resource on the most durable bikepacking tires  to get a good idea for what might suit you best.

Most of the bikes in this list are constructed with steel tubing, but there’s a handful of titanium, carbon and aluminium bikes in there too. Given adventure touring bikes use large tyre volumes, you can expect a similar level of comfort across the board. I’ve got an in-depth resource on bike frame materials and durability found  HERE .

*This resource was originally published in 2015 but has been updated in December 2018

26+ 27.5+ 29+ Adventure  Touring & Bikepacking Bikes

More Bikes: Shand Bahookie Dropbar Frameset – 27.5×3.0 – £1495

More Bikes: Rivendell Atlantis 59-62cm Frameset – 29×2.2 – US $1500 V-Pace TMX Frameset – 29×2.25 – €1490

29″  Adventure Touring & Bikepacking Bikes  – Flat Bar

More Bikes: Crust Dreamer Frameset – 27.5×2.2 – US $1675 Monk Bicycle GXT Frameset – 27.5×2.3 – €1380 Penhale Gypsy Frameset – 27.5×2.3 – US $599 Pipedream Cycles A.L.I.C.E Frameset – 27.5×2.2 – £499 Rivendell Atlantis 47-56cm Frameset – 27.5×2.2 – US $1500 Smeltzer Bikes Thee Gifford Frameset – 27.5×2.2 – US $2300

Other Bike Lists On CyclingAbout: Complete List of Touring Bicycle Manufacturers Complete List of Tandem Builders and Manufacturers Complete List of Touring Bikes Available in Australia List of XS Touring Bikes for Smaller Cyclists: 42, 44, 46cm List of XXL Touring Bikes for Taller Cyclists: 62, 63, 64cm

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46 comments

What about front shocks? The great divide seems to be very front shocks friendly

Thanks for the compilation. Very useful since I’m more off-road oriented and most touring bike lists are focused on the “rugged” but not quite “off-road” models

As an off road tourer for 200km+ days in the saddle, here’s what I like: 2″ tires -700c diameter -Drop handlebar -Chain drive for reduced cost -Mechanical disc brakes for reliability -Relaxed, relatively up right geometry for comfort and ease of seeing nature/scenery -Basically a Salsa Fargo but titanium or carbon to reduce fatigue (this year is steel only) After all, Salsa no longer makes the titanium fargo and there are only so many cutthroats, as Salsa was putting out the feelers.

Anything else and it just isn’t comfortable or performing enough for an ambitious rider where fatigue, climbs and speed are concerned. Just want to see more drop bar 29ers for touring.

Thanks for sharing your list!

I’m glad it has helped. 🙂

Hi Donnieboy.

With an off-road touring bike, frame material is going to make bugger all difference to vibration damping, comfort, speed and climbing. Almost all of the comfort and damping will be attributed to your tyres, seatpost, saddle and bar tape. Check out my piece on seatposts here: https://www.cyclingabout.com/seatposts-overlooked-yet-critical-for-cycling-comfort .

If you’re loading your bike up super light, you MAY notice the ~1000g weight difference between a carbon Cutthroat and steel Fargo frame. However, once you add gear, water and food to a bike, a kilogram is almost unnoticeable. If I were you, I’d not rule out the 10+ steel/aluminium options unless you’re REALLY counting grams across your full set up.

I know what you mean Alee. Size is greatest, touch points are second greatest and materials are next. Will be climbing ALOT. Difference will be about 8 percent of rig without water.

I did the math on 4300km of riding the continental divide trail. The verdicts in! Assuming there is frame flex that loses just 5% power, there is 215km less traveled – which puts me almost a day behind the front. This is why pros need stiff bikes. The rest of us who aren’t pros or don’t aspire to push ourselves physically and mentally don’t care – or rather, shouldn’t care. Now, if you’re going to generalize by saying most people don’t need the extra stiffness, I would agree with you. But do we all do the same things with our bikes?! The answer to what is the best bike for someone, is only apparent to one who is smart enough to ask the questions to uncover the bike’s intended usage in conjunction with a mind that can differentiate specifics within industry specific knowledge. Or just not bother.

Your maths doesn’t add up. There is no direct correlation between frame flex and speed; it’s not that simplistic. In fact, many believe that some frame flex is faster than none at all (have a read of Jan Heine’s blogs on frame stiffness).

For Tour Divide here’s some things that are going to be more important: bike position (being more aerodynamic, as well as efficient on the pedals), comfort at your connection points, rolling resistance of your tyres and overall setup weight, including you. But all that will be trumped by what’s going on in your head. 😉

I don’t care enough to get into the level of detail that might satisfy a perfect argument for you to compare with your cut and paste link from Jan Heine – I might read it though – seen the site before. When argued correctly, you’re always right! You’re welcome to attempt the math on unknown dynamic parameters if you’d like to suggest rather than attempt to discredit! My point is that material weight matters when you climb the altitude of everest 6 times by bicycle. When you apply power through the frame on a loaded bike with torsion, there can be lateral flex that detracts from forward movement. There is also the weight. There are costs to the body; calories spent, water lost, micro nutrients out of the skin, and general body fatigue. That means I need to stop more for services, which can mean less adaptability to a changing ecosystem (weather) and means the person in the lead is further away. That is one of the reasons racers use carbon. That is all I need to know when it comes to MATERIAL selection for a frame. Notice I make no mention of geo or fit. Does that make sense to you? I don’t need a tutorial on trade offs of rolling resistance, aerodynamics/cycling position, fit and touch points. I ride slightly less than a pro and am an industry pro. I’ve been through the frame geo, fit song and dance on many bicycles, which is why I mentioned nothing about it in my post about frame materials. It puts me to sleep. I talk about what I need to and am usually self aware enough to know what I actually do or if not, to ask for it. Good luck to you in your forum and I am grateful for the selection of bikes you have shown on your touring bikes pages. Cheers!

I’d love for you to shoot through any studies that demonstrate that lateral frame flex detracts from forward movement. I can’t find any.

In my experience, the benefit of using a carbon frame over a steel or aluminium – weight. If I weighed 80kg and my bike/gear/water for Tour Divide was 20kg, the difference in total weight between steel and carbon would be 1%. With those numbers, and without any wind, temperature or elevation change – I’d expect the extra kg to conservatively add 30-60 seconds per 1000m of climbing. All those seconds obviously count given the 61000m total climbing, but it’s not as much as you’d think.

Have a play with http://bikecalculator.com/ if you haven’t already. It’s pretty fun!

Did Lao-China trip with my daughter on 20 inch foldie

how confident are you that the mazama can take 2.2 tires? i’m interested in getting one, but i cant find anything from REI to back that up.

It can clear 700×45 with fenders. Without fenders I’d suggest that 55mm tyres are possible. I’d shoot REI an email if you’d like to know more.

thank you. btw, this post is so great. its an awesome bicycle category and there is nothing else on the internet that covers it this thoroughly.

Not a problem. I try my best to create good cycling content that is unavailable anywhere else!

Maybe I can add one? the Dutch Avaghon X-29:

http://www.avaghon.nl/leveringsprogramma/avaghon-x29

WOW nice List, but i miss my Velotraum :-*

Thanks Alee! This is what I’ve been looking forever! Also, maybe look at a new bike this year (i think) Giant ToughRoad, maybe more of a do-it-all kind of bike but it has some good clearance, and options for a lot of storage.

Hi Alee, others.

would be very curious to hear the vews between a Surly disk trucker, and Soma Wolverine based similar component setup.

I’m considering going for long loaded tours starting in europe and eventualy venturing out to central asia etc.

Your views would be highly welcome.

There are a few key differences between the bikes, but in general the Soma kind of bridges the gap between cyclocross and touring. It’s a shorter and quicker handling bike than a traditional touring bike.

Key differences: Steering – The Surly has a higher ‘trail’ which makes the bike’s steering a bit slower. More trail tends to handle heavy loads at speed a bit better. Chainstay Length – The Soma uses a 425-445mm chainstay compared to 460mm. This puts the rear pannier weight further behind the rear axle on the Soma than the Surly, resulting in slightly less desirable handling. With short chainstays, there can also be issues with people with large feet striking rear panniers. Handlebar height – The Soma is a bit longer and lower in the front end, providing a more ‘performance’ fit than a touring fit. That said, you can bring the bars closer/higher by using a shorter stem and headset spacers. Frame tubing – I don’t know for sure, but I’d hazard a guess that the Soma uses lighter weight tubing on the Wolverine given it’s a bit of an all-rounder bike. That will likely result in a less-stiff frame, and a lower ideal carrying capacity.

The more similar model in the Soma range is the Saga Disc, which is super similar to the Surly on paper in terms of handling and specification.

Thanks a lot Alee

It seems then that the soma wolverine is more of a cross then suited for touring. I was initially interested in the wolverine due to the possibility to upgrade to rohloffs in the future – for long loaded tours.

What would you suggestion/view be in regards to going with deraileurs now and rohloff at a later point in time?

I love my Rohloff – you wouldn’t ever see me going back! 😉

If you didn’t want to compromise the frame geometry, check out the Specialized AWOL and Salsa Marrakesh. Both Rohloff compatible and available off-the-shelf with a derailleur drivetrain.

Would you strongly recommend not using the Wolverine frame? I see you use the Surly LHT frame… how did you convert it to use Rohloff? Dont you need extra mechanics to tension the belt?

I actually quite like the surly frame’s horizontal top tube.. as against the AWOL’s … its tricky geting the look and geometry right with addition for rohloff extension…

Don’t get me wrong, I think the Wolverine is a fantastic frame. Just be aware of its limitations as a dedicated touring bike.

I used a custom frame builder to modify my LHT to accept a belt. He installed sliding Rohloff dropouts to tension the belt. It was very costly, but at the time, there were almost no belt-drive touring frames available.

Hi Alee, i shall like to use it to commute to work most of the year all weather. thats the easy part. Also want to take a few tours ranging from small long-weekend tours 300-400km to maybe a longer 10 day 1000km or so tour too… nothing in the ranges of 10000km yet on the horizon… so lets say for tours maxing at about 2000km but 90% being 300km – what would you say?

When people say long tours.. i always wonder whats “long”:) and how frequent i guess is the question…

You have the Salsa Deadwood incorrectly labelled as the Marrakesh…

Thank you – fixed!

I notice that the bike picture for the Specialized AWOL and the Tout Terrain Tanami are the same…

I am wondering tho which model of the AWOL that is?

Weird. My version of this page shows the correct image for the Tanami!

That’s the 2015 Specialized AWOL Elite. I’ll be updating this resource shortly.

That is weird!! I’m using Chrome for iOS… Just checked out Safari and it shows the correct image for the Tanami…

I like the color on that 2015 AWOL more than the 2016 version

A friend of mine has twisted my arm to join him for a cycling trip from alaska to patagonia and wants to do a substantial amount off road. I’ve read about a few options, the surley lht but I wonder how good it is off road, the tout terrain looks nice but I haven’t seen reviews from people who’ve taken it through the Americas, and the thorn nomad looks sturdy but I see that you mentioned it’s not available in Australian stores. Wondering if you’d have any recommendations for a trip like this and if there’s a good store in Sydney where I can test some out?

Kind regards, Pete

Hi Pete. It’ll be best to find a bike with 2.0″+ tyres for a long distance trip from Alaska to Patagonia. In Australia you’ll find the Surly Troll, Surly ECR, Surly LHT (26″), Kona Big Rove, Tout Terrain Silk Road, Salsa Marrakesh and Salsa Fargo. I’d recommend calling/emailing SCV imports, St Kilda Cycles, Groupe Sportif and Dawson Sports Group for your best place to check out the product, but the reality is that you may not be able to test ride something in your size before you buy it. If you need help with comparing bikes, I have a new book available by the end of the month that will take you through all of the important stuff to know, then you can turn to the bike listing section at the back to compare sizes, steering speed, gear ranges and more! Keep an eye out – I can’t wait to get it out there. Alee

I am wondering what bike you would recommend for a month touring Iceland. I would be using the ring road as a base route then straying from it for more adventurous days here and there, I am very much more of a flat bar MTB rider than drop bar bikes although I am open to suggestions. I was thinking maybe a 29er with gravel tires on might be sufficient, any input would be much appreciated thanks, Nathan

Hi Nathan. I think you’ll be really happy with a flat bar touring bike! The tyres are going to be the most important factor at play for this kind of tour, as you’ll need to trade off between road speed and off-road grip. Try and work out how many days will be spent of gravel as a percentage, and go off that. A tyre that is fast through the middle, but with a few side knobs tends to be a great choice. I use the folding Schwalbe Marathon Mondial pretty regularly for this kind of thing. Alee

Thanks Alee for the quick response will look into the route more and figure out the best options.

The Saga Disc is now the Saga DC — with both provisions for both disc and cantis. It doesn’t have sliders, but can probably run Rohloff (chain drive) with a chain tensioner. And the sizing goes up to 66cm

Thanks for the update, Stan.

Any thoughts on Masi Giramondo 2016?

Thank you so much for all of the info! It is so hard to find a good bike just by looking through sellers online! There are so many crappy bikes with really high prices in the u.s.! I was looking into the montague folding bike 2016 models, but now I am reconsidering because I was having trouble finding good reviews on the components, and the few good touring reviews that I found said the components were bottom of the line, the cheapest they could get. I don’t want a bike falling apart while I am touring. I wanted a folding bike because at the moment, I am on a semi truck with my mom who is a trucker, and a folding bike is pretty much the only option for now. I can also hitch hike more easily if I need to when touring and also get picked up by friends in different parts of the country when I want to visit them or even take my bike to a different country when I want to leave (thinking about going to Costa Rica). It just seems so much more functional. I love the frame of the montague bikes, but I can’t have the bike falling apart on me all of the time and I can’t really afford to replace most of the components. I know they sell the frames separate, but they are so expensive, I don’t think I can afford to put together that frame and high quality components as well. I will figure it out eventually. For now I am just trying to save up as much money as possible for a good bike that can go on all terrain and preferably some off roading as well(being on the roads which are unfriendly to bikers in the u.s. next to the horrible drivers is not optimal and definately not prefered).

Isn’t the Surly Ogre Rohloff compatible as well? The Surly site says it is and it is basically a Troll with 29ers.

It sure is!

You should update your article, I was a little worried there for a second.

Outstanding web page. One of a kind. Very well done. Thank you.

Thanks very much, Billy!

Excellent, the best, not found on any other site. Two minor remarks: Idworx, not Id Worx; Poison, not Poisen.

Comments are closed.

What’s The Best Touring Bike? (2024 Edition)

Posted on 

Touring bike buying advice is a popular topic, so I update this post regularly to keep the details current. If you find any out-of-date information, consider leaving a comment to let me know. Thanks!

Choosing a new touring bike can be pretty stressful for a newcomer to cycle touring – especially when you start looking at the price tags. 

So it’s no surprise the most common question I’ve been asked in 18 years of running this blog is some version of the following:

“Help! What’s the best touring bike for my upcoming cycle tour?”

It’s a perfectly understandable question to ask, because there are a lot of options out there – but answering it calls for a bit of context .

Your choice of touring bike should be mainly informed not by online reviews or paid-for content by sponsored bloggers, but by the kind of tour you’re planning, your unique physiology , your riding preferences as a touring cyclist, and – an oft-forgotten factor – what bikes are geographically available to you.

So the “best touring bike” for a young Brit planning a low-budget tour in Europe would be totally different to the “best touring bike” for an experienced American planning a once-in-a-lifetime, multi-year adventure from Prudhoe Bay to Tierra del Fuego.

Similarly, the best bike for a rider measuring 5 feet (152cm) tall, who also has reduced neck mobility, would be different to the best bike for a fitness enthusiast trying to win a bikepacking race like the Tour Divide.

And if you ask fellow cycle tourers on forums like Reddit what they think is the best touring bike, the answers will inevitably reflect what’s worked best for them , not what’ll work best for you.

(Yes, I am a fellow cycle tourer, but I’m not just going to tell you what touring bike I ride, any more than I’m going to tell you what colour pants I’m wearing!)

Simply put, there are diverse answers to the question of what is the “best touring bike”.

Luckily, touring bicycles are a mature product with decades of heritage. And despite the the confusion created by the rise of bikepacking as an industry buzz-word , there are still plenty of good commercial touring bikes on the market today. These are bikes that have been designed to meet the needs of a broad range of touring cyclists, and are readily available through local bike shops and dealership networks around the world.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the best of them. The list below showcases some of the most time-proven touring bikes being made and sold in 2024, across the full spectrum of budgets, as well as a few lesser-known models to demonstrate what touring bikes for riders with specialist requirements might look like.

Perhaps you’ll find your perfect touring bike here. Perhaps you’ll realise you’re looking for something else altogether. Or perhaps you’ll find something more interesting to read among everything else I’ve written about cycle touring and bikepacking.

This is not an exhaustive list of every single touring bike on the market.

I’m a veteran bicycle traveller with 18 years of real-world experience, and my goal is to help you make the right choice , not to churn out AI-written spam to get on the front page of Google and generate affiliate commission.

My hope is to give you a taste of the diversity of touring bikes available today, rather than overwhelming you with unexplained jargon and things to click on. The journey of buying a new touring bike is not a short one. Reading this post will just be the beginning!

The list of touring bikes below is arranged in ascending price order. I’ve mentioned the worldwide availability of each bike, roughly speaking, and the manufacturer-suggested retail price (MSRP, aka: RRP or list price) in £/€/$ as applicable.

Cube Touring

Decathlon riverside touring 520, fuji touring ltd/disc ltd, ridgeback expedition, ridgeback panorama, surly disc trucker, oxford bike works expedition.

• More rider-recommended touring bikes
• Bonus: The secret to actually choosing the right touring bike

(Many good touring bikes previously on this list have been discontinued, including the Adventure Flat White, Dawes Galaxy, Revolution Country Traveller, and Surly Long Haul Trucker, to name just a few. That’s life!)

Summary: Feature-rich flat-bar trekking bike Availability: Worldwide List Price: £800 / €730 / US$760 / CA$1,090

The entry-level touring bike from the major German bike maker Cube is the affordable and simply-named Cube Touring . The basic model in this extensive range is currently one of the cheapest off-the-peg touring bikes on the market, and is widely distributed across Europe and North America.

If you’re used to the appearance of British or American designed tourers, you’ll notice some big differences, such as the flat handlebars and adjustable stem, the resulting upright riding posture, and the front suspension fork, as well as other details like a kickstand, a hub dynamo, and LED lights as standard. These are all fairly typical features of touring bikes from German and Dutch makers, where utility and comfort takes precedence.

To cater for a diverse customer base, the Cube Touring range comes in several frame variations and sizes, including the classic diamond frame (5 sizes), women’s specific with a sloping top-tube (3 sizes) and a step-through frame for riders with impaired mobility (3 sizes), all in a choice of two colour schemes.

The ‘semi-integrated’ rear rack, which is held in position by the mudguard/fender, is unorthodox, and the seat stays and front fork don’t have standard mounting points, complicating any modifications to the bike’s luggage-carrying capabilities. Riders looking for an entry-level touring bike that can be upgraded in the future may also decide to pass on the Cube Touring for these reasons.

The rest of the specification is impressive at this price. The entry-level Shimano V‑brakes and drivetrain components are sensible. As with any bike, you’ll want to fit your own preferred saddle, but the inclusion of ergonomic grips, lights, fenders and a kick-stand makes the Touring more or less ready to hit the road right out of the box.

All that said, the bike’s strongest selling point is the price. The recent disappearance of several popular entry-level touring bikes has left a gap at this end of the market – one that the Cube Touring happily fills.

• Check out the full Cube Touring range on the Cube website .
• Find your local dealer in Cube’s online directories of stockists in the UK and Europe , the USA , and Canada .
• Don’t buy this bike online. Support your local bike shop ( UK list )!

Summary: Good value forward-thinking light tourer Availability: UK, Europe, Australia List Price: £800 / €800 / AUD1,800

There’s no denying the success of Decathlon ’s no-frills approach to designing, manufacturing and selling sports and outdoor gear. The Riverside Touring is the entry-level model in Decathlon’s new foray into touring bikes, and for many riders will be a welcome addition to the sparse options at this lower-budget end of the market.

The Riverside Touring 520 is based on an aluminium frame, whose geometry sits somewhere between the old-school rigid mountain bike and today’s trendy gravel/hybrid rides. The frameset sports a big range of mounting points for more or less any luggage configuration you might imagine, including a front lowrider or fork cages, a traditional rear carrier rack should the semi-integrated stock rack not be to your tastes, and no less than five bottle cages.

The riding position of the Riverside Touring leans towards relaxed and upright, with the sloping top-tube helping with mounting and dismounting, and flat bars with so-called ergonomic grips and bar-ends atop a stack of head-tube spacers, all pointing to a bike designed with the casual or newcomer rider in mind. Comfortably wide 1.75″ tyres will be equally content on asphalt and gravel at the 700C (28″) wheel diameter.

Looking at component choice, Decathlon have specified a 1×11 drivetrain (ie: a single front chainring driving an 11-sprocket rear cassette); unusual on a tourer where riders tend to benefit from a wide and fine-grained range of gear ratios. The hydraulic disc brakes are also an unorthodox choice for a touring bike. 

Both will have traditionalists up in arms, citing increased chain wear rates, a reduced choice of gear ratios, and the near-impossibility of repairing hydraulics on the roadside. But a quick scan of the many customer reviews of this bike suggest that these concerns are academic. In the regions of the world this bike is likely to be used, spares and repairs for this bike will be abundant. And if you want to take it further afield, you can always fit cable disc brakes and/or a regular drivetrain.

Certainly one of this bike’s great strengths is how widely available it is for test-riding, Decathlon having hundreds of locations across the UK, Europe, Australia, and increasingly further afield, including Turkey, India, China, and the list goes on . Indeed, I can easily imagine a first-time tourer with a reasonable gear budget walking out of the store with not just the bike but a full set of luggage and maybe some camping gear too.

There are only four frame size options, however. Taken together with the wheel size, this may prevent those with short body lengths from finding a good match with the Riverside Touring 520.

In summary, while Decathlon have leaned pretty far into the crossover between classic touring and the gravel bike trend, there’s little to find fault with at this price – and there’s considerably more scope for upgrades here than other entry-level touring bikes in this list.

• Buy the Riverside Touring 520 in the UK from Decathlon .
• The bike is also available from Decathlon branches across Europe , Australia , and beyond .

Summary: Sporty steel-framed light road tourers Availability: UK/Europe/USA List Price: €1,000/1,500

Japanese manufacturer Fuji’s entry-level touring bikes are the Fuji Touring LTD and Disc LTD . The cheaper Touring LTD is the flat-bar model with rim brakes, while the Touring Disc LTD features drop bars and cable-actuated disc brakes with integrated shifter/brake levers. 

They’re both built on a Reynolds 520 cromoly steel frameset, with classic touring geometry and all the usual mounting points. Both bikes feature 36-spoke 700C wheels on Shimano hubs, and mudguards/fenders and a reasonably solid rear rack as standard, but no front rack or lowrider (you can of course add one later).

The Touring LTD has a Shimano Alivio V‑brakes and a 3×9‑speed chainset from the midrange of Shimano’s mountain-bike series of components, while the Touring Disc LTD has a 3×9‑speed Shimano Sora chainset with slightly higher gear ratios, making it more oriented towards lighter-weight road rides, as well as the ubiquitous TRP Spyre cable-actuated disc brakes found on so many touring bikes. For the extra money, the Disc LTD has a generator (dynamo) hub built into the front wheel which is already hooked up to the integrated front headlight – a nice touch.

The Fuji Touring LTD and Disc LTD come in no fewer than seven frame sizes, allowing precise fitting and fewer compromises for short or tall riders.

In summary, both models represent high ambitions in a good-value package aimed at a rider who wants a classic, no-fuss steel-framed touring bike, with the Disc being the sportier and more road-oriented of the two.

• Find a list of global dealers on the official Fuji website .

Summary: Beefy yet comfortable long-haul all-rounder Availability: UK List Price: £1,350

Launched in 2014, tweaked in the years since and now thoroughly tested on longer trips, the Ridgeback Expedition  is a strong contender for best value expedition touring bike on the market.

The current model shares design principles with many more expensive touring bikes designed specifically for worldwide expeditions beyond the developed world: wide-range 3×9‑speed mountain bike gearing, chunky 26-inch wheels, and a comfortable upright riding position. Unusually for a British tourer, it comes with flat bars and bar-end grips for a variety of hand positions. Cable disc brakes are now fitted as standard (the first incarnation had drop bars and V‑brakes).

The Ridgeback-branded integrated grips and bar-ends are modelled on the very popular but expensive Ergon range. The latest version of the Ridgeback Expedition also sees a brazed-on kickstand mounting plate added to the non-drive-side chainstay (though not an actual kickstand).

In many ways, as well as being excellent value for money, the Ridgeback Expedition is one of the most full-featured off-the-peg bikes in this list for extremely demanding trips where comfort and durability over time are paramount. Upgrade the rear rack, add a front lowrider and your favourite saddle, and you’ll be ready for the most remote of the planet’s backroads.

• Read my full review of the legacy 2014 Ridgeback Expedition here , and check the comments for feedback from long-haul riders.
• Like the rest of Ridgeback’s range, the Expedition should be available from any authorised Ridgeback dealer .

Summary: Classic British fully loaded drop-bar tourer Availability: UK List Price: £1,600

The Ridgeback Panorama  is a British-designed, Reynolds 725 cromoly-framed, disc brake-equipped, classic touring bike with a durable selection of 3×9sp drivetrain components from both road- and mountain-biking ranges. 

Its road-oriented frameset is prime for being built up into a fully-loaded, long-haul, asphalt touring machine. Both a front lowrider and a rear rack are fitted as standard – Tubus lookalikes, not the genuine articles, but still a welcome addition for fully-loaded riders who are just getting started.

Potential weak points on the Panorama include the integrated shifters/brake levers, which break away from the principle of separating possible points of failure (although you could theoretically swap them out for bar-end or even downtube shifters). The wheelset components are also nothing to write home about; get the spokes re-tensioned before taking this bike on a long-haul tour.

In spite of these question marks, the Panorama has been around for a long time and is very much tried and tested:  read Tim & Laura’s detailed guest review of the Panorama after a 6,000-mile road test , after which they completed their round-the-world trip on the same bikes.

• The Ridgeback Panorama is available from these authorised UK dealers .

Summary: Customisable road/gravel adventure bike Availability: Worldwide List Price: £1,600 / US$2,050 / CA$2,800

Back in 2012, when the jury was still out on disc brakes as a reliable choice for long-distance touring, Surly produced a disc-specific version of their legendary Long Haul Trucker touring bike, cunningly naming it the Disc Trucker . It has since evolved into one of the most versatile and tried-and-tested touring/adventure bikes on the planet.

The Disc Trucker platform had a major update in 2020, about which more detail on the Surly blog. Wheel diameter now complements frame size, ie: bigger wheels suit taller riders and the vice-versa, for a total of eleven frame/wheel size combinations. If, having tried all the Disc Truckers for size, you still can’t find a good fit, you should probably visit a bespoke framebuilder.

The frame geometry is tight and nimble, with integrated gear/brake levers adding to the sporty vibe. This lack of mechanical separation won’t please everyone, but will certainly please riders looking for a performance boost over the uncompromising solidity often seen in the expedition bike niche.

Similarly to the Kona Sutra (see below), the latest Disc Trucker has bolt-through axles, clearance for fatter tyres, and versatility improvements such as multiple fork mounts for fenders, cages or lowriders, to match the kind of wilder, mixed-terrain rides for which the Disc Trucker is increasingly used.

As ever with Surly, racks and mudguards remain excluded, the intention being for you to fit your own according to your needs.

The garish fluoro-yellow paint option of the current Disc Trucker won’t be for everyone, but Surly tell us that it’s also available in hi-viz black.

• Click here to read my full review of the legacy 2014 Disc Trucker .
• To find a place to test-ride one, start with Surly’s global dealer locator .

Summary: Adaptable, performance-oriented road/gravel tourer Availability: Worldwide List Price: $2,100 / £1,900

Canada-based bike manufacturer Kona have long inhabited the left-of-centre in cycling. The Sutra range, too, is progressively-minded, being one of the first mainstream touring bikes to switch to disc brakes back in the early 2010s.

Since then, Kona have adopted the stiffer and stronger bolt-through axle standard (another first amongst bikes in this list), and tightened up the frame geometry to produce a nimble and sporty cyclocross-inspired steel frameset which remains a touring bike at its core.

In 2022, Kona diversified the platform into several models, including the LTD and SE. The standard Sutra went in a more lightweight direction than in previous years, switching to a road drivetrain and cable-actuated hydraulic disc brakes. Today, this performance-oriented version of the Sutra remains Kona’s ‘modern take on the classic touring bike’ (in their own words), with a Shimano GRX 2×10-speed road-bike gearing, drop bars with integrated shifter/brake levers, mixed-terrain Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tyres, and a Brooks B17 saddle and Brooks bar-tape as standard. This all points to the blend of on-road and off-road use increasingly preferred by riders going on shorter, wilder adventures.

The 2024 Sutra’s luggage-carrying capabilities are diverse and adaptable. For those wanting to use the bike as a fully-loaded world tourer, standard rack mounts are provided on the seatstays and rear dropouts, suitable for fitting any standard pannier rack (perhaps a Tubus Cargo or Logo to match the Tara front low-rider already fitted). For those wanting to stay nimble, frame and fork mounts exist for more or less any combination of bolt-on cages and harnesses.

The Kona Sutra comes in six fine-grained frame sizes. This year’s paint colour is Satin Midnight with bronze gloss decals, in case you were wondering.

• I’ve been riding a Kona Sutra myself since 2012 and I love it.  Read my original long-term review of the legacy model here .
• The Kona website has a handy  list of worldwide dealers so you can find a place to test-ride the Sutra.

Summary: Bespoke, round-the-world expedition bike Availability: UK & Worldwide List Price: from £2,789

Originally a one-off “ultimate expedition bike” built to my exact specification, Oxford Bike Works have been refining and custom-building bespoke Expedition s to order since 2015 from their workshop in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. Many have now circled the globe. It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

As standard, each bike features a hand-built Reynolds 525 cromoly steel frame, a choice of 26″ or 700C hand-built wheels, top-end Tubus racks, rim or disc brake options, Microshift thumbshifters, and tons of other expedition-specific touches.

From a baseline specification, each bike is custom-built to the rider’s exact needs and preferences after an in-person consultation and fitting session at their workshop. While most of their customers are from the UK, they will also ship finished bikes elsewhere in the world in special cases.

Oxford Bike Works have now moved all frame production to the UK, both minimising their carbon footprint and allowing even more individual tailoring – especially attractive for riders with diverse physiologies who may find that the commercial bikes in this list don’t cater well for their needs.

• Check out the full specifications of the Oxford Bike Works Expedition .
• Read my 10,000-word epic, How To Build The Ultimate Round-The-World Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures) , which details every design decision that went into this bike.
• Don’t buy this bike online (you can’t anyway). Support your local bike shop ( UK list )!

Yet More Rider-Recommended Touring Bikes

This is not an exhaustive list, because if it was we’d be here all day. But the following bikes have also been recommended by readers of this blog over the years since I first published this post. All have also proven themselves capable touring bikes over time and miles:

• Bombtrack Arise Tour (Germany & Worldwide)
• Cinelli HoBootleg (Italy & Worldwide)
• Fahrradmanufaktur TX-800 (Germany)
• Genesis Tour De Fer (UK)
• KHS TR 101 (USA)
• Temple Cycles Adventure Disc 3
• Trek 520 Disc (USA & Worldwide)
• Vivente World Randonneur (Australia)

…and you’ll find even more options in my massive list of heavy-duty expedition touring bikes available worldwide .

Remember: don’t buy a touring bike online. Support your local bike shop ( UK list ) and have your bike chosen, fitted and customised by an expert whose job depends on getting it just right, just for you!

Bonus : The Secret To Actually Choosing The Right Touring Bike

Finally, I’m going to tell you a secret. 

It’s something other cycle touring bloggers won’t tell you, because they’d prefer you to click on their affilliate links, buy a bike online, and earn them commission.

If you’re having trouble choosing between the touring bikes listed above, the reason is probably because – on paper – they are basically all the same .

They all cost several hundred pounds/dollars/euros. Most of them have steel touring-specific frames, wide gearing, relaxed riding positions, a pannier rack and extra mounts, and drivetrains from the middle of Shimano’s mountain-bike or road-bike ranges. They’re all built primarily for paved roads, but could handle a dirt track or gravel road if need be. They all have two wheels, handlebars, and a saddle.

So how should you choose between them?

The answer is actually very simple.

Visit a touring bike specialist ( UK list ) and take a few bikes for a test ride. 

In doing so, you will discover that the “best touring bike” is the one that’s available in your area and has been set up for you by a touring bike specialist who’s taken the time to understand your needs.

I’ve written a longer post about what to do when you get to this stage of the touring bike buying process, when you’ve got a shortlist of bikes you found online but you’re struggling to choose between them .

And if what I’ve shared with you here still isn’t enough, you can check out even more deep-dive posts about detailed aspects of touring bike choice, including

• three critical questions you should ask at the start of the touring bike buying process ,
• a discussion about what exactly defines a touring bike ,
• my take on what’s really going on when you can’t decide between two bikes ,
• a hugely in-depth article on how to custom-build your own expedition bike ,
• a summary of the debate over disc brakes versus rim brakes ,

and more on my absolutely massive advice and planning page .

Because of all the things you’ll buy for a cycle tour, the bike is the one purchase you really can’t afford to get wrong.

Bogged down in research for your next big bicycle adventure?

I wrote a whole book to help with that. How To Hit The Road is designed to be read at your leisure, making planning a bike tour simple and achievable, no matter the length, duration or budget. Available globally as an ebook or paperback.

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Also relevant to this post:

• How To Custom Build The Ultimate Expedition Touring Bike (With Pictures)
• Surly Disc Trucker Touring Bike: Legacy Review & Detailed Photos
• The Best Cheap (Sub-£1,000) Touring Bikes for Low-Budget Adventures

Comments ( skip to respond )

323 responses to “what’s the best touring bike (2024 edition)”.

Wow. An actual person. Writing. Pen to paper. This is just O so refreshing! Thank you!!! (At 76 years of age-and an English major to boot, circa 1970–I get so tired of the shit being published today. Gawd–I have to guess at what some stupid software program is ATTEMPTING to say!)

You’re welcome. It’s fast becoming my unique selling point!

I can’t find a Kona Sutra SE anywhere, I think they’re discontinued, so if anyone knows where I can find one let me know.

Yes, you’re right – it looks like Kona have simplified things for their 2024 range, and the plain Sutra is now their classic touring bike once again (as it was for years before the SE was introduced). It looks like you’ll need to add your own rear rack for fully loaded touring, but all the frame fittings appear to be there. I’ll update this post shortly with the new model. Thanks for highlighting it!

My wife’s bike is a basic 2000 Kona Hahana. Persuaded the dealer to sell only frame headset seatpin bars. . Built up better wheels etc tubus racks. Tierra del Fuego to Quito plus many more trips. Still going strong 20 years later. My lovely lightweight Univega bought as a frame lasted until 2013 .The frame broke in Albania survived for 60 km held together with nylon cord and cone spanners. Got it welded by local blacksmith. Now have Surly Troll. Ok .….but will have to go back to Square taper bottom bracket. Wife’s old square tapers have done about 30000 miles. Progress or fashion? Charlie and Bethan

All I can do is repeat the old saying that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Anyone got their hands on a Decathalon Riverside Touring 900? Looks like good all round value, but rarely in stock on their website! Would love to hear some real world feedback on this bike…

I second that – real world stories appreciated!

Hi Tom, I recently cycled from Amsterdam to Genoa covering 2500km in total. I flew into Amster with the bike boxed up. I took with me a carbon frame Ridley Kanzo Adventure, it has all the mounting points and relatively relaxed geometry. I road over every type of terrain and the bike didn’t let me down. What I liked with this bike was that I could arrive at my destination in the evening, remove my pannier bags and then have a light weight roadie feeling for exploring whatever region I had made camp in. The bike also had great performance in the hills. Another plus was that when flying and the bike is boxed up, it’s relatively light weight to transport. This meant that at the start and end of my tour getting the bike boxed up from campsite to train to airport was not such a struggle.

Thanks, Kerry. I really like this approach and I’m heartened to hear carbon frames are now being built to take light luggage loads. Thanks again for sharing!

The 30 year old touring bike you already own becomes the second best, as the next one you buy must necessarily be even better.

I’ve recently gone from a Claud Butler Majestic to a Crossmaxx 28″ Pinion. Naturally, I’m absolutely certain, it’s the best touring bike I could possibly have bought (given my criteria and priorities).

First, let me make this perfectly clear, I’m not a seasoned tourer, so much of what I will say is strictly coming from an amateur. I had to look for a new touring bike after my 85 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe got hit by a hit-and-run driver and bent the fork beyond repair, but that bike worked great for my needs.

I could not buy a touring bike from anyone in my city of 350,000 people because no one carries them, the only shop that could have ordered me the Trek 520 but there were some things about the bike I didn’t like, plus it was expensive and with lower end parts, much how I felt the Surly Trucker was, having no choice I had to turn to the internet. in 2019 I compared the Kona Sutra SE, Surly Trucker, Fuji Touring, Masi Giramondo 700c, and one other I can’t recall the name. After much debate, I narrowed it down to either the Kona or the Masi, and ended up with the Masi because of the price of $1,450 at the time, the Kona would have cost me $1,950, but in 2019 they didn’t have some of the stuff they now have on that bike so to make it work I had to make some changes which would have cost me even more; the Masi had the best gear ratios for climbing steep grades with a loaded bike of any bike I saw, and at the time Masi was using 180mm rotors on the front and 160 on the rear and I liked the idea of the bigger rotor on the front, Masi has since reduced the front rotor size to 160.

I did make some changes to the Masi, put on RedShift Shockstop suspension stem and seat post, a change I would have done to any other touring bike I would have bought, now I feel like I’m riding in a Cadillac. The stock Kenda Drumlin tires are junk and heavy, I replaced those with Schwalbe Amotion 38c tires; and the WTB saddle was also junk, so replaced it with a Brooks C17; I ended up not liking the front Tubus Tara rack and replaced it with a Blackburn Bootlegger rack which works better for my needs. 

I think the Masi Giramondo 700c is a very worthy touring bike that a person should at least look at, especially if on the lower budget end of things.

Thanks for this detailed contribution – it’s always good to hear about rider experiences with touring bikes other than those listed here. For other readers’ reference, here’s a link to the California based manufacturer webpage for the Masi Giramondo .

About to begin a year of touring with Breezer Radar Expert. A review of it here https://cycletraveloverload.com/breezer-radar-expert-review-best-budget-gravel-bike/ (not me) I changed the tires to Schwalbe G‑One Overland Evo 28″ 50–622 for this purpose 😉

I’m considering the Priority 600, as my new touring bike and wondering if anyone has any history of using one or opinions of this bike? Thx

For reference, here’s a link to the Priority 600 . I have no personal experience of this bike, but I have published my own detailed thoughts on internal gearing systems such as the Pinion gearbox in the context of cycle touring here (most of the same logic applies to belt drive).

I am a multi day ultra cyclist, so tend to go minimalist. However, I have done big touring rides in the past on my trusty 1993 Cannondale T1000 (my 21st birthday present). I think that a Daws Super Galaxy or Cannondale, still make excellent budget touring bikes. I have been racing and touring on a Niner RTL Steel, which is makes an excellent touring bike, with great touring geomtry and lots of mounts for racks — I use a 1x 46t Shinano GRX groupset with an 11–50 cassette. Gravel bikes can may great touring bikes

Happy you’re reinforcing the mantra that the best touring bike might be the one you already have – even if it’s 30 years old! As for gravel bikes, many of them would certainly make good tourers – just not sure I’d advise anyone to buy a gravel bike for touring if touring-specific bikes are also available.

I think I have been riding the “Best” touring bike for the last 7 years. — https://photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8

What an absolute beast! Something with that much detailed customisation can hardly fail to serve its rider’s needs best.

Yes HP and Tom, I would like to know about the Marrakesh too!

Interestingly enough, I still can’t find any long-term rider reviews of the Marrakesh. There are, however, plenty of spam reviews which combine manufacturer specifications and stock photos with meaningless filler like “combining Alivio Trekking derailleurs with the Shimano Sora shifters, you won’t have any problem slowing down or torquing up the bike when needed” (yep, actual quote). As a rule, bikes only get on this list when a consensus emerges from the community of people who’ve used them on tour. I just wish I could find more decent trip reports from people riding this one!

Great list, but where’s the Salsa Marrakech?!

I’ve done a few tours on it and can vouch for it’s quality. She’s an absolute beast and rides like a dream! Packed with touring features and has really well worked out geometry.

PS I don’t work for Salsa.

PPS love the blog mate. Did a 6500km+ around Asia a few years ago and your blog was really reaaally useful. ???

Thanks for the comment! The Marrakech was launched in 2015, which in cycle touring circles makes it a newcomer 😉 but you are correct that enough time has gone by now to see real-world results, so I’ll consider it for the next update. Thanks again!

I am looking to buy either Fuji disc touring LTD 2021( priced at 1336 euros) or Trek 520 2021( priced at 1600 euros) . I am really confused , as I don’t understand even though both have very similar specs, why is the trek 520 priced at 250 euros higher? Is trek somehow supposed to be better for some reason that I cannot comprehend or is it price cause of the brand “trek”?

Hi Badri. Prices may differ for many reasons, including import taxes, exchange rates, retailer profit margins, and of course simple pricing decisions by the manufacturer. But my main advice still remains this: if you can’t choose between two bikes on paper, it’s time to visit your local bike shop and take both for a test ride!

Hi I’m from newzealand and touring bikes well decent ones aren’t that easy to come by at the moment because of covid .but I found a Kona sutra the guy had only done about 100 km on it decided he wasn’t going to cycle so sold it and I happen to be at the right place at the right time.great bike to ride and I’m looking forward to my first tour on it in one months time Peter

Unlikely you monitor this anymore, but I’ve been comparing my 80s road bike to modern touring bikes (Croix de Fer and Kona Sutra) and the geometries look the same. Am I missing something or are modern specialist tourers actually very similar to old-school road racers?

Hey Hugh. Actually I make a point of replying to every comment, and I update this post monthly 🙂

Long ago I inherited a hand-built road bike from my grandfather. It was the first bike I’d owned that wasn’t a mountain bike and I was amazed at how fast and light it was, despite being a steel frame. It was a bit on the small side for me, but you’re right that the geometry was quite close to a classic road tourer. The biggest differences you’ll probably find are in the weight (heavier-gauge tubing designed for carrying luggage) and the wheelbase proportional to frame size, although the trend today seems to be for more compact and sporty designs. But the short version is yes, there are certainly a lot of similarities!

Sorry to burst some people’s bubbles.But I want to save you the hassle and frustration. I’ve been touring around north,central and south america,now in Turkey & the Balkans for the last 4.5 years on a 3x9 ‚11–36 cassette Surly Troll 26″ and I can tell you that 26″ anything is absolutely obsolete!! DEAD!! It has been a total nightmare! I can find zero parts for it, anywhere. Definitely forget tires. Impossible! Literally nothing anywhere. Traditional wisdom is gone out the window, China has flooded the market with 27.5/29″ and all the components for these sizes and that’s what killed the 26″ over the last 5+ years. Seriously , almost everything I have for my bike I had to buy off Amazon and getting lucky once or twice when a mechanic spent days looking for parts for me. I’ve spent days and more than 2 weeks stuck in cities looking for what was considered simple parts found “easily”! :9 speed shifters,cassettes,chains,26″ tires,disc rotors 160mm,BB,brake pads,etc…Nada!! Super frustrating! I can’t buy a new bike now but I will sell this 26″ 3x9 Troll in a flash the first chance I get or throw it straight into a river. It’s a shame because it’s a great bike. You can almost still get things for it online, but I think soon these parts will be plased out soon. Due to Covid the shipping is taking weeks and many parts are out of stock now too. I thought that being in Europe people still ride 26″ bikes I might find parts,but no.I’ve been once again stuck Tirana for more than 2 weeks just for a cassette and chain and have to take inferior parts now. If I had a 27’5 or 29″ and 10/11 speed I would have more options. My friends who toured 5–10 + years ago can’t believe this change. All 26″ inch bike frame builders out there need to know this.The market has changed, traditionalists be warned. Good luck!

Hello Ian and thanks for your comment. You certainly sound frustrated! For balance, and for the benefit of my other readers, I’d like to add a few observations:

1. 26″ is a wheel size, not a cassette sprocket count, chain width, shifter indexing system, disc rotor size, etc. It affects rim, spoke, tyre and tube availability. 2. You’re right that the industry is currently swamped with trendy new wheel sizes like 27.5 and 29. But most existing bicycles in the world have 26-inch wheels. These bicycles will always need spare parts and are unlikely to disappear overnight. 3. As for “literally nothing anywhere”, I just walked into my local supermarket and found an aisle of brand new bicycles, all adult sizes of which had 26-inch wheels, and a rack of spare tyres right next to them. I’ve said this before: it’s not just specialist bike shops that sell bikes. This is critical to remember when looking for 26-inch wheel parts in far-flung lands.

That’s all I wanted to add. I hope you get things sorted in Tirana. And I hope you’ll share with us the location of the river you throw your Surly Troll into!

Im fairly sure the Surly Long Haul Trucker promotion pictures are of frames with a different wheel size they are designed for. The picture here looks like a 60cm frame for 700c wheels but fitted with 26″ wheels. This is the same for the picture here as it is on their website, which looks like a 58cm frame for 262 wheels with 700c wheels in place. I own a Surly LHT and theyre great bikes but the frame sizeing can be a bit confusing and the promotional pictures dont help.

I would respectfully disagree, based on the fact that the brake shoes are visibly aligned correctly with the rims. If the wrong sized wheels were fitted to the frame, this wouldn’t be possible. In the past, all sizes of LHT frames have been available for both 700C and 26″ wheels, so I’d guess we’re looking at one of the larger frame sizes for 26″ wheels with the correct wheels indeed fitted. The proportions do look weird at a glance, but it is in fact how these bikes were sold. FWIW the sizing scheme of the Truckers has changed now, so wheel size better complements frame size throughout the range, as mentioned in the latest update to the post above.

Hello Tom — I have a Koga Miyata Globe Traveler which I bought in 2005 from a dealer in Lexington, KY — Pedal The Planet. (Ironically, in 1985, I did a world tour on a Miyata bicycle.) I bicycled the Lewis and Clark Trail that summer, St. Louis to Astoria, OR. 10 years later in 2015 I began a charity ride of the perimeter of the U.S. for Habitat For Humanity and Save The Children (website: usperimeterride.org) and concluded that 12,000 journey in 2017. I’ve been very happy with my Koga Miyata all these years. I’m 71 now, and don’t know if I have any expedition type tours left in me … but I keep thinking. Just wondering your thoughts on the current Koga bikes. I’ve seen a couple of comments here regarding Koga bikes — some positive and couple not (the one regarding the cracked frame). I think that there are no longer any Koga dealers in North America. Am I correct in thinking that? I believe there used to be one in Toronto, and a dealer out in Santa Barbara, CA, that handled parts. Pedal The Planet where I bought my Koga Miyata is no longer in operation. Thank you for all your info on your website!

Aaaand Long Haul Trucker is gone as well. Seems like Surly are phasing out some of the touring bikes.

Same source — LHT FAQ, third answer I think.

That’s tragic – although on closer inspection it does say “for the time being”…

Sadly, Surly will discontinue the Troll model in 2021.

Hi Lukas! Do you happen to have a source for this? I’ve checked the Surly website and social media channels and haven’t found any mention. I just want to be sure that my readers are getting accurate information. Cheers!

Someone asked the question on Surly’s website in Thorn section — Q&A. They asked whether Thorn will be renewed for 2021 and someone from the staff said that they will no longer offer this model. 

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/troll

FAQ section, should still be the first question asked. 

I was planning to build a tourer on Troll frame and I guess now I should buy it before it’s gone.

I wrote ‘Thorn’ by mistake, should be Troll (I also consider Thorn for my build and must’ve been thinking about it.)

Thanks for the reference, Lukas, that’s very useful. I guess it reflects the diminishing popularity of the 26-inch platform, at least for new bikes (and thus for profit margins).

In the premium category I’d add one of the IDWorx bikes such as the All Rohler or oPinion BLT. I visited their HQ last week and Gerrit and his team are amazing. They won ‘bike of the year 2020’ award for their BLT off-road touring bike. https://www.idworx-bikes.de/

I had the Off Rohler in this list since visiting their stall at Eurobike 2014 – it almost wins the ‘most expensive off-the-peg touring bike in the world’ award! I’m keen to see what they’ve created since then. Thank you for the link and the suggestion!

They arent’ cheap that’s for sure. I tried to trade in my wife for a titanium bike, but they only take euros.

Once they start to explain the engineering behind each component you can understand why they arrive at those prices. Also it’s a 4th gernation family of bike builders, they hand build the bikes, their staff are properly-paid, they have sunk lots of money into R&D and make many bespoke components. The attention to detail is astonishing. I spent nearly a day at their HQ with the attention of the owner, his wife, two dogs and their chief engineer. (He did his Masters theisis on Pinion gearboxes). We rode in the German countryside and tested a score of bikes. The customer service is out of this world. If you can afford it, I’d would recommend IDWorx.

Hi Tom, thanks for your help! Now im planning a big tour for a few years in Africa and America, now i have an Avaghon 26 series with Rohloff and Magura but im thinking to change with a 29″ wheels( im 1,81 cm tall ). What do you think about Surly ECR? Thnaks, Fabio.

I have never ridden the ECR so I can’t speak from experience, but I know it’s a well respected frameset. Your height suggests a 29er would be more comfortable in the long run. For planning a big tour you might want to check out my list of expedition touring bikes – this will also help you see quickly which framesets are Rohloff-compatible. Hope that helps!

I think I have “the best” touring bike available… judge for yourselves. Full suspension mid-drive eTouring bike and trailer evolution. https://photos.app.goo.gl/wP8vs7T5hLpNjSBX8

Hey Tom. Love this website. Is this still current? I can’t find a stockist that has the Flat White. Even Adventure’s own website doesn’t seem to link to it. Or am I missing something obvious? Thanks

It’s still listed at https://www.adventureoutdoor.co/bike/flat-white — I’ll be updating this article this month and will see if I can find any current stockists.

A look at secondhand market worth it as I picked up Thorn Mercury Rohloff for £1200 (pretty much the price of the hub alone) also have a rohloff on my ti 29er and it has been on 2 other mtb before that ……. pretty much fit and forget.

Hi Tom I am preparing for a number of long term trips in the near future and researched bicycles heavily (including use of your excellent website) and settled on the Ridgeback Expedition. However I have now made three attempts to buy one at cycle shops in a variety of towns and no-one seems able to sell me one! I decided to contact the compnay directly, but no phone number and they say that they take two weeks to answer e‑mails. So I would suggest that customer service might be a factor in choosing the bike to buy (these are not cheap acquisitions after all) and any company that cant even manage to communicate with customers at the point of purchase isn’t likely to have ana dequate after sales customer support! Not sure what to do now, but it definitely will not be a Ridgeback anything Dave

Local bike shops don’t tend to sell a wide variety of bikes here in the UK, they make there money from servicing bikes and selling components so it’s not really a surprise you can’t find a bike shop that sells them. A quick google search has just shown several reputable online retailers that supply the ridgeback expedition and will provide you with any customer support you might require after purchase.

Hope this helps

Thx for the info. About same specs as my modded Moonrun. I use SKF bracket spindle but have cheaper headset but works fine for years now. For carrying stuff I use strongest on market today and that is the rear rack made by Thorn. Fitted with M6 steel bolts I can come a way with most everything I throw at it. I had the frame professionally modified by Marten from M‑gineering after which it was powder coated.

Hello, Thanks for this nice article. Why is the TX-800 striked-through in the list ?

You don’t have the Surly Ogre(700c) or Troll(26″) on your list. I got the Ogre because it was suggested over the LHT or disc version because they are a little more rugged. I went from the US to Panama on an Ogre and never had a problem with it beyond needing new tires, I went with the Ogre because I had a really nice set of 700c rims. NEVER EVER go to Latin America with anything but 26″. I read a few blogs on crazyguyonabike.com and with off road touring the LHT(or disc version) needs welding.

Hello Tom. I cycled Armenia three years ago in a short tour and met an old french man Thierri, walking all the way from france to there. one month after getting home he came to me in Tehran and stayed for few days. in his Photoes, i saw you. i knew you in advance beacause of your movie. The intention of writing for you is that we’ve been in contact for one year or so but suddenly i lost him and i Thought you might remember him and have any news of him. I really hope he is doing well and being healthy. thanks sorry for misspeling

best wishes Saied

Yes, he’s safe and well and back living in France. A true legend and inspiration!

I’m currently cycling in Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. 2000km via the coast, in some pretty demanding scenarios. I’m riding the Cinelli HoBootleg 2018 Touring Bike which has been as tough and reliable as I had hoped it would be. I’m 1000km in of the 2000km and think it’s been a great bike. Intrigued it wasn’t listed in the line up.

Should it be? I think so yet if there is a reason for not rating or listing can you let me know? Recognise you cannot list all Touring Bikes yet it does have a great name in many other review pages.

Anyway — I rate the Cinelli!

One other thing, I think the Trek 920 should be listed. The bikes you have reviewed are very traditional and the Trek 920 certainly makes the available options a little more spicy. Touring bikes are surely headed in the Trek 920 direction wouldn’t you say? D

Tom, what do you think about Verso Tour Gitane? I’m from Argentina, and here there aren’t so many good bikes, and I can buy one Gitane, but I’ve never heard about this model. Thank you

I also haven’t heard about this one. On paper it looks like a pretty decent European-style ‘trekking bike’ – the adjustable stem and the Magura hydraulic rim brakes remind me of some better known German and Dutch models. The drivetrain choices are close to what we use for the Oxford Bike Works Expedition. I’d take a careful look at the rear rack, which doesn’t look too sturdy from the photos, and consider upgrading the tyres if you’re going on a long trip.

This bike has a lot of critical components made from aluminium: the frame, forks and rear rack. The front rack would appear to be the chromoly Tubus Ergo. Going on your previous comments about aluminium Tom you could rule this bike out for some types of touring, for example, where a frame, fork or rack break would cause a major disruption.

Thank you for post. Lot of good reading. However i am bit lost in a choice now. Do you think you can shine a bit light to it ? 

I just now finished 300km testing tour on my road bike Coyotee Route 66. I changed a lot of things in a bike like butterfly handlebars, wheels, saddle, etc etc… 

I was riding in UK from Birmingham to Warrington. But after i come back i had a pain all over my body. And i started to think about a choice all over again… 

Now In 3 days i should start trip about 4000km from UK to Portugal. Do you recommend to buy a new bike this short before? 

I explored variety of options of bikes but seems more or less simmilar. I am concern if i will go for normal touring bike riding will be bit boring. Where Surrly Troll seems bit more fun. I was also thinking about hardtail mountain bike with fork suspension. But this seem as quite slow and tiring on road. And also what you think about newer types as using cargo bike (YUBA), hybrid bike should i think about it ? And also if you have any experience with using electic bikes. With a range above 100miles seems as interesting. Go for it or not ?

Thanks a lot for your answers.

Thanks for the article, i plan to travel from Texas to the bottom of South America next year. I was planning on buying a bike there. Do you know much about American bikes and what would be good for that trip, i’m Over 6 ft and about 95kg now. I’m in china now so i don’t think buying one here would be good but, i’m open

The Surly LHT or Disc Trucker is the classic American tourer and widely available. For your height/weight I’d go for a 700c model in L or XL frame size.

Thanks for this great review. I travel now for last 5 years with a Koga World traveller bike. Very happy with it. Please include in your evaluation next time!

Bought a Koga World traveller three years ago, have been very happy with it. BUT, this summer while on a trip in Scotland I saw a nasty crack on the welding. Tried to identify a Koga dealer, and all those mentioned on their website no longer do Koga. I contacted the customer service via their website form and it took them a week to get back basically telling me to contact the seller. I bought the bike in France, so that wasn’t going to help me much! So I went to the nearest reputable dealer in Pitlochry, they confirmed my worry that the bike was too dangerous to use so bought a cheap, but very good Giant mtb, and continued the holiday. Picked the broken Koga bike up on the way back to France and went to the seller.

The bike has been sitting in the seller’s workshop for THREE WEEKS as they wait for KOGA to instruct them on how to proceed (they are no longer a Koga dealer). The frame comes with a lifetime warranty, but a warranty doesn’t fix a bike. The seller has sent photos, and sent more photos at Koga’s request, but still no instructions. They have contacted the nearest Koga dealer in France and no answer from them either. I even went to the nearest dealer in Germany to see if they could help and they refused.

I have emailed, tweeted, tried calling, but nothing seems to get them to react now.

So my advice would be to stay away from Koga unless you are ok with paying a lot of money with no assurance that you will get any form of support if you have a problem on the road.

This sounds like a terrible story and I’m sorry to hear about it. It does seem unusual that one of the most reputable high-end touring bikes would develop such a fault in the first place, however. I’d be interested to hear what solution eventually arises – I would have thought a crack in a weld under warranty would point to a brand new replacement frame.

Tom I have a dawes titanium (not disks) and I was thinking of upgrading the wheels and brakes for longer audaxes. Do you have any suggestions.

thanks David

If I were you, I’d pay a visit to my nearest professional wheelbuilder.

New Trek 1120 is a whole new dimension. Gearing up now for a Canadian ride.

Having been the proud owener of several Koga bikes for around the world trips unfortunately, since 2016 the quality has been declining. For the amount of money it cost, it is simply not worth it. For 2000 € (which the price of a Koga bike) you can get a lot of bicycle elsewhere.

Hi Tom! Thanks for an interesting article! I’m dreaming of bike adventures, both longer trips and weekend trips and try to find a new bike that can make those dreams come true. Mostly, though, I’ll use the new bike for my everyday commute in Sweden. I’ve been watching the Verenti substance tiara/sora — seems like decent components and good value which I’m pretty sure will fill my commuting needs. But how do you think it would do for longer adventures? I’m mostly concerned about weight, geometry and key component durability. I would be very grateful of a brief opinion! http://www.wiggle.se/verenti-substance-tiagra-adventure-road-2017/

Hi all, Great article — many thanks. Very useful while choosing a bike to undertake a cycle across USA in 2018 (I’ve never had a touring bike before). I chose Trek 520 (Disc brake variety) in the end which I’m really happy with. Good value at £1,000 versus other bikes available, comes with pedals and rear pannier rack and very swish gear changers. Reviews on Trek website largely very positive as well. I went for because I’m quite tall (193cm/6foot4) so was struggling to find a big enough frame in any touring bikes. Surly do large frames but are more expensive (~£1500) and no extras like pannier rack. In the end the 60cm Trek frame firs me very well — we checked standover length and top tube length and because of the geometry of the bike it actually matches some other manufacturers who produce larger frames (eg 62cm). Feel free to contact me on [email protected] if you have any questions or thinking of buying the bike, I’d be happy to help.

Ollie, London

If it is a choice between a smaller and a larger frame, my preference is for the smaller frame because a) provided the steerer hasn’t been cut yet, it is almost always possible to achieve a good fit by putting on a longer stem and raising the seatpost (swapping for a longer one if necessary) b) bigger frames are harder to pack for travel c) it can feel more manoeuvrable

Punish the thing, make the bike work for you, and don’t be limited by the bike or its stuff. Bikes get stolen, plans go squiify and so what if we decide to take the really cruddy road upppp that turns into gravel then kind of goat track then.. and you land up pushing and doing singletrack downhill to .. mud and gravel and finally .. So, my bike came out of a skip, a rusty 2012 Scott Speedster S30. Thrown out! Square section BB, road rims and tyres (I know.. but a good spoke key makes life simple). wide range 9x2 gears. But it takes racks.. The boom in road cycling means 700c and road bike bits are much easier than they were a decade ago — even in Yemen and Iran. Total build cost of my bike: £100 including panniers. Bits and pieces off gumtree, pinkbike, etc. If it get bent, hah. If it gets nicked, hah. The no-compromise bits: ‘fit’ / setup, the saddle, my most comfy/worn SPD shoes, tubeless with goop.

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing this!

Hey this is great stuff! However, do you have recommendations for bikes in the US? ‑j

Sure – many of the bikes in this article are from U.S. manufacturers, Surly and Kona being the obvious two. Also check out REI’s range of tourers under the Co-op Cycles brand.

Hi Tom, love your site. I need to thank you not only for an informative site in general, but also for helping me make a decision on a touring bike. Until recently I lived in Darwin, Australia. It’s reasonably isolated and the choice of bike brands is severely limited. Thus, test riding anything decent is out of the question. My wife was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work in France for 6 months so I saw this a a great chance to purchase the bike of my dreams. Armed with advice from your site (and others) I narrowed it down to two bikes — the VSF TX-400 with Shimano drive train, and the Rose Activa Pro 2. As there wasn’t a Rose dealer where we were living in France, the TX-400 was the winner. That was August last year and I haven’t had even a twinge of regret. I love it. Keep up the great work mate. I look forward to following your adventures (and Charlie’s) for many years to come. Cheers, Derek.

I am surprised that Ridgeback is still fitting aluminium racks to its high-end touring bikes when most other brands fit cro-moly. Aluminium whilst okay for components such as wheel rims, handlebars, and seatposts, is too fragile for heavily loaded racks with thin small diameter tubes and suffers too easily from metal fatigue.

I am surprised that serious riders will still accept an add-on rack of any kind steel or not. Every connection is a weak link. Tout-Terrain, Panamericana. http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycles/panamericana/ — not interested in the pinion gearing but you can’t beat the frame.

Hi Tom and readers, Does anyone out there have any experience with or notion of what to do with the following problem? (saddle soreness — chafing). My girlfriend has a typical german woman’s uprightish trekking bike by bulls, and we did just one two week tour on it last summer. She’d never toured before. She found her “intim Bereich” (intimate area) got rubbed a lot by the saddle (wasn’t an issue with short local trips previously), so I ended up buying and trying a new saddle, then a series of the best rated woman’s saddles out there, and all of them did the same rubbing thing. Biking shorts and a gel pad didn’t help fully or much. She thought being more upright helped the rubbing, by taking pressure off the front of the saddle and putting it more on the sitz bones, so I got some big curvy bar ends and cranked them way back, so she can sit totally upright. I even added a nice suspension seatpost. But somehow the pain won’t go away. I’m really at a loss about what to do. I wonder if a new frame would help at all. Anyone find a saddle that really helps with sensitive bottoms? I’m leaning towards getting her a recumbent, but can’t really afford it, and she doesn’t tour with me a lot. I ride a bacchetta giro 20 myself and highly recommend it for touring! Thanks for any advice!

hi Jeff and all, dr. jim parker from cruzbike has compiled some very revealing facts regarding health issues cyclists commonly are facing, i.e. genital numbness & e.d. besides the usual (wrist,back & neck). i do suffer from groin pains riding on my dawes upride racing bike within 30–45 min.

hence for my upcoming uk & european (& car replacement) tour i am opting for an “atl-falter” from radnabel in tuebingen, germany. atl stands for “all tags lieger”(recumbent for everyday-all year/tasks); falter stands for folding. they are not well known outside of central europe, have been handbuild for nearly 30 years and are highly regarded for being — safe (long wheel base, low center of gravity), nimble (sharp turning circle), quick (ergonomic design & pushing against the backrest/very good uphills), comfortable (no neck, groin or wrist pain, full suspension), good load carrying capability [70kg total], “protecting” (see: allwetterverkleidung/foldable fairing/poncho), well engineered and sound workmanship. although dieter baumann (builder) speaks english, the webside is in german only. the atl-falter with rohloff, full chain cover, rear rack, pannier holders, twoleg stand weighs 17–18 kg (chrmo steel). 

you get an better idea about radnabels atl’s watching these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgX6zIViBY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsBEvBX_S4o

they have proved themselves also on long distance tours germany to china. happy cycling or as we say in bavaria: “frohes radln” regards reinhard

Ok, my thing about touring bikes, what about the weight?! Most tourers are just too heavy, 17Kg+ steel monsters. “They have to be, for the reliability”…well the only frames I’ve had break were a steel and an Al frame. Maybe you’ll say “blasphemy” but my trekking bike of choice is a modified carbon fibre Simplon “Nanolight” K3. My aim has been the lightest bike but still fit for a tour of up to a month on road. This thing has been faultless for 9 years of mainly mountain tours (and daily commuting). The essentials, for me, are: good hub dynamo lighting, hydraulic Rim brakes (discs are, expletive, Primadonnas), brooks saddle, bike rack, mudguards, oh and lightness. Everything is carbon or titanium, except the wheels, saddle and handlebar. it’s expensive but still less than people spend on fancy packages for their car. Final tour weight is around 9.1Kg. I even made my own bike bags out of lightweight cuben fibre. Yes the bike could be seen as excessively focussed on weight, but nowadays trekking bikes could be a lot lighter than they are, we would have many more people on bikes, heavy bikes stop people biking. J Jones.

I have noticed that all these touring bikes have no suspension in the front wheel. I am curious, why? Does a front suspension affect the performance of these long bike trips?

For most tours it’s simply not necessary. A suspension fork adds complication, meaning more to go wrong. Forks without lockout introduce inefficiency. Finally, most forks are incompatible with lowriders (front racks).

Bikepacking (i.e. lightweight offroad touring) is a different story, but still a small niche.

Is there an easy solution to fitting a front light to my Ridgeback Voyage with a bar bag in situ? I do not want an extending arm attached to the drops with the light above the bag. I was wondering if one can purchase a bracket to bolt onto the mudguard retaining bolt on top of the front forks immediately below the headset. This would have to be offset to clear the cantilever cables. Any thoughts Anthony

A bracket on the fork crown is a common (old-fashioned) solution. Some bar-bags also have a mounting bracket accessory for a light (the Carradice one comes to mind). Or you can wear a headtorch!

Thanks Tom for your reply, I have had lots of comments and thoughts from others on the Cycling UK forum too. As is often the case as soon as one starts looking into things there are loads of solutions available. I have learnt a lot just by looking at the various websites sugggested by people. I have now purchased a good light that will fit on the fork itself and and allow to be positioned pointing down to cover the road in front. Not a dissimilar situation from the old ‘ever ready ‘lamps that we had on our bikes back when I was a child in the 50s and 60s. Though this is a USB rechargeable smaller model. I think this will do the job. So thank you again for your thoughts and I will soon start to read your book on my kindle which arrived today. I look forward to that.

Great site Tom and full of excellent stuff and info. Keep it up.

Kind regards Anthony Brewer

Hi Tom and all, Has anyone any experience of the cantilever brakes designed specifically for tandems and tourers by a company in Seattle USA called Rodriguez bikes., R&E Cycles. They call the design ‘The Big Squeeze’. I looked into this as I am not sure in my mind yet whether my Shimano cantis will work on my Ridgeback Voyage as well as I want on a heavy laden bike on very steep descents. The contact I have had with the American company has been excellent and speedy. They have no distributers or outlets in the UK and the brakes are quite expensive but look with all the information they provide a well thought out and constructed brake. Any comments, opinions or knowledge on this from anyone would be very much appreciated Anthony Brewer

Spa Cycles, a touring specialist fit these. 

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s101p2386/TEKTRO-RX-5-Mini-V-Brakes

I have used them on 4 loaded alpine and Pyrenean tours on my Ridgeback panorama and they have been great. They need fine tuning and true wheels but have plenty of power and work much better than the ones supplied by Ridgeback. My Panorama only cost £450 so I would be reluctant to spend $250 plus shipping on those. Also I am not a fan of the style I think they stick out too much and could cause injury in a collision.

Thank you Phil for your comment on these brakes. I use simialr V brakes on my hybrid as per your link to Spacycles. However as I understand things it isn’t possible (easily that is) to change to V brakes ( which I do like ) without quite some work. I have dropped bars with the gear change incorporated in the brakes. The length of the cable is significant and the possible use of a ‘travel agent ’ to allow for the cable pull etc etc. Are you saying that Spa cycles would change my present cantilver system to these V brakes advertised? As I said I have yet to test my present brakes seriously but will definitely be doing so this spring/summer. Thank you for the recommendation Phil Regards Anthony

No problem Anthony. I ordered them from Spa and fitted them in one hour and I am no expert. May have needed new cables and small sections of outer because of the lengths of the runs but it was straight forward. You can remove the original centre-pull aluminium cable stay as the new cable comes from the side. The original brake levers and repeater levers will work, no new ones are required as the travel is sufficient. I also looked into travel agents to gear up the travel but I agree they are complicated. The mini-vs don’t need the same amount of travel as the full size v‑brake. They are just 85mm not 105mm. Admittedly it is possible with them fitted the level can be pressed right onto the bars, but by that time you would be over the handle bars. The large amount of travel gives you precise control. 

It is very straight forward to fit but you could always order them and get the local bike shop to fit them.

PS the cantilevers supplied on Ridgeback tourers are on the verge of being dangerous on a fully loaded tourer down a steep hill. I recommend changing them to Tektro mini- v brakes I showed you or Tekro CR720 

http://www.highonbikes.com/tektro-cr720-cyclo-cross-bike-cantilever-brakes-front-rear.html?gclid=CjwKEAiArvTFBRCLq5-7-MSJ0jMSJABHBvp0WpP5LLsbie8YcECqv8AAZxpL0R1slUyaJFRFZzcQghoC0YTw_wcB

I don’t like them because as I previously said they stick out too much

Again many thanks Phil. You have certainly given me much to consider. However the Tektro CR720 are themselves cantilever brakes too. So I wonder why you have suggested these as a possible alternative to my present tektro Oryx cantilever brakes on my Ridgeback? They look very similar. I do appreciate your comments on this subject Anthony

the CR720s are used by my co-cyclists on tours and are much better than the oryx design in terms of efficiency. It’s all about the distance from the rim to where the cable connects, much more leverage. I included them as an alternative but would still favour the mini-v’s personally.

they look very different from your once fitted: http://bananarider.com/product/tektro-cr720/

Hi, would you consider Specialized Crosstrail Disc 2017 a good touring bike? I am looking forward to buy my first bike aiming to use it for a long tour (upto 3–6 months) next year around europe.

Also a doog opyion in my opinion: http://www.kross.pl/en/2016/trekking/trans-alp

I’ve recently purchased a Cinelli Hobooleg for £1100, although I’ve only been using it for my 10 mile commute so far I’m very happy with it.

It looks the part and from the reviews I’ve read it will hopefully see me safely around North Wales on my first proper test run later this month.

Looking at the features of these touring bikes they look like early 90s mountain bikes. 26″ wheels?Check. Steel frame? Check. Rigid fork? Check. 7/8 speed drive train with thumb shifters? Check. Braze ons for racks and fenders? Check. I would suggest folks keep an eye out for a good used mountain bike from this era and you could save a bunch while ending up with a bike just as robust, lighter and with higher quality parts(granted, said parts may need some love). I found an abandoned Rocky Mountain Team Comp which has frame tubing better than any of the bikes listed (heat treated tubing by Tange of Japan). The bikes of this era were of very high quality as it was the fastest growing sport then and the competition was fierce with leaps in steel tubing technology. Steel was still the material of choice also. I managed to build my bike up(it was missing a lot of parts) for maybe $500 and I have XTR rear derailleur, Sunrace 8 cassette, Suntour XC thumb shifters, Syncros stem, NOS XT UN73 BB…you get the picture. The additional bonus is a bike that is still quite light yet strong. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who knows nothing about bikes but if you are a bit of a bike geek its pretty rewarding finding a good higher end mountain bike and fixing it up. Parts back then were very well made.

Hey Tom, Edinburgh Bikes have a new tourer out end of the month, http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-country‑2–16

I’m sure it’s similar to your reviewed bike above but would be great to hear your thoughts.

looking at a bike trip in 2018 from shanghai to istanbul semi-supported. been doing self-supported touring on my 25 yo trek 970 but the sour grape machine is ready to be retired. been shopping around and am considering the novara safari–i like the mustache handlebars and the price seems good but worried about the quality of components and whether 700 wheels are potentially a problem…i know 26″ is more the standard when you are in the middle of nowhere. any input would be much appreciated.

Tom, I have been researching touring bikes for quite some time and I think I have found the bike to start touring. Following your advice in this blog I picked up a 15 year old MTB that is in great shape. I will put on touring tires and a rack that I already own and I’m ready to go on some short introductory adventures. Perhaps if I really get the touring bug I will invest in a new bike but for now this will do and the price is right. Thank you.

For anyone currently looking, my local LBS, The Bike Shed Devon, have a bit of a touring sale going on at the moment. Definitely worth looking before making any decisions. http://www.bikesheduk.com/touring-bikes-for-sale

Thank you very much for the tip on discounted 2015 Dawes Galaxy AL bicycles from Evans. I just picked one up for £400!

Evans has also the Dawes Galaxy Cross cromo (steel frame, disc brakes, straight bars) for the same price. Looks like a bargain.

Having cycled and backpacked since I was at school, in my mid 50’s i decided it was time to combine the two persuites and try a spot of weekend touring. Not wanting to spend too much on a bike that i may not get on with, I bought my daughters barely used 2001 Specialized Hardrock off her. It cost me £225 new originally, so she recon I got a bargain at £40 second hand!!! It’s Cr Mo steel frame and rigid forks [not even butted], Acera group set, square drive triple chain rings and 26″ wheels, have a real solid feel, so after fitting Marathon tyres, racks, and bar ends, I treated myself to a pair of 46li Altus rear panniers and a bar bag. Packing lightweight and minimalist, my first weekend away was a real success. On my next outing of 4‑days, a rear spoke went after the first 20 miles, but no rubbing, so I finished my tour in the Cotswolds, but walked up a lot of hills. For my next trip in the Peak District, I had a new twin-wall rear wheel, and a new wider range rear cassette, still walked up many hills, but who cares, I was wild camping, and just making my route up as I went along. I keep looking at new bikes, but don’t know how I would really benefit, the bike just keeps rolling along happily for my short breaks. A new bike may weigh less. My rig weighs in at 16.5kg without panniers, how does that compare with other tourers?

So, the ultimate all-round tourer *is* a 26 inch wheel frame with geometry which looks like my many-times-earmarked-for-the-skip, first generation, double-butted cro-mo mid-80s MTB that’s in the shed? It confirms my own conclusions (though I’m no hardcore global wanderer like yourself). Interesting that it looks as if 26″ wheels will remain relevant. I was thinking there is a gap in the market for a longer and near-horizontal toptube frame style (with, perhaps, 29er wheels), instead of the downhill-style geometry which seems obligatory on all fat-tyre machinery.

[…] spend money on a good bike and the necessary gear you’ll find costs are minimal. Many good quality bikes can be purchased for less than £100. Many travelling bicyclists choose to camp at official […]

Thanks for the advice! I was faffing around for about a year trying to buy a touring bike in the UK but never quite got around to it. I’m now in Vietnam about to set off in a time pressured trip to India (through Laos, Thailand and Myanmar) and I no longer have the same access to the kinds of brands mentioned above(or budgets). I’ve found something called a Windspeed Long Rider touring classic, which is a Chinese brand, and the bike shop is offering a pretty good deal inclusive of accessories. Let’s hope it’s up to the job! Anyone have any experience or knowledge of this bike? Mostly sold only in Asia I think.

Hi. I am trying to choose a bike for touring around the world that would be a slow heavyweight may be some times off road and long term! but in my country there is not a wide choice for me! I have to choose a bike and change it into a touring one! my question is what kind of bikes is good for me! road bikes that mostly used here for races or mountain! here i can find bikes from Merida , giant, Fuji, Scott, specialized! of course I have an old Peugeot mountain bike that i was thinking about changing in to a touring bike but i am not sure! it is too old! thank you 🙂

Finally bought me touring bike, a Specialized AWOL DLT. Took your advice to try it and decided on a medium instead of a large frame (I’m 5′9″) since it was more comfortable. The problem was to find any bike shops who stocks touring bikes in Sweden, found only the AWOL, Kona Rove and Trek 520. As a plus I got a good discount, paid “only” £760 (Evans charges £1160) since the dealer said -“customers ask for touring bikes and then they do not buy them”!

Hi Rob, where in Sweden did you buy it ? I am in Norway (Oslo to be precise) and can´t find any shop stocking touring bikes.

Hi Francesco, http://www.cykelhuset.com sell Specialized AWOL, http://www.jarlacykel.se sell Trek 520 and http://www.fixmybike.se sell Kona. I have only ridden the AWOL and the Rove, both seemed very competent. Just on way back from virgin trip Sassnitz — Berlin, so far satisfied, love the 700x42c tires, perfect for tarmac and gravel!

Tom, for my 21st birthday I got a Cannondale T1000, 22 years and 15000 miles later (low mileage bike) it is going strong. It has been to Paris a couple of times, Amserdam 4 or 5 times and one long trip from Cherbourg to Santander as well as numerous day and weekend UK outings, it has towed a Tag Along for a fair few miles and had a child seat for some of its life. Much of today’s riding is spent on minor roads and tracks around the New Forest and Wiltshire. Few parts have worn out, I am on the second BB, and I upgraded the chainset to an ultegra, other than a couple of tyres, chains and cassettes I have had to do very little. I love the bar end shifters for their reliability, the XT cantilever brakes do a good job stopping the bike, even on 50 mph descents in the Pyraneese with full panniers and camping gear and my 80 kg weight. With an 11 to 32 cassette, 24 speed are fine on a tourer, spacing is well judged. It is really hard to imagine how it could be improved on.….

I just picked up a 2004 Cannondale T2000 for my son’s 13 birthday. Cost just £300 and looks fantastic, in fact looks new. I am surpised how light it is. It Has a few upgrades, including a nice Kinesis fork, which delivers a much nicer ride than my T1000 and it also has a 30 speed XT / ultegra group set and a really nice looking rack. Overall this is the nicest bike I have ever ridden, it is adjusted to perfection and feels really well sorted definately a subtle but noticeable upgrade from the T1000

How does an older mid range tourer like the Cannondale T1000 or T2000 compare with today’s mid range tourers like the Surly LHT or Daws Super Galaxy

To be honest I would be really confident that my Cannondale could tackle a more adventurous tour than I have tried

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – that sums up any longer and more detailed response I could come up with! 🙂

hey tom! an interesting article you have here 🙂 hopefully you can shed some light on my situation. me and my mate are literally just starting out after training, we are planning a big trip! Our trip in mind is taking us from the uk, through france and to the south of spain. we figure that we want a bike that can take the distance, but can also take us as off road as is sensible. we plan on visiting a few cities also! (we’re thinking cobbled streets and some gravelly paths) so im not entirely sure what kind of bracket we fall under, but the bike i have put a deposit down for (buying new) and am collecting tomorrow, is a specialized sirrus, costing 400 pounds sterling. am i looking in the right kind of bike here considering our journey and our plans? 

as far as i understand (our beginner cycling pedigree in mind) pad brakes are risk free and easily replaced, steel frame and forks are more durable. would having flat bar handle bars restrict us some what? hope you can help! thanks, cillian.

For a trip to the south of Spain pretty much any bike will do, as long as it fits you and it can carry your luggage! (I hope you’ve test ridden this bike before buying it – most important thing of all in getting the right bike!)

Check out this blog series if you want any more info on specific components and things…

Thanks for the swift reply there Tom, yeah I’ve ridden the bike, but as I’m a complete novice, it feels better than any bike I can remember riding. I guess I’m concerned about getting a bike with the right geometry and what not! Any unbiased thoughts on the specialised sirrus as my choice? So long as it’s comfortable of coarse, thanks! Cil

Only that it’s not really a touring bike! £500 would get you a Revolution Country Traveller which would be fully kitted out for touring and has had a number of excellent reviews. You could also get a much higher-spec second hand touring bike for that money.

Fit is important, but if you’re buying a new bike it might make sense to get one that’s designed for the job at hand, rather than adapting a hybrid. Just a thought!

excellent advice good sir! its seems for now that we are settling for our hybrids in good faith that they will pay off when we are mooching around cities and taking scenic bridle ways! thanks a lot for the replies Tom, happy cycling!

Safe roads!

Do you or others on this site have experiences with the Co-Motion bicycles for touring (www.co-motion.com)? They are made in the USA (Eugene, Oregon).. 

I have a Surly LHT with many miles on it and wanted to updated to the new 2015 Disc Trucker with the 10-speen 11/36 cassette, but was considering the Co-Motion Americano. There is a LARGE price delta (Americano is around $ 4,100 US$.

Any experiences/feedback is appreciated.

Have a TERRIFIC day!

Darren Alff of Bicycle Touring Pro has it — Co-Motion Pangea — and he loves it! He had it even repainted recently and put back again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XAwqgXhRzc&t=23s See also his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCGE4MRedy8pXEdJb9Vsx‑g

Most of the touring bikes I read about in this section either deal with 700c size wheels or 26″ wheels. I bought a Surly Ogre 29er and it’s been the best commuting/touring bike in my opinion. The wider wheels help to accommodate a wider tire (1.9–2.3) that helps absorb the load that you’d be carrying.

You can fit 1.9–2.3″ tyres on a 26″ wheel too. It is the original mountain bike wheel size, after all!

[…] Redninga for den som vil gjøre grundig research blir da å slå over til engelsk. Et bildesøk på “touring bike” bekrefter at dette begrepet har en bestemt betydning. Søket “which touring bike to buy” gir også en endeløs rekke med relevante og informative treff. Spesielt godt liker jeg rådene til min favorittsykkelblogger, britiske Tom Allen. […]

Hi Tom … any thoughts of including a recumbent in your Best Touring Bike selection? Like say an Azub 6? http://www.azub.eu/azub-5-five-recumbent-bike/

While they are the cost of two or three of the above selections I’m interested in your experience or opinions?

Because they’re very much in a niche of their own, I’d rather do a whole feature on recumbent touring options. Suggestions welcome! In the meantime, have a read of my own recumbent tour last year …

This has been an interesting read — as I’m a devout touring bike user, even though touring the world is not on my horizon. Suffolk and noerh Essex are most definitely part of my equation and between 50 — 110 miles per trip are not unusual along with cycling to and from work.

For 18 years I’ve enjoyed my long sought after 1997 Dawes Super Galaxy, which is now up for a complete drive train rebuild (and a return to drop handlebars but without those awful bar end changers), but I’m also keen to add a second bike to the collection as the Dawes is the only form of transport I have and really do need a bike to get to work for as early as 3am (outside public transport times).

My 2 options are the new 2015 Dawes Super Galaxy or the 2015 Ultra Galaxy. Yes, I’m sticking with Dawes, with my current Super Galaxy’s record why not? Also, I can get the bike via the company bike to work scheme and save some dosh. Whilst the budget is between £2000-£3000, I reason over 18 years this will become a bit of a bargain. So the question of this comment is really this:

What are the benenfits of the Titanmium Frame on the Ultra Galaxy over the Reynolds 853 tubing on the Super Galaxy frame? Do I really need to spend that extra £700?

Please, no comments about lucky you etc — it is 18 years since I last made this big an investment and apart from new tyres and inner tubes and a swap to butterfly handlebars the bike is pretty much as it came out of the shop (despite almost 100k miles of travel and commuting). I see this as the kind of purchase that is similar to that of purchasing a car…

Hi Andrew — what did you decide on in the end and are you happy with that decision? I find myself looking at exactly the same choice to make (Galaxy super vs. ultra). It’s not straightforward!

Although I am not a touring cyclist I put in quite a bit of mileage commuting (around 120 miles per week) using either a steel audax type bike (Ridgeback Mercury), alu hybrid or ancient Dawes Horizon (fitted with studded tyres for snowy/icy days). Fancying doing a bit of touring I recently bought a Revolution Explorer with disc brakes and have been riding it since Christmas. Has to be said that the disc brakes are a revelation compared to any sort of rim brake (I have tried them all apart from hydraulic); no constant adjustment, no rim wear, no filthy aluminium slurry all over the rims, silent and they actually work in the rain ( of which there is plenty here in Lancashire). The latter point saved me earlier this week when I had to do any emergency stop to avoid an idiot driver, I doubt any other sort of brake would have been up to it. And I am talking about BB5s which I understand are budget disc brakes.

I am about to buy an used tourer for occasional touring use for my son, he has a Ribble road bike. Budget £300 and I have a choice of Ridgeback World Voyage 2012 …520 CroMo.…Sora.…Alivio etc or a ‘Dale T800 2003, hardly used, Ally.…CroMo forks…Tiagra.…XT etc. I can easily make decisions at work involving lots of cash…but this one appears to have me foxed!! (I have a stable of steeds and tour on a Roberts Roughstuff, I should be able to choose!!!) Please help! Thanks one and all!

[…] utstyret du velger når du skal legge ut på en lang sykkeltur. På nettsida si har han skrevet om hva som er den beste tursykkelen. I eboka går han atskillig mer grundig til verks. Verdt å nevne er at han legger spesiell vekt […]

you forgot koga miyata 😉

I’ve just bought the 2015 Ridgback Tour.

Ive just this minute seen that aluminium frames have a much lower life expectancy than steel due to the fact that they fatigue — is this true? Ive heard that 5 years is the life expectancy of such a frame even if cared for? Have I bought a white elephant — as I planned to treasure it. Thanks.

I’ve just thinking that all bikes mentioned above are in price of year long trip. My humble suggestion is: buy retail! I bought a trek bike in pawn shop for 180euro and so far this holds for 4 seassons (16000km, regions spread from scandinavia to balkans) and now I’m preparing this beauty for 17000km long trip from czechia to indonesia. Throughout these trips I never broke a spoke (seen this problem many times in my friends Dawes) and punctured so few times that it can hardly be mentioned. So far I spend almost 6 months on the roads and during this time I spend less money than price of the cheapiest bike mentioned above.

So my advice is search it, test it, uprgade it, love it and than… finally ride it,-D Put a piece of your heart and skills into your piece of metal. Relationship between tourbiker and his bike must be stronger than click on ebay. Sorry for english and toilet phylosophy, I’m still upgrading,-D

Tom, I just wanted to say a very big thank-you for helping me choose the right touring bike. After spending many evenings checking your advice and loads of websites, I finally opted for a Dawes Galaxy Classic. I took your advice and went via eBay to Kingsway Cycles of Cambridge. I paid £900 instead of £1300 for a 2014 model! More importantly, it’s the right bike. I’ve only done about 60 miles since Saturday, but it’s really excellent. Kingsway are a great bike shop and really nice to deal with — none of that irritating superiority complex so common in good bike shops. I’d recommend them. Again, thank you. Alistair

Seven things:

Now the bike is bedding-in, before a big trip, have the LBS tighten your spokes and true the wheel(s) as required.

Take the time to ensure that the inside of the wheel rims have wide tape, not plastic or thin tape — you will thank me when you don’t get pinch-flats from the inner spoke nipples.

Chop out the brakes for V brakes. I have the same cantilever brakes, and they’re poor. It’s my next upgrade after upgrading my wheel set — as you can tell, this is real-world experience talking here!

If you fit a Ortleib (or similar) bar mounted bag, replace the existing gear cables with extra long ones since they are a little too short as standard and will crop over time and your gear shifting will become increasing difficult and then the front mech’ will cease working.

If you are running Shimano gearing,chain etc make sure the jockey wheels are not a 3rd party set, if so, buy Shimano ones, they work better than others.

You will notice as you ride, most of the touring bikes you’ll encounter are Dawes; how cool is that?

The enjoyment of your adventure is reflected in the width of your daft Cheshire-Cat grin, so grin, then grin some more!

Fantastic! I hope you get many years of touring enjoyment from it!

Hello Tom & Co.,

Do you have input on preferred bikes / systems for long rides with two young kids? 

Preferably sub-$2,000 (US), with a granny gear, and disc brakes.

I am trying to figure out which adult touring bike (and system) to use with my kids. The four-year old child will be in an attached trailer bike (with coupler), and the two-year old child will be in a chariot trailer behind that (via skewer hub)…unless someone has a better idea.

I already own a Specialized Tarmac for zipping around, and a Santa Cruz mountain bike for the trails. For a few years, I’ve reluctantly used my carbon fiber Tarmac for pulling my oldest child in the Chariot trailer. The ergonomics are all wrong, especially in the hills.

Now I have both a four-year old and a two-year old child, plus we live in major mountains. I want to do LONG family rides, and commutes around town (paved / gravel mixed). Ideally the bike could also be used for (solo) century rides. Once they are older, I’d like to explore multi-day touring with me on the same bike.

Salsa Vaya? Trek 520? Surly LHT, Cross Check, or Straggler? 

Big thanks!

[…] started thinking about this tour; my thoughts immediately went to the tried&true options for bike touring (Surly LHT for example), and I was waiting for a deal to pounce on online for months.  But living […]

3864 miles thus far (26 Sept 2014) around Britain and without doubt the most popular bike is the Dawes, maybe 80% (?) streel framed in the majority, and whilst we are at it, Ortlieb panniers, also in the majority.

I am on a 2008 Dawes SG. Rubbish cantilever brakes — to be replaced in short order. Replaced the wheels as the rims were concave, but she is an eBay Special (£590) likewise the four panniers (£83). Fantastic combo with Tubus steel racks.

Hi Tom, I believe the bikes from German Company Tout Terrain have a good name as well. Namely the “Silkroad” seems a fantastic bike to me. Expensive but has all the gimmicks I like to have (Rohloff and disc brakes). http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/bicycles/silkroad/

i was stranded in london on the 4th aug (after losing my oyster and bank cards) leaving me with just £10 and a predicament a quick look on gumtree found me a nearby bike (complete with 21 speeds and rack and double panniers inc cycle comp for my insane budget and now 10 days later its covered 120 miles and by far best buy ever for a tenner 🙂

ps i live 18 miles away in the subarbs so as to speak

Love the site, especially the discussions on this page!

I’m interested in your views on bar-end shifters. My wife’s Sabbath Silk Route was stolen in Amsterdam recently and she’s loathe to spend quite so much on a replacement. Many of the sub-£1,000 tourers seem to have bar-end shifters and she’s a bit nervous about taking them on. What are the pros and cons compared with integrated brake lever shifters? Quite like the look of the Genesis Tour de Fer but the bar end shifters are the only sticking point.

Pros: Simple, durable, reliable.

Cons: Less efficient to actually operate; inexperienced users whack their knees on them.

For a long-term tourer I’d take bar-end or downtube shifters over STIs any day.

I bought the Tour de Fer and did an 8 day tour in Greece. Its an excellent bike and I’m really happy with it but the bar shifters are annoying. I decided to upgrade the bike with a tubus tara front rack and a son dynamo hub with a plug usb charger. I’ll do a review of the bike later as I’m about to set off on a tour to Singapore something its probably not designed for but it came within my Ride-To-Work budget and I’m not a fan of the 26inch tourers I’d rather take my chances in the bikes shops. FYI the new version has a flat bar instead of drops and a tubus tara lowrider as standard — bonus! Love your site it’s been invaluable in my tour planning

You can always move the bar end shifters up onto the flats using a solution like Pauls Thumbies or SJS do their own version. It’s just a bolt on bracket with a mount for the shifter and a cable stop. If you ride mainly on hoods and flats then they are much easier to reach than down at the end of the drops. Cable maintenance is easier as well.

Many thanks for your excellent website. I’m thinking of doing Land’s End to John O’Groats and have seen a Raleigh Gran Tour at our local cycle shop. It seemed fine on a trial run round the block. Any significant pros or cons that I need to be aware of?

Nick check out the Surly Long Haul Disc Trucker it will be the best Touring Bike you will ever buy and will take you anywhere wheel size go for 26 and you can travel the world buy once not twice

Thanks John. I’ll check it out. 

Another issue that’s coming up is tourers vs endurance bikes. Any strong preferences either way, anyone?

Are you doing an endurance ride? Or are you going on a cycle tour?

Different tools for different jobs…

Hi Tom, I was wondering if you had any experience or knowledge of the Cinelli Hobo? It does seem to come as a fairly complete package as well as a 61 frame which is good for a tall person like myself.

I’m afraid I don’t! Sorry! It does look like a good bike, though.

I have a cinelli hobo for mixed trail touring. I find it incredibly comfortable and a really good load hauler. Some of the stock parts are pretty poor, particularly the FSA alpha drive chainset (replaced with Deore, and the alex rims on sora hubs which i’ve recently replaced. The weakest part of the setup for me is the microshift bar end shifters… I had real trouble keeping them indexed. I have swapped for an old pair of Tiagra STI shifters and these feel much better with a deore chainset and rear mech.

It has shorter chainstays than my old galaxy but still has plenty of heel clearance fitted with ortlieb classic panniers. The bars are the most comfortable I have ever used!

Overall i’m really pleased with it as it suits my choice of riding on mixed road, track and trail with a nice blend of cyclocross and touring capabilities… just a shame the marketing around the bike is so goddamn annoying!

I am planning a touring for next year, I was thinking to get a bicycle with a 29’‘ rim using a 28c tyre, i also plan to use mavic hubs, but i am not sure how tough a mavic hub can be on long touring distances, i guess i may not have problems as far i get some spare bearings and parts for the hubs. any suggestion about the rim sizes? will a 27″ rim do the same job as a 29’’ rim size? I have seen that NS has some cool looking hubs, i know they are for dirt-jump bikes, but those are something i consider dues they are do to resist hard impact of daily trainings, but my doubt is if a a hub for hard impact interfere with speed and smooth riding, by logic i guess it doesn’t interfere depending on what bearing it uses…am i right? Ps.: i enjoy cycling fast. lol

i found some other hub, the DT Swiss looks pretty good… but they don’t have a nice front hub with Disk break, that is what is pity, but i may get normal brakes, cos the disk brake has a high cost maintenance …

Where are you going? Your primary consideration is spare parts availability. 26″ or 700c wheels are the only sensible choice for 99% of tours, and I wouldn’t recommend anything other than Shimano cup-and-cone hubs with loose bearings and easy maintenance, ideally XT. They’re tour proven and won’t need a second thought.

Have found your website invaluable in the preparation of a bike trip my brother and I are making from London to Istanbul on August 10 (our first bike trip). I bought your book this afternoon on Amazon too as it should be a handy guide on the trip.

I’m just about to buy a bike and have come down to the Dawes Galaxy 2014 for £691 and the Raleigh Sojourn, which I founded hugely discounted here for £689 (down from £1,100!): http://www.ashcycles.com/site/raleigh-sojourn-2013 . I’d be very grateful if you (or anyone else on this page) could suggest what you think would be the better buy for my budget of £700?

Cheers, Shaun

Very glad you’ve found this site useful.

In my experience, which touring bike to buy depends on choosing the right tool for the job, and seeing what feels good to ride. I’m going to guess that you’re fairly sure both these bikes will meet your needs, but that you haven’t tried either of them out. So the only useful suggestion I can offer is to see which you can test-ride locally. On paper they’re as good as identical. You can discuss specification charts until the cows come home but it’ll all be irrelevant once you’ve actually started riding.

Ideally you’d test-ride both, but if you can only try one, then at least you can either eliminate it from your shortlist or confirm that it’ll do the job — then buy it.

The other critical reason for testing bikes out is to ensure that you get the right size, as incorrectly-sized bikes are the biggest source of discomfort and even injury on tour.

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot for the tip Tom and appreciate you taking the time out to respond to me.

I’m based in HK and so unfortunately won’t be able to test-ride either of them (only a narrow window in London and they have to be ordered in advance), but if you say that the specs are identical then it makes the decision a bit easier — comes down to the aesthetics now!

I’ve got a KHS TR-101, bought from Cycle Surgery. Since these are relatively uncommon, I thought I’d put up my thoughts.

It’s a lovely bike to ride and I’ve done 2 3‑week trips to New Zealand South Island on it, usually somewhere between 50 and 100km a day. But I do think the brakes are not good enough for a tourer — I’m going to switch mine out after realising as I coasted down from Arthurs’ Pass in the rain with a loaded bike that I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to — and the mudguard fittings have been annoying — little plastic clips which pop ou, and which don’t hold the guard far out, so it rubs the tyres if the guard gets even slightly warped. Both easily replaced though. I’ve carried medium weights on it — prob. ca. 20kg — with ease, using both front and back racks and it feels very smooth and well-balanced. In fact, I think it’s the easiest bike I’ve ever ridden in that respect. Even the stock saddle is OK although I’m finally switching to a Brooks.

I don’t find the gears allow me to get up big hills when it’s loaded (but that might be just me — I’m not very gritty about hills.…) but it’s very smooth to handle and way faster than most other bikes off the bigger hills. 

I’ve done almost all on road on it and wouldn’t do off road again after an 80km run on the gravel Mavora Lakes road — it coped but it wasn’t nice (could have been the headwind…).

I’m planning one or two more 3 week tours on it (New Zealand again, and then maybe Sri Lanka) but am trying to work out whether in the long term I should just upgrade the parts, or actually invest in another bike. It’s a lovely cycle though — I’d really recommend it, although if you are looking for a real round-the-world workhorse it might be worth looking at some of the more established models. 

No bike is without problems, it aint about the bike without blood, sweat and tears :-X

Hi Tom — Great site, very informative and helpful. I´m looking at setting up my first Touring / Expedition rig.

Wondering if you wouldn´t mind commenting on Santos Bikes out of Holland? I see they make some great looking touring bikes, but only in Aluminium.…I asked them why they dont do Steel and their reply was that the Steel / Belt Drive combination is not good, ie to flexible and that the belt will wear just as fast as a regular chain, therefore, they go with Aluminium?? Any comment. Also, thoughts on the Belt Drive in Combination with a Rohloff Hub??

I´m looking at a go anywhere, do anything rig…2 week tours in Europe and RTW adventures. 

Thanks if you can help me out and keep up the great work 🙂

Hi guys, spoilt for choices,the steel v ali debate?? V brake or disc??Santos i havent seen but if its dutch id expect its a good bike, like koga who use aluminium for rtw touring(a reason people like ali is light for air transit, and it wont rust like steel) but can be a harsh ride,so invest in a suspension seat and a brooks saddle,backside will thank ya..Roholf or mech?? Roholf belt drive i have met a tourer using and he was happy with it, expensive combo but if it rolls for 100,000klm and comp have good rep. As it comes to preference and trail n error..I a bit like yourself wanted a rtw expadition bike. I got a thorn ripio frame which i then built up myself …doing that i chose my best spec bits xt tubus fsa brookes ergo etc( finding good reductions online) and most important get to know how it goes together ..useful as often u must rely on yourself to fix the problem and keep those wheels rolling:-) i like steel frames as they flex and are more comfortable with luggage…frames i would say are worth considering are as mentioned by others, surly lht , thorn and an excellent other is onone.…another option is to find a good old used bike/steel frame i.e 90’s atb/mtb models by specialised, trek, orange and upgrade as reqiured. Invest in strong wheels if offroading full loaded and good tyres, schwable marathon xr are excellent and after 20,000 klms they still got tread. A final thought an expensive shiny touring bike looks great to the owner and a theif, to protect my ride i wrap the frame in old inner tube and tape so protecting frame from damage and making my pride and joy look like a dirty ol ride! Thats all folks:-)

Thanks for the contribution!

Sadly the Schwalbe Marathon XR was discontinued years ago now 🙁

Hi tom and troops„, yeah the xr was too good „buy once product, found early originals recently 2 in holland…(where else.. for any tourers holland is ur candy store). So what u rollin on these days??? p.s u on a tour??? Bon route:-)

Not right now, no. But I have my own stash of XRs for when I am 🙂

Hi Tom, very interesting article. My wife and I are looking to buy touring bikes. We would use them in Europe initially — we have a small child who will be with us on a seat so we’ll leave Africa and Asia etc for a few years. I was thinking of a Genesis Croix de Fer , 725 reynolds probably rather than the expensive 931. What are your thoughts? Versatile but do you think they fall between two stools. Thanks, Mark

The Surly long Haul Disc Trucker not only Ticks all the Boxes but you will only ever need to purchase this bicycle Once No need to upgrade this bicycle will be perfect and last a lifetime of Touring wherever your dreams take you Go for the 26 wheels far stronger and gives you an extra gear on steep inclines happy cycling

Sorry, Now I have seen that you have an article about the Tern Link P24 and touring with a folding bike. My suggestion was totally redundant.

But no less appreciated! Thank you for a great summary (and much a much broader one than mine!)

Thanks Tom for all your great articles. I think that folding bikes are a serious alternative for long-term touring. Certainly less sturdy but have many advantages, easy to carry on planes or busses if needed or into hotel rooms and tents for added security. They are getting better with more reliable frames, even with full suspension (Reise und Muller birdy touring) and all the best specs up to Rohloff and dynamo hubs. Small wheels are not good beyond tarmac or good dirt tracks but there are a foding bikes with 24″ and 26″, though I will go for 20″ as a perfect balance between comfort, stable handling and still compact size when folded, bearing in mind it may nor be the best option to do the Pamir highway or crossing the Andes. There are some models speced for touring with pannier racks, mudguards etc. Tern link P24, Dahon MU with alfine 11 and the awsome Birdy. Worth considering.

[…] reading the reviews of Tom Allen and reading a bit about what is important in a touring bicycle, I became convinced that the Kona […]

Hello Tom, your website is amazing, well done! I’m about to undertake a long bike tour through Asia and Europe …unfortunately my budget is very limited. I think I will buy the kona sutra but I also saw this bike which I really like http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/anyroad.1/14819/66151/ Can you please give me some advice comparing the two models?

I will also convert the bike in an e‑bike with the golden motor magic pie conversion kit plus a solar panel . Do you think the conversion will affect the efficiency of the bike?

Thank you very much for the help Vince

Hi Tom, Great article thanks! I bought a 2008 Ridgeback Panorma World Tour in 2011 and I have loved every moment on it. It’s the old BMW grey model. I have been an occassional cyclist for much of my life but it was only when i got this bike that it really made me want to do more and more miles. We have done the UK coast to coast and will be doing the Way of the Roses in the next few weeks; also did Penrith to John O’Groats when I met up with friends doing LeJog. It eats up the miles and has been bullet proof. Once it’s rolling it flies and the Deore gearing gets me up anything. If anyone is considering this model I wholeheartedly recommend it. I swapped out the saddle for a Brooks B17 and put Ortlieb panniers on it and both have been unbeatable performers. I only wish I could match them 🙂 Cheers Mart

i thank for this advice.this would encourage many of them to cycle.i to got encouraged. i have cycled about Km400 this is just the start,i think all cyclist belong to one family.

I’m planning on building a bike for a round the world adventure but I’m overwhelmed by the choices of frames! Surly, thorn, Kona… The obvious choice for a frame would be a Surly Long Haul, but the geometry doesn’t fill me with excitement. My dream bike and frame is the Santos 2.6 (It looks and feels more like a MTB than a tourer), but at almost £800 for the frame it’s way out of my price range. Flat bars or butterflys are a must for me as I really don’t understand this facination with dropdowns. Top of my list currently and within my price range is a Surly Troll. What are your thoughts about the troll as a world tourer? Should I stick with the tried and tested Surly Long Haul (although I’m not sure if the LHT geometry is ideal for flat bars) or go a bit leftfield and try the Troll?

getting ready for a st malo — malaga ride in the spring and am looking at the Specialized Awol:

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/awol

How would you say it compares with the Kona Sutra?

Fantastic website, btw.…

It looks like an interesting bike, if a rather specialised one (sorry) — almost a dirt-road racer with luggage racks, which I think is what Kona have tried to do with the Sutra (mistakenly IMHO; should have been a new model altogether). It looks like a bike for light and nimble loads rather than fully-loaded touring, with 32-spoke wheels and the 10-speed Sora chainset. I’d be very interested to hear a road test report if you do go with it.

Bob Nally!! You may think trying to advertise in here is a good thing which either makes you extremely clever or extremely stupid, which is it folks?? thanks for the info Bob but just encase your advertising here hadn’t noticed this is a about info, advice and camaraderie between true people that have cyling in their heart and you may (or may not) realise this, anyway. guys im a very short woman 4.10 so finding it very hard to find a touring bike to suit me (my mountain bike is 14 inches) but i’m finding it very hard to find something withing my price limit Tom and everyone else, I’m looking for a man’s tourer that can suit my height (I CAN NOT STAND THE LOOK OF WOMANS BIKES) lol so hopefuly I can have Tom or someone else to give me a tip on a “short ass” tourer lol

Does Bob Nally work for Ash Cycles, then? If so, he probably has cycling in his heart too. I’m pleased to hear about it if there’s a relevant deal on, though it would be nice if people disclosed their affiliations of course.

What’s your price limit, Pam? The 26-inch Surly LHT is available right down to a 42cm frame. After that you’ve got seatpost, saddle, stem and cranks to tweak the fit.

For anyone looking for a new bike AshCycles (UK) have the Dawes Galaxy Classic 2013 (and many more bikes) discounted to £879.95 with free delivery.

Thanks for pointing this out!

Hi Tom, I´ve been falling you for over a year and love the movie and the book. I feel like the world is telling me to move south–I´m in Colombia right now and I want to go to Argentina. I am looking into bikes to buy here, and it is very difficult to find aone in a place full of little people (I´m 193cm tall). But that is a problem that I can manage. 

Here in Bogota, these types of cargo racks ( http://bogotacity.olx.com.co/biciclta-panadera-iid-578339198 ) are very popular and they can definately hold a bunch of weight (they usually come in black). I know that there would be wind issues, especially with the front rack–but what do you think of mounting one of these on the back or possibly mounting on both the front and the back of a bike. I´m not too worried about speed but much more worried about control. 

On another note, I bought this from kickstarter ( http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flykly/flykly-smart-wheel ) and when it is developed and shipped to me this summer, I plan to use it to get from point A to point B… I don´t know if it will work or not, the only downside is that I cannot change gears with it… We´ll see. 

On another note–can you recommend a book for learning how to repair/assemble a bike… 

Thanks in advance for the advice and I will probably have a hundred more questions in the coming weeks and months… Say hi to your brother Ben for me… If everything goes to hell in a handbasket, I might just fly to Lebanon in February for the big event.

Hey Wes… faced with a cargo rack decision like that, the only way to know for sure is to take one for a test ride. I think you’d attract a fair amount of attention if you did go with it! 🙂

The Park Tool website is the number one resource for bicycle repair tuition. I’m not aware of a specific book, though.

Drop me an email if you have any more questions — always happy to help.

Hi Tom, just discovered your website and am so inspired that my wife, daughter and I are planning a tour to Paris next year. Anyway…I have a Specialized Sirrus hybrid that to my novices eye seems to be similar to most of the touring bikes above. The only obvious difference being aluminum frame, flat bars and no racks etc. The components all seem similar. Would there be much point in changing to a tourer? Cheers.

If you can fit a rear rack to that frame, you’re good to go. Even if you can’t, a seatpost rack will do you from here to Paris. Enjoy!

Touring bikes are great if you need full camping gear. I rode a kona Jake the snake lisbon-istanbul, cuba etc, cyclocross bikes should be considered for light touring is.bivy sack and no cooking gear. Super fast, built strong to off road and just more fun and nimble to ride, if that’s your thing. I haven’t been carrying front panniers though, not sure how would ride. I’d encourage really trying to lighten everything up, gear and bike, more rewarding — but this does assume staying within a few hundred km of a store/restaurant/hostel although can be self sufficient for a few days.

Just love this site, ride on tom!

Thanks Yuri. I can count the number of times I’ve been more than a day’s ride from supplies on the fingers of one hand. Almost everyone could “lighten up” and go fast and nimble. I guess it depends on your priorities for being on the road!

Was wondering why you haven’t put any of the Thorn Bikes on your list?..Maybe the Sherpa would be a good mid-range,no? Ian

I haven’t read all the comments so I don’t know if it’s been mentioned (I’ll also hold my hands up here and say I work there) but if we’re talking mid-high end touring bikes then Spa Cycles are worth looking at — http://www.spacycles.co.uk there is now a steel tourer available which is competitively priced.

If we’re talking relatively small UK touring ‘brands’ then Thorn would be worth mentioning too.

Thanks Ben! I haven’t included Thorn here as they’re a bit pricey for the mid-range, but I’ll do so in a future piece on higher end tourers…

No problem, really enjoyed the film on Tuesday in Leeds. Has given me even more enthusiasm for riding the 270 miles home to Dorset for xmas in a week or so. 🙂

I did 6000 miles on my 2011 Cannondale CAADX. The Only upgrade was a pair of heavy duty handbuilt touring wheels a Son 28 Hub and some Schwalbe Marathons.…. I have to say it was the driest 3 month trip you could imagine so the lack of crap picked up to wear the Bike out was noticeable… The Only mechanicals, 2 broken cable and about 4 punctures. Get your bike looked over/serviced before you go and remember this, when you ride your bike normally, what usually goes wrong… I bet nothing.….

Hello Tom & thanks for your very useful and cheerful writings. I’m just getting back into bike touring, and still using my faithful 1977 Dawes Super Galaxy, nearly all original but with a re-enamelling job on the frame. Still pretty well perfect for my long but slow road trips. Brittany’s rolling country is a mine of varied and beautiful scenery : have you tried it? All the best

I haven’t been to Brittany since a school camping trip in 1999… maybe I should 🙂

Tom, you’d be very welcome! so yes, maybe you should! You have my e‑mail via this page, I imagine, so let me know if you’re over here & the Super Galaxy will be wheeled out! 🙂

Hi Tom I’m looking for a top end light tourer that’s very comfortable, capable of going as fast as a tourer can go and at home on Tarmac and on dusty tracks. I intend to carry minimal luggage too. How does the Van Nicholas Amazon (or Yukon) Rohloff compare to the Thorn Mercury? Which would you chose?

I’m sorry but I have absolutely no idea! The only way to know for sure is to ride both. It sounds like your requirements are quite specialised, whereas I’m only really intending to cover generalist mid-range tourers in this article. Sorry!

Thanks a lot for the article. The best I could find on the issue over the net.

My question is, did you get to try Kona Sutra 2014 already? I can’t find any comparisons ; 2013 vs. 2014 — yet there’s the huge change of frame.

I haven’t ridden it myself, but here’s my piece on the changes .

I’ve got a bit of a silly question : How should a touring bike “ride”? I’ve been on “racing” bikes forever and find them comfortable and fun to ride. I’ve been hunting for a touring bike and while they are comfortable to cruise around a bit, they seem far too upright for my riding comfort (makes me feel like I’m riding one of those cheap stationary bikes at the gym, on the first one I tried, I had to drop all the spacers on the stem to get comfy, but then ran into issues with the brake stop/hanger not clearing the head tube) and they feel a bit sluggish and hard to “toss around”, especially when out of the saddle on climbs, even in comparison to my light-weight steel mountain bike. I can see why ultra-low gearing is recommended if all you can do is sit and hammer up the climbs. Is that how it is supposed to be?

Hi Isaac I have recently ridden from Adelaide to Darwin on a Tout Terrain bike and I think there are several characteristics that make the touring bike the right one for you. You need to be comfortable if you are going to spend up to 10hrs in the saddle and the more upright positions of most ‘tourers’, seem to take the weight and pressure from your hands/ arms. Also, the touring bike should never feel “twitchy”, especially when loaded. My Tout Terrain rides the same when laden or un-laden and when you find yourself carrying 15kgs of water plus all other camping gear etc, the bike needs to be predictable. Many bike frames will twist when under a load; as a result, your control, reliability and comfort will suffer. I also like having handlebars that give multiple hand positions, which helps with fatigue. The other consideration is that you are an accomplished road bike rider. You are ‘familiar’ with this lower profile riding position and the road bike handling characteristics. This may be why every other riding position feels foreign. Load up a few different bikes including a road bike and try them out on a few long day trips. Consider the advice of others, but ultimately you need to enjoy touring and your decision should be based on what is right for you. As Tom advises, just get out there and problem solve. In essence, ‘touring’ is not a race and almost any bike can be used. You just need to select the one that feels right for you.

Cheers Mark — I echo these sentiments.

Have you tried riding one with a full load (i.e. 15–25kg luggage split between the front and rear)? A touring bike should feel reassuring and stable under such circumstances as it’s what they’re designed for. Riding them unburdened is not going to give you a realistic sense of the ‘ride’.

Cockpit setup is largely personal preference, I think. I’ve seen people touring on everything from upright shopping bikes to mountain bikes to racers with drops — it’s what you prefer. Personally I choose being upright and able to look at my surroundings rather than tucked down grinding away at the asphalt.

Tossing them around and hammering up climbs is not really part of the touring style — taking it slow and steady, especially uphill, is what allows you to reach the end of a day with a hundred k on the clock.

Hope that helps!

Bianchi Volpe

just wondering if a cheap tourer such as the Raleigh Royal or Revolution Country Traveller ’13 would be suitable enough for a first tour of say 3–4 weeks on EuroVelo network through Germany? have done a bit of mountain biking before, and am a commuting cyclist everyday but I don’t really know that much about bikes

Any comfortable bike will do you for 3–4 weeks in one of the most cycle-friendly countries on the planet!

I can vouch for the Revolution Country Traveller. For the money (£430.00 in the sale!) its a surprisingly comfortable and capable bike. Swapped the saddle to a Brooks but otherwise its been perfect.

I saw that the link for the Rocky Mountain Sherpa was broken. Here’s the new URL:

http://www.bikes.com/en/bikes/sherpa/2013

I am moving to Norway and want to get more into touring, would an 2005 trek 6500 mountain bike work for touring? Link to the bike http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2005/archive/trek/6500/#

Any bike will work for touring if you’re determined enough!

You’ll just need to find a way of mounting a rack. Tubus do seatstay clamp kits for bikes like this. Your other option is a trailer like the Extrawheel .

Thanks for the guide. Think I’ll go with the surly long haul trucker. Why? Because I saw a girl with one on the train after she’d come back from an across Britain ride. So I wanted one!

Lo mejor es que a partir de la accin y de la memoria del equipo. Una vez instalado aprieta el botn de encendido que ven en la nube. Sabemos que Nokia ha lanzado un nuevo juego java para celular, es que HTC podr renacer y volver a reproducirlo. La informacin recopilada en nuestro sitio Hoy 9tres tecnologia y servicios estimamos los mejores del ao. Llegaron a descubrir la agricultura y la envia a la interconexin entre centrales 9tres tecnologia y servicios y pblicas. La interfaz es mucho ms fcil, pero me parece curiosa la decisin 9tres tecnologia y servicios de Acer de incorporar Windows 8 que posee? brujerias para enamorar a un hombre http://journals.fotki.com/watersbaxq/my-blog/entry/krbkbqdfbfrr/

Tom have a look at Thorn Sherpa I have one it’s great

Hi Tom, it’s that time of the year when all you want to do is load up your bike, jump on the ferry to France and just go wherever the mood takes you. It’s also the time when you just devour all the reviews and conversations about bikes and gear and destinations. I love it. I’ve had my Dawes Super Galaxy for over 25 years now. It’s the single best item I have ever spent money on and, if I had to get rid of all my bikes bar one, it’s the one I’d keep. I’m in awe of its Rolls-Royce levels of reliabilty, comfort and smoothness. I’ve ridden 10s of thousands of miles on it and it still rides like a dream every time. All the way across the Pyrenees last year; fully loaded, 900kms, 50,000 ft of climbing, horrific weather, faultless. If the new models are as good as the old ones (and they should be) then you couldn’t go wrong with a Galaxy.

Hi, I am not new to cycling but am to touring. I just purchased a Tout Terrain SilkRoad Frame with derailleur hanger (not getting the Rohloff hub version) and want to build it up with durable components. Plan on using drop bars, 26″ wheels, and cable disc brakes. I also like grip shift but don’t know if this is compatible with drop bars, or even if they are still made. Would prefer mountain bike components. Any recommendations for which components group (model year 2013) to get that would be true and durable. I hear Shimano XT is good and light but durability is not what it used to be. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. J

PS Cash is a factor but don’t want to sacrifice quality either.

Ideally you’d build an 8‑speed drivetrain from a mixture of components (8sp chains being thicker than 9sp and therefore longer lasting). Deore to XT ranges are durable and rugged. Beyond XT it’s about saving weight for racing, with durability sacrificed, so don’t go there. 

The rear derailleur will take more abuse than the front one. 9sp Shimano rear mechs work with 8sp shifters (at least, mine does).

Grip shifts are certainly still made but I have no idea about using them with drops…

Many thanks for your response Tom; the questions you wrote are certainly eminently practical and sensible.

Perhaps it could be assumed that 32 spoke set-ups are strong enough, given that Rohloff and the expedition bike manufacturers, who stake their reputation on reliability and longevity, use that set-up. Though, having said that, it seems Rohloff are now making a 36 hole hub (according to their website).

According to the Thorn website, spoke breakage was an issue; an issue they solved by drilling the spoke holes on the rim differently. Presumably Santos use the same technique as they also hand build their wheels.

You are absolutely correct in saying that the long distance cyclist should be able to repair such things as broken spokes and derailleur malfunctions (and etc). In terms of enjoying trips though, It’s much nicer if nothing goes wrong (ie Murphy’s law takes a holiday). As much as I enjoy servicing and working on my bikes (the mechanics are such “elegantly simple” bits of technology), I prefer the comfort of my own garage. For those reasons a reliable, strong and well prepared bike would be desirable — and that is an answer to your original question about “which bike?”.

Regarding derailleur and Rohloff gears — derailleurs have certainly stood the test of time, though newer sets with more gears may be more finicky than older versions. For that reason, and when the range of use-able gears is considered, the Rohloff hub is attractive (except for the cost — a 60000 km break-even point may not be achievable for many tourers). Interesting that you have heard of misfortunes with Rohloff hubs — I hadn’t, which indicates that I need to do more research. Perhaps a question to be considered here is, “why are top-end touring bike (and some MTB) manufacturers using Rohloff hubs?” Presumably the perceived reliability is a part of the answer to that?

Mind you, all the theorising in the world is still bound by practical experience. 4000 km into last year’s trip the drive train needed replacing (this inconvenience was my fault really, as I should have renewed the components before setting out — the bike was relatively new and I left the original equipment just to see how long good quality components would last). The chain and cluster were easily replaced, but I had to ride another 1000 km without the use of the middle chainring, until I was able to buy a suitable replacement. It was then that I started considering alternatives — a Rohloff hub is one possibility, perhaps also the gears at the bottom bracket, such as fitted to one of the Tout Terrain models.

Anyway, interesting discussion and I look forward to your assessment of the “upper” end of the touring bike market.

Thanks again

If it helps, the builders I’ve spoken with say that the 32 spoked Rohlof hub is stronger than a handbuilt 40 spoked tandem wheel. This makes sense when thinking about dishing and the inherent weakness it introduces to the wheel. The other thing, of course, is that it is easier to repair a broken spoke on the chainside of a Rohlof hub than on a dished wheel with a cogset.

This has been a very interesting discussion — many thanks.

In response to your original question about other brands that might be considered be considered; no one seems to have mentioned the Santos Travelmaster bikes, in 26 and 28 in sizes and in aluminium or cromo.

Now, if I may lead to a dilemma. In one of your responses you referred to a concern that a new derailleur gear system with 30 gears may not yet have been “proven” to be reliable for long tours (paraphrasing your response). That is a good point, borne out by my experience — my older 26 in MTB/hybrid has 21 gears (perhaps indicates how old the bike is) and has never needed adjusting, while my newer 28 in with 27 gears needs frequent attention. Even though I do all the servicing myself and can generally adjust the gears satisfactorily, it can be a pain spending time adjusting the gears while touring (I’d much rather be riding or photographing or sipping cappuccinos in a wayside café). This has led me to consider a Rohloff hub.

That leads to the dilemma. The Rohloff hub bikes (Tout Terrain Silk Road, Thorn Nomad, vsf TX1000 and Santos Travelmaster and possibly Gudereit are all under consideration) all use 32 spokes. I am nervous about dropping from 36 spokes. The theory is that, because the Rohloff hub does not require a “dished” spoke set-up, it is stronger (than the equivalent deraileur set-up). The issue is that I cannot find any info that states how much stronger. One blog mentioned that 26 in wheels are about 10% stronger than 28 in wheels (with the same number of spokes) — but what the 10% is “of” was not explained, and what the measurement of “strength” is was also not explained. Questions remain hanging — is a 32 spoke undished 26 in wheel stronger than a 36 spoke 28 in wheel, for example? What is the “hierarchy of strength” when considering 26 and 28 in, dished and undished wheels?

This leads, of course, to really basic questions such as, for example, “would a vsf TX1000 ( 28 in wheels with wider tyres) be as strong as my current 28 in with 36 spokes”? How much stronger are the Santos wheels with 32 spokes, given that they are hand-made? And so on…

So, if there is anyone who could shed light, with facts, on this dilemma, it would be very much appreciated.

As a final point, I wonder if the steel/aluminium frame issues is now a non-issue — an idea espoused by a metallurgist-cyclist when considering modern frames?

Many thanks

Hi Phil. Thanks for the detailed comment.

The main reason I haven’t included the Travelmaster here is because it’s a top-end touring bike, whereas in this article I’ve been focussing on mid-range bikes. I’ll definitely include it in a future article about top-end bikes, though, along with the other bikes you mentioned — thanks for bringing them to my attention.

Regarding hubs and spokes, I think that the important question here is:

“Would Rohlhoff hubs be fitted to top-end touring bikes if spoke-count was a real issue?”

I doubt it. I hear more tales of Rohlhoff internals failing than spokes breaking. Which begs another question:

“Is it easier to repair a derailleur system or a Rohlhoff wheel on the roadside?”

My money’s on the derailleur. That’s why I’ll keep using them over internally-geared hubs.

And instead of asking what percentage of extra strength 36 spokes gives over 32, I’d be asking:

“Am I able to replace a broken spoke?”

Because that’s what you’ll be thinking when a spoke does inevitably break 🙂

I’ve been using a VSF TX1000 for over a year & completed over 2,000 miles (fully loaded) last autumn through Spain & France on a variety of roads & canal paths… my experience has been very positive… the 32 spoke Rohloff & Son28 wheels show no sign of wear & are true as the day I got them????

Hi Tom! Any comments on the Brodie Elan: http://brodiebikes.com/2013/bikes/elan.php

I tested the Sutra but after trying both 56 & 59 could not make up my mind on what was the right size for me. I am 6 feet tall so I guess I might be somewhere in between. On the other hand I also tried the Brodie Elan 54 & 57 and the 57 felt to big for me… Thanks in advance for any feedback

I’m surprised that the Fuji Touring did not make your list. I’ve been looking around and it seems like a solid touring bike at a good price. 

BTW — I just stumbled across your site and I’m impressed! I’ll be back soon.

Hello, Tom. Why you advice only steel frame bicycles? There’s a lot bikes with alluminuim frame and fork. It’s lighter and easy to buy everywhere.

The main reasons are durability and for ease of repair. Steel has a much longer fatigue limit, and in case of breakage can be welded anywhere by anyone with basic welding equipment. Aluminium, on the other hand, needs specialist attention — in less developed countries this could mean going to an airport. Frame breakages are not uncommon on long-haul tours and that’s why most quality long-distance touring bikes are still made of steel.

Personally, I also prefer the ride quality of a steel frame; there’s a little more give over the very stiff ride afforded by aluminium. For long term comfort that does become noticeable.

For short and occasional touring, I have no doubt that most aluminium frames would be fine, though.

Tom, that old chestnut about a steel bike being welded anywhere by anyone is quite amusing. That is the theory. In reality it takes a skilled welder who has experience with bicycle frames to do that job properly. Yes, you might get a rough cut job to hold your frame together to the next port but on a loaded bike i would’t fancy it. And how many people do you know who have actually had this done in practice?

I do agree with you that the steel frame gives a much nicer and more comfortable ride and that such a frame has much better strength which are great reasons to get steel.

Lots. Including me (Yemen). Andy (India). Al (Sudan). Etc. There’s quite a list. Very common story on very long trips. The fact that any old welder can get you to the next port is the whole point. We all had steel frames and we all managed to continue riding.

On the other hand, I know several aluminium-riding tourers who ended up hitchhiking with broken bikes and then waiting around in cities for new frames to be couriered out because they couldn’t get them repaired at all.

Salsa , Rivendale , Co Motion , Koga Miata — if you looking for really nice touring bike. Expensive but for long run cheap — it is simple , you get quality what you pay for .….. Years back I on $ 400 sligtly modified Raleigh Tarantula MTB , ( now overhauled and equipt with top of the line comnponents still in use for trails in Rockies ) I did made trip from La Paz to Chile . Want to safe some money . It teach me ! Never ever I will make this kind of mistake again .…

Another bike similar to ones already mentioned is the Rocky Mtn Sherpa. I’ve been riding a 2012 model for 8 months and am pretty happy with it. Pros- 36 spoked wheels, 27 gears in a wide range, stiff frame. Cons- the braze on placement on the seat tube (the front derailler is attached between them), I’d like bigger chainrings up front, It doesn’t do well off-pavement.

Cheers, David. I wonder why Rocky Mountain haven’t fitted a rack to this bike — I know people can be picky about racks, but I do think touring bikes at this level should be ready to tour off-the-peg as well. Nevertheless, it certainly looks like a good option. Thanks for the addition!

I was looking at Jamis Aurora Elite 2013 (cannot find the 2012 anymore). However some reviews describe it as a “light tourer”. I understand the problem of the 10-speed cassette. But what would make it a *light* tourer.

A ‘light’ tourer would usually mean a bike that’ll carry some luggage on a relatively short paved-road tour, but probably suffer off-road and with lots of luggage in the long-term.

I have just purchased an audax cycle from my local cycle store (Surosa cycles in Oldham, Greater Manchester, UK) as they build their own frames.. and had it custom built with my chosen spec for a total of £1266 and it’s a very good bike with mudguards, and a heavy duty rear rack with rack bag and 56L panniers.. soon to have an addition of handlebar bag, and front rack and panniers and I’d feel happy to do some touring on that over any distance

That sounds like a good price for a custom frame and build. I’d be interested to know the spec?

People will choose their bikes according to all the factors mentioned by you, Tom, and by other contributors. For some, keeping costs low is paramount and for others, strength and reliability are the main considerations. I think there are also intangible factors such as each individual’s self image as a cyclist and the emotional resonance of one bike or another. I’m far from wealthy but I appreciate the inherent value of high quality engineering and get enormous satisfaction from assembling my own bikes. After much research and deliberation I bought a high quality European frame and a mix of German, Japanese, American and British components. The complete set wasn’t cheap but I did make a considerable saving compared with buying a similar bike off the shelf. I also bought a wheel truing stand and gauges, and built my own wheels. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert bicycle mechanic but the experience of assembling my own bikes has provided not only personal satisfaction but also great confidence for dealing with routine maintenance and potential problems while far from home. I don’t believe there is any one ‘best touring bike’ and I’m skeptical about such claims. The message I take from this section of your blog, not to mention many other bicycle related blogs and websites, is that bicycle touring is a growing phenomenon and that it is rich with variety, in both equipment and people. That is surely a good thing.

You are absolutely right; there is no one-size-fits-all solution. I can completely appreciate the process of building a bike up from carefully-chosen top-end parts (as I did myself in 2007), just as I can appreciate the idea of rescuing an old bike from a scrapheap and bringing it back to life (as I’m doing right now)!

Thanks for the very thoughtful comment!

Just about to buy the Ridgeback Journey for some UK touring — perhaps France too next year. I’ve been seduced by the Alfine gearing. Am I being wise?

In 2009 my Roberts Roughstuff (with Rohloff hub) was stolen in Bulgaria with only 2000 miles on the clock. So that I could continue my RTW trip, I bought a Drag ZX5 mountainbike in Sofia, with replacement Schwalbe Marathon tyres, butterfly bars and comfy saddle, plus front and rear racks, stand, fenders and the two components of my wireless computer that had disappeared with the Roberts. The first bike cost just short of £3000, the second (Sofi) cost £500 and has now completed around 18000 miles. I’ve asked myself many times, ‘why did I bother spending all that money in the first place?’ The BMC paid out £250 in insurance btw.

Hi Anne i followed your adventures on crazy guy, was epic. Were the gears on Sofi deore or lesser Regards Pete.

I have almost completed a round the world bike ride on a Koga Signature with a Rolhoff gear system. During my four years on the road i have changed tyres, chain, brake pads and the bike was serviced in Australia and Los Angeles. I am still running with the original rims, no broken spokes and the Rolhoff is bomb proof. The Koga in my humble opinion is by far the best bike on the market. Ive been on wonderful smooth highways, Australia, USA and dirt roads that you wouldnt take a Land Rover on in Patagonia and Bolivia but the bike has just kept going, ive done over 30.000 miles on with not one problem, it still has the original bottom bracket. If you want to ride around the world buy any bike if you want to return home problem free then buy a Koga Signature.

Hi Robert, I was offered a World Traveller today for €1200 (2013 with 500kms) although I’ll probable go for the Kona Sutra as I perceive it to have a broader and more efficient range of use and I have no plans for outside Europe. How did you find your bike on load touring, daily tasks?

Sorry mate, we are going to drop the http://www.8pedsls.com site. To expensive to keep up for the entire 4 years. 

http://Www.facebook.com/8pedals http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=1&doc_id=11458&v=3Z

So we are now on fb. And crazy guy on a bike. 

I would put my vote for the BB7s. A mechanical system may require more pull on the lever than a hydraulic system it doesn’t have all the potential service issues. The BB7 are durable and been around for a while. The nice thing about the BB7 vs the BB5 is that both pistons are adjustable on the bb7 making the setup and adjustment easier. Also the 7 brake pads are bigger than on the 5 which would make you think it stops better. I can’t comment on the ease of finding pads since they are not on my tour bike but since the bb7 uses a Juicy style pad it may be more common. For me I always carry spare pads regardless of where I am. The sintered metallic pads will give you longer pad life…just make sure that your rotor is rated for a metal pad. 

The other nice pluses for disc setup is no wear on the rim from brake pads, better stopping power in bad weather/muddy conditions and if you break a spoke or come out of true your brakes are still fully functional. The downside however is more strain on the hub shell and if you bend a rotor it can be next to impossible to get it perfectly straight…and there is the advantage of having both pistons adjustable on the bb7.

Hi Tom, I’ve read about Thorn bikes before (specifically the Raven) — any views?

Also, I would be interested to know why drop bars are so popular. I find a more upright cycling position more comfortable so would probably choose bullhorn or butterfly bars, but hardly any bikes seem to have these. 

What’s your view on disc brakes? I notice that the Kona Sutra has them — does it not cause an issue when you run into maintenance problems, especially outside Europe? (I would apply the same logic to hub gears).

I ride a Raleigh Royal, which is fine as a sturdy budget option (£500).

Thanks for article, really really useful!

The reason I haven’t included Thorn is that most of their models are above the price range I was aiming for here. I’ve never ridden one, but I have been told by several people that they’re great bikes, and that the people who make them are quite obnoxious.

I’ve found drops to be comnfortable, but I never use the dropped part except for shifting. I would imagine that’s fairly normal. Instead I make use of the various hand positions available on the upper part of the bars, which is at a height comparable to other types of handlebar once you’ve raised it with spacers and an angled stem, such as on the Kona Sutra. You get a very comfortable and fairly upright position out of that arrangement.

Before, I used an adjustable stem and riser mountain-bike bars. Now when I sit on that bike I feel like I’m on a Harley Davidson with pedals!

Disc brakes — well, models like the Avid BB7 have been around now for long enough to prove their reliability in the long term. They use the same cables and levers as V‑brakes, the mechanism is simple, and they’re maintenance free, except for changing the pads, which you can carry with you. They last longer and are lighter than V‑brake blocks. They’re also becoming easier to find spares for outside Europe. If your fork has V‑brake bosses, you’ve got that option in case of a really unlucky breakdown or accident. So I think the risk is now a very manageable one.

Thanks for the budget bike suggestion — I’ll work that into a future article.

All the best!

Hi Tom, and everyone! I’m one of those lucky enough to be able to afford several bikes, so I can make some comparisons based on experience. If you live in the U.K. it is definitely worth looking at the Thorn bikes as they are just so well built and I can vouch for the ride being ultra comfy and smooth for long days in the saddle. If you look at their prices they seem to be expensive at first but on their website they often have amazing deals on bikes they already have built up. They are absolutely worth it and are designed by someone who really knows how to get touring DNA and experience into a bicycle. The Surly Troll is another great choice with even more versatility in the drivetrain area but rides more like an MTB ( which it is ) than the Thorns. A word of advice for those who are wondering how to carry stuff. get a Burley travoy, the trailer that packs up into a shopping bag. It is a game changer and can carry a lot.You can get the load off your bike with it and still have a rack and space for other gear on your bike frame. Sometimes you can park it and ride your bike ‘naked’ without being bogged down with gear. It is the single most amazing piece of touring gear I have.

Ooops! Forgot to mention about disc brakes. I’ve got both systems. I find that disc rotors need to be perfectly flat for good performance and once they get bent even slightly on a tour they don’t function as well and are a pain to straighten out. They also can squeal a lot. For the first reason I found V brakes better for serious touring. Even though the disc fashion is popular now, i wouldn’t go that way for touring and seriously, a good pair of V brakes will stop you just as well. Concerning hub gears. My Rohloff and Alfine units have given me ZERO problems and i mean zero plus they are weatherproof. Derailleurs are not . If you have good mechanical skills you(ll be happy with them but if not definitely go IGH if you can afford it.

A tip for straightening out a bent rotor is to use an adjustable spanner to grip the rotor at the warped point and then give it a few nudges back in the right direction. With a bit of care this’ll cure all but the most traumatic bends.

Thanks for the comment! I have heard lots of good stuff about Thorn, and I’m sure they deserve their reputation. I’d put them in the “top-end” category on price point, which is why they’re not included here. One day it’d be nice to try one out… (hint!)

Re drop bars: I wouldn’t want to tour without them, and I use them a lot, but especially when I have to ride into the wind. On any tour, there will be long hours, and sometimes days, when the wind is blowing head-on, and I’d go nuts if I had to be sitting straight up, catching the full force of the wind, the whole time. However, it’s important to note that not all drop bars are the same. Some bars are marketed as “randonneur” bars, and they allow for a wide range of positions, which is really important as you can change positions frequently and relieve tension on your hands, wrists, neck and shoulders. On my current bike, a Surly Long Haul Trucker, the stock (drop) bars are very good. I probably spend the most time with my hands on the top section of the bars, but it’s a blessing to be able to get right down into a crouch when I have to ride into the wind.

The Paul Hewitt Cheviot is a very good bike too.

Tom I think the comment that the 5 models you showcased are basically the same bike is spot on. Yes there are bikes with better components but the few that you chose will do the job. Its easy to build a $5000 tour bike and I have seen several. However at the end of the day I would prefer to have a tough as nails work horse that doesn’t mind another scratch or two. 

I laugh as I think that my wife’s tour bike frame, a steel Rocky Mountain Soul, was perfectly fine and yet was about to be thrown into a dumpster when I saved it. Put a fork on it for 75 cents from the reuse it center and then built the rest from bits and hand me downs of solid mid range mtb components. For a few hundred dollars I built a bike that has easily survived several hard tours. It took a little time and patience but in the process I learned how to fix just about everything on the bike. Not to mention the satisfaction of giving it a new life. Now I would never consider buying a new bike from a shop. There are just so many great used bikes that would make a perfect tour bike project. With the internet as a resource you can research just about every part there is. It however takes time.

One more little story. On our trip to India, one of our group bought a $100 bike off craigslist in Vancouver. We checked it over and and made sure everything was sound and then shipped it over. She rode it for a month on tour and then donated it to an orphanage. Think they were happy? It was a pretty special moment. Would I have ridden it around the world…maybe not but it served the purpose and then some. Sometimes its just not about the bike.

Hey Henric — thanks a lot for this perspective. 

I agree that renovating an old bike is just as valid as buying a new one. (In fact, that’s a project I’ve got on the go at the moment.) I do also think, though, that there’s room for everyone to have their own way of approaching the situation — a new bike might be what takes someone from a dreamer to a die-hard cycle tourer — and for another person, the love that goes into a rebuild of a completely unique vintage bike may achieve the same thing.

Thanks for your input!

I pulled an old green Chicago Schwinn Varsity off the trash when I was in High School, fixed it up and rode it for a long time. Last year I put new wheels and tires on it, and then had to replace the rear derailleur. This year I’ve put saddlebaskets on it and use it to go to work everyday, and am planning to take it on a short 200 mile tour this summer. The only gripe I have with it is that the original gearset doesn’t have quite a low enough first gear for the hills in Albuquerque, but when I get back to Chicago next week it should be just fine again. Absolutely reliable bike (though it’s really heavy at 45lbs without the baskets, close to 55 or 60lbs with the baskets)

Fantastic. That’s the spirit.

I love my Surly Troll.

A real work horse and rides suprising well both loaded and unloaded. I personally think it’s better than the LHT because it’s a great alrounder.

It does look good. Rear triangle & caliper positioning like the Sutra. Very flexible-looking setup!

I’m lucky enough to own a pair of touring bikes, a Thorn Sterling ( discontinued I think ) and a Troll, both built to my spec, with Shimano XTR v brakes ( I don’t like discs, squeaky, rotors too easily bent ‚hard to replace on a tour, and extra weight ), They are both fantastic bikes but with a different ride quality. The Surly is a bit more agile, rides more like a trail bike, but for putting on the miles when you are going to be riding seven or eight hours a day, the Thorn just cruises through it sffortlessly. It’s also one solid bike. Don’t believe i’ve ridden any another frame that is as comfortable as the Thorn for long days in the saddle. For those shopping for a tourer, I’d give careful thought to whether you’ll be on or off road. Both of my bikes can handle either but they both excel at only one.

For several years I have gone on a European cycle tour with my tent and cycled for a period of no more than six weeks. I have had a couple of good touring bikes which I upgraded the wheels to Mavic 719 and the gears to Shimano XT As I got older now 62yrs of age I decided to invest in a Thorn Mercury straight handlebars and a Rolhoff Hub including Disc Brakes the result is perfect my saddle is a Brooks B 17 the bike is a dream to ride 853 Reynolds Steel Stiff and flexible to enjoy many miles in the saddle As for the Rolhoff I could Never Tour with a derailleur gears again the Rolhoff is all they say it is German engineering at its best the people at Thorn did a first class job their manner appears firm but they certainly know their business and I am really pleased with my byclcle Thorns lowered the gearing to its maximum and I can climb most hills fully loaded if it’s touring on Tarmac with the occasional canal towpath I recommend the Mercury byclcle and with Swarbe marathon plus tyres your bike is bomb proof I am always amazed when cyclists talk about weight on a byclcle yes if you are racing but when you Tour a couple of kilos really makes no difference my only regret is I didn’t purchase a Rolhoff years ago not cheap but it will last you a lifetime and should you upgrade your bike you can transfer it to your next byclcle making the former into a single speed for training purposes as for disc brakes when I am fully loaded coming down a steep mountain side I know I can safer stop otherwise it’s possibly very hot wheel rims and possibly wheel failure it just depends on what kind of cycle touring you wish to do if it is traveling in south east Asia 26* wheels and no disc brakes but after cycling for over 50 years I believe I have finally found what works for me

Hey Tom. Just found your site. Thought we would say hi. We are in the midst of organising a lap around the world in 2014. For 3 years. Great site look forward to investigating it further. We r using 1 Surly lhdt, 1 world Randonneur $ 2 giant boulder bikes. Check it out under bike specs on out 8pedals site. Early days for us. 

Thanks! (Everyone else, check out 8pedals.com !)

Walmart sells nice bikes (really). I ride combined packed dirt (nation forest) roads and paved. I use a dual suspension 21sp MTB upgraded with wide seat and swept back handlebars, better tires. Racks and other acc. as needed. for $250USD you can replace it every 2 years, transfer the custom parts to the new bike and still sell the old one for $35. Thieves know its a cheap bike and don’t bother it, joyriders main threat. My current bike was a $89 model, but I installed wide range gearing in addition to the other modifications. Going on 4 years 8500 miles, frame still good.

re your comment “They’re all built primarily for paved roads, but could handle a dirt track or two if need be.“ I bought a Surly Long Haul Trucker for a tour that included hundreds of kilometres of gravel road, and it was fabulous. A key factor was to use fairly beefy tires (1.75”). The setup on the Surly allowed getting down on the drop bars for long stretches against the wind, but enough cushioning in the tires (and frame) to make rough sections comfortable. I suspect this would be true of most of the bikes you mentioned, as long as they have room for wide tires. There have been a few loose dirt trails where a mountain bike would offer better control, but the Surly has been an ideal compromise for most of my rides.

After perhaps 25,000 km of touring we lashed out and bought Thorn Nomad each, with Rohloff. These are a little heavy, but the most comfortable and durable bikes imaginable…the Rolls Royce of touring. We can’t speak too highly of the Rohloff hubs.…just fantastic. But then, we travel slowly and thoughtfully.….you might say “savoring the experience”.…too old to do it anyother way! Check out Thorn’s website.

i would agree with the above. The Nomad is like a two wheeled tank, bit heavy, but can carry loads and tackle almost everything thrown at it. Slowly and thoughtfully ? ……… i couldn’t have put it better.

Hey, Tom! Since I have come back from my first bike tour to Europe I decided to buy Kona Sutra but question about what sixe should I choose is too complicated for me. I am 6 ft 2 inch. Thank you.

Hi Alex. The best thing to do by far is to test ride the different sizes. But if that isn’t an option, my brother is 6′2″ and he has the 59cm model, which fits him very well, if that’s of any help.

i have no money what small improvements could i make to my cannondale quick cx 4 2012 to make it a little better for touring

I would start by going on a tour with it and seeing if you run into any issues — depending on what you’re doing, it might be fine as-is!

Was all set to go for the Kona Sutra 2012 after much research and your review for a 1000km trip in SE Asia followed by a coast to coast of Oz, but just seen the Dawes Super Galaxy for £1125 at Spa Cycles. Almost the same price as the Kona. Would be interested on your thoughts on the Super Galaxy. I don’t plan on carrying much weight if that helps.

I’ve never ridden the Super Galaxy, so all I can say is going on the specs on the website. They look very similar, although the Super Galaxy has marginally better drivetrain components and better tyres. On the other hand, the Sutra has powerful disc brakes, bar-end shifters and a stronger/more widespread 9‑speed drivetrain, rather than the Dawes’ 10-speed which I consider a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

I’d toss a coin, or take them both for a ride and go with your gut!

Quick update — several stores are doing the 2012 Sutra at a discount now, including the two links in the article above…

Hey Tom, I went with the Kona Surtra based on my gut feeling and it felt right when I test rode it. Thanks for the link to cyclestore and your advice. I did a 3000 miles plus tour of SE Asia quickly followed by JOGLE on a mountain bike which was blast, but very much looking forward to journeying on a proper touring bike. Should make things less laborious hopefully. 

Top website!

Have to say I was a bit surprised at your mention of ‘stupidly expensive’ bikes then trying to claim that £1500 is a mid-range price. Anyway I have a Dawes Ultra Galaxy Ti and love it!!!

£1500 is a mid-range price 😉

My wife and I have had our Ridgeback Panorama’s for a couple of years now and are really pleased with them. We would, however, agree with Mark’s comment about the brake pads/blocks. Fortunately, easily rectified with a better brake block compound. We find that, when fully loaded, the bike comes into its own with regards to comfort, response and stability due, I think, to the Reynolds 725 tubing.

I bought a Panorama for touring in the Alps. Testing around Rutland hills I realised the brakes weren’t even good enough for here, let alone 25mile descents. I swapped them for Tekto mini “V” brakes available from Spa Cycles for £25. More than enough braking power now, it made a huge difference.

Hi Tom, I followed your adventure to the Arctic. Good to see you passing on your knowledge. Both my DH and I have Koga Randonneurs and I love mine. He preferred his Dawes Super Galaxy that he had upgraded with the Koga multiposition bars unfortunately , it was stolen and never recovered. They come complete with dynamo for lighting and I have a gizmo to charge the I phone. Good to find your site again. Brenda

Thanks for the article. A bit disappointing recumbents are not mentioned, as these are hands down the best bicycles for long distances. The first question should always be: Do I have a reason for not choosing a recumbent?

I can think of several — price, availability and familiarity are the first three. 

I do appreciate all the arguments for the benefit of recumbents, but this article was intended to highlight mainstream mid-range options, and unfortunately recumbents are still a long way from being part of that. I’d love to run an article about them, but not until I have some first-hand experience…

Great article Tom, I suspect most of us spend too much money on our bikes. Its refreshing to see someone write about the mid-rangers. Rather than the “you need this bike with Rohloff, Son, Magura, tubus” that you read on most sites..

Too true. I’ve got an interesting article in the pipeline which will go even further in the ‘budget’ direction. Watch this space…

I’ve just completed a tour on my new Vivente World Randonneur 

It’s probably at the upper end of the middle for touring bikes, if that makes any sense. But for me doing heavy highway touring it is ideal. Strong, stable. The dynamo on the front wheel is excellent at charging up all my electronics.

As you said, a bit pricey, but a lovely looking bike — thanks!

Is it possible to put a dynamo for charging up a GPS and iPhone on the front wheel of a Surly LHT? Does it reduce speed much?

Go for it. I have done it and could not be happier. The reduction in speed is minimal.

+1 for the Ridgeback. Like you say, everything is a compromise and in the Panorama’s case the manufacturer has skimped on the brake pads the most. Happily this is easily fixed. Another slight annoyance was caused by the shifters, which needed the addition of brake noodles to route the gear cables away from the handlebar bag I added — couldn’t quite justify 105 levers with integral cable routing for a tourer. Top bike, highly recommend it!

Novara safari is a great and inexpensive tourer sold at Rei Cheaper then any of these by a large margin with butterfly handle bars Novara randonee is more in line with what is here Khs tr 101 very complete even includes clipless pedals.

Thanks for this, Andrew. I had a look at the specs of these bikes. As you say, the Novara Randonnée is a closer fit for this list of mid-range tourers, though I would still be concerned about the rear rack’s strength and the 10-speed drivetrain. It’s also missing fenders. Otherwise it looks like a good bike at a good price. 

I’d probably put the Safari in the ‘budget’ category rather than the mid-range, due to it having a lot of entry-level components. While that’s fine for short tours and commuting, I’d be concerned about its long-term durability on a big tour, where the aim is to reduce the likelihood of repairs and replacements.

The KHS TR 101 looks like a very capable road tourer — I’d like to see some real life reviews.

Thanks again!

Also love your site and check my rss reader for your posts daily such a inspiration keep on riding man :).

I’ve done short tours on my Randonee for years, and love it. Hildy (my Randonee) climbs hills like a madwoman and can haul as much cargo as need be quite handily. The bike will even handle mild off-road. I’ve long since worn through the stock tires, and replaced them with Schwalbe Marathon tires. 

I’ve replaced the rear rack, but I’m told by many that the tock rear rack is quite sturdy. (I already owned a pair of Tubus racks from my previous bike when I bought the Randonee.) This fellow rode from Florida to Washington State on a Randonee, and used the stock rear rack. 

I have an older Randonee that has a 24-speed drivetrain, and I have to say that I share your concern about the newer, 30-speed drivetrain. It seems odd that they would put a 10-speed cassette on a touring bike. However, I am pleased to note that they have gotten rid of the old STI shifters and moved to the more dependable bar-end shifters. If I had the spare cash, I’d have those installed on Hildy. 

The Safari looks like a fun bike for short tours that contain off-road components, but I’d worry about those disc brakes on tour.

I put a huge vote in for the Surly. I can say I’ve treated mine like a mountain bike on previous tours and it’s never been a problem. Its just built to take any punishment I fell like dishing out.

I have had negative experiences with an older Kona Sutra; however, it was with the former placement of the bb7 brake caliper and subsequent rear rack configuration with a huge bolt and spacers. It’d just sort of snap whenever we were running late, battling poor weather, or having trouble finding camp. Now that they’ve moved the brake to the lower chain stay, that problem is gone and the rack is likely as bombproof as the frame.

Yeah, that’s probably what prevented it from being taken seriously for so long — I’ve read some similar comments about older models. I probably wouldn’t have included it here a few years ago, but I can attest to its vast improvement in the last couple of years. Had an interesting chat with Kona’s designers in Vancouver earlier this year — they decided to redesign it from the ground up, rather than try to beef up a road-bike design as they’d previously done.

I had a 2007 or 2008 Sutra and one of the rear rack eyelets broke off during the first week of my very first tour. I finished the ride with the rack held up with bunch of zip ties. I was very disappointed with that frame.

A good bargain i.m.o. would be the vsf Fahrradmanufaktur TX-800 XT with 30 gears. handmade in Germany, complete Shimano XT-Group, Tubus Cargo and Tara lowrider racks (made out of Steel tubing, Magura hdraulic rimbrakes, a XT hub dynamo and a pretty good, rigid wheelset including some Schwalbe Marathon 47–622 reflex tires. There are Shops in GB too, in € it would be 1499,-. Of course, a sturdy steelframe and-fork.

Or, my ride of choice, the Surly Troll (mine is a custom-setup by myself, but the complete bike gets some good reputation too), more like a Offroad-Utility-Bike. (can be driven with V‑Brakes, Disc-Brakes, a Rohloff Hub, a normal rear derailleur or even singlespeed). http://surlybikes.com/bikes/troll The parts on the complete one wasn´t what i had in mind so i bought the frame and fork for 380 €

Thanks for the comment and suggestions!

The Fahrradmanufaktur looks like good value for money, as you say. I wouldn’t take a 10-speed chainset far beyond Europe, though — very new tech and with every increment comes a narrower, weaker chain, with spares almost impossible to find outside high-end bike stores. My first expedition bike was built with a 8‑speed rear mech for exactly that reason. Even a 7‑speed would still be stronger and easier to find parts for in most of the world.

The Troll reminds me of the Explosif I built from the frame up for off-road touring. Looks absolutely great if you want to build your own and ride a lot of dirt! Shame only a few stores import them over here in the UK.

Tom, and All Others, 

Can I ask for your opinion on the new Fahrradmanufaktur bikes? I was about to purchase one, but I’m a bit unsure for two reasons: 1) It has hydraulic brakes. Do you think that would require more (complicated) maintenance? 2) It’s a women’s frame. I haven’t seen many female frames among long distance touring bikes. Is there a good reason for that?

This is the original TX-400: http://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/katalog/expedition?product_id=668

And this is the one I’m eyeing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/371133699189?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Thank you, I would really appreciate your input on this.

Sofia, I’m a woman travelling around the world with the TX-800. The Magura hydraulic brakes don’t need any maintenance, just changing brake pads when needed (very easy, with a click). I have the male frame as I always had male frames in all my bikes and it’s what I’m used to. Another Spanish girl is also travelling around the world with the TX-400, male frame, and also happy with it. The advice the experts give is always the same, try to test both of them, male and female frame, and see how they feel.… Good luck!

Hi I bought the TX-400 last year and took it on 10 tour of Oman. It’s a really great bike! Very sturdy, and of course heavy but very easy to handle. My ony complaint was the company’s website. Everything is in German and they are very difficult to communicate with. Tried registering the bike using the website but couldn’t as it was in German. So a called them and emailed them a couple of times… again with no response. So my worry is that if on a longer trip I need to get spares, how could will their service be?

I guess it was many us who thought the same, as vsf fahrradmanufaktur have translated their webpage into English and Dutch… 

Regarding contact, our experience was totally different. We had a lot of doubts before buying the bikes, and although they kept telling us to contact the retailer, they replied most of them, even sending the bike documentacion translated into English, a list of spares,… Communication has always been in English.

As for their service, I had to use it twice in this trip, nothing serious, and it was very easy. I guess it helped that I was cycling through Germany at that time. They arranged for a shop in Leipzig to tight my cassette that had become lose, and they sent new pedals to another shop in Dresden as I wasn’t happy with the spinning of the ones that came with the bike. So far… so good. Hopefully I don’t need to contact them anymore!! 🙂

I’ve also got a TX800, it’s hugely strong and very well built, and will happily go anywhere a mountain bike will go, even when fully laden. It’s not the fastest bike but very reliable and robust. So far have only ridden the highlands of Scotland (including off-road touring) and a quick trip to Ypres plus 800 miles of commuting but the Zanskar valley beckons… 

To sum up this bike, think flat handlebars and fat tyres. Surly LHT, Dawes Galaxy, Koga typically have drop handlebars / skinny tyres, and will get you there quicker. The TX800 has a very upright position and quick (light) steering, ideal for circumnavigating rocky trails (like a Landover) but if you are the slow lad/lass at the back wanting to keep up then buy something skinnier.

This is a proper trekking bike, suited to carrying heavy loads away from tarmac. (And very reliable commuting, but not too quickly…)

Oh, and it comes in bright black and day-glo brown. It’s a German thing…

Believe it or not, an excelent touring bike is an old style Shwinn Varsity, 1982. With its steel frame, steel wheels, Suntour components, top-pull Diacompe breaks, narrow width drop handlebars, this bike is suprisenly stable and so well balanced you can ride no handed for as long as you like. Mine was a 25 inch frame, 27 inch tires. Tough long lasting and and inexpensive, I paid $175 used. My current touring bikes include crom-moly and aluminum, yet this steel Shwinn is probably my overall favourite

I have toured mainly in Europe always on Tarmac or the odd canal route my byclcle has been a Edinburgh Counrty traveler two years ago I opted for a Genesis day one steel frame bike with a Alfine hub I have since changed the handle bars to straights with bar ends this stopped the pain I developed between my shoulder blades after cycling 90 miles or more I also went to Thorns who fitted a Rolhoff 14 gear internal hub yes it was expensive however I must confess I would Never want to tour on a derailleur system again I appreciate the derailleur system can be easily repaired however the Rolhoff Hub has 14 distinct gears and it certainly does the job beautifully many of my friends who also tour and have cycled on both sets of gears now would not go back to a derailleur system my advice is you can cycle or your on just about any toe of byclcle Tom Allen has proved that but in life you get what you pay for I would personally recommend a steel fram touring bike good set of wheels Swarbe Marthon Plus tyres Bomb proof and a once in a lifetime investment purchase a Rolhoff the world then is your oyster and should you decide to later go for an expedition byclcle you can take your Rolhoff with you and transfer it to your new bike as it gets better with age

Hello we are currently cycling from Barcelona to Australia and using vsf tx400 fahrrad manufakture.the bike is great the only weak point do far are the tyres for us. We have it comes with schwalbe marathon mondiale which for us are not strong enough as we had to repair so many puncture. We think is a great bike and awesome value for money but just consider the tyres. ?

I bought my VSF 1,5 years ago from a dealer in NL, he says when buying from factory a lot of small adjustments needed to be done by him as the derailleur and that jizz wasnt properly adjusted, same i can imagine with the rear cog. I love how it is specd! Love the front dynamo light as it is bright as hell and the rear light stays on after stopping for a minute or two which is great regarding saftely. The frame (60cm for me) is not to stiff but very comfortable during my 10.000 K trip last year.. Also definitely a rear kickstand is a must, I have always had a centre stand but Rear kickstand has been amazing. I added an Andra Ryde rear rim that has proven to be bomb proof under load. I love the bike. But keep in mind that if you get rimbrakes or discbrakes it is impossiple to change after purchase as the frame is not compatible for both simultaniously.

I bought a Dawes Super Galaxy 2001 second hand in a fairly sorry state. I guess it was 30 years old then. I have ridden through Brittany on it 3 times and use it every day. I’m on my third set of wheels and it has had 2 complete drive train changes. I have been thinking about getting a new bike for 5 years but them I spend $100 on new bits and keep it going. Anyway, it was built to last. Don’t know if the new build quality is as good?

That’s the mark of a good frame!

I’ve picked up a 2013 Kona Sutra from bikes.com.au for $1200. The Dawes is now chained to the shed like the old dog out of Babe (sheep pig). I am loving the Sutra. I use it every day commuting and it is very comfortable. The saddle was hopeless but my old saddle suits the bike well. Anyway, thanks for the advice, think I got a bargain.

Sounds like an extremely good deal. You’re right about the saddle, but I can’t remember buying a single bike for which I didn’t replace it!

Hi Tom I have purchased a Genesis Day One with an Alfine 11 speed Hub To climb the Steeper hills I have changed from a 42 tooth to 38 front ring and an 18tooth on the rear Would this bike be suitable for European Touring can you advise please

Practically any bike is suitable for European touring, as long as it’s comfortable enough to ride all day. You’re never more than a few miles from a bike shop or train station if something goes wrong. I know people who’ve toured Europe on bikes from scrapheaps.

That is not budget.

…or VSF Fahrradmanufaktur TX-400 — either with Rohloff or not. https://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/de/katalog/expedition-2017/tx-400-rohloff-speedhub-14-gang

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Best touring bikes: Machines for old-school, long distance riding

The best touring bikes to load up for the long haul or just for local load-lugging

• How to choose

The best touring bikes are designed to be loaded up for comfortable long-distance riding, but they're also a robust, reliable option for local riding with a load or just for commuting .

They're a bit old school now, with bikepacking being the trendy fast and light way to ride far, either on one of the best endurance bikes or the best gravel bikes . The availability and range of models reflect that trend, although touring bikes still offer a great way to see the world.

They're built strong, often with a steel frame and fork and have reliable wheels with plenty of spokes for strength, as well as a wide gear range, which may be via a triple chainset with a smaller range of "speeds" in the cassette or hub gear. Expect an upright ride position and comfortable touchpoints.

Luggage is normally carried in panniers and bags attached to a rear rack, often supplemented by a front rack, as well as a bar bag. Mudguards are also normal, making riding more comfortable in all weathers, while multiple bottle cages mean that you can keep hydrated even when you're far from a tap.

Below, you'll find our pick of the best touring bikes and below that is our buyer's guide to how to choose the best touring bike for you.

Best touring bikes: our picks

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This Genesis touring bike option comes fully loaded, with front and rear racks, lights and a bottle cage, while its 35mm wide tyres give a comfortable ride. There's a Shimano Tiagra triple chainset, which gives a total of thirty gear ratios, which head below 1:1 for loaded climbing. 

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Another steel-framed tourer with many of the extras you'll need already there. The Kona Sutra has a high ride position and is equipped with a Brooks leather saddle for a retro touring vibe, although the disc brakes and wide gear range keep it up to date.

Yet another steel-framed option with front and rear racks and an upright ride, the Salsa Marrakesh has 3x9-speed gearing and mechanical disc brakes. Its 42mm Teravail tyres should provide comfort and grip wherever you travel.

Another long-haul steel model, the Disc Trucker has a very upright ride position thanks to its riser stem and yet more rise to its bars. A triple chainset that goes as low as a 26x34t ratio helps with long rides over steep roads.

With 42mm WTB Resolute tyres, the Marin Four Corners is a bike that can handle poor road conditions. The steel frame and fork are robust, while the triple chainset, nine-speed gearing and mechanical disc brakes should prove reliable. 

The Giant Toughroad takes a slightly different tack from most touring bikes, with flat bars, an alloy frame and carbon fork. Its 50mm wide tyres and very wide gear range equip it for off-road adventures.

Best touring bikes

1. genesis tour de fer 30, specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

The Genesis Tour De Fer is a great option in this category. It's a top all-round bike, featuring a solid steel frame, durable tyres, disc brakes and all the practicalities such as three bottle cages, front and rear racks, mudguards and dynamo-powered lights.

Simply put, this is a bike ready for whatever you need to do straight away, whether it's commuting, leisure riding or touring. The bike offers an easy, calm ride, and is comfortable enough to get on and go right away.

35mm Schwalbe Marathon tyres come as standard, with their puncture-proof reputation. The Shimano Tiagra triple groupset gives you plenty of range including a sub-1:1 ratio to haul your loaded bike up the hills. You might need that range, with the extra features adding significantly to the bike's weight though.

2. Surly Disc Trucker

Another do-anything bike, the Disc Trucker features a sturdy and good-looking steel frame and fork. It is, however, more suited to road riding than exploring gravel and mud, though it's not to say that you can't tackle gravel tracks with it. The rise to the bars, paired with a long head tube gives a comfortable all-day ride position.

Mounts for three bottles, a pump, and mudguards add to the practicality, while the tyre clearance will let you get some meaty rubber in there. Surly quotes 2.1" tyre clearance on 650b wheels and the smaller frame sizes come specced with this wheel size for better toe clearance.

A Shimano Alivio MTB triple groupset with Sora road shifters provides steady and reliable 9-speed shifting, although it's quite a low end spec. Like the Genesis and the Trek, the Disc Trucker relies on TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes for reliable, low-maintenance stopping power.

3. Giant Toughroad SLR 1

What do you get when you combine a mountain bike, a touring bike and a gravel bike? No, this isn't the start of one of your dad's jokes, you get the impressively capable Toughroad SLR 1. More suited to the offroad than any of the bikes we've looked at so far, Giant calls it a do-it-all bike capable of commuting, but make no mistake, it's built primarily for dirt and gravel.

There's no suspension fork, but the giant 50mm tyres are a dead giveaway. An 11-42 MTB cassette on the back will also help with tackling the steep stuff, although there's not the absolute range of the triple chainsets on the bikes above. Pannier racks front and back and three bottle cage mounting points mean you can pile on whatever you need to take with you.

There are plenty of modern features on the bike, including thru-axles, hydraulic brakes, and tubeless tyres. A reliable Giant wheelset and Shimano Deore groupset round off this bike. You might find the lack of variation in hand position with the flat bar configuration gets tiring on longer rides though.

4. Kona Sutra

The first thing to strike you about the Sutra is its retro features; the Brooks leather saddle and steel frame give a different look to many of the bikes we've looked at. Disc brakes and thru-axles remind you that this is a thoroughly modern bike, though.

It's another bike for touring and commuting on the road and on some gravel/dirt surfaces. Mudguards and front and rear pannier racks are included, while there are other bosses for more additions if needed.

The 10-speed Shimano GRX gravel groupset with Tiagra shifters gives plenty of range, although not as much as a triple like that specified on the Trek, while the hybrid hydraulic/cable-operated brakes should give a bit more stopping power than the TRP Spyre cable brakes specced elsewhere, they are more of a faff to maintain though. It's a classy-looking bike that can work well anywhere.

5. Salsa Marrakesh

A great-looking steel frame is the first thing to catch the eye on this bike, while the fat 42mm tyres give a signal as to its intentions. It's as comfortable off-road as on, whether you're touring, commuting or just riding for fun.

As with the bikes above, front and rear racks are included, though if you want to add mudguards, be warned that the wide tyres will need to go on a diet ­– down to a 40mm maximum.

It's a solid entry into the touring selection, even if it is a bit on the weighty side, however, though not so much that you'll be struggling under the weight. Components include a Shimano Alivio groupset with Microshift shifters as well as TRP Spyre-C disc brakes and wheels and tyres ready to be set up tubeless.

6. Marin Four Corners

The Marin Four Corners is part tourer, part gravel bike. It's got the clearance for really wide tyres on 650b wheels (which is the stock wheel size specced on smaller-sized frames), but you can also set it up for a more traditional touring configuration with 700c wheels.

The steel frame is bombproof while the long head tube gives an upright ride position so you've got plenty of visibility all around. There are mounts for a rack, mudguards and to lash extra kit to the fork legs, so you can load up to head into the unknown. It's a bike more geared to gravel than the road, unlike the more traditional tourers like the Kona and the Genesis.

7. Trek 520

Marketed as a bike for long-haul travel, the Trek 520 is the longest-running bike in Trek's stable, although its days look to be numbered. The 520 is no longer sold in the UK or US, but international buyers in some countries still have a choice of two specs on Trek's site, including the Sora/Alivio option above.

Like the Genesis, the Trek 520 comes with front and rear racks, although you'll have to add mudguards for all-weather use. Small updates include mechanical disc brakes with a thru-axle alloy fork, while the 9-speed Shimano Sora gearing provides massive range from its triple chainset, albeit with quite large jumps across the 11-36 tooth cassette.

It's also nice to see tubeless-ready wheels specced (although not the tyres), so you can set up tubeless, which should up dependability on long rides. 

How to choose the best touring bike for you

Whether you're looking for a practical way to get to work, want that extra durability so that your bike will stand the test of time or want to travel to far-flung corners of the earth with nothing but a tent and a change of clothes, a touring bike a great addition to your stable of steeds. 

You can still get around quickly – whether you're hitting the roads, gravel paths or other rough terrain – but plenty of space for mudguards and racks, as well as a more relaxed position, make a touring bike a better all-round option than a road bike, a hybrid or a mountain bike. 

The relaxed geometry and more upright riding position are also handy for commuting, and the best touring bikes are often built with durable, easy-to-maintain components so they can be fixed when hundreds of miles away from a bike shop. This lends itself to fewer mechanicals and lower running costs. Steel frames also have a far better chance of being repaired all over the world compared to aluminium or carbon fibre if you're on a big trip.

What types of touring bike are there?

Touring bikes can range anywhere from predominantly road-going bikes with horizontal top tubes and 700c tyres, to rugged mountain bikes with knobbly mountain bike tyres. 

What the best touring bikes tend to share, however, is a durable design, comfortable geometry and the ability to carry luggage. Some opt for bikepacking bags , which usually consist of frame bags and oversized saddle bags, whereas others opt for the traditional rack and pannier bag method of carrying luggage. 

As with any bike purchase, consider the riding you plan to do with the bike. For those looking to travel far and wide, a bike with more luggage-carrying capacity will be preferred. For those who are looking to travel off-road, look for a bike that can handle the rough stuff. Live in the mountains? Look for a wide gear range. 

What's different about touring bike geometry?

Touring bike frames feature a relaxed geometry , with a taller head tube and shorter top tube for a comfortable and more upright riding position compared to a racing road bike. In addition to this, they feature a longer wheelbase, which keeps the bike stable even when loaded with heavy luggage. Since they're designed to be cycled over long distances, they're equally designed to stay comfortable for as long as possible.

If you're a geometry nerd you may notice the trail is a little lower than you'd expect for a relaxed ride, but this is often done to counteract the slowing effect on the steering of a heavy front load to avoid the bike feeling like a barge when laden.

Which gearing should a touring bike have?

Gearing-wise, what you should pick really depends on what type of riding you'll be doing. If you're taking on hills regularly, then you'll want a cassette with larger sprockets on the back. Some touring bikes offer a triple chainset too, with easier gearing on offer compared to a double chainset. The addition of extra gear combinations into the mix will add an extra component to maintain, so those on flatter terrain might prefer a single chainring at the front.

The majority of touring bikes offer standard external gear systems – the chainset, chain and cassette we're all used to. Some do have internal gearing though, with an enclosed rear gearbox which requires a lot less maintenance and is less prone to damage but is heavier and will cost you more. Belt drives are also available – this is a multi-tooth belt instead of a chain, so no regular cleaning or lubrication is required. Hub gears like the Rohloff system are favoured by riders taking on huge worldwide tours for their durability. 

Should I look for rim brakes or disc brakes?

As with much of the cycling world, rim brakes and disc brakes are both available, with rim brakes found more often on lower-end bikes. Rim brakes feature two pads grabbing onto the wheel rims to stop the bike, while disc brakes grip onto a separate rotor on the wheels instead.

Disc brakes feature better and more consistent braking performance, which is useful for a heavily laden bike, and are better in wet weather, though. Both adjustment and maintenance are far easier with rim brakes, however, with an Allen key and some new pads all you really need.

Rim brakes will wear down your rim eventually, prompting a rim swap and wheel rebuild or a new wheel. Whereas that's not an issue with disc brakes, and there's more leeway to keep riding with a buckled disc brake wheel or a broken spoke.

Hydraulic disc brakes are generally maintenance-free in operation, however, if you snag your brake hose on a tree in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, there's little chance of repair unless you packed a bleed kit and spare hose. 

What should I look for in touring bike contact points?

Saddles are an important factor, being the main point of contact with your body. Padded saddles may look more comfortable but looks can be deceiving, with thinner padding usually better for you once you've gotten used to it after a few rides. Saddles should support your sit bones, and additional padding can move the pressure elsewhere and rub more, making things more uncomfortable over time.

If you're planning a long trip and already have a saddle that you like, it may be worth swapping out the saddle that comes with the bike, if you're not sure how comfortable it will be for the long haul.

On a multi-day trip, handlebars need to be comfortable as well. Some bars have a slight rearward sweep, which can feel more natural when riding on the tops. A shallow drop is likely to be more comfortable to use as well.

Which pedals should I choose?

It's worth choosing pedals wisely too. While the best road bike pedals give good power transfer, the best cycling shoes that work with them are difficult to walk in, which could be an issue if touring or even for a trip to the shops.

On the other hand, flat pedals may make it difficult to keep your feet well-positioned for longer rides. They will allow you to use standard shoes, which are easier to walk in, but unless the soles are relatively stiff, your pedalling will be less efficient and you may get foot ache after a long day riding without adequate support.

Gravel bike pedals are a good option, as they still let you clip in for more efficient riding, but the cleats are recessed on the sole of the shoes and so can be walked in much more easily. You'll need gravel shoes to go with them that accept two-bolt cleats. These will have soles designed for efficient pedalling and foot support, but most are not too stiff to walk in comfortably.

Alternatively, some of the best commuter cycling shoes also allow you to fit two-bolt cleats.

You can learn more about the pros and cons of two-bolt versus three-bolt pedals in our explainer.on Shimano SPD vs SPD-SL systems.

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Paul has been on two wheels since he was in his teens and he's spent much of the time since writing about bikes and the associated tech. He's a road cyclist at heart but his adventurous curiosity means Paul has been riding gravel since well before it was cool, adapting his cyclo-cross bike to ride all-day off-road epics and putting road kit to the ultimate test along the way. Paul has contributed to Cyclingnews' tech coverage for a few years, helping to maintain the freshness of our buying guides and deals content, as well as writing a number of our voucher code pages. 

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First Ride Honda Transalp: The Travel Review

Photo: Zac Kurylyk

When Honda debuted the new Transalp at EICMA in 2022, after 10 years out of production, it was explicitly billed as a travel bike—and when I got a chance to finally test the machine, that’s what I did with it. I rode the Transalp from Los Angeles to Las Vegas via superhighway, back roads and dirt roads over four days. Here’s what I found out about Honda’s middleweight ADV, which is new to the US market this year:

The engine suits the job

Honda’s parallel twins have a reputation for non-offensive reliability. That’s certainly the story for the smaller CB500X (or NX500, as it’s known now) and the larger Africa Twin, and that’s the case here too.

The engine is hidden away behind some plastic, but maintenance shouldn’t be too bad. Of course, I didn’t have to wrench on anything on this tour, but such long-term ownership questions are always at the back of my mind. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Unlike the aggressive torque curves of its close competitors (Suzuki’s 800 V-Strom or KTM’s 790/890 series), the Transalp has a more gentle climb. The horsepower curve is a very linear run to the top. This bike is made to rev, not to lug around at low speeds.

Image: Honda

In practical terms, that often meant I ran a gear low, if I was looking for instant on-tap power while street riding. It also meant that I had to really lay on the gas to overcome a strong headwind while cruising Route 66’s long desert sections at 80 mph. My fuel economy dropped from a respectable low-40s mpg to low-30s mpg, even as low as mid-20s at one point.

The Santa Monica mountains were the exact sort of riding the Transalp was made for. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

For long miles and long hours, the Transalp engine will haul you along at extra-legal speed without any unpleasant vibration. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

A comfortable chassis

The Showa suspension is very basic compared to what’s available on some other middleweight ADVs, but for users who stick to the bike’s intended purpose, it will match their needs well. Image: Honda

The saddle is easy to throw a leg over, and quite comfortable for all-day riding. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

The exhaust had a pleasant note. The low-mount design is another clue that this bike is not intended for hard-core off-road bashing. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Easy livin’

It was easy to use the switchgear on the left-hand handlebar, but I will note that the hazard light button placement was too close to the signals. Everything else was very straightforward, with no arcane acronyms for the safety systems, something that other OEMs sometimes fall prey to. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

The brakes worked well, and the ability to change ABS settings quickly on-the-fly was much appreciated. If you turn ABS or TC off, they will re-set to minimal intrusion when you restart the bike. Note that *only* rear ABS can be completely disabled; there is always some level of front ABS enabled. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

The finer things

I found there was a lot of rear-end chatter on washboard ruts; with limited time for testing, I wasn’t able to get everything dialed in like I wanted, but I think completely disabling TC would have helped quite a bit. Photo: Zac Kurylyk

Final thoughts

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Best Electric Off-Road Bikes to Take on Any Terrain in 2024

Searching for the perfect electric off-road bike is time-consuming, given the seemingly limitless variety.

Gravel, mountain, all-road, mixed-terrain commuter, and fat-tire are examples of popular off-road e-bike categories, each with different attributes that allow them to perform off-road.

To help you find the right one, we’ve put together a list of ten varied off-road electric bikes for adults from ten best electric brands , ranging from $1,999 to $10,999.

Best Electric Off-Road Bikes for 2024

• Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus
• Ride1UP Prodigy XR
• Aventon Aventure
• Cannondale Moterra Neo 4
• Bakcou Scout
• Velotric Nomad 1
• Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0
• Santa Cruz Skitch
• Ride1UP CF Racer1
• Charge Bikes XC

1. Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus

• Price:  $1,399
• Motor:  750W hub
• Battery:  672Wh
• Range:  45 miles
• Drivetrain:  7-speed Shimano
• Suspension: RST 60mm fork

The RadRover 6 Plus by Rad Power Bikes is an electric offroad bike that doubles as a comfortable urban commuter if necessary.

The newest update to the flagship RadRover series brings more efficient and powerful electronics, improved geometry to reduce fatigue, and upgraded hydraulic disc brakes.

Power comes from a large 750W, 80Nm geared hub motor supported by a 672Wh battery that returns modest ranges of 25 to 45 miles. Riders can choose between throttle or five pedal assist levels.

• Full review:  Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus Review

A 7-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain supports the motor to maximize the battery’s range, and hydraulic disc brakes ensure you can stop in all conditions.

The RadRover 6 Plus has auto-activate LED lights and mounts for a rack and fenders if you want it for commuting. Finally, you have massive 4″ Kenda Juggernaut fat tires to get you over any terrain you find, even snow and sand.

Don’t miss out on the Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus if you’re looking for one of the best fat tire e-bikes for off-roading and commuting.

Buy RadRover 6 Plus

2. Ride1UP Prodigy XC

• Price:  $2,395
• Motor: Brose TF Sprinter, 90Nm
• Battery: 504Wh
• Range:  50 miles
• Drivetrain:  9-speed Shimano Alivio
• Suspension: 120m fork

Ride1UP is becoming one of the United States’ leading electric bike manufacturers in the low-cost category, and their premium e-bike, the Prodigy, showcases the best the brand has to offer.

The Prodigy XC (cross-country) model is an electric off-road bike, with the ST and XR models offering fully-equipped urban alternatives.

A powerful Brose TF Sprinter 90Nm mid-drive motor with 380% assistance provides plenty of punch for tackling steep mountain passes. This motor pairs with a 504Wh battery that lasts between 30 and 50 miles.

• Brand review:  Overview of Ride1UP Electric Bikes

Support the electronics with Shimano’s Alivio 9-speed gearing that includes a 42t narrow-wide chainring to reduce dropped chains. Tektro hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors round out the groupset with plenty of power but an inconsistent bite point.

Make light work of smooth cross-country trails with 2.4″ Maxxis Forekaster tires and an air fork with 120mm of travel.

All things considered, the Ride1UP Prodigy is an excellent value off-road electric bike and an impressive offering for an urban-centric brand.

Buy Ride1UP Prodigy XC

3. Aventon Aventure.2

• Price:  $1,999
• Battery:  720Wh
• Range: 60 miles
• Drivetrain:  8-speed Shimano
• Suspension: 80mm fork

The Aventon Aventure.2 is an off-road electric bike that’s equally at home on urban roads and bike paths.

Aventon specializes in producing affordable e-bikes, and the Aventure is the brand’s most advanced model, capable of top speeds of 28mph and max ranges of 60 miles. The Aventure.2 has a torque-sensing 750W hub motor paired with a 720Wh battery to achieve this.

• Related post:  Aventon Aventure.2 Review

Maximize the range of this bike by using the 8-speed Shimano Acera drivetrain. Off-road capability comes from massive 4″ fat tires, an 80mm suspension fork, and powerful hydraulic disc brakes, all typical components for the $2,000 range.

The Aventure.2 has fenders, a rack, and lights so you can use it as a commuter or light-duty bike touring companion.

Consider this bike if you want a do-it-all option with a competitive price tag.

Buy Aventon Aventure.2

4. Cannondale Moterra Neo 4

• Price:  $5,900
• Motor:  Shimano STEPS EP8, 85Nm
• Battery:  630Wh
• Range:  75 miles
• Drivetrain:  12-speed SRAM SX Eagle
• Suspension: RockShox 150mm front and rear

The Cannondale Moterra Neo 4 is the best off-road electric bike for all-mountain and aggressive trail riding, thanks to its 150mm suspension in the front and rear.

This MTB has industry-leading electronics, including Shimano’s STEPS EP8 motor with 85Nm of torque and a 630Wh battery that delivers an all-day range of up to 75 miles.

To support the motor, you have a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain with an 11-50t cassette for smashing steel hills. A set of Shimano MT400 hydraulic discs round out the groupset.

The suspension is RockShox’s 35 Silver R fork and Deluxe Select R shock, linked by a proprietary 4-bar platform and tuned to balance efficiency and traction on climbs with a supple feeling on chunky descents.

Other notable components include Maxxis Rekon, 29 x 2.6″ tires to provide tons of grip on loose terrain, and a TranzX dropper post. Unfortunately, this dropper is slightly disappointing for an almost $6,000 bike.

Finally, choose the Moterra if you want to take the effort out of your all-mountain/enduro rides.

Buy from Mike’s Bikes

5. Bakcou Scout

• Price:  $5,599
• Motor:  1000W Bafang, 160 Nm
• Battery:  48V, 17.5Ah or 21Ah
• Range:  N/A
• Drivetrain:  SRAM NX 11-Speed
• Suspension: RST Renegade Air Fork (120mm of travel) & Rockshox Monarch Air Rear

The Bakcou Scout is the best electric off-road bike for hunters , anglers, and adventure riders. This full-suspension beast can reach the most remote terrain, hauling up to 300 lbs of payload.

The full-suspension design consisting of a 120mm RockShox Monarch Air rear suspension and a high-stability 120mm RST Renegade air fork means steep drops and rough backcountry terrain won’t deter you.

In addition, the brand’s top-of-the-line suspension platform enhances its performance by improving traction, comfort, and compliance when you most need it.

• Related review: Brand Review of QuietKat Electric Bikes

The other impressive feature of this bike is its enormous 1000W ultra mid-drive motor that can handle anything you throw at it without losing momentum. Bakcou Bikes included a massive 17.5Ah or 21Ah battery to match this power, giving this bike a hefty 69 lb weight (without battery).

Lastly, you’ll have 26″ x 4.0″ all-terrain Maxxis Minion tires and four-piston Tektro hydraulic disc brakes to keep you safe and in control no matter the conditions.

Add the Bakcou Scout to your shortlist if you want one of the best electric off-road bikes for hunting .

Buy Bakcou Scout

6. Velotric Nomad 1

• Price:  $1,799
• Motor:  750W, 75 Nm
• Battery:  691 Wh
• Range:  55 miles
• Drivetrain:  Shimano 8-speed

The Velotric Nomad 1 is an electric hardtail fat bike designed for handling rough trails, snow, sand, and urban riding.

Velotric Bikes built this model around a sleek aluminum frame with full integration of its electronics, several mounts, and a high battery capacity. Power comes from a 750W, 75 Nm rear hub motor, providing plenty of kick for short, steep hills out on the trail. A 691 Wh battery supports the motor and provides up to 55 miles of range per charge.

The groupset consists of a Shimano’s 8-speed rear derailleur with a 13-34t cassette and hydraulic disc brakes, a solid combination for a $1,799 e-bike.

Finally, the Velotric Nomad 1 has a heavy 80mm fork to take the sting out of mild hits and 26″ x 4.0″ tires which offer ample traction on all types of terrain.

Don’t miss out on the Velotric Nomad 1 if you’re ready to hit the trails with an electric bike but don’t want to break the bank.

Buy from Velotric Bikes

7. Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0

• Price:  $4,500
• Motor: Specialized Full Power 2.0E Motor, 50 Nm
• Battery: 530 Wh
• Range: 68 miles
• Drivetrain: SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed
• Suspension: RockShox Recon Silver RL 130mm fork, RockShox Deluxe Select R shock

Specialized’s Turbo Tero X 4.0 is another excellent electric off-road bike that excels in technical situations thanks to its high-travel full-suspension RockShox setup.

A premium Specialized’s proprietary electric bike system provides 50 Nm of torque, making steep hills feel like nothing. This motor pairs with a large 530 Wh battery, ensuring you have power for short to medium days on the trails and a range of up to 68 miles.

You also get a SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain that offers good performance and decent value for the money, especially at this price. Moreover, SRAM G2 RE 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes with 200/180mm rotors provide plenty of stopping power.

• Related:  Jamis Mountain Bikes Brand Review

A valuable feature of the Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0 is the TranzX dropper post that complements the high-grip mullet tires to help you stay in control no matter what the trail brings.

Add the Turbo Tero X 4.0 to your shortlist of electric off-road bikes if you want versatility and power with Specialized’s renowned quality.

Buy from Specialized

8. Santa Cruz Skitch

• Price:  $6,300
• Motor: Fazua Ride 60, 60Nm
• Battery: 430 Wh
• Drivetrain: SRAM Apex Eagle, 12-spd
• Suspension: None

The Santa Cruz Skitch is a high-performance off-road e-bike specializing in speed on gravel trails and pavement.

Santa Cruz designed each aspect of this bike to be lightweight and responsive. A high-end carbon frame and fork pair with the lightest e-bike system on the market ; Fazua’s Ride 60, 60 Nm mid-drive motor and 430 Wh battery. Another benefit of this system is that it’s so small you hardly notice it integrated into the downtube.

The Skitch has a 12-speed SRAM Apex Eagle drivetrain, ensuring crisp shifting under the demands of off-road riding. In addition, SRAM Apex hydraulic disc brakes provide reliable and precise stopping.

Another component we like on this bike is the Schwalbe G-One 700c x 45 mm tires. They are fast and grippy on gravel roads, but not too slow on paved roads either.

Overall, this is a solid electric off-road bike for riders who want the option to keep up on the pavement and hold high speeds on gravel trails.

Buy from Mike’s Bikes     Buy from evo.com

9. Ride1UP CF Racer1

• Price: $2,295
• Motor:  250W, 42 Nm
• Battery:  250Wh
• Range:  16-40 miles
• Drivetrain: SRAM Rival 1 x 11-speed
• Suspension:  None

The CF Racer1 is Ride1UP’s brand new lightweight road or gravel carbon ebike that comes packed with features and components expected on a much more expensive model.

This gravel electric bike has an ultra-light  carbon fiber frameset with slack geometry designed for handling gravel trails and light singletrack. You can also get it with road tires for fast-paced rides on paved roads.

Each aspect of the CF Racer1 is top-quality despite the affordable price tag. Highlights include full carbon frame and fork, SRAM Rival 1×11 gearing, lightweight but powerful hydraulic disc brakes, and 700 x 32c or 700 x 40c tires.

Customers can choose between two builds upon purchase, but both come with the same electronics—a 250W motor with 42 Nm of torque and a 250 Wh battery.

Choose the Ride1UP CF Racer1 if you have a limited budget but want the best in off-road electric bikes.

Buy Ride1UP CF Racer1

10. Charge Bikes XC

• Price:  $2,699
• Motor:  Shimano E5000, 40Nm
• Battery:  504Wh
• Drivetrain: 8-speed Shimano Altus
• Suspension:  Suntour 100mm fork

Charge Bikes is among the newest entrants to the electric bike market, mainly focusing on urban-centric designs. However, the XC is the brand’s answer to an urban/off-road hybrid with a fully-equipped setup.

The Charge XC uses 2.25″ Goodyear Peak cross-country mountain bike tires to ensure speed and traction on the trails.

The 100mm coil fork takes the sting off the small bumps but is a low-performance component overall. However, slack geometry and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes boost stability and control to compensate.

• Brand review:  Charge Electric Bikes Brand Review

If you want to use this bike for commuting or bikepacking, it comes with a 50lb-capacity rack, kickstand, LED lights, and fenders. In addition, you can fold the handlebars and pedals for tidy storage at home.

Power comes from a lightweight Shimano STEPS E5000 mid-drive motor with 40Nm of torque and a 504Wh battery that lasts up to 50 miles when used with the 8-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain.

Choose the Charge XC if you want a bike that arrives assembled and ready to take on the trails or your weekly commute right away.

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The 10 Best Bikes for Your Next Bikepacking Adventure

‘Biking’ + ‘Backpacking’ = ‘Bikepacking’

To me, bikes symbolize freedom, and bikepacking is the pinnacle of that freedom. There’s always another mountain looming in the distance or a remote village to visit, and the majority of the days end at a campsite with a stunning view. (There may be mosquitos and sand flies, too, but the view’s worth it.)

Bikepacking routes feature long rides over bumpy, unpaved surfaces like dirt, rock and gravel. We’re talking about riding for hours day after day on towpaths, rail trails, forested singletracks and all-but-forgotten dusty roads that lead to some of the most beautiful and diverse places in the world. For these kinds of adventures, you need a bike that is durable, reliable, and relatively easy to repair trail-side. It also helps to have lots of mounts or ‘bosses’ to attach cages and/or frames to help you load up your camping gear. The best bikes for bikepacking can carry the load, opening the door for you to go on some incredible cycling adventures.

Go on a Cycling Adventure! Best Water Bottle Cages ● Best Mountain Biking Shorts ● The Best U.S. Cycling Tours

The Best Bikes for Bikepacking

• Best Overall: Curve GMX+ Titanium
• Best Value: Kona Rove
• Best for Beginners: Canyon Grizl 7 Suspension 1by
• Best Hardtail Mountain Bike for Bikepacking: Salsa Timberjack
• Best Rigid Mountain Bike for Bikepacking: Surly Karate Monkey

The Expert: I’ve written about adventure travel and cycling gear for 15 years across a variety of outlets, including Time , Bicycling , Adventure Cycling Magazine , Fodors , BBC Travel , Next Avenue, and many others. My bikepacking adventures have taken me across Central Asia (following the Silk Road from Beijing to Istanbul), Northern Pakistan, Armenia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, and most of Western and Eastern Europe. I also ride road, gravel and mountain bikes closer to home in the Catskills and the NYC cycling community’s home mountain, Bear.

What to Consider in a Bike for Bikepacking

Frame material.

Reliable bikepacking bikes can be made from many different materials . The metal used to make your bike frame will impact its weight and durability, as well as how they feel when riding, and whether or not they can be repaired.

Aluminum frames are common among $1,000-$2,000 bikes. They’re lightweight and stiff, but often require thicker, heavier tubes to make them strong. Aluminum, as a material, also doesn’t absorb road vibrations well, so you’ll feel every rock and root you ride over.

This is not to say that aluminum bikes aren’t conducive to bikepacking, though. I’ve ridden plenty of high-quality aluminum bikes: They’re tough and damage-resistant, making them a solid choice.

Steel frames provide exceptional strength, and can be repaired if and when they crack. That can be particularly helpful for bikepackers who run into issues mid-adventure. For example, one of my friends cracked his steel mountain bike frame in Northern Pakistan. We took it to a repair shop where they bolted two strips of metal on either side of the break to hold it together. You wouldn’t be able to successfully do that with aluminum or carbon.

Carbon frames are the lightest option, minimizing the heft of your loaded-up bike. That low weight is highly coveted among cyclists, and they're quite expensive. Once cracked, carbon bike parts generally cannot be fixed, so you definitely won’t be able to make repairs on the side of the road.

Titanium frames are my personal favorite. Like carbon, titanium makes for a light and comparatively expensive bike. It’s more durable than carbon, though, and is especially resistant to corrosion. It also absorbs road vibrations well, smoothing out bumpy rides on rough roads.

Manufactured with a range of sweeps and rises, using materials like aluminum, titanium and carbon, there are a lot of ways to build a comfortable, durable set of handlebars. Choosing the design that works for you is mostly a matter of personal preference, but there are a few small considerations I’d suggest if you’re optimizing for long bikepacking trips.

For starters, look for an ergonomic design with angled bends that suit your preferred riding style (upright or more bent over for example.), which will minimize the possibility of nerve compression and hand or wrist fatigue.

I’d also suggest looking for bars that you find comfortable holding in multiple positions. You don’t want your hands or fingers getting numb while riding; it's difficult to operate brakes and shifters when you can’t feel them. From my many trips, I’ve found that many bikepackers switch out the handlebars that came with their bike to the Jones H-bar , which are flat and curve back toward the rider at the ends.

Ultimately, the best thing to do is to try as many options as possible. If you’re able, go to your local bike shop and try leaning on a few different handlebars to find the right fit for you.

A set of good brakes is essential on any bike, but they’re especially important when you’re riding up and down steep hills while weighed down with heavy gear. Most all of the bikes in this guide feature mechanical disc brakes , which are better than rim brakes at bringing a loaded bike to a stop when descending. They also don’t get mucked up by mud, leaves, and other debris.

What’s the difference? Location, location, location! Disc brakes are positioned at the center of the wheel, squeezing brake pads against a brake rotor next to the wheel hub. Rim brakes are mounted on top, applying their pads to the outer wheel rim. In their centralized position, disc brakes can stop a bike using less force. (In other words, they don’t need to squeeze as hard.)

Hydraulic disc brakes are also a good choice for veteran bikepackers: They outperform standard mechanical disc brakes on stopping power, but are more expensive and can be difficult to maintain. Since you generally can’t expect to have access to a bike shop on a bikepacking trip, I would only recommend using them if you’re prepared to learn how to maintain them yourself . (Honestly, it would be a good idea to learn, regardless.)

I’m mechanical all the way, mainly because this keeps the components easier to repair and maintain when in far flung places and/or countries where the latest bike gear and technology isn’t the norm. You also don’t need to worry about charging your electronic shifting at a campsite or a hotel that only has electricity for a couple hours every night. This doesn’t necessarily make it a better option, just the one I’m more comfortable with.

Suspension Forks

A suspension fork provides some cushion when rolling over rough terrain, making your ride more comfortable. It isn’t an essential feature, but worth keeping in mind. Neither of my bikepacking bikes have one and I manage okay… Though there have been stretches where I wished that I had one.

Again, the biggest argument against bringing a bike with a suspension fork on your trip is maintenance. If you plan to bikepack long distances, you’ll need to plan for the possibility that something may go wrong miles from civilization. Bikepackers with suspension forks should learn how to service them , and carry some tools and parts for the job, including a shock pump , valve core tool , and spare valve.

Storage & Accessory Support

While you can always gear to your bike with Velcro straps, it pays to pick out a bike frame that supports a large assortment of mounts, which give you the ability to add cargo racks , saddle bags and other dedicated bikepacking storage solutions like Salsa’s EXP Series accessories . The longer and more remote the trip, the more stuff you have to carry.

Drivetrain/Gearing

When it comes to gearing , the most important thing to remember is that you’ll likely be much happier with more gear options, especially for pedaling at lower speeds when ascending. Bikepacking trips often send you into rocky territory where you may be climbing for a full day (or days) while hauling all of your gear. Dirt and gravel roads, forest trails and singletrack also usually require deeper gearing than your average road bike because of the added rolling resistance you’ll experience on uneven ground.

Picking a specific setup is a personal choice, based in part on your fitness level and the weight of your fully loaded bike. That said, as a general rule, you’ll likely want a wider range of gears than what you’d find on a traditional road bike.

For example, new bikepackers could try a 1x crankset with at least a 32-tooth chainring on the front, and a 10-42 or 11-46 rear cassette, which should provide a wide enough range of gears with the lowest allowing you to pedal yourself and your gear up a mountain. You could also try an internally geared hub, which eliminates the chances of breaking/bending or otherwise damaging your rear derailleur (since you won’t have one.) Not all internally geared hubs offer the same number of gears. Make sure to get one with 12 or 14.

If you want to make your bike mechanic happy, ask them what they think and to explain the pros and cons of each setup.

How We Selected The Best Bikes for Bikepacking

I picked these model bikepacking bikes after taking each of them on a successful trip, or based on recommendations from experienced bikepackers I met on one. I can talk about bikepacking gear all day, and I often get the chance–with other bikepackers, riders who want to learn about the hobby, and brand representatives who cater to bikepackers (many of whom partake themselves). With that in mind, I selected these picks specifically to give you a wide variety of styles and preferences, so there’s an option for every kind of rider.

Curve Cycling GMX+ Titanium

The Curve GMX+ Titanium has all the qualities I look for (and love) in a bikepacking bike. The titanium frame features a carbon fork and significant tire clearance, so you can swap tire widths if you want, depending on where you’re riding. There is an incredible number of mounts–four on the fork, and two for water bottles on either side of the downtube.

As I mentioned, I prefer titanium frames because of their strength-to-weight ratio and toughness. I’ve also found that they’re excellent for absorbing road vibrations. (I’m always mildly shocked at the difference when I occasionally take my carbon racing bike out for a spin.) With elongated geometry, a substantial fork and wide handlebars, this bike inspires confidence no matter where you are; pavement, sand, washboard, rock or root-laden singletrack.

The GMX+ is incredibly versatile. It comes with a flared Walmer drop bar, but you can also outfit it with a flat bar if that’s your jam. It’s also available in a wide range of frame sizes and with many drivetrain options. It’s the closest you can get without going full custom.

The first bike I ever brought on a bikepacking adventure, the Kona Rove holds a special place in my heart. The Rove stands out as a versatile go-anywhere kind of bike fit for city streets or gravel trails, as well as one of the few 650b/26-inch wheeled steel bikes with a low enough price point for a wide audience.

This is a big benefit if you plan to take your bike abroad. Outside of the U.S. and Europe, 26-inch wheels are the norm, rather than the exception, so it’s easier to find compatible parts if you need them. Between that and the steel frame, the Rove is a perfect “hope for the best, plan for the worst” kind of bike.

When I started riding it, the Rove was one of the most comfortable bikes I’d tried, and one of the least skittish when off-road. On my first bikepacking trip with the Rove in Cambodia, I had no real idea what I was doing but somehow made it through with only a few scrapes and bruises and a new found passion for traveling offroad.

Canyon Grizl 7 Suspension 1by

With a front suspension fork, clearance for up to 50mm tires, and a plethora of mounts for water bottles and other accessories, it’s easy to recommend the Canyon Grizl 7 to a first-time bikepacker who may not be used to riding on rough terrain hauling all their gear. The front fork keeps your tire firmly in contact with the ground, making descents feel less scary and reducing the impact on your hands and joints over the course of a long day slogging through washboard roads (or the majority of the Mongolian steppe.)

It’s relatively light, features quality components, and is easy to set up for bikepacking, since Canyon makes bags and packs designed specifically for the Grizl. It’s an excellent choice if you’re dipping your toe in the bikepacking pool, and need to buy a bike specifically for that first adventure.

Salsa Timberjack XT

One of the most difficult roads I’ve ever ridden a bike on was a narrow cliff ledge that snakes through the Karakoram Mountains to Shimshal , the last village in Pakistan before you hit the Chinese border. The narrow road cuts through rocky cliffs strewn with rubble and sheer drop-offs–not a ride for the faint of heart… or lung, or leg.

My friend Julian’s Timberjack, with its 130mm of travel, short chainstays, wide handlebars, and burly tires fared better than any other bike traversing over this treacherous span of our Karakorum cycling adventure. I watched him fade into the distance as I cautiously made my way over rushing rivers, impossibly steep inclines and a road made entirely of rock debris.

Sporting Salsa’s adjustable Alternator dropouts, the Timberjack can be outfitted with a Rohloff hub or single-speed drivetrain. There are plenty of rack mounts–down tube, seat tube, and top tube–for lots of different bikepacking configurations and internal cable routing, allowing for an effective and streamlined loadout.

Surly Karate Monkey

One of my exes once declared the Karate Monkey “the most perfect bike ever.” While there was a lengthy list of things we disagreed on, I admit that it’s an amazing mountain bike . With a rigid steel fork and steel frame, the Karate Monkey is built to withstand most anything you throw at or under it.

The current design can accommodate either 27.5- or 29-inch wheels, so you can set it up to suit your style and preferred position. It features rack mounts on the dropouts, as well as bosses on both sides of the downtube, so you can mount three water bottle cages if you want when traveling through areas where you may have trouble finding fresh water.

Perhaps most importantly, the Karate Monkey is compatible with most standard mountain bike standard parts, so it’s easy to customize for your bikepacking needs, or get a replacement part away from your home bike shop. That said, I’ve seen bikepackers riding Karate Monkeys on all kinds of terrain, all over the world: Not once have I ever seen one broken down or damaged.

Salsa Cutthroat C GRX 600 1X

Salsa designed the Cutthroat specifically for the Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race , a 2,745 mile -long bikepacking competition. That means it's well suited for very long trips with 16-hour days riding over everything from dirt trails to gravel, and all the tree roots you can stomach.

As all good bikepacking bikes do, it comes with a ton of mounts on the fork, down tube, top tube, and seat tube–17 in all. I also love the seat, which features thin seat stays and wide rectangle chain stays to absorb a lot of road vibration that would normally tire you out on this kind of terrain.

It also helps that this version of the Cutthroat features an ultralight carbon frame. (The “C” stands for “carbon.”) Steel frames traditionally reign as the most popular option among bikepackers traveling to parts unknown, but manufacturers have responded by building carbon adventure bikes with frames that can withstand quite a bit of thrashing over rough surfaces.

On a 5-month sojourn across central Asia, one of my riding cohorts made the very bold decision to bring Cutthroat and ride it hard like a mountain bike. He bombed rocky downhills as if he were invincible, and spiraled up steep, bumpy ascents with seemingly little effort. He managed to break a seat rail (not on the seat that came with the bike), which is not an easy thing to do, but the frame never cracked.

While the carbon frame still adds a little more potential for a trip-ending break, the Cutthroat is about as trustworthy as you can get.

Diamondback Haanjo 4 EXP

One of my favorite bikepacking buddies (and fellow adventure travel writer) Amy Jurries rides a Haanjo 4 EXP. She brought it on our eastern European ride across Georgia and Armenia, which ended up being much rougher (surface-wise) than we anticipated. We encountered singletracks through forests, pothole-laden asphalt and double-digit grades that went on for miles. There was more than one point where we thought our legs would most assuredly fall off.

Most gravel bikes will work well for bikepacking, but the Haanjo 4 ups the ante. It features a front fork with 60mm of travel, making it especially conducive to rough roads and bumpy trails. Its mechanical disc brakes are suitable for remote locales and are easy to maintain. It also has plenty of mounts on the top tube, down tube and seat tube.

The 1x11 drivetrain saves weight while still providing ample gearing for all the steep ascents you can handle, though you may wish for a few more on the top end for when you’re cruising over asphalt with a negative grade. Tomcat wheels with WTB Raddler tires help you keep the rubber on the road, even through questionable fields where the trail disintegrates into bush and grass.

Sometimes the terrain you’re riding on calls for bigger tires. The Trek 1120 bike is designed specifically for off-road adventures. It features large 29-inch wheels, which you can ride through sand and deep snow easier than you could on narrower tires.

On the storage front, the 1120 features three fork mounts and eight frame mounts, including a water bottle cage mount on the bottom of the downtube for those who don’t mind some dirt with their hydration. Best of all, it comes with removable front and rear racks, so you’re ready to carry a lot of gear before adding any accessories or modifications.

My favorite feature, though, is its horizontal sliding dropout, which allows you to easily switch to a single-speed setup if your rear derailleur has an unfortunate encounter with the ground or an immovable boulder. Hydraulic disc brakes ensure you’ll be able to stop when needed… Like before your trail sends you off a cliff. (Pro tip: Most mountain roads outside the U.S. lack anything resembling a guard rail.) The extra braking power comes in handy here, as the 1120 is relatively heavy.

All told, the Trek 1120 gives you the confidence to the kind of high-risk locales where a bikepacker might specifically want a fat tire bike, from the Jordanian desert to the snowy backcountry of Alaska.

Specialized Diverge Sport Carbon

I am a forever fan of Specialized bicycles, and the Diverge is one of my favorites. The carbon frame, matched with a carbon Future Shock fork and progressive geometry, makes it one of the lightest and fastest bikes on the bikepacking circuit.

Bikes with “progressive geometry” have a longer front end, positioning your body lower as you reach for the handlebars to minimize wind resistance. Even with the increased reach, slacker head tube, and longer offset fork, the Diverge feels solid on rocky terrain without sacrificing rolling speed on asphalt. It also has a shorter stem, which keeps the bike agile. The bottom bracket is high enough that you can swap the 700cs for 650bs if you want. It also features mounts galore including fork, top tube, and rack.

All in all, the Diverge and its light overall weight means you can carry more, faster and further with less overall perceived effort.

Cinelli Nemo Tig Gravel 2

I’ve found that there is a subset of bikepackers (and cyclists in general) who get ridiculously excited about handmade bike frames. Cinelli bikes are built entirely by hand in the brand's headquarters in Milan, which helps to justify the high price of the Nemo Tig Gravel 2. If you’re a bike nerd like me who waxes nostalgic about Richard Sachs bikes of yore, you may find yourself willing to pay it.

As the name suggests, the Nemo Tig Gravel is slightly better suited to gravel and dirt than extremely rough, rock laden surfaces. Not that you can’t ride it over rocks; you’ll just need exceptional bike handling skills and leg strength. If you’re going where singletrack is the majority of what you’ll be riding, you may end up doing a lot of hike-a-biking.

This bike also full of cool features that will excite cycling gearheads, like diamond-shaped seat stays with oriented ellipses, which contribute to the bike’s all-around comfort when pedaling long distances. The diamond shape helps to absorb road vibrations. Its custom-drawn Columbus Spirit triple-butted tubes feature three thicknesses across their length, trimming weight and bolstering their structure. I also love that you can pick from up to 69 different paint and finish options, including a range of pinks, lime green, burgundy, and white.

Q+A With Veteran Bikepacker Vanessa Nirode

What is the difference between bikepacking and bike touring?

The difference between a bike tour and bikepacking is in the route. Bikepacking trips typically revolve around cycling to and through beautiful, remote landscapes, with everything you need to survive strapped to your bike. They often provide rare opportunities to visit remote places like villages on the “Roof of the World” , and sleep in camping spots far from overcrowded campsites.

As a result, the cycling is often off-road-focused, with dirt trails, gravel roads, rail trails and pretty much anything that gets you away from cars and pavement.

While you’re still riding all day and camping out at night, bike tours usually stick to paved roads. Bike tour riders also usually carry more gear for a more comfortable overnight experience, including front and back panniers and possibly even a trailer. That’s a lot more stuff than you can afford to take when traveling rough trails and offroad: Keeping a trailer upright while riding a singletrack would be a serious struggle.

What type of bike should I bring on my bikepacking trip?

Many bikepackers–including me–will tell you that the best bike for bikepacking is the one you already own, especially if you’re just trying it out to see if it's your thing. While that old gravel or hardtail mountain bike you rescued from the street may not be as comfortable as something new you bought with a specific trip in mind, it’s definitely fine to get you through your first short trip - or even multiple trips.

If your bike doesn’t have enough mounts for your gear, you can strap things on using zip ties, bungees and/or Salsa rubber straps .

If you feel the need to purchase a new bike, though, I’d steer most people toward a hardtail mountain bike or gravel bike for their first bikepacking trip. If your route includes long stretches on rough roads or trails, look for a bike that has a fork with suspension to minimize the impacts.

What should I wear while bikepacking?

It’s important to bring comfortable clothes that you can ride in day after day. Most riders prefer padded shorts for a little cushion on a long ride. You may also want to wear some clothes with moisture-wicking properties so more of your sweat rolls off you.

Beyond that, pack the same way you would for any camping trip. Depending on the weather and climate, it’s always a good idea to bring some layers, including a warm base layer , rain jacket , and a long sleeve jersey or jacket in case it gets cold. If you’re planning a trip where you’ll ride through regions with different climates, make sure to include layers to account for all the types of weather you should expect to encounter. Look for gear that is packable (compresses down into a small size) and lightweight to optimize the space you have for carrying.

I recently acquired some clothing from the Fjallraven and Specialized collaboration, and am a huge fan of the Anorak pullover for cool days; it's roomy for layering and features tons of pockets plus side ventilation zips.

What should I pack when bikepacking?

Every bikepacker develops their own list of essentials over time, fine-tuning it with time and experience after every adventure. Here are some essentials that everyone needs .

For an overnighter, you need something for sleeping. That could be a small tent and a sleeping bag , or a bivy sack . It’s absolutely fine to use any camping equipment you already own, though veteran bikepackers typically start upgrading with lighter, more compact gear.

While you want to pack light, you will need more than the clothes on your back. Make sure to pack a separate set of clothes to sleep in, and at least one spare riding outfit in case you get caught in the rain or sweat a lot. This way, you’ll always have a dry one to put on in the morning. I also bring extra socks, a warm hat , and a compressible puffy jacket for cool evenings.

Don’t forget about supplies, either. Always carry enough water to last between stopping points where you know you’ll be able to refill. If you’re going somewhere where stores or fresh water sources will be far and in between, a portable water filter may be worth the investment.

Lastly, if you’re camping you will need cooking gear, though you should bring as little of it as possible. I’ve heated many bikepacking dinners (and morning coffees) up via a Pocket Rocket and titanium cup .

And snacks, don’t forget snacks.

Vanessa Nirode is a freelance writer who covers wellness, culture, outdoor adventure and travel for Hearst , HuffPost , PopSci , BBC Travel , and Threads , among others. She’s also a pattern maker and tailor for film and television but most of the time, she’d rather just be riding her bicycle.

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Best Electric Off-Road Bikes in 2024: Explore Off the Beaten Path

An electric off-road bike is an e-bike that performs at its best on tough trails, varied surfaces, and in unfavorable conditions.

Manufacturers of off-road e-bikes must carefully select each component for its functionality and durability on varied terrain . Because of this, these bikes are generally very powerful and versatile but can be heavy.

In this article, we’ll recommend some of the best electric off-road bikes you should consider if you want to ride more on unpaved terrain and explain what features to look out for when shopping. 

Let’s begin!

Top Features of Electric Off-Road Bikes

While there are different types and subtypes of electric off-road bikes (such as mountain, fat, gravel, etc.), all of them share a few characteristics that help them thrive on rough terrain. 

Some of the top features your should be looking out for include:

• Wide or fat tires: Generally 26×4″ on fat bikes, upwards of 2-inch wide on mountain bikes, and 40+ mm on gravel bikes.
• 500W+ motors: Best electric off-road bikes often come with 750W – 1,000W rear hub motors or high-torque mid-drive motors.
• Front fork suspension: You should look for a model with either front or both front and rear suspension.
• Powerful disc brakes: Disc brakes (preferably hydraulic) with large rotors (180+ mm) are a must. 
• Durable frames: Affordable models typically come with aluminum frames, whereas high-end models might feature carbon frames.
• MTB drivetrains: Look for models with wide-range drivetrains manufactured by microSHIFT,  SRAM or Shimano.

With these components, riders can confidently take on soft terrain, poor weather conditions, carry large cargo loads, tackle tough gradients, and maintain traction and control on slippery surfaces or technical trails.

What Makes a Good Off-Road E-Bike?

In addition to having certain features, the best off-road e-bikes should be able to perform certain tasks with relative ease.

Depending on where and how you intend to ride, you might want your off-road e-bike to be able to:

• Handle any type of surface
• Have the ability to go up steep gradients
• Descend and maneuver technical trails
• Handle well in poor weather
• Be able to carry large payloads of 300+ lbs
• Have a good range & large batteries
• Be durable under heavy usage

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best off-road e-bikes that we could find, that can do all of these things and more!

Best Off-Road E-Bikes of 2024

1. Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus 2. Trek Powerfly FS 4 3. Giant Talon E+ 3 4. Aventon Aventure.2 5. Velotric Nomad 1 6. Charge XC 7. QuietKat Ranger 8. Cannondale Moterra Neo 3 9. Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0 10. Lectric XPeak 11. Aventon Ramblas 12. Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 3 13. Ride1UP Prodigy v2

1. Rad Power Bikes RadRover 6 Plus 

MSRP: $2,099

• 750W brushless geared hub motor, 80 Nm
• 672 Wh battery, 45-mile range
• 1×7-Speed Shimano Altus
• Weight: 73.4 lbs
• Max Payload: 275 lbs

Rad Power Bikes’ RadRover 6 Plus all-terrain electric bike is the company’s flagship model and the recipient of many accolades.

At just $2,100, the Rad Rover 6 Plus delivers premium ride quality thanks to carefully designed fatigue-reducing geometry that improves climbing ability and powerful electronics that make off-road riding feel easy.

For electronics, you have a 750W motor with 80 Nm of torque . In addition, a large 14 Ah battery provides up to 45 miles of range when combined with a 7-Speed Shimano Altus drivetrain.

Other notable features of this e-bike include the sleek, semi-integrated battery design with a carrying handle, LED lights with auto-activation, and premium hydraulic disc brakes for precise, all-weather stopping power.

Lastly, wide 4″ Kenda Juggernaut fat tires and 60mm travel front fork suspension ensure excellent control, comfort, and handling on or off-road.

Buy from Rad Power Bikes

2. Trek Powerfly FS 4 

MSRP: $4,750

• Bosch Performance CX 250W, 85 Nm motor
• Bosch PowerTube 500Wh battery
• Shimano Deore M4100, 10 speed
• Tektro HD-M275 hydraulic disc
• 27.5″ or 29″ tires

Trek’s Powerfly FS 4 is a full-suspension off-road e-bike built for rough trail riding where a hardtail simply wouldn’t cut it.

It rolls on 27.5″ or 29″ wheels and tires, depending on the frame size, which improves fit and handling for all rider heights.

A Bosch Performance CX 250W (85 Nm) motor will provide you with ample assistance up steep climbs and a 500 Wh battery will support you for 3-5 hours of rough riding.

They don’t diminish real MTB capabilities which are guaranteed by a Shimano Deore 10-speed drivetrain and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes. That’s decent value considering the price tag and the Bosch electronics.

The SR Suntour XCR 34 100-120mm front air fork and SR Suntour Edge R rear shock are slightly underwhelming on really sketchy descents, but are ideal for all else.

Buy from Trek Bikes

3. Giant Talon E+ 3

MSRP: $2,900

• Giant SyncDrive Core, 50Nm motor
• Hydraulic disc brakes
• 400 Wh battery capacity
• 29″ x 2.4″ MTB tires

The Giant Talon E+ 3 is an e-bike built with the ability to tackle the most extreme terrain with ease.

This sleek hardtail e-bike packs 250W of power and 50 Nm at peak performance from a whisper-quiet mid-drive motor to help you enjoy your off-road trips without breaking a sweat.

A 400 Wh battery and 9-speed gearing give the Talon E+ 3 ability to go for hours on a single charge and tackle different terrains, including steep gradients. 

The Giant Talon E+ 3 bike is equipped with 29″ x 2.4″ MTB tires and hydraulic disc brakes to ensure optimal handling and control on soft surfaces and rough trails.

It also sports a SR Suntour XCM ATB Coil fork with 100 mm of travel, which is enough for riding on gravel roads, XC trails, dirt roads, and hardpacked singletrack.

All in all, if you want to get a minimalist-looking and highly-capable off-road bike for around $2,900, the Giant Talon E+ 3 is a fantastic choice.

Buy from Mike's Bikes

4. Aventon Aventure.2 

MSRP : $1,999

• 750W rear hub motor
• 720Wh battery
• 8-Speed Shimano Acera gearing
• 400 lb maximum carrying capacity

The Aventon Aventure.2 e-bike is an affordable Class 3 option with lots of power and versatility for urban or off-road riding.

A 750W hub motor with five levels of pedal assistance, a 720Wh removable battery, and an 8-speed Shimano Acera drivetrain provide this electric bicycle with plenty of punch and enough range (60 miles) for a long day of riding.

• Read more: Complete Aventon Aventure.2 Review

Aventon also equipped this bike with e-bike-rated 4-inch tires, an 80 mm fork suspension, and Tektro hydraulic disc brakes to go off-road.

The Aventon Aventure.2 e-bike is just as capable in urban environments as any other on this list, so shortlist it if you want something that can handle your weekly commutes and weekend trail rides.

Buy from Aventon

5. Velotric Nomad 1 

MSRP: $1,799

• 691 Wh battery and 55-mile range
• 25 mph top speed
• 8-speed Shimano drivetrain

The Velotric Nomad 1 full-suspension fat tire electric bike is an affordable choice with tons of power and reliable components in every area.

This straightforward off-road e-bike comes with a tried and true 750W rear hub motor and a 691 Wh battery. The result is a 25 mph top speed and a 55-mile range, which is the same or more compared to other heavy hitters in the category.

Other components that contribute to this bike’s off-road performance include hydraulic disc brakes with 180mm rotors, premium 26″ x 4.0″ puncture-resistant tires, and an 80mm front suspension fork with lockout.

Finally, the Velotric Nomad 1 fat tire electric bike comes with a few handy extras, such as front and rear fenders, bright lights, and a kickstand. 

Its only drawback is the fact is comes with a speed sensor instead of a torque sensor, so the power transfer may not be as smooth as on the Aventon’s Aventure.2 for a simiar price.

Buy from Velotric

6. Charge XC 

MSRP: $2,699

• 250W mid-drive motor, 20 mph
• 504 Wh battery, 50-mile range
• Hydraulic Brakes
• 1×8-Speed drivetrain
• Weight: 55 lbs, max payload 300 lbs

The Charge City is the company’s best-selling and top-rated off-road ebike which is comfortable and powerful, with enhanced safety features.

For power, this bike has a torque-sensing 250W Shimano E5000 motor supported by a large 504 Wh battery which provides a respectable range of up to 50 miles with top assisted speeds of 20 mph. To get the most out of your electronics, utilize an 8-speed drivetrain.

Comfort and control on and off-road are ensured by 29 x 2.25″ puncture-resistant tires, a coil suspension fork, powerful hydraulic disc brakes, upright geometry, and ergonomic touchpoints.

Finally, the Charge XC has bright front and rear lights, a kickstand, fenders, and a rear rack to make city riding safe and convenient.

Therefore, this e-bike is a good choice if you need a model that blends off-road capability with urban practicality for weekday commuting.

Buy from Charge Bikes

7. QuietKat Ranger 

MSRP: from $3,099

• 1000W hub drive motor
• 614 Wh battery, 48-mile range
• Tektro mechanical disc brakes
• 1×7 SRAM drivetrain
• Weight: 65 lbs, max payload 325 lbs

The QuietKat Ranger fat tire electric bike is a hugely robust off-roader with the capability of a hunting e-bike.

This bike can carry enormous payloads of up to 325 lbs thanks to its powerful electronics. In addition, it has a camouflage finish option which gives your hunting trips a better chance of success.

The motor and battery system consists of a 1000W rear hub motor and a 614 Wh battery combined to deliver 48+ miles of range. This setup works even better with the help of an SRAM 7-speed drivetrain.

Mozo Coil suspension in the front, Tektro mechanical disc brakes, 4-inch fat tires, and excellent weight distribution ensure high-level off-road performance.

Finally, this bike is equipped for any job with an integrated rear rack to allow the transport of cargo. If you want to ride it year-round, you can also retrofit a pair of fenders and lights.

Buy from QuietKat

8. Cannondale Moterra Neo 3 

MSRP: $6,750

• Bosch Performance Line CX 250W motor
• 750 Wh battery
• 150mm RockShox dual suspension
• Four-piston hydraulic disc brakes
• Shimano Deore 12-speed drivetrain

The Cannondale Moterra Neo 3 electric mountain bike is perfectly built for off-road adventuring and hard days of trail riding.

For power, you have a Bosch Performance Line CX motor with 250W of power and 85 Nm of torque. Thanks to its torque sensors, this motor is one of the smoothest models on the market.

The large 750 Wh battery will give you hours of assisted riding, though Cannondale does not disclose the exact range. Additionally, a reliable 12-Speed Shimano Deore drivetrain helps to get the most out of your battery.

Top-quality RockShox front and rear suspension have 150 mm of travel and help ensure this bike handles like a dream on the most challenging trails.

To add to that, the Cannondale Moterra Neo 3 has a mullet setup on the Small size frame and 29-inch wheels and 2.6″ wide tires on all other frame sizes.

You also get powerful Shimano MT420 four-piston hydraulic disc brakes , which will stop on a dime no matter what.

Buy from REI

9. Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0 

MSRP: $4,500

• Specialized 2.0E 250W, 50 Nm motor
• 530 Wh battery
• 27.5″ or 29″ x 2.35″ tires (size-specific)
• SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain

The Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0 is an unusual off-road e-bike with premium components, full suspension, and unbeatable traction and stability, which allows you to go where other bikes cannot.

The deep-tread puncture-resistant 29″ x 2.35″ tires give you the ability to tackle off-road surfaces, but also perform well on paved city streets. Another important component for off-road bikes like the Turbo Tero is the hydraulic disc brakes that provide reliable stopping power and front and rear suspension for improved stability and comfort. 

This Specialized off-road e-bike comes equipped with a high-quality SRAM SX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain offering a decent gear range as well as a list of handy accessories such as fenders, a rear rack, a dropper post, and even front and rear lights.

Finally, the electronics used to power this off-road bike include a punchy Specialized 2.0E 250W, 50 Nm mid-drive motor, and a frame-integrated 530 Wh battery . You’ll be able to go up to 63 miles on a single charge and reach speeds of up to 20 mph.

While the Specialized Turbo Tero X 4.0 may not be a pure off-road e-bike, it is certainly capable of steering off the beaten track and exploring unpaved roads.

Buy from Specialized Bikes

10. Lectric XPeak 

MSRP: $1,852

• 750W rear hub motor, 85 Nm
• 48V 14 Ah battery
• 7-Speed drivetrain
• Front suspension fork

The Lectric XPeak is a stylish electric bike with lots of power and an affordable price tag given its versatility.

For power, you have a 750W/85Nm rear hub motor that combines perfectly with a 672 Wh battery and a 7-speed drivetrain for long ranges between 20 and 55 miles .

This electric off-road bike has a few components that allow it to perform great on rugged terrain. Large-tread 26″ x 4″ puncture-resistant fat tires, lockable front fork suspension, and hydraulic disc brakes help to ensure a good level of handling and control.

In addition, the Lectric XPeak comes equipped with integrated lights and a kickstand, but you’ll have to retrofit fenders and a rear rack if you want more functionality.

All in all, we like the XPeak because if costs little and offers a great bang for the buck, especially for riders who want to do a mixture of off-roading and urban commuting.

Buy from Lectricebikes.com

11. Aventon Ramblas

• A-100 (100 Nm) mid-drive motor
• 708 Wh battery
• SRAM NX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain
• RockShox 35 Silver R 130mm

The Aventon Ramblas is an electric hardtail bike and an off-roading beast with excellent electronics and trail-ready front suspension.

This electric bike uses Aventon’s proprietary mid-drive motor named A-100 because it packs 100 Nm of maximum torque and 250W of power. This motor is proving to be one of the best on the market in the entry-level price range as it works silently and provides ample amounts of power.

The motor is combined with a 708 Wh downtube integrated battery that allows you to ride around 80 miles on a single charge if you stay in a low pedal-assist mode.

The Ramblas also boasts a SRAM NX Eagle 12-speed drivetrain, so the combination of a high-torque motor and a wide-range gearset will make it easy to climb steep hills.

The Aventon Ramblas rolls on 27.5″ or 29″ x 2.4″ tires (frame size specific), boasts a 130 mm RockShox 35 Silver R suspension fork, and comes with SRAM DB8 4-piston hydraulic disc brakes allowing this bike to handle technical descents and soft terrain with confident control making for a highly competitive high-end e-MTB.

So, if you don’t have too much money to spare and you want a premium aluminum hardtail mountain bike, the Aventon Ramblas is an excellent choice.

Buy from Aventon Bikes

12. Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 3

MSRP: $6,350

• Bosch Performance Line CX 250W, 85 Nm
• 500 Wh battery, 70-mile range
• Shimano GRX 812 11-speed drivetrain
• 650b x 42 mm tires

The Cannondale Topstone Neo Carbon Lefty 3 is an excellent gravel e-bike and a display of the company’s premium technologies.

Versatility and performance are two of the most critical aspects of this e-bike. An carbon frame, WTB Resolute 650B x 342 mm tires, tubeless-ready rims, and stable geometry give this bike a smooth and confidence-inspiring ride quality on varied terrain.

The Topstone Neo comes with a premium Bosch Performance Line CX motor and a 500Wh integrated battery, making any hills and soft terrain a breeze to ride over.

Additionally, you can expect up to 70 miles of range with support from a Shimano GRX 11-speed drivetrain.

Finally, this bike has mounts to turn into a long-range bikepacking machine, though you can keep it lightweight and use it for fun gravel rides or speedy city commutes.

Buy from MikesBikes.com

13. Ride1UP Prodigy v2

MSRP: from $2,395

• Brose TF Sprinter mid-drive motor, 90 Nm
• Torque sensor
• Shimano Alivio 9-speed drivetrain

The Ride1UP Prodigy v2 is a hardtail off-road e-bike with some premium components and a reasonably affordable price tag that starts at $2,395. 

The Prodigy v2 boasts a Brose TF Sprinter mid-drive motor with an impressive 90 Nm of torque which ensures a class 3 top speed of 28 mph.

The 504 Wh battery does not seem impressive at first look, but it sits neatly hidden inside the downtube and returns 30-50 miles of range, depending on how much assistance you use. 

The XR model pictured above comes with a 9-speed Shimano Alivio drivetrain, but you can also get a build with Enviolo internal stepless gearing and a belt drive if you’re willing to pay $300 extra.

The XR build also boasts hydraulic disc brakes, fenders, and a rear rack, as well as bright lights to keep riding after nightfall.

In conclusion, if you want one of the best-equipped models on this list without paying through the nose, the Ride1UP Prodigy v2 is a safe bet!

Buy from Ride1UP

Can eBikes go off-road?

Yes. E-bikes are some of the best bikes for off-road usage because they provide pedal assistance to help you tackle the steep gradients and rugged terrains that you encounter on trails or in the backcountry. It can be difficult to find the power to go over certain gradients or on soft surfaces.

Which eBike is best for off-road?

Generally, the best type of bike for off-road riding is a fat tire bike . More specifically, a bike with fat tires 3″+, front fork suspension or full suspension, and a higher power/torque motor make it easier to get over steep gradients or out of soft terrain.

What is the advantage of a fat tire electric bike?

Fat tire electric bikes provide traction and comfort on all types of terrain. These characteristics make fat bikes great for riders with diverse riding needs, who enjoy a smooth ride, and who appreciate a high level of control and handling no matter the weather or surface.

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5 thoughts on “ Best Electric Off-Road Bikes in 2024: Explore Off the Beaten Path ”

Great article, looking for a new option as can’t drive car due health and need transport for shops !! Gave me lots of ideas , thanks, Al Berresford

Enjoyed your wonderful web site. It has taught me just what I needed to know. I can now confidently buy the e-bike I have been dreaming of all summer. Thank you.

You’re welcome, Mike! Enjoy your new e-bike!

I wish they all gave the same information so that it’s easier to compare them. For instance the same motor details may not all claim to carry the same weight, have similar maximum speeds at a specified weight and terrain, etc. only some give a stripped down weight for the bike and don’t say how much the battery weighs, whether it is lithium, or other relevant details that would help to make a decision. The article says it is presenting the “10” best” but doesn’t mention the criteria that distinguishes them to be such, or whether the bilkes are listed in ascending or descending order.

Thanks for the comment and constructive criticism, Reggie! In most cases, the bikes in our reviews are not listed in any particular order, as we try to present the readers with different types of bikes, so the order depends on what you’re looking for.

When choosing which bikes to include, we consider the companies’ and bikes’ track records and user reviews, as well as the value for the money they offer. Nowadays, another vital consideration we need to make is availability due to the global bike shortage, as we can only show you bikes that are in stock and that you can actually buy.

Hope that clarifies things! Cheers!

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The Best Adventure Motorcycles for 2023: Ride Everywhere

Looking to buy a motorcycle for on- and off-road riding, or long-distance travel? Fortunately, there are many choices. Our list showcases 18 of the best adventure motorcycles on the U.S. market for 2023.

The adventure or “ADV” segment of the motorcycle industry is thriving, and the selection just keeps growing. Regardless of your preferences, skill level, or budget, you will likely find something to scratch your itch for adventure riding within the ever-expanding ADV bike lineup.

To be considered an “adventure” motorcycle we’re talking street legal, off-road capable, and comfortable to ride for long distances.

Adventure bikes inherently strive to offer equally good performance, handling, and comfort both on- and off-road. This is a complicated balance to strike, and there tend to be concessions one way or another. Choosing the best adventure motorcycle really means figuring out what qualities are most important to you.

This is not an exhaustive list of all bikes that meet those general criteria or could be made to meet them with after-market upgrades. Instead, we chose these tried-and-true adventure motorcycles that come from the factory ready for long-distance riding. 

18 Best Adventure Motorcycles for 2023

Here’s our list of the Best Adventure Motorcycles for 2023, in order of displacement — from smallest to largest.

Suzuki V-Strom 650, XT & XT Adventure

Aprilia tuareg 660 adventure, yamaha ténéré 700, bmw f 750 gs, suzuki v-strom 800de & de adventure, bmw f 850 gs & gs adventure, moto guzzi v85tt & v85tt adventure, ktm 890 adventure & adventure r, triumph tiger 900 gt & rally, husqvarna norden 901, ducati desertx, suzuki v-strom 1050, de & de adventure, honda crf1100l africa twin, ducati multistrada v4 rally, yamaha super ténéré 1200 es, triumph tiger 1200 gt & rally, bmw r 1250 gs & gs adventure, ktm 1290 super adventure s & r.

• Base price $9,104-10,799
• Engine 645cc V-twin
• Power 70 hp
• Wet weight 476 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5.3 gal.
• Tire size 19”/17”

The V-Strom line offers new or budget-conscience adventure riders an affordable way to explore the world on a legendary V-twin. Well known for being reliable, versatile, and inexpensive, the 650 platform is a great way to join the fast-growing sport of adventure motorcycle riding.

Differences in the models are small but important. The standard V-Strom 650 (shown) comes with 10-spoke cast wheels with tubeless tires, while the XT model has spoke-style wheels with tubeless tires, hand guards, and a protective lower engine cowl.

The 650XT Adventure comes with everything the XT does in addition to a rugged accessory bar and 37L quick-release aluminum panniers. Depending on your riding style, goals, and budget, the 650 may be all the bike you’ll need.

If you can afford a bit more, budget adventure riders can now get a more purpose-built bike for their money with the new 800DE model.

• Base price $12,299-12,699
• Engine 659cc parallel twin
• Power 79 hp
• Wet weight 450 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 4.7 gal.
• Tire size 21”/18”

Aprilia, having just joined the adventure motorcycle scene last year, no changes have been announced for the Tuareg 660 for 2023. Aprilia has done a good job offering a compelling new ADV bike at a reasonable price.

At only 450 pounds wet, the Tuareg is nicely placed at the smaller end of the mid-weight options. The suspension has a whopping 9.4 inches of travel in both the front and rear, giving it one of the highest ranges of suspension travel in its class.

Fuel is carried low, having a big impact on how the bike handles and making it relatively easy to pick up for a bike this size. There are tons of unique, well-thought-out features to discover if you take the time to research this bike thoroughly.

For the many folks struggling to find a Ténéré 700 or who are thinking about paying over MSRP to get one, the Tuareg deserves consideration. 

• Base price $10,499
• Engine 689cc parallel twin
• Power 74 hp
• Wet weight 452 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 4.2 gal.

The Ténéré 700, or “T7,” has enjoyed a huge following since conception. Unfortunately, Yamaha has not been able to keep up with demand. If you can manage to find one, it is indeed a special bike worthy of the accolades it has received.

Yamaha has succeeded in offering the ADV community something that no other manufacturer has to date: a rock-solid engine in a capable ADV bike at an incredibly low price. How did they do that? Well, compared to the competition, the  Ténéré 700  has almost zero extras.

For some, this is a compromise; for others, a preference. If you need ride modes, traction control, and cruise control to enjoy your ride, this is not your bike.

If you like the simplicity of a basic setup that will help you become a better rider by the sheer absence of rider aids, start looking now. It might take you a while to find one, and you will likely have to pay above MSRP to get it. If you want more bang for your buck, look at the Tuareg 660 . 

• Base price $9,995
• Engine 853cc parallel twin
• Power 77 hp
• Wet weight 493 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 4 gal.

The F 750 is better suited for pavement than the F 850, coming with 19-inch front and 17-inch rear cast aluminum wheels. All GS models come equipped with innovative features and state-of-the-art technology, proving a plush ride regardless of which size you choose.

Additionally, BMW has a whole host of optional upgrades to make sure your bike meets all of your needs. If you go with the F 750 GS over the bigger, more off-road capable 850 models, you will potentially save a fair amount of money and a little bit of weight but also get a little less power, have a shorter range, and have less wind protection.

If you are looking at BMW because you want a GS and you’d like to be able to take your bike down any road you come across, check out the F 850 GS for better ground clearance, bigger, spoked wheels, and better suspension. 

• Base price $11,349-12,999
• Engine 776cc parallel twin
• Power 84.3 hp
• Wet weight 507 lbs.
• Tire size 21”/17"

Brand new for 2023, Suzuki has stepped up to the plate offering adventure riders a more dirt-oriented bike with the addition of the 800DE model (shown) to the V-Strom lineup.

The 800DE fits nicely into the V-Strom family between the popular 650 and 1050 options. This is particularly exciting due to the fact that the   larger, mid-weight lineup of ADV bikes is notably lacking affordable options, and the V-Stroms are known for providing great value for the money.  

The Adventure model on the 800 platform comes equipped with quick-release black-anodized 37L aluminum panniers, plus a rugged accessory bar and aluminum skid plate for true off-road touring capability.

While the base weight is unfortunately on the heavy side at 507 pounds (we don’t know what the Adventure model add-ons weigh), Suzuki’s reputation for reliability coupled with a fair price point will suit many.

• Base price $12,595-13,595
• Power 90 hp
• Wet weight 504 lbs., 538 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 4 gal., 6.1 gal.
• Tire size 21”/17”

The standard F 850 GS (shown) is a trimmed-down version of the F 850 GS Adventure with a smaller fuel tank, fairing, and shorter suspension . The Adventure model, or “GSA” as it is often referred to, comes with quite a bit more and, as a result, weighs significantly more.

At 538 pounds, the GSA is a heavy adventure motorcycle for the mid-weight category but also the most long-distance-touring-friendly for this displacement. With its large gas tank, windshield, and bulky fairing, the F 850 GSA offers good range, weather protection, and comfort.

Don’t be misled by the base prices, as you will quickly realize many of the BMW features you want are optional, and they add up fast. Depending on what kind of adventure riding you want to do, if you are a BMW fan, you might find that for the weight and the price of the 850, you can get more bike for your money with the GS 1250 .

A good reason to stick with a BMW? They have a 3-year, 36,000-mile warranty — one of the best in the business.

• Base price $12,190-13,190
• Engine 853cc V-twin
• Power 76 hp
• Fuel capacity 6 gal.

The Moto Guzzi V85TT has a transverse V-twin engine and is shaft driven — a unique combination. The standard model V85TT (shown) comes with quite a few comfort, performance, and tech features that you might not expect on an old-fashioned-looking bike.

The Adventure model has even more. If you crave classic, retro styling and a ton of character, and you’re more interested in road travel than aggressive off-road capability, take a peek at the details of this Moto Guzzi. You’ll be surprised by what you get for your adventure motorcycle money. Spoiler alert: there’s gorgeous luggage involved.

• Base price $13,949-15,199
• Engine 889cc parallel twin
• Power 105 hp, 103 hp
• Wet weight 473 lbs., 464 lbs.

Updated for 2023, the KTM 890 Adventure base model (shown) has received some nice upgrades that make it even more appealing at this price point. You might quickly find yourself spending more, though, as KTM has cleverly introduced a new demo mode, allowing you to test out all the optional electronic rider aids for the first 932 miles.

Upon startup, after you’ve passed that mark, the aids will vanish, and you may decide you need to purchase just one or two upgrades, or perhaps you’ll feel compelled to spring for the full tech pack. Regardless of your decision there, the reworked adjustable suspension, improved seat comfort, electronics, and better wind protection will serve you well.

The key difference between the Adventure R model and every other bike in the midweight ADV category is the suspension. Lightweight, responsive, and powerful, this bike is just as capable, comfortable, and fun on the twisties as it is on single track.

More dirt-oriented than the base model, this bike is for you if you want the highest-performing, easiest-to-pick-up adventure motorcycle money can buy.

• Base price $14,995-17,395
• Engine 888cc triple
• Power 94 hp
• Wet weight 501 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5.28 gal.
• Tire size 19"/17", 21”/17”

Released in 2020 to replace the well-loved Tiger 800, Triumph has done an amazing job producing a high-quality, capable, and comfortable range of bikes to meet all your adventure motorcycle needs.

If you prefer more road riding, the 900 GT (shown) and 900 GT Pro will take care of you on everything from urban adventures to proper long-distance travel. It comes with a 19-inch front and 17-inch cast wheel.

The GT Low model saves nearly 2 inches in seat height by slightly reducing the suspension travel. As this is the more street-oriented model, the tiny loss in ground clearance shouldn’t pose an issue.

If you want an adventure bike built for maximum off-road, all-day riding capability, control, and comfort, the Tiger 900 Rally and Rally Pro have you covered. The latter comes with a tubeless, spoked 21-inch front and 17-inch rear wheel. 

Triumph also offers a 3-year, unlimited-mile warranty. Imagine how many miles you could lay down on one of these in three years!

• Base price $14,499
• Power 105 hp
• Wet weight 472 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5 gal.

First released in 2022, the Norden 901 is based on the well-loved KTM 890 Adventure platform. The key difference is the Norden is set up to be more comfortable on the road for traveling long distances than the 890, with a wider, plusher seat and softer suspension.

This bike stands out from the competition because of its relatively low MSRP and power-to-weight ratio — an impressive 105 horsepower and 472 pounds. Despite looking chunky, the fuel and engine weight are down low, making it feel surprisingly light and responsive.

Don’t let KTM’s reputation for being high maintenance scare you off; the oil change interval on this bike is a whopping 9,300 miles.

A welcome addition to the popular mid-weight adventure bike category, the Norden 901 handles very well on- or off-road and is comfortable, powerful, and fun to ride.

• Base price $17,695-18,295
• Engine 937cc V-twin
• Power 110 hp
• Wet weight 495 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5.5 gal.

Introduced in 2022, the DesertX is an exciting addition to the mid-weight ADV motorcycle lineup. This is the first modern Ducati with a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear tire, long-stroke suspension, and a frame designed specifically for off-road adventuring.

Ducati did their homework, successfully offering an impressive package that stands out from the crowd. Head-turning styling and overall build quality; amazing suspension, brakes, and electronics package; and, of course, the most powerful engine in its class.

This is Ducati we’re talking about, after all. If you don’t want to make any concessions in performance or comfort going between on- and off-road riding, the DesertX is one of the most capable and highest-quality adventure motorcycles currently available.

• Base price $15,199-17,599
• Engine 1,137cc V-twin
• Power 107 hp
• Wet weight 554 lbs.

Suzuki has been inspired by the competition, introducing a whole host of revisions to the 1050 V-Strom and making it a better performing, more comfortable, and more versatile platform.

The new   DE model replaces the XT model from prior years, with the intention of offering a more off-road capable model to the lineup. How does the DE differ from the base model? The standard 1050 (shown) comes with 19-inch front and 17-inch rear tubeless 10-spoke cast wheels.

The DE has a spoked 21-inch tubed front wheel and 17-inch tubeless rear, offering better ground clearance and taller suspension for off-road performance, among other features.

The Adventure model is equipped with all the updates of the DE, with the addition of travel accessories such as aluminum panniers and LED fog lights.

• Base price TBA
• Engine 1,084cc parallel twin
• Power 101 hp
• Wet weight 505 lbs., 529 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5 gal., 6.5 gal.
• Tire size 21”/18"

As of writing, the official 2023 models, options, and corresponding pricing for the Africa Twin lineup have yet to be confirmed for the US market. But no best adventure bikes list is complete without the Africa Twin.

Shown is the 2022 Adventure Sports ES model. With a lot of new adventure bikes popping up in the mid-weight category, Honda’s popular CRF1100L platform has some stiff competition.

It may not be the lightest, fastest, or highest-performing adventure motorcycle on the market, but Honda has given us a solid, good-performing, ultra-reliable, quality-made ADV bike that has been popular around the world for decades.

Most importantly, it handles the road just as well as the dirt and offers great value for the money. How do you argue with all that?

• Base price $29,995-30,595
• Engine 1,158cc V4
• Power 170 hp
• Wet weight 573 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 7.9 gal.

Making its world debut in 2023, the V4 Rally is an updated Multistrada on steroids. It has way too many bells and whistles to list (we have a whole article on that  here ), but you can trust that all your power, comfort, safety, and connectivity needs will be exceeded.

Solo or two-up, this bike will confidently adjust to accommodate any conditions you might throw at it. Leading the pack in radar technology, the V4 is the first motorcycle in production to have both front and rear radar for adaptive cruise control and blind spot warnings.

Boasting more horsepower than any other ADV bike on the market, fuel consumption is something to investigate, especially if you are looking for the longest range possible.

The main reason this may not be the bike for you? Sit down before you read the price range.

• Base price $16,299
• Engine 1,199cc parallel twin
• Wet weight 584 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 6.1 gal.

The Super Ténéré is Yamaha’s biggest adventure motorcycle and has been around for years. It has a large following and is known for being trustworthy and capable.

Unlike its little brother, the Ténéré 700 , which notoriously carries its weight high, the engine mass is kept low on the 1200 for great handling. It does come with more features than the 700, but fewer than its competitors in the heavyweight category.

Fewer electronics mean less to fail, making it a reliable and durable choice for long-distance travel. The Super Ténéré does have basic frills, like cruise and traction control, and adjustable suspension.

This bike has been and will continue to be a solid choice for adventure riding.

• Base price $19,595-24,200
• Engine 1,160cc triple
• Power 147 hp
• Wet weight 529 lbs., 575 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5.3 gal., 7.9 gal.
• Tire size 19”/18”, 21”/18”

Triumph’s 1200 lineup got a complete makeover for 2022. A new engine, chassis, suspension, brakes — the whole works. The biggest complaint about the old 1200s was the weight. That has gone down, so good job Triumph for listening.

More road-focused with a 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheel, the GT series includes the base model GT (shown), GT Pro, and GT Explorer. The Rally Pro and Rally Explorer models are more dirt-oriented, with a 21-inch front and 18-inch rear spoked wheel, more ground clearance, and longer travel suspension.

The Rally models are the same bikes, except the Explorer comes with a larger tank size (5.3 gallons versus 7.9 gallons), blind-spot detection, fuel tank protection bars, standard heated seats, and taller handlebar risers.

Fast, agile, and comfortable, there is a Tiger for everyone in this broad lineup.

• Base price $17,995-20,345
• Engine 1,254cc flat twin
• Power 136 hp
• Wet weight 549 lbs., 591 lbs.
• Fuel capacity 5.2 gal., 7.9 gal.

The big BMW GS bikes are what come to mind for many when we think of adventure motorcycles. The GS Adventure — or “GSA” — is a beefed-up version of the base GS (shown), having bigger fuel capacity, more wind protection, spoked wheels, and higher clearance for off-road riding.

These behemoths may be heavy, but they are easier to pick up than you may expect, thanks to the big cylinder heads and crash bars that hold them partly upright.

If you are tempted to save money or weight by going with the base model, you might want to take a look at all the add-ons you’d likely want, calculate how the weight would be impacted, and compare it to what comes included in the price of the GSA.

There’s a reason BMW has a loyal brand following in the adventure bike ecosystem; they’ve set the bar high.

• Base price $20,299
• Engine 1,301cc V-twin
• Power 160 hp
• Wet weight 550 lbs.

Seeing extensive revisions in 2021, the KTM 1290 platform has only minor updates for 2023.

The Adventure S model (shown) is the more long-distance, road-oriented sibling of the aggressively off-road capable Adventure R model. The 1290 models cover ground quickly and effortlessly and have the ergonomics to make sure your adventures are as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

KTMs are highly customizable and known for being incredibly lightweight, fun, and powerful. Because of that, they’re one of the best adventure motorcycles on- and off-road.

2023 Adventure Motorcycles — No Perfect Bike

Full disclosure, I ride a Suzuki DR650SE, and I call it my adventure motorcycle. We have indeed been on many wonderful adventures together, but it’s really a dual-sport. Yes, it is street-legal and off-road capable, but it is not very comfortable. It becomes exponentially less so on long-distance rides , even with upgrades.

Adventurers the world over will share similar stories of epic times on all types and sizes of bikes , including single-cylinder or “thumper” bikes like mine. The point is that while you can certainly have adventures riding whatever bike you fancy (or can afford), an ideal adventure motorcycle will take you everywhere you might want to go, and you’ll be a lot more comfortable.

Adventure Motorcycle FAQs

Good ground clearance, suspension travel, and large spoked wheels all help make navigating different types of terrain and obstacles easier, safer, and more enjoyable.

Vibration, jarring, and wind buffeting are three big factors that are exhausting on long rides. Twin-cylinder engines or above will vibrate much less than single-cylinder bikes. Plush suspension will absorb changes in terrain, and a frame-mounted fairing will provide ultimate protection from the wind.

The lightest weight bike in this comparison is the new Aprilia Tuareg 660 , coming in just under 450 pounds (449.7, to be exact). The only other bike that comes close is the Yamaha Ténéré 700 , at 452 pounds. The heaviest is the venerable BMW R 1250 GSA , at 591 pounds. Leave it to German engineering to figure out how to perfectly balance that much weight on two wheels.

No surprises here. The priciest is Ducati, and the economy is a Suzuki. The new Multistrada V4 Rally can be yours in Ducati Red for just under $31,000. For that price, you can buy matching Suzuki V-Stroms for yourself and two of your friends. The base model V-Strom 650 comes in at $9,104 and has been successfully carrying adventure riders all over the world for nearly 20 years. 

Suzuki has gone after the adventure market with their new V-Strom “DE” models . They are still pretty far behind the competition in side-by-side comparisons, but the pricing is so good it might not matter. At the other end of the spectrum in quality, price, and cutting-edge technology, the Tiger 1200 line has been completely revamped for 2023.

If you want to do lots of road riding, the very popular BMW GSAs , Triumph Tigers , and of course, the Ducati Multistrada will offer the most comfort on the longest rides. Heavier, large-displacement bikes tend to ride better on the road.

Riding off-road can mean a lot of different things. Generally speaking, the lighter-weight ADV bikes tend to be easier to handle (and pick up!) riding off-road. Look at the KTM 890 R (really any KTM), Tuareg 660 , and Ténéré 700 if you live for dirt.

This is where the mid-weight adventure bikes win. The Ducati DesertX is creating quite a stir. I dare you not to want this bike. Also touted as equally well-appointed for both are the Tiger 900 , the new kid Norden 901 , and the Africa Twin .

How to Get Into Adventure Riding Without Breaking the Bank

Our intro to adventure riding guide will get you rolling on two wheels on the road less traveled without breaking the bank. Read more…

Motorcycle Suspension: A Beginner's Guide for Adventure Touring

Setting up motorcycle suspension properly is one of the most important aspects of motorcycle safety and fun-factor. Yet most riders don't do it. Read more…

6 Ways to Easily Turn an Adventure Motorcycle Around Off Road

Adventure motorcycle pros teach us six ways to turn a big bike around on narrow trails. It's not brute force, but technique and practice. Read more…

Misty Pine has been pushing her love of motorcycles on anyone who will listen for the past decade. Prior to that, it was horses. Currently based in Portland, Oregon, she is a rare native Oregonian and despite having lived and traveled all over the world, she has yet to find a place as magical as the Pacific Northwest. In addition to riding, Pine enjoys mushroom identification, searching for hot springs, sharing good food, traveling to remote riding destinations in her rad Moto Van, and endlessly photographing all of the above.

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Best women’s gravel bikes: the perfect machines for off-road adventures

Break free of the tarmac and explore more on the best women’s gravel and adventure bikes

The best women’s gravel bikes are perfect for exploring, discovering, bikepacking, traveling on- and off-road, or just blasting around miles of forest track and gravel roads. These drop-bar bikes are designed to handle rough ground, providing a winning combination of comfort and performance. We’ve gathered together the best women’s gravel and adventure bikes on the market to help you find the perfect steed for everything, from endless rides to fast-and-light long-distance racing, and there’s something here for everyone. 

Some of the best gravel bikes are built specifically for women, featuring a geometry and design based on data from female riders, like the Liv Devote. Others, such as the Juliana Quincy and Scott Contessa Addict, have a unisex frame with women’s specific contact points like the saddle, while some brands, such as Trek, have moved away from women’s specific bikes altogether and have focussed instead on providing a wider size range in a unisex lineup. 

What all these bikes have in common are their adventure credentials. They feature dropped handlebars, flared in some cases to offer better off-road handling and room to fit a bar bag, wide gearing that makes short work of long climbs when heavily laden, and plenty of attachment points for popping on racks and bags so your only limit is your nerves and leg strength. 

• What is bikepacking? The ultimate guide  
• Best bikepacking bags : carry your gear and supplies with ease  
• Best bikepacking multi-tools : trusty tools for bikepacking adventures  

If you’re planning a bikepacking adventure, don’t forget to check out our ultimate bikepacking kit list so you make sure you have everything you need (and nothing you don’t), and some helpful tips for keeping a lightweight bikepacking setup .  

Jump to: what to look for in a women’s gravel bike

Best women’s gravel bikes

Why trust BikePerfect Our cycling experts have decades of testing experience. We'll always share our unbiased opinions on bikes and gear. Find out more about how we test.

Liv Devote Advanced Pro

Specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

Load it up, ride it out, go explore. The Liv Devote is a versatile gravel and adventure bike that is ideal as the one-bike quiver for anyone who can’t resist the call of the wild. 

The Devote is also a rare beast: a gravel bike specifically for women, with a frame geometry and component list designed to suit women, based on women’s fit and ride data, and created by a team of women engineers.

The spec is tasty to say the least, comprising a premium carbon frame with a layup that smooths out rough surfaces without losing traction or energy, but that also feels efficient on smoother surfaces and climbs. Add to that a SRAM Force AXS wireless groupset which offers smooth, reliable shifting, carbon wheels fitted with fast-rolling but bump-smoothing chunky Maxxis Velocita 40c tires, and plenty of clearance left should conditions get muddy. 

In action, the Devote is comfortable for mile after mile, has all the attachment points so you can load it up for long adventures, but also feels fast and fun if you want to use it for a regular road ride too. Plus, gearing goes low enough to make spinning up long steep climbs a piece of cake. If you prefer your gravel chunkier and your adventures more rugged, then the good news is that the Devote is dropper-compatible and can take chunkier tires, up to 45mm.

• 2021 Liv Devote Advanced Pro gravel bike - First ride review  

Cannondale Topstone Carbon Women’s 4

The Topstone is the more wallet-friendly gravel and adventure-ready bike from Cannondale and it’s rated all-round as a comfortable yet fast off-road machine. 

Cannondale uses its Kingpin suspension system to make the bike super comfy on rough ground, which essentially allows the seat stay and seat tube to flex, absorbing knocks and bumps from the ground before they reach the rider's derriere. 

The carbon frame and forks are complemented by a Shimano GRX groupset, powerful Shimano GRX hydraulic disc brakes, and attachment points on the top tube, forks, downtube (inside and below the frame) and seat tube for attaching bottles and packs so it’s adventure-ready. 

If you like the Topstone and you’re either a taller rider or don’t like the color, fear not because the women’s specific element of this bike is pretty much just limited to the paint job. The Topstone Women’s 4 and the Topstone 4 are the same price, frame geometry and spec, down to the same unisex saddle, with the exception that the Topstone 4 runs up to a size XL, so you could always go for that instead. 

• Cheap gravel bikes : gravel bikes under $1,500
• Best gravel bike tires : fast-rolling yet grippy rubber for drop-bar dirt road rides

Scott Contessa Addict Gravel 15

Blending on-road performance features like aerodynamic frame profiles with a new geometry that’s designed to offer comfort and performance off-road, the new Contessa Addict is a bike that’s built for serious adventures. It’s fast, light and focussed. 

Contessa is the women’s specific line within Scott’s range, and in this case means a unisex Addict frame with women’s specific contact points such as the Celista saddle. 

Neat routing on the bar and stem means that cables are tucked out of the way, so attaching bar bags is a whole lot easier. There are also attachment points on the top tube, seat tube and downtube, both inside and underneath the frame, but sadly none on the fork blades, though there are points to attach fenders. 

Built around a carbon frame and forks, the Contessa Addict features Syncros SL wheels with toothy Schwalbe G-ONE Bite Performance tires, a Shimano GRX groupset and alloy handlebars. While this model is set up with a 2x groupset, you can also run the Contessa Addict as a 1x. 

Trek Checkpoint ALR 5

You don’t have to spend a lot to get a great bike, and you don’t have to go carbon to have a comfortable ride. Made from premium aluminum, the unisex Checkpoint ALR from Trek gives you everything you need for a bike-based gravel adventure. 

A blend of Shimano GRX and 105 gearing gives plenty of range for hefting a laden bike up steep climbs or flying along light and free on the flat, while a carbon fork provides vibration damping to help keep arms and hands feeling fresh. 

Chunky 40mm tires add more comfort and have enough tread to provide some nice off-road grip, though something toothier would be good for wet conditions. There’s plenty of tire clearance in the frame and the Checkpoint can take up to 45mm tires. 

There are attachment points galore, so you can bolt on any number of bags and pannier racks for big adventures, and there’s even a sliding dropout which means if you wanted to change the Checkpoint to run as a single speed, that’s an option. 

Canyon Grizl CF SL WMN 6

This bike caused quite a stir when it launched, and no wonder; a carbon gravel bike at this price point offers great value for money, especially one that’s as well-thought-out as the Grizl. 

Based around a unisex frame, the Grizl CF SL WMN 6 features women’s specific contact points in the form of size-specific handlebars and a WTB Diva Comp saddle, while all other components and the frame geometry are the same as the unisex model, for the same price. 

The carbon frame and fork are complemented by a vibration-damping VCLS carbon seatpost, and Ergospeed handlebar tape on the alloy handlebars helps smooth out the feel of rough gravel providing comfort and keeping you fresh-feeling for longer. 

There are a huge amount of attachment points for bags on all the tubes including the forks, which is perfect for riders who like a long-distance adventure or just don’t pack light. 

Juliana Quincy Carbon CC Rival

Juliana is a brand most usually associated with mountain bikes, so you know that when it creates a gravel and adventure bike, it’s going to be one that’s more than capable of handling proper off-road riding, trails, singletrack and whatever chunky terrain you throw it at. 

Based around a unisex frame, shared with the Santa Cruz Stigmata, the Quincy features women’s specific contact points including an Ergon SR10 Sport Gel Women’s saddle and size-specific Easton EA50 AX handlebar with a slight flare. 

Mounting points on the seat tube and downtube, inside the frame and below, mean there’s space for three bottles, but if you want to attach bags you’ll need to strap to the frame as there are no attachment points on the forks or top tube. 

This is a brilliant bike for fast and fun off-road riding, cyclocross, or for fast and light bikepacking; simply strap on a bar bag and a saddle pack and head on out. The chunky, toothy Maxxis Ravager EXO tires in a wide 40mm size offer plenty of grip in slick conditions and smooth out rough ground so they’re perfect when gravel turns to dirt, grass or mud. 

What to look for in a women’s gravel bike

Not all bikes built to go off-road are made equal, so while you may know what you’re looking for in a mountain bike, picking the best women’s gravel bike requires other considerations. You should look for certain features so you know that what you’re buying is capable of doing the kind of rides you’re planning.

As far as being women’s specific, a women’s gravel bike should come with a women’s saddle, narrower handlebars, and a wide range of sizes to accommodate shorter riders.

That’s not all though, so here are some other things to consider when choosing the best women’s gravel bike for you.

Tire clearance

Gravel bikes need wide tires to cope with mud and loose surfaces, providing off-road traction while also offering added comfort. On average, gravel bikes tend to come with 700c wheels and tires that are around 40mm wide, while most can offer clearance for up to 45mm of rubber.

However, when it comes to women’s gravel bikes, you can expect a wider range of sizes, and at the smaller end of the spectrum, you’ll most likely find 650b wheels to keep everything in proportion. With a slightly smaller wheel comes the opportunity to fit a slightly wider tire, so some gravel bikes can take up to 2.1inches of tire, which makes them especially good for muddy rides.

Low gearing

Whether you’re racing across continents or taking a slow roll along canal towpaths, you’ll usually find low gearing on a gravel bike. Since it’s designed to tackle dirt tracks and unpaved paths, it needs to cope with higher rolling resistance, not to mention steep off-road climbs. Add to this the likelihood of loading it up with bikepacking bags, the lower gearing of a gravel bike can make it much easier to get about. This means you’ll often find the gravel-specific Shimano GRX groupset specced on most gravel bikes, though the more premium options may come with electronic shifting.

Mounting points

If you’re buying a gravel bike, there’s a chance you’re planning to try out some bikepacking or long-distance ultra racing. Either way, it’s only natural that you’ll want to load it up with cargo, so of course most gravel bikes will feature a wealth of mounting points for essential accessories. You might find several options for bottle cage positioning, or mounts on the fork for extra storage.

The key message here is if you’re planning to go out into the wilderness, make sure the gravel bike you buy has enough mounting points for what you need to take with you.

Gravel geometry

Contrary to what some people think, gravel bikes aren’t just road bikes with big tires, they also come with their own geometry tailored to off-road riding with a drop bar. Compared to a road bike, a gravel bike will have a slacker head angle for more control on the descents, a lower bottom bracket for a more planted center of gravity, and longer chainstays for overall stability while fully laden.

Aoife loves a bike-based adventure, whether it’s out in the mountains on her MTB or exploring new places by road or gravel. She’s tested a LOT of bikes and kit, and is passionate about making cycling accessible for everyone. After all, it’s much more fun with friends, right?

Bikes currently owned: Juliana Maverick, Liv Devote

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Gravel bike vs. hardtail MTB: Which is better?

Explore the differences between gravel bikes and hardtail mountain bikes. compare features, performance, and terrain compatibility to make an informed choice..

Maybe you’ve heard people say that modern gravel bikes are “just 90s hardtail mountain bikes with drop bars”. It’s a good line, but equating these two distinct styles is flawed for a couple of reasons – not least because it’s no longer the 90s and hardtails have come a long way since then. In this guide, we break down the differences between gravel bikes and hardtail mountain bikes , including a close look at the sorts of terrain each type is best at. 

Gravel bike vs. hardtail MTB: geometry differences

Gravel bikes, also known as all-road bikes , borrow much of their geometry from endurance road bikes , but with some adjustments to keep you stable over rougher terrain. Most gravel models, including Canyon’s performance gravel bike , the Grail , have a longer wheelbase and slacker headtube angle than a traditional road bike for more confidence and stability on off-road adventures. Gravel bikes also have wider handlebars with flared drops for easier handling over technical sections and more options for both comfortable and aggressive riding positions.  

By contrast, hardtail mountain bikes prioritise pedalling efficiency and stability, with a longer wheelbase and steeper headtube angle to put you in a more upright riding position. That steep headtube angle makes for quicker handling at lower speeds but can feel sluggish on flatter and smoother surfaces. Hardtails have a suspension front fork, but no rear suspension, so they still ride pretty fast when you want them to on the flat.  

For a more in-depth look at the specifics of mountain bike geometry, be sure to check out ours beginner’s guide .  

We’ll take a closer look at how geometry affects your ride experience later on in the guide but for now, here’s the quick summary: 

• Gravel bike positioning is considerably more aggressive than a hardtail, while being less aggressive than a performance road bike. 
• Hardtails are more upright and stabler on rough stuff than gravel bikes, but will handle slower on flat and smoother surfaces.

What is the difference between gravel and MTB tyres?

Tyre size is one of the differences between gravel bikes and hardtails that will have the most impact on your riding experience. Because gravel bikes are designed for navigating around obstacles rather than rolling straight over them, gravel bike tyres tend to be smaller than those found on hardtail mountain bikes.  

That being said, there is a lot of crossover, particularly with the hunger of gravel riders for frames with more and more clearance. Our Grizl CF SL 6 AXS , for instance, can accommodate tyres up to 50mm.  

Generally speaking the window for gravel tyres is 32mm to 55mm (1.5” to 1.9”), while mountain bike tyres begin around 45mm (1.8”) and go up to 66mm (2.6”) and beyond.  

It isn’t just the width of the tyres that makes the difference. Gravel tyres have a less aggressive tread pattern than mountain bike tyres, making them suitable for both off-road riding and paved detours. The knobbly tyres typical of mountain bikes are perfect for keeping traction on rocky trails but can hold you back on the roads.

Performance comparison: speed, stability, and handling 

As we touched on earlier when we took a look at the geometry differences between gravel bikes and hardtails, the two types of bike will feel very distinct. Because of this, it’s important to consider what you want to get out of your ride experience before you decide which to go with.  

If your priority is speed with the capability to take on the occasional techy bit of trail, a gravel bike will be your ideal adventure companion. Gravel bikes are made for going fast, and their similarities to road bikes mean that they can hold their own on the pavement as well as on the rough surfaces. Gravel bikes also handle similarly to a road bike, with fast performance on flatter, smoother surfaces. However, you will compromise slightly when it comes to stability. While more stable than a road bike , if your adventurous aspirations take you down rocky and rooty mountainsides, the lack of suspension and generally narrower handlebars can make fast descents feel sketchy.  

By contrast, hardtails excel on the downhills. Their greater stability, suspension fork and optional extra features like dropper posts will give you extra confidence when you’re headed down the mountainside. The compromise with a hardtail comes with their speed. Hardtails will be slower on the flats and uphills, and their upright riding position means that their handling can sometimes feel a bit sluggish.  

Get into gear: using accessories and equipment with your gravel bike or hardtail

What sort of gear you’ll be carrying can also be a factor when making a decision on what bike type to go with. If you have epic self-supported off-road adventures in mind, having enough space to carry everything you’ll need is a must. Gravel bikes are often designed with bikepacking in mind, meaning that they come equipped with extra mounts for carrying top tube, frame or fork bags without having to deal with extra straps.  

While hardtails can be an excellent choice for bikepacking adventures on rougher terrain, fitting everything you’ll need on them can be a challenge. Hardtails often have fewer mounting options, and the fact that many hardtails have dropper posts means that finding a seat post mounted bag that won’t interfere with your rear tyre on tricky descents can be difficult.  

And don’t forget that extra kit means extra weight – and if your bike is heavier than usual you may need a couple of extra teeth on your cassette to help you winch your way up the inclines. Most modern gravel bikes run 1x systems, similar to those of a hardtail, though with drop bar shifters and a range of gear choices more reflective of road cycling. That means a narrower choice of gears, and your easiest gear is likely to be harder than the equivalent easiest gear on a hardtail. If you’re doing lots of loaded and hilly riding, and don’t want to grind your knees into dust, the hardtail is probably the way to go. 

Ride experience – gravel vs hardtail

How a bike feels is arguably the most important part of your riding experience, and knowing how it’ll ride on different surfaces is key. 

With its front suspension, a hardtail will be capable of taking harder hits than a gravel bike and will feel more fluid over rough terrain. However, the suspension will slow you down on smoother and flatter surfaces like roads, even in a locked-out position. The wider tyres will work in much the same way, rolling over bigger obstacles on the trails but creating drag that will hold you back on the roads or on lighter trails.  

A gravel bike will be able to hold its own on the roads and the lighter trails, but the narrower tyres can limit where you are able to explore. The fast and agile nature of a gravel bike means that while it excels at speed, gravel bikes can feel less stable and confident on the trails. Some genre-bending gravel bikes do have front suspension forks as well, such as the Canyon Grizl Trail model, which will give you more opportunity to explore, though the travel will be shorter than that of a traditional hardtail.

Maintenance and durability: long-term considerations 

When buying a new bike, it is important to think about how well that bike will hold up in the long term. While, generally speaking, your bike will look after you as long as you look after it, there are some things to consider when deciding between a gravel and mountain bike.  

Hardtail mountain bikes will have a little more maintenance associated with them because of their suspension fork, which requires regular upkeep to keep it working its best. This is especially relevant if the hardtail you’re looking at has an air shock.  

Though gravel and hardtail frames will have a similar durability, it is important to consider where you’ll be riding. As hardtails are often ridden over rougher terrain, they take more hits and parts like pedals and cranks can get damaged more easily than on typical gravel trails. The shortest lifespan would most likely be the gravel bike ridden on trails that are a little too challenging, with big hits from repeated drops and no suspension to dissipate the impacts.

Should you choose a gravel bike or a hardtail MTB?

Which type of bike is best for you will always come down to where your priorities lie. Are you looking for a lighter weight and fast bike that’s able to take on light gravel and trails, while still holding its own on the roads? Then a gravel bike will be better suited to your needs.  

Or are you most at home when you’re dropping down hillsides, and looking for a bike that will handle smoothly and confidently on rocky trails? Then a hardtail mountain bike will be your ideal companion. 

Be sure to check out our buyer’s guides for more advice on what to look for in a gravel or hardtail mountain bike . And for a deeper dive on which gravel bike is right for you, check out our comparison of our Grail and Grizl models .  

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The Best Electric Off Road Bike

Last Updated on January 14, 2021

Best Electric Off Road Bike Quick List

Rattan pathfinder 750w electric fat tire bike, cyrusher xf800 750w full suspension fat tire ebike, ecotric bison fat tire electric off road bike, dj mid drive 750w fat tire electric off road bike, swagtron eb6 20″ fat tire electric bike.

Electric off road bikes are electric bikes that can handle any kind of terrain.  The electric off road bikes we have selected are all fat tire electric bikes with tires that can handle any condition even mud and snow.  In addition, they have large motors and batteries that provide the power to handle the steepest climbs.  Before you buy, make sure you understand all your local laws.

The Rattan Pathfinder is our top pick for an electric off road bike.  The Aluminum Alloy frame is lightweight yet tough.  The 750W brushless motor with 48V 13AH battery is powerful enough to conquer all terrains.  If you’re looking for a great value in an off road ebike, this should be a top consideration.

Features: Energy Savings Travel Further: Patented I-PAS Technology allows the bike travel up to 60miles per charge, which is 83% more efficient than the others. Enhanced 750W Motor Equipped with 750W high-speed brushless motor, providing power for steep climbs and with speeds up to 20 mph. Strong Aluminum Alloy Frame: Aluminum Alloy double-walled rims are for greater durability as well as a faster ride with less drag. A high-strength front suspension fork provides a comfortable ride. Cruise Control: Any time the ebike cruises at the same speed for 5 seconds, it will lock in that speed. 48V 13Ah Removable Battery: The 48V 10.4Ah Lithium battery provides a range of up to 60 miles per charge, up to 20MPH. You can charge the battery on or off the ebike for convenience. 1-Year Warranty: As the factory and manufacture of the product, Rattan stands behind their products. They offer a 1-Year Warranty.

Read All Customer Reviews on Amazon

This is a full suspension, fat tire eBike with a max output 1500 watt powerful Bafang motor.  This eBike excels at off road riding in any weather and trail condition.  The Bafang motor is a rear-drive motor, which is compatible with the disc brakes, has a rated power of 750W and Max Power  of 1500W (48V*30ah= 1440W), a reduction ratio of 1: 5 and a maximum torque of 80 N.m, providing ideal power for electric bikes.

Break handlers on the front control both front and back brakes while hydraulic grip levers break with a motor cutoff switch to provide top braking power.

Features: Pedaling. It pedals easily even with no power despite the extra eBike weight. Design. Heavy duty frame, quality components, easy to use. Adjustable. Everything is easily adjustable, regardless of riding style or size you can make the XF800 tailored to your specific needs. Gear shifting. Gear shifting and gearing system by Shimano are smooth and simple. 90% Pre-assembled. Finishing assembly is simple and only takes a few minutes. All-Terrain. The FX800’s 4” tires move through snow, mud, ice, sand, and any surface with ease. Noise reduction. The Bafang motor is whisper-quiet, perfect for trails and enjoying nature.

As Ecotric’s off-road flagship, the Bison provides an innovative design and high level of craftsmanship.  The 6061 high-quality aluminum alloy frame, combined with MTB components, allows the Bison to have both a high strength body and lightweight. The 48V 17.6AH ultra-large capacity lithium battery, which is rare on the market, is perfectly integrated with its unique body frame. Features a high-performance middle damper, paired with MOZO Backflush Hydraulic suspension front Fork.

Features: – Brushless gear 1000W Motor provides 26.1mph maximum speed. 48V 17.6AH high quality Li-Lion SAMSUNG battery and energy saving motor offers a 37 mile range. – Hydraulic Disc brake & Gear Shift System. Front & Rear Hydraulic disc brakes give you double safety when riding. 7 Speed SHIMANO Acera rear derailleur & ECOTRIC exclusive smart display control increase hill-climbing power, further range variation, and greater terrain adaptability. – 26’’ X 4.0’’ Fat Tires can accommodate any road condition and absorb riding shock. – Maximum Weight Capacity: 265lbs – Battery charging time: 6-8 Hours – Battery life: 400-600 Cycles. – Recommend Rider: 5’5”– 6’4”

A great value for a 750W, 48V off road eBike.  This is an all-purpose powerful electric bike built with high-quality mainstream components. The bike is powerful, affordable, durable, quiet, clean looking, and easy to use.  This performs perfectly through the city or on light off-road trails with an integrated front headlight and suspension to absorb shocks.

The powerful 48V LG battery can be dismounted and charged anywhere on the go. The charger has a safety design to prevent over-charging. Bafang LCD display with 5 speed pedals assist function, speed indicator, local time, top riding speed, riding distance

Includes:   Stainless aluminum frame, Samsung battery, Bafang motor, Mozo suspension fork, Shimano gear and Tektro brakes.

Specs:   26″ Wheel Size,  4 hour charge time, Top Speed = 20mph, Range = 25-37 miles.

This is one of the only ebikes on the market that is a specially built electric bike for kids or adults looking for a smaller sized bike.  The EB6 is a real fat-tire eBike built to give riders the opportunity to experience the thrill and freedom of mountain biking. With 20-inch wheels and a durable frame, the EB6 is boosted by a 350-watt electric motor capable of reaching speeds up to 18.6 miles per hour. Accelerate through a twist-grip throttle or through a “pedal to go” mode. With a range of up to 20 miles on a single charge (throttle only, farther if you pedal), they’ll be able to conquer the tough trails with ease.

Like any true fat bike, the EB6 features high-volume 4-inch tires for confident traction on a variety of loose terrain.  Front and rear disc brakes rein all that power back in and put safety and control at your fingertips with easy-to-use handlebar-mounted levers. Seven gears provide plenty of range for tackling a variety of terrain. And a Shimano freehub means you can keep coasting even after you’ve stop pedaling.

The EB6 also has a convenient battery indicator and USB power port for charging electronic devices. The rechargeable battery easily removes for charging indoors. Or swap it out with a fully charged second battery (sold separately) and keep the good times rolling. And a built-in battery lock protects the battery from theft.

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Follow on facebook:, making the suzuki v-strom 650 off-road ready, we evaluate the suzuki's v-strom 650 xt off-road after a few strategic mods..

When we evaluated the 2015 Suzuki V-Strom 650 XT last year, we came away from the test with mixed feelings. In many ways, the then new Wee-Strom hit the mark as a practical long-distance adventure touring bike with comfortable ergonomics and seating. And its powerful 650cc V-Twin gave it a lot of character too.

A low seat height and smaller chassis make the V-Strom 650 XT maneuverable off-road compared to other big bore ADV Bikes. While a set of rugged wire-spoke wheels and quality suspension are a good foundation for any off-road capable motorcycle.

However, the V-Strom isn’t without its flaws. It falls short in key areas like ground clearance and suspension travel that are important for off-road travel, and its protruding oil filter and exhaust header are big liabilities on the trail.

Despite its limitations in the dirt, riding the new V-Strom 650 XT still put a smile on our faces. So we were curious to see ‘how’ we could address some of its limitations through the aftermarket and ‘if’ we could extend its off-road capability beyond just graded dirt roads.

Of course with enough time and money you can achieve just about anything. But getting too extreme with mods on a V-Strom can quickly turn impractical. At some point it starts to make more sense to upgrade to a more expensive bike (e.g. BMW F800GS, Honda Africa Twin, etc.). So we set out to see how well the V-Strom 650 XT would respond to a few strategic upgrades that wouldn’t break the bank.

Below we outline some of the mods we performed to make our V-Strom 650 XT test bike trail ready:

V-Strom 650 Off-Road Upgrades

After sliding around on the stock Bridgestone Trail Wing tires, we knew we would never realize the bike’s true off-road potential unless we installed a set of proper dual sport knobby tires. Tires are one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to improve off-road performance, so we spooned on a set of Continental TKC 80s ($312) — one of the most popular 50/50 dual sport knobby tires of all time.

Next we set out to improve the off-road protection of the bike. In stock form, there are no hand guards on the V-Strom 650 XT and the factory accessory add-on hand guards are really just wind blockers that offer inadequate protection for your hands and levers. So we installed a set of Barkbuster Storm hand guards ($149). Their full wrap-around design with a steel reinforced backbone offers the ultimate protection on the trail from impacts with tree branches or the inevitable fall.

One of our biggest concerns when riding the V-Strom on rocky trails was the exposed underbelly and the potential to kick up rocks that could puncture the oil filter or dent the exhaust. Our concerns were amplified further by the bike’s low ground clearance that increases the chance of bottoming. To help us avoid getting stranded on the trail with a cracked sump or mangled exhaust, we needed good protection. We opted for an AltRider skid plate ($354), constructed of 3.2 mm anodized aluminum and precision fit to the V-Strom 650. It weighs 5.85 pounds and the design allows oil changes to be completed without its removal.

While we were at it, the thin gauge steel Suzuki crashbars were looking a bit more ‘show’ than ‘go,’ so we opted for a set of beefy AltRider crash bars ($372) as well. Since they are stainless steel, (instead of the faux aluminum painted stock crash bars) they are highly resistant to rust or tarnishing. The large one-inch TIG welded tubing is also much stronger and more resistant to bending. In addition, the unique connecting bar design helps redirect energy from an impact to the opposite-side crash bar instead of to the frame or engine mounts.

The V-Strom’s limited suspension travel (5.9″ front/6.3″ rear) was something that we couldn’t fix without throwing a lot of money at the bike. While not a complete solution, many riders overlook the potential gains of simply setting suspension sag and adjusting damping rates (FREE!). Dialing in the suspension settings as much as possible, ensures you get the most out of the available performance. We proceeded to set front and rear sag for our 215-pound test rider, then cranked up the damping on the rear shock to stiffen it up for more aggressive off-road terrain.

Off-Road Test after Upgrades

After getting the V-Strom setup with a few essential off-road improvements, we were ready for a test of the machine in the dirt. We headed out to our desert testing grounds to evaluate the performance of the bike on a timed off-road course. The course includes just about everything you can expect to encounter off-road: big whoops, steep rocky hill climbs, gnarly ruts, baby head rocks and deep sand sections. Riding an adventure bike on the 2.3-mile off-road course at full speed takes just over five minutes to complete.

In order to get a measurable gauge of the V-Strom’s ‘off-road’ performance, we brought along a known performer in the dirt to use as a benchmark — the KTM 990 Adventure R. Before you spit out your coffee, the purpose of testing the V-Strom against the KTM was strictly to get a point of reference; obviously these are two very different bikes. The off-road-focused KTM has a raced-tuned suspension with nearly 4 inches more suspension travel, 21″/18″ wheel combination and 45 more horsepower than the Suzuki.

While the V-Strom does have a 16-pound weight advantage over the big KTM, we never expected it to match or even come close to a motorcycle derived from a podium winning Dakar Rally Bike . The purpose for the comparison was simply to measure the off-road performance gap, so that we could better understand where the V-Strom sits in the spectrum of dirt-capable adventure bikes (capable or not).

Comparing the V-Strom 650 both before and after the upgrades wouldn’t be possible though, since the lack of protection and slippery tires on the stock bike would have made the challenge too risky on this rugged terrain. Fortunately, we had one other comparison point to look at. Having previously recorded a benchmark test between a stock Kawasaki KLR 650 and the KTM 990 Adventure R on the same course and same test rider, this gave us another point of reference to gauge the off-road capability of the V-Strom 650. We could now see which of these two bikes (KLR or V-Strom) got closer to the KTM on the time sheets. Any predictions?

Running the Timed Course

Heading out on the V-Strom for the first test run left us with question marks — not knowing how it would perform or even if it would be able to complete the course. But our first test lap left us pleasantly surprised. The suspension adjustments and grippy Continental TKC 80 tires made a solid improvement in the bike’s off-road handling, and the Suzuki soaked up the whoop sections and tough hill climbs better than we anticipated.

But after turning up the speed, we started to experience bottoming in the whoops. The V-Strom could still reach respectable speeds on the trail but it had to be ridden with significant caution. The ride is jarring through the rough stuff and the V-Strom lets you know it doesn’t like being pushed. Despite increasing the damping, the rear suspension still bottomed frequently, and the bike’s laid-back ergonomics made it hard to get completely comfortable riding in the attack position.

Of course most V-Strom owners aren’t intending to blaze around on trails at race speeds, but pushing the bike to the max allowed us to better understand its potential. So with gritted teeth and a tightened kidney belt, our test rider pushed the bike beyond the comfort zone to put in a good time on the course. We also performed back-to-back test runs on the KTM 990 Adventure R for benchmark comparison times.

Off-Road Test Results

After reviewing the results, the gap from the Suzuki to the KTM was 19 seconds — a significant margin on a 5-minute course. It was faster than we expected, but what stunned us the most was how the V-Strom 650 compared to the KLR 650 we’d previously tested on the same course with the same test rider.

The KLR 650 has a 2″ advantage in suspension travel in the front and 1″ advantage in the rear over the V-Strom, and it’s also got a larger 21″ front wheel and weighs 40 pounds less.

Most people will tell you the KLR will outperform the V-Strom in any type of technical off-road terrain, and we’d have to agree with that assumption from a ‘feeling’ perspective. But the numbers told us a different story.

During our stock KLR 650 vs KTM 990 Adventure R test, we recorded a 23-second difference between the two bikes. That makes the V-Strom four seconds faster than the KLR. Going through the test data, it appears the KLR 650 struggled on the hill climbs sections where it was underpowered. Whereas, the V-Strom had no problem accelerating up hills and was able to maintain momentum and track straight.

In this case, the V-Strom’s power advantage was able to overcome the KLR 650’s advantages in suspension and weight, even in technical off-road terrain.

Goal Achieved?

It was a rough ride but the various guards we added managed to keep the V-Strom’s vitals protected over some pretty harsh terrain. We found that with suspension tuning and tires, the V-Strom is capable of outperforming a KLR 650 in the dirt. However, we wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s better off-road than the KLR. The KLR offers a more confidence inspiring ride and is generally a more pleasing bike to ride off-road. The KLR was only held back by its limited power output and a small gearing change might have changed the result.

Clearly, there are other adventure bike choices available that make more sense if playing in the dirt is your main priority, but the V-Strom fits the bill for those that want a great street bike that’s more than capable of handling the occasional stint off-road, even in rough terrain. With a few upgrades, the Wee-Strom can be made off-road-ready and it performs better in the dirt than it gets credit for.

Author: Rob Dabney

Rob Dabney started a lifelong obsession with motorcycles at the age of 15 when he purchased his first bike – a 1982 Honda MB5. Through his 20’s and 30’s he competed in off-road desert races, including the Baja 250, 500 and 1000. Eventually, his proclivity for exploration led him to dual sport and adventure riding. Rob’s never-ending quest to discover what’s around the next bend has taken him on Adventures in Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and throughout the American West. As a moto journalist, he enjoys inspiring others to seek adventure across horizons both near and far.

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[…] Pingback: Making the Suzuki V-Strom 650 Off-Road Ready? – ADV Pulse […]

There are vastly better ADV bikes for going off-road than the V-Strom, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t. I have a 2012 V-Strom 650 (and a DR650 too). The biggest change to the new models are the spoked wheels — and I wish I could get them affordably, but $2000 for a set is more than I’m gonna spend.

I upgraded my 2012 with crash bars and bash plate, hand guards (Barkbusters) and also raised the bars enough to make standing comfortable. It works well, but yet you do have to take it easy. Even with stiffer fork springs and Racetech Gold Valves, the front end is still a little unsure of itself. A fork brace helps, but it’s still not as precise as I’d like. I haven’t been willing to spend money on the rear suspension, mainly because I’m worried if I do, I’ll push it hard enough to damage the cast wheels.

Two weekends ago, I rode it on Oregon’s NF-370, my favorite trail in the center of the state. There was a point where I did push it a bit, and after that ride, I was certain I had destroyed my front wheel. Much to my surprise, I hadn’t. It’s still straight, round, and holds air just fine.

The moral? Yes, it’ll go off-road, and it’ll do a pretty decent job at it. BUT, you do have to take it easy. It’s not a bike you ride aggressively in that situation. New for new, I’d suggest the Tiger 800 XCx, but since you can buy these used at very reasonable prices, they’re worth considering if you can budget in the skid plate, crash bars and other mods.

Hey Rob. The bike has a special charm that makes you just want to ride it, even though it’s not great off-road. Might be better to just buy an XT on the used market then transfer over some of your upgrades. Then you get the wheels and a newer bike. The XT wheels are some of the strongest I’ve seen on any adventure bike. What the bike really needs though is more suspension travel, especially in the rear. That would help bring up the ground clearance too. Just hoping Suzuki decides to put that sweet motor in a more off-road-oriented chassis some time soon!

[…] Feb 2015 Location: Minnesota Posts: 64 ADV Pulse Upgrades an XT Great read: Making the Suzuki V-Strom 650 Off-Road Ready? – ADV Pulse Summary: With knobby tires, crash protection and a skid plate the V-Stom went faster on an […]

I have taken my 05 wee-strom across the entire continent, including Dalton to Deadhorse… loaded. Front Springs, fork brace and knobby tires are a must but the greatest thing you can do for your Vstrom is to add a Scots steering damper. Period.

Thanks for the tip Michael. Probably gets light on the front end when you are carrying a full load.

Was hoping someone could advise where this track / terrain is found on a map?

Hey Bro. It’s our secret testing grounds out in the desert. Not an official track. 🙂 We carved a course out of natural terrain and trails. It’s an OHV area in Southern California called Baldy Mesa. It’s open to anyone, but the bad news is that there was a fire there just last week, so the entire area may be closed down now due to forest recovery.

Really enjoy your articles, especially the side by side comparisons. Its hard to get solid info online, especially not knowing if the person writing even has ridden a model they feel compelled to tell you about. Keep up the great work! I just replaced a KLR with an Africa Twin. I think I’ll be happy on this platform for quite a while out here in Colorado.

Wow, I’m sure you are enjoying the Africa Twin in Colorado. A great choice for the terrain around you. Thanks for your words of encouragement Dustin, we’ll keep doing what we’re doing! 🙂

Fantastic follow up! Thanks! Your conclusions surpised me with the results against the KLR – had a DR in years past, I wonder if the weight difference would have helped the DR win? Really great to see what the big DL is capable of in expert hands. I added a comment on the WR upgrade (can’t wait for part 2) and still believe that it would be a neat comparison for a similar dollars horses for courses article with the DL. This off road follow up spurs me on even more – we ride our DL primarily 2 up and have done most of the COBDR – similar add-ons – barkbusters, skid plate, tip over guards – we run soft bags (Adventure Spec) instead of the hard bags you folks tested with here – lighter, narrower – perhaps safer(imho) for the missus legs when we tip over. As you report – pace is the key – fully loaded front end isn’t bad, and actually kind of helps in sandy conditions – we really like the big KTMs and BMWs (had 2 GSs) but with the savings on the DL we have essentially travelled for free for the last 2 years and have had zero mechanicals and minimal maintenance expense (not so with our BMWs unfortunately – suppose it was our luck – twice?) Sometimes miss the power of the BMW, but only on the road – off road the DL is the nuts for us. Keep up the good work – now I just need to justify the WR to the missus for my solo rides:)

Hi Michael. The DR650 is lighter, has more power and has more suspension travel than the KLR. So I’d expect the DR650 to be outperform the KLR and V-Strom on this course and be pretty close to the KTM 990 ADV R. If we get an opportunity, it would be fun to find out! Sounds like you are having a great time on your V-Strom though. Thanks for your words of support and hope you can convince the missus to let you get that WR!

Interesting outcome on the comparison between the Wee Strom and the KLR. Could you run the same comparison with the Honda CB500x with the stage 3 Rally Raid kit?

Hi Clint. Getting our hands on a Rally Raid CB500X for a timed test may be difficult since these are custom-built bikes and there are not too many around. However, we did ride both the RR CB500X Stage 3 and a KLR650 (modified with Touratech Suspension) back-to-back on some pretty rough terrain. You can see how they compared here: https://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/rally-raid-cb500x-review/

Hello Rob, Thanks for your reply and for including the link to article comparing the 500x and the R. I currently ride a 2013 KLR. But have been thinking about purchasing a 500x to get a little more power and on road comfort. I have some friends who ride Wee Stroke but I don’t like the extra weight and limited suspension travel. Think I will shop around for a 500x and invest in the RR stage 3 kit. Great articles and awesome website! Clint

Yes, that RR CB500X likes to go fast in the dirt and it’s a lot of fun to ride. Plus it’s got the smooth twin-cyclinder engine. They are also economical and reliable like the KLR and V-Strom. It does require you to rev the motor a lot higher to make power, but it goes pretty good. Get a test ride on a stock CB500X and see if it works for you. Thanks for the kind words!

Stock KLR tires left it at a disadvantage don’t you think? An unfair comparison.

Hi John. Actually, we ran the KLR on dual sport knobby tires as well.

would love to see more bikes go up on course against the KTM. Tiger 800, BMW F800gs, Africa Twin etc..

I have had my Vstrom 2013 for about 6mths and so far I just love it , it was a easy choice for me between the Vstrom and Klr because of comfort and power, I like it on the highway ride for 250 miles go off road to a camping spot down by a gorgeous Idaho river.Set up camp.and explore. Love it.I used to have a KX 250.and that was my off road bike , I just like the comfort .at 59yrs old .yep it’s about that.

[…] bradtxag96 is online now   Quote Quick Reply post #9 of 9 Old 02-26-2017, 01:27 PM slipstream Stromthusiast!     Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 41 Quote: Originally Posted by ejfranz View Post The Wee is not an off road bike. Yes it is. I think rider skill and determination makes the difference…then add protection skid plate, bars, mitas e-07, raising link or custom shocks, …I bet you can go 85% of where a klr can go too. Making the Suzuki V-Strom 650 Off-Road Ready? – ADV Pulse […]

[…] […]

I’m getting ready to take my Vstrom on the Trans Am Trail next month. I’ve outfitted it with all the bolt on do-dads already. I’m struggling a little with suspension setup. I took it on a test run last weekend with a full load to replicate what I’ll be bringing with me. Any suggestions for suspension settings with stock parts?

Hi Bill. Sounds like you’ve got a great adventure ahead of you. I recommend you start by setting the front and rear preload to the recommended sag range for the bike fully loaded with the rider (look for YouTube videos on how to do this). Next set your rebound damping setting on the rear shock to stock and add more or less damping in small increments until you get a setting you like. Getting your sag set first is the most important part. Good luck!

[…] offer much protection and no crash bars are installed. For those looking to take their V-Strom 650XT off-road, a variety of protective upgrades are available on the aftermarket to improve the range of terrain […]

Where is the trail in the picture? I want to ride my v-strom there

Hey Deker. It’s an OHV area in Southern California called Baldy Mesa.

[…] might recall from our Suzuki V-Strom 650 test the testing grounds of which I speak. It’s a wiley 2.3-mile off-road course which includes just […]

How does the ABS on the vstrom behave downhill?

Hey Douglas. The V-Strom’s ABS is usable off-road but it’s not the most “off-road friendly.” On really loos steep downhills it can get a little scary.

The “fix” is to unplug the fuse for the ABS or to turn off the motor (which I am told allows the brakes to function normally).

Thanks for your review. I’m curious after the modifications how the bike handled on pavement or if it is only good for off road and short trips.

[…] Cheaper and much more readily available the trusty old DL650s might have originally been conceived as dual-purpose bikes and can be found for sensible prices, often with luggage. DLs can do serious commuting duty, be adventurised and taken to all sorts of stupid places. These guys show how a DL can be made offroad-ready for not much dosh. https://www.advpulse.com/adv-bikes/suzuki-v-strom-650-off-road/ […]

hi, i am from ecuador, here i have a vstrom dl650a 2015, i dont have the rings of steel rays, that you have, and i make all, here are multiples travels by the andes, or the orient. and my bike is perfect, is truth that a better fork are very better in the furure, but the bike is very unique and confortable for all. I have 31000KMS, and never i need change nothing as a fork reten or oring, is very durable and hard. The abs is not disconectable, and some times i have scary, jaja but is controlable and sometimes the abs save me too. Is a very good Bike.

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The Evolution of E-Bikes: From Commuter to Off-road

R emember the time when bicycles were just, well, bicycles? Times have changed, and so has our ride. Today, we've got e-bikes, and they're revolutionizing how we think about two-wheelers, especially when it comes to commuting and off-road adventures. But what exactly is an e-bike, and which one is right for you? Let’s take a look at the Macfox brand electric bicycle models: Macfox X1 and Macfox X2.

What is an E-Bike?

Understanding the basics.

E-Bikes, or electric bicycles, are essentially regular bicycles with an added electric motor to assist the rider. They're like your childhood bike but with a futuristic twist. This motor can be used to help with pedaling, or in some cases, take over the task entirely.

The Power Behind the Pedal: How it Works

The heart of an e-bike is its battery and motor. When you pedal, the motor kicks in and gives you a boost, making uphill rides or long commutes a breeze. And before you ask, yes, they come with a charger just like your phone!

Commuter E-Bikes: Why They're the Future of Urban Travel

Benefits of using a commuter e-bike.

Ever been stuck in rush hour traffic? The Macfox X1 is the best commuter e-bike . With a commuter e-bike, those days are behind you. They're efficient, environmentally friendly, and often faster than traditional means in crowded cities. Plus, there's the added benefit of exercise. Win-win, right?

Top Commuter E-Bike Features to Look For

If you're eyeing a commuter e-bike, consider features like battery life, speed settings, and weight. Also, don't forget to check for storage options – because where else would you keep your coffee?

Off-Road E-Bikes: Tackling Nature with a Boost

Benefits of off-road e-biking.

The Macfox X2 is the best off-road ebike . The thrill of off-roading, with a bit less sweat – that's what off-road e-bikes offer. They allow you to tackle challenging terrains without exhausting yourself completely. Mountains? Trails? They've got you covered.

Top Off-Road E-Bike Features to Look For

For the adventurers, look for a sturdy frame, suspension quality, and tire size. A durable battery and water-resistant features are also a plus for those unexpected splashes.

Safety First: Tips for Safe E-Biking

Like with all vehicles, safety is paramount. Always wear a helmet, use lights during low visibility conditions, and be aware of traffic rules. Remember, with great power (from your e-bike's motor) comes great responsibility!

Making the Decision: Commuter vs. Off-Road E-Bikes

So, urban traveler or nature explorer? Your choice should align with where you'll ride most. If it's for daily commutes, go for a commuter e-bike. For the adrenaline junkies craving nature's challenges, an off-road e-bike is your match.

The Future of E-Bikes: What's Next?

As technology advances, so will e-bikes. Expect longer battery lives, lighter frames, and even more innovative features. Who knows? Maybe flying e-bikes are just around the corner!

Whether you're aiming to conquer city streets or nature trails, there's an e-bike out there for you. With countless benefits and a growing range of options, the e-bike revolution is here to stay. So, ready to pedal into the future?

How long does an e-bike battery last?

Typically, an e-bike battery can last between 35-100 miles, depending on its capacity, the terrain, how much assistance you use, and other factors. Always remember to check the manufacturer's specifications for more precise information.

Can I ride an e-bike in the rain?

Yes, most e-bikes are designed to be water-resistant, but not waterproof. It's safe to ride them in light rain, but always avoid deep puddles or heavy downpours. And, of course, make sure to dry it off after your ride!

Do I need a special license to ride an e-bike?

In most places, e-bikes are treated similarly to traditional bicycles, so you don't need a special license. However, regulations can vary by country or state, so always check local laws before hopping on.

Live: Motorbike crash closes Torquay town centre road

The main road through Torquay has been closed by police this evening (Monday, April 29) following a motorbike crash

• Updated 09:03, 30 APR 2024

A road closed in Torquay is closed this evening (Monday, April 29). A crash involving a car and a motorbike has closed the road outside the police station on South Street, Torquay.

Devon and Cornwall's Force Incident Manager (FIM) said the crash involved a car and a motorbike. They said: "We were called at 5.16pm this evening (Monday, April 29) to a car and bike road traffic crash. Ambulance have just arrived at the scene."

Local traffic is thought to be affected. Stagecoach has posted on X: "Due to the Police closing the road at Torquay Police station, the service 12 from Torquay to Newton will be diverting through Hele village from 5.40pm .untill further notice."

The extent of injuries is not known at this time, but the police spokesperson did confirm the ambulance service has just arrived.

This is an ongoing incident. Please scroll down for the latest updates.

• Bike crash 18:24

Biker taken to hospital after crash

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "We were called at 5.15pm to Newton Road following a collision involving a motorbike and car.

"The bike rider was taken to hospital as a precaution with suspected minor injuries. The road was cleared at around 6.25pm."

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Devon and Cornwall Force Incident Manager (FIM) said the crash involved a car and a motorbike. They said:

We were called at 5.16pm this evening (Monday, April 29) to a car and bike road traffic crash. Ambulance have just arrived at the scene.

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Trek offering up to 30% off bikes and parts in crazy april mtb sale.

Specialized is offering up to 50% off some of its most popular premium mountain bike, and Trek isn’t trailing far behind. The brand’s 140mm trail bike range offers some stellar deals. You can get a Fuel EXe 9.9 XX1 AXS for only £9,499.95, a tidy discount from this e-bike’s usual retail price of £13,500.  

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Fancy the advanced Fuel EX frame and geometry, but don’t require a mid-drive motor to assist with pedalling? The Fuel EX 9.9 XX1 AXS Gen 6 is selling for only £7,994.50, as opposed to its usual list price of £11,800. 

Trek has slashed prices on its long-travel 29er enduro bike, too. The Slash 9.8 XT Gen 5 is selling at 25% off, for only £4,500, which gets you a RockShox ZEB fork, Shimano XT 1x12 drivetrain, four-piston brakes and Line Elite 30 carbon wheels, with a 108T internals gearing the rear hub. 

Dedicated trail and enduro riders value dropper posts but if your dropper needs replacement or upgrading, Bontrager Line Elite droppers are only £251.99 discounted from £359.99. These dropper post deals apply to both 34.9- and 31.6mm diameter Line Elites. 

Beyond bikes and components, the Trek sale includes apparel and accessories. Keen on some lightweight, ultra-efficient carbon-sole kicks? Bontrager XXX shoes are marked down by 30% from £349.99 to £244.99. 

Helmets? The best deal is Bontrager’s Rally WaveCel lid. With extended coverage for skull base protection and an interweaved structure featuring the WaveCel energy absorbing and dispersing material, these helmets are great for trail and enduro riders who desire enhanced safety. Bontrager’s premium Rally mountain bike helmets are now only £89.99, instead of £149.99. 

What’s the cheapest deal with Trek’s big sale? That will be the Bontrager left-side load water bottle cage. A handy upgrade (literally), especially for endurance mountain bikers and riders on XS frames, at only £6.99. 

Trek’s sale runs until the end of April.

• www.trekbikes.com

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• 9 tips to keep your suspension running sweeter for longer
• Opinion: You don't need a dropper post on your gravel bike
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Author block

Lance Branquinho

Lance Branquinho is a Namibian-born media professional who graduated to mountain biking after injuries curtailed his fascination with trail running. He has a weakness for British steel hardtails, especially those which only run a single gear. Lance is an award-winning writer who has contributed to myriad piblications all over the world including Cyclingnews, Bike Perfect, MBR, Topgear, TopCar and  Car magazine.

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