# Can I tour on a Bridgestone RB-2?



## paulrad9 (Sep 25, 2005)

I've been biking on and off for the last 13 years or so and looking to do some overnight trips once the rainy seasons ends in the Spring. 

I'm contemplating:
Overnight trip from NYC to Kingston, NY, ~ 190 miles roundtrip (I may do this sooner than later)
Four day trip from NYC to Lancaster, PA, ~ 350 roundtrip
Five day trip from NYC to D.C. ~ 540 roundtrip
Weeklong trip from NYC to Acadia National Park, Maine ~ 1,050 round trip 

My current ride is a Bridgestone RB-2 which is more of a race bike than tourer as it lacks any provisions for attaching racks. I figured I could get around the lack of racks by using a trailer, such as the Burley Nomad.
Another issue is gearing as the bike comes with a double, 53/40 and 13/14/15/17/19/21/23 cassette. NYC is pretty flat, so these gears are fine here, but I suspect that dragging a trailer through PA or CT may be a bit challenging, especially since I typically find myself using the 19 and 40 unloaded and I typically spin 90-100+ RPMs.

My question: Can I tour with this bike? Would it be less painful on something like a Trek 520? If I can use the Bridgestone, I'll probably need to change the gearing, so should I replace the Sugino 53 with something smaller or go with a new cassette?


----------



## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

"Can I tour with this bike?"

- Yes. The trailer is a good idea.

"Would it be less painful on something like a Trek 520?"

- Yes. And the full-blown tourer would offer an advantage in ruggedness as well. Get a Surly Long Haul Trucker frame and build it to your own spec. Somehow, I just like the idea of touring on a steel frame...

"...should I replace the Sugino 53 with something smaller or go with a new cassette?"

- I'd go with a triple up front (like an old RBT), but if you are opposed to that idea, go 53X39 with at least a 28 in back. Can your rear derailleur handle that?

My Two Cents,

Forbes

PS: I had a buddy in San Luis Obispo, CA who used to go off road riding on his RB-1. He ran 30mm tires and a 53X39 with a 26 or 28 in back. He used to scream passed guys on suspended ATBs on some gnarly downhills, but he wuz the smooffest rider I ever knew.


----------



## KendleFox (Sep 5, 2005)

I dont have touring expierence....But it seems to me for the price of a trailer, you could be 1/3 into a decent used or new touring bike.

You may want to try credit-card touring with your current bike. I'm going to try that first, since I'm not sure how much I will like it.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to do...


----------



## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*You can tour on anything.*

My question: Can I tour with this bike? You can attach a rack to the brake bridge and use p-clips on the chain stays. If the chain stay is very short, you may have to use smaller panniers to allow heel clearance.

Would it be less painful on something like a Trek 520? Only if it had easier gears. 

If I can use the Bridgestone, I'll probably need to change the gearing, so should I replace the Sugino 53 with something smaller or go with a new cassette? I'd go with an mtb cassette and a long cage derailleur. 39x32 is a plenty easy gear.

In short, I wouldn't spend a lot of money for the first trip. If you like travelling by bike a little experience helps you figure out what you want before you buy it. In my youth I toured with a 52-42 crank set and 14-24 freewheel. I figured out that I needed easier gears and got them after I walked a couple of mountains in Pennsylvania.


----------



## BenR (Dec 14, 2001)

*can you borrow a bike?*

My Dad's 92 RB-1 is a perfect handling race bike - probably one of the best I've ever ridden. 1992 was supposedly a unique year in that they were built with more aggressive angles, and if yours is anything like his, I'm not sure I'd want to start towing things with it or bolting racks with P-clamps onto that beatiful white & green paint. The seatstays on a race bike are not meant to handle the sway loads produced by a rack, not to mention the tight wheelbase which will make your handling interesting. Given the short chainstays, your load will end up suspended far behind the rear axle, producing what is best described as "front end wandering." Trailers are expensive. Maybe do a strict credit card tour the first time, with a very, very light backpack. You could also try it on a mountain bike with slicks. Granted, I don't like straight bars and sluggish handling either, but maybe just for one trip until you are hooked on touring? 

Based mostly on backpacking and what very little loaded touring I have done, it seems like a simple overnight tour requires almost as much gear as a five day trip. If you can already afford the rack, panniers, and time off from work, a $1500 Trek or Cannondale touring bike is probably a reasonable investment. After purchasing a trailer and making gear modifications to your Bridgestone, you will have already invested a healthy chunk of change. I have a Franken-old-race-turned-commuter/tourer-bike that works quite well for my purposes, but it isn't as valuable as your Bridgestone and I only do a single annual 3 day tour, if I'm lucky. I have hauled 60 pounds of groceries for a few miles on a flat bike path, but it probably wouldn't work for more than 35-40 pounds on trips of any length. It's what I can afford and can still be an excellent backup race bike if the main horse gets injured.

If you try the bridgestone, lower gearing would be nice. It's amazing how much harder it is to go uphill with a load. After my first time, I had a new respect for the amount of torque a loaded semi has to produce. 

Ask to borrow a friend's tourer if you know of any. Pay them with dinner, beer, or new tires. Of course you might want to tour with them so that wouldn't work so well. Good luck.


----------



## Last Option (Oct 27, 2005)

*Touring bike*

I am looking for a RB-1 or RB-2, so if you get a new bike and want to sell the RB-2 let me know. Sorry to change the subject


----------



## paulrad9 (Sep 25, 2005)

A lot of good advice here, thanks for taking the time to respond. I have a tendency of going all out when I make a decision, but in an effort to prevent myself from spending a few $K right now, I did order a 14-28 sprocket and will try that for some day trips over the next couple of months. I really don’t want to start putting money into the Bridgestone because by doing so, I’ll alter what is already a great bike. Now I just need to determine if I’ll keep or sell it before I buy something in its place to take on multi-day trips. 

As a replacement, there always seems to be a lot of positive talk concerning the Trek 520. Further research also brought me to the Specialized Sequoia. However, one thing that sorta bugs me is that there seems to be a lot of proprietary components on both bikes. Also, there seems to be different levels of components used on each, i.e. one used both 105 and Ultegra components with a SRAM Cassette; the other uses Specialized hubs. Nothing wrong with this, but the non-logical part of me like the idea of having components from the same line. 

Fbagatelleblack, you have me thinking along the lines of the Sulry Long Haul with my own components. Of course, I don’t have a room full of spare parts like I used to, so I would have to build it from scratch. A few shops offer the complete Shimano Ultegra
Triple group for about $1,000 (I’d have to negotiate because I’m not a fan of S.T.I. Dual Control Levers and prefer to bar end or down tube shifters). Throw in frame, seat, wheels, etc and I’m creeping past $2,000, which is about 2/3 more than the Trek 520 and I am having problems justifying this added cost..but time may change that. Conversely, I’d feel more comfortable with building my own and servicing it when it has problems.


----------



## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

paulrad9 said:


> Fbagatelleblack, you have me thinking along the lines of the Sulry Long Haul with my own components. Of course, I don’t have a room full of spare parts like I used to, so I would have to build it from scratch. A few shops offer the complete Shimano Ultegra
> Triple group for about $1,000 (I’d have to negotiate because I’m not a fan of S.T.I. Dual Control Levers and prefer to bar end or down tube shifters). Throw in frame, seat, wheels, etc and I’m creeping past $2,000, which is about 2/3 more than the Trek 520 and I am having problems justifying this added cost..but time may change that. Conversely, I’d feel more comfortable with building my own and servicing it when it has problems.


Have you surfed Nashbar for wheels and derailleurs? You can sure get some screamin' deals if you've got a bit of time. Do you need to hold out for Ultegra? 105 is butchin' stuff. Sora ain't that bad, for that matter.

If I were you, I'd go into all my LBSs and say, "I want you to call all the bicycle companies you represent. Find out which ones are blowing out old warranty stock on triple road groups. Get me a deal!" I'll bet you a nickel that if you go into 10 shops with this proposition, one of them can find you an adequate road group for ~$1K. Manufacturers and LBSs are looking at five LEAN months starting 11/1. They'll take cash flow any way they can get it.

Good luck!

- Forbes B-Black


----------

