Recently I’ve been working pretty hard to bring you the most comprehensive touring bike book in the world!
Like other touring bike books, I’ll guide you through the core information like bike sizing, the different types of touring bike, and pros and cons of selecting every part. It’s starting to read really well, and I think it will make sense to those completely new to bikes. I’m writing summaries at the bottom of every page so that you don’t have to read in-detail about everything if you don’t want to.
But what makes this book a game-changer is the bike listing section (free updates yearly!) which allows you to compare bike sizing and other metrics.
Page Sample
Let Me Clarify My Touring Bike Comparison Metrics:
Frame Sizing: Manufacturers all measure their bikes in different ways, so I use a universal sizing metric which allows you to directly compare frame sizes between different brands. What that means is that you can test ride a non-touring bike at your local shop (like a road bike), match the metrics to those in the book, and be confident that the bike they order is the right size for you!
Brand/Model: The company and model of each bike in the listings.
Price & Value Rating: I’ve listed the retail price and have created my own value rating on each bike.
Region: This is the region that the bike is most-commonly found in.
Frame Material: After reading about frame materials, you’ll instantly know which bikes to look out for.
Gear Range: I’ve calculated the minimum and maximum gear of each bike for your comparison.
Steering Speed: This is the ‘trail’ of each bike, which determines how nimble the bike’s steering is.
How Upright: Using the universal metric, I create a ratio which determines how tall the front of the bike is in relation to the bike’s length.
Chainstay Length: To give you an idea of how much pannier clearance you’ll have, I provide chainstay lengths.
Brake Type: After talking the pros/cons of each brake, I list what brakes each bike comes with.
Shifter Type: How do you change gears on each of the touring bikes?
Max Tyre Width: If you’re after a comfortable ride or are heading off-road, this metric is king.
The Book is Now Available!
Head to The 2016 Touring Bicycle Buyer’s Guide page to find out more.
Bah! Need any beta testers 🙂 those that even have a print design, UI/UX background 😛
Looks like you just copied the bicycle touring pros book. lame and lazy of you if you ask me.
While the topic of this book is similar to many touring bike guides currently available, what sets this apart is the data that I’ve been collecting over the years to compare touring bikes. I’ve manually calculated the stack and reach measurements for every size of every bike that is featured, so that people can accurately compare the sizes between bikes. I’ve also calculated the gear range for each bike so that you can know how well each bike will climb with a load. Every manufacturer has been contacted for frame details like the maximum permitted tyre width. There’s also lots of charts, diagrams and other useful tools to narrow down the touring bikes based on my line of thought.
If you like the content on this website, you’ll love the content in this book!
Thanks for the offer! I ended up using a whole bunch of close friends with varying levels of bike experience. 🙂