What bike?

So my first big question for my upcoming trip I am asking in April 2016 is... what bike to use??

Don't be too impressed!

I only have two... and the newest one was bought in 1991!!! The other is the same Trek 520 touring bike on which I did my "almost" cross country trip back in 1984.

While the Trek isn't new, it still is considered a classic. I just saw one on eBay for $600... which is probably more than I paid for my Trek 520 new back in 1984!!! This line of touring bikes was introduced by Trek in the early 1980's. There was a 720, 620, and a 520. At the time, I could only afford the bottom of the line 520 model.

The frame geometry and the wheelbase (distance between the front & rear wheels) are more relaxed (elongated) on a touring bike. That makes for a softer ride. Less responsive than a road (racing) bike, but that is not really a concern when you are hauling 50+ pounds of gear down the road!

But the biggest difference between a touring bike and a road bike is the gearing. You are less concerned with top speeds on a touring bike and more anxious about crawling up a 12% (or more) incline loaded up with gear.

So a touring bike will have a triple chainring (the large front cog carrying the chain, which is attached to the crank) while a road bike will have two. And that third "extra" ring makes a huge difference. It is a very small chainring often times referred to as a “granny gear”. So even your “granny” can climb a mountain in this gear!

The granny gear, in combination with the large cogs on the cassette (read gearson the wheel), will allow average recreational cyclists to summit the high mountains fully loaded with gear without lying wasted on the road shoulder. Sheldon “gearhead” Brown is the guru on the subject (see Gear Theory for Bicyclists).

The gearing on my Trek 520 Touring Bike is a follows:

But… my “new” aluminum framed bike is probably half the weight of my old steel framed Trek. My Raleigh Pro Technium Road Bike is fitted with the Shimano 105 Group.

It only weighs 23.5 pounds. And when I summit Logan Pass, at the top of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park on or about 15 August 2016, every pound (on the bike… and on me!!!) I don’t have to drag up that 6,646 foot climb will just make that day that much easier!

The down side, it only has the gearing of a road bike as well. And I am not so sure I can actually make it to the top of Logan Pass with my stock gearing.

The gearing on my Raleigh Pro Technium Road Bike is as follows:

No matter what bike I decide to take, we have to get not just a bike, but also a pile of our stuff to Chicago, my starting point, as we are going to be on the road for quite a while.

I installed a 2-inch receiver to our 2013 Prius V over the winter and that allows for lot of possibilities. I could only find one company that makes 2-inch receivers although just about everyone makes 1.25-inch receivers. I wanted the additional options available for the larger sized receiver, plus the added strength & security provided by a 2-inch receiver.

I then bought an aluminum cargo carrier that substantially increases our cargo hauling capacity, albeit outside the vehicle. However, I could not find a bike rack that did not take up a large chunk of the cargo carrier, so I fabricated one on my own. If you are interested, see my YouTube video below where I go into some more detail.

Update June 2016:

What a stupid question!!!!!!!

Do I really think I will be able to do all that climbing out west on my road bike???

No way!!!

I have no idea what I was thinking. It is definitely going to be the Trek! I got to have that granny!!