Comments on: Touring Bike Photos: My Windsor Tourist

By: Korey Pelton

Korey Pelton — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:22:07 +0000

Hi Glen. I really haven’t researched the latest line up of touring bikes since I bought the Windsor Tourist, but I highly recommend that you look around locally and online just to make sure your chosen purchase is the very best bang for your buck. The bicycle market is very competitive in the last few years and this is a good thing for consumers! I did notice recently that Bikes Direct has added the Motobecane Gran Tourismo to their touring bike section. It looks as though they’ve modeled it after the Surly LHT, and it’s got some nicer components and lower gearing than the Windsor Tourist, which is nice. Anyway, deciding on the touring bike that best fits your needs requires quite a bit of searching and comparing, but it is very worth it. Almost every major bicycle company makes some kind of touring bike, and it is good to compare all of them. Good luck and happy riding!

By: Glen H.

Glen H. — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:55:50 +0000

Hey Korey,

“I already own a couple of road bikes, but those do poorly on dirt and gravel trails. And the mountain bike that I own just won’t keep up with a touring bike on road ways. Thus, the touring bicycle is the perfect solution. The tires and rims are medium width, it has drop bars for a more aerodynamic riding position, and it has tire/frame clearance for fenders to keep yourself from getting mucked up.” That my situation out here in Virginia.

I am a heavy rider (over 250 pounds) and currently ride a Trek 100 comfort bike which is a sled. The terrain I ride is like yours and a touring bike makes sense because of its larger tires, durability and speed. Gonna buy from Bike Direct and they have quite a few brands offered. Based on what’s out there, would you still stick with the Windsor and why?

Thanks,

Glen H.

By: Korey Pelton

Korey Pelton — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:35:21 +0000

That’s correct. Even if a wheel is built with lower quality spokes, if it is built by hand by someone who has been trained in the “art” of wheel building, it will last a long time and probably will not even need to be trued for years. All wheels nowadays are machine built and I’ve had friends with bikes from Raleigh, Trek, and so on break spokes. The only thing I know about spokes is that “butted” spokes are good to use since they are nice and thick on the ends (where thickness matters) and thinner in the middle to conserve weight. Other than that feature, there’s nothing much else to worry about spokes. In my article above, I first took my wheel with a broken spoke to a professional bike shop and they replaced the spoke, and then I just ended up breaking another spoke. So, if you’re going to take your wheels to a professional, make sure they do a thorough job even if it costs you more money in labor :-) Whoever rebuilds the wheel will tell you what lengths of spokes you need, which will most likely be the lengths of spokes the wheel is currently built with. Also note that the lengths of all the spokes on the front wheel are all equal, whereas half the spokes are the rear wheel are shorter than the other half due to one side (or flange) of the rear hub having a greater diameter than the other side. But like I said, your wheel builder will tell you what you need. Oh, I also highly recommend that you load up your bike with a bunch of weight (camping gear, cans of food, whatever) and go for a 10 or 20 mile bike ride one or two weeks before you go on your trip. Wobble around, bounce around, and do some heavy cranking to verify that your wheels and all other parts are working well!

By: Cory Smetana

Cory Smetana — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:59:48 +0000

Thanks Korey, you have a great point there. So the main problem with the wheel seems to be that it is machine built and not that the spokes are weak? Or is it a combination of the two? I’m asking because its seems silly a bike made for touring would have spokes breaking right off the bat when it should be made to last for miles even with added weight. If the spokes are good quality and the reason they’re breaking is because they were put together by machine, then I’m thinking of just taking it in to get a tension test/ have them true the wheel. Also, if I do decide to have them rebuild it what length spokes should I look for? I’d rather buy my own because the shop charges $1.50/spoke which adds up. Thanks again.

By: Korey Pelton

Korey Pelton — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:09:12 +0000

Yeah, I have a cycling friend of mine who swears by Schwalbe Marathon tires, so he’d probably agree with you 100% on your tire selection. :-) Buying a whole new wheel right off the shelf is a good idea if it was built by hand, but you’re right back to square one if it was a machine built wheel (which most wheels are). A wheel that’s going to stay strong and true is one that is built by hand by a professional wheel builder, because they’ve got a lot of good tricks to making the wheel stronger such as “tensioning”. Ever since my rear wheel was rebuilt (I’ve put about 2500 miles on it since then), it has been perfectly true and I haven’t had a single problem. Since you are going to be traveling across Europe and Asia, you might consider having both wheels rebuilt since if you break spokes in some random country, you may have trouble finding a shop, speaking the language, and so on. That and you probably want to spend your vacation time seeing the sites instead of wandering around some city looking for a bike shop! :-)

By: Cory Smetana

Cory Smetana — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:38:19 +0000

Korey,

Thanks for the super fast response! That was really helpful. I’m thinking of possibly ordering some Schwalbe Marathon Dureme tires and using the tires on the Windsor as back ups. I also had a couple more questions on the wheels. I know you had your buddy put in your spokes, but my close friend who works at the local bike shop isn’t able to replace mine. I called the shop and asked for a price and they said I’d be better buying a whole new wheel. I’m not sure if they completely understood that I just wanted the spokes changed. I’ll have to recheck, but I was going to ask how much changing the spokes will run me. Also, most of my weight will be on my back wheel, so should I not worry about my front wheel or change those spokes just to be safe as well? Thank you in advance!

By: Korey Pelton

Korey Pelton — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:33:58 +0000

Wow, that sounds so awesome, I wish I could join you! Yes, having your wheel professionally built is quite a good idea before going on such a long distance ride. My rear wheel was rebuilt by a long-time wheel builder friend of mine. I used DT spokes because that was what the bike shop sold me and they said they were good spokes. My wheel-builder friend of mine says Wheelsmith spokes are what he recommends. On the other hand, he says that building a wheel properly by someone who has been professionally trained to build wheels is more important than the brand of spokes. I personally don’t know much about wheel-building, so I would consult your local wheel-builder for more info. Peter White is the world-renown bicycle wheel builder, and I have a friend of mine who has ordered wheels from him. See http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.asp. Good luck and have fun on your journey! Oh, and you probably don’t have to be worried about the hubs and tires. The hubs that come with the Tourist are fine. You might want to invest in some high quality, durable tires. I use cheap tires, but I also install tire liners which prevent flats very well. But, as I have said, I would go talk to your local wheel-builder or bicycle mechanic and they’ll fill you in on what you need to do.

By: Cory Smetana

Cory Smetana — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 05:54:31 +0000

Hi there. My brother is biking the whole Eurasian land mass this year and I have the pleasure of joining him for a couple months. He has a Surly LHT, but also has a much higher income than I do. I just purchased the Windsor Tourist because of the price, of course, as well as the decent parts. After reading many forums/blogs on the bike I’ve come to the conclusion that I absolutely NEED to do something about the back wheel before I’m ride nearly 2,000 miles. I’m thinking about replacing all the spokes on the back wheel. When I do this, what brand should I choose? Also, should I do the same for the front wheel? I will have around 25 lbs on the back panniers and I weigh 200 lbs myself. On top of the spokes, should I be worried about the hubs, nipples, or tires for the distance that I’m riding? Thank you in advance. Please respond soon as I am leaving towards the end of June.

By: Patrick Burns

Patrick Burns — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:45:31 +0000

I am currently looking into buying a new bike, and your website really helped me figure out that the Windsor will be a great fit for me. Thanks a bunch for the insights. Happy trails!

By: Harvey

Harvey — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 04:01:26 +0000

I bought my Windsor Tourist in 2006 and have since then about 20,000 miles on the odometer. Still the first chain and gear set! Used up two sets of tires. It is very reliable bike, a real “work horse”, and I have transported 50 pound parcels on the carrier without problems. It has always been a good and reliable companion.

The spoke problem is not unique to the Windsor. Before the Windsor, I had many spoke problems with two other bikes as well, until I rebuilt the wheels withe regular and a little bit thicker spokes. I have a very good bike shop and the owner told me that the “stainless” is the problem. Stainless steel is harder, stiffer and less elastic than “regular” spokes. So even if they tend to rust, regular steel spokes are more durable than stainless.

My Windsor is now almost at the end of its service life with the gears worn out and the rims with some wobble due to my rough riding. Replacing the parts and rebuilding the bike would most probably cost me more here in Japan than buying a new one. I will hand carry one on the plane (yes, you can!) during my next visit to the US.