Buying a Touring Bike

So... what is a touring bike? What sets it apart from regular road bikes and do I really need one?  Last week, over breakfast, my brother told his roomate from France had completed a trip from Vancouver to San Francisco on a $50 bike purchased off Craigslist.  With the exception of a couple of breakdowns, the bike performed better than expected.   The whole trip cost him $700 including the rideshare back to Vancouver.

My budget for a bike is not $50.  Like most people, I'm caught up in an age of technology where the information available on the internet overrides the senses with an endless stream of information.  We become delusional about what we want rather than what we need.  After setting my budget, I finally outfitted myself with a Raleigh Sojourn http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/steel-road/sojourn-11/.  It's a tank of a bike with elements of simplicity in its design.  It is the simplicity of its mechanical parts that I hope will make repairing it easy on the side of a road.  Some of its main features include:

•  A wider wheel base to smoothen the ride and reduce pedal luggage conflicts.
• Heavy duty 36 spoke CTX Freedom Trekking double wall rims designed to increase load capacity.
• Avid BB5 road rotor brakes for increased stopping power under wet conditions.
• SKS front and rear fenders.
• Brooks B17 aged leather saddle.  Reportedly one of the most comfortable saddles on the market.
• Reynold 520 Butted Cr-Mo w/CNC dropouts frame designed for a softer ride than rigid aluminum frames.
• Bar end shifters that will shift by friction.  

Detractors of this bike have noted that rotor brakes are difficult to fix.  However, the performance benefits offered by rotor brakes in wet conditions make them a logical choice for Vancouver.  At a shade under 35lbs the Raleigh Sojourn is considered heavy.  Heavier by almost 2lbs to 7lbs than other similar touring bikes on the market.