Bicycle touring is on a roll. With tens of thousands of kilometres of cycle routes in France, the trails run along the peaceful banks of the Loire as well as in the stony forests of the Massif Central. A road bike will quickly take you to the top of Mont Ventoux, but not far away on the country roads. The baskets of a city bike, so practical for velotafing, do not allow you to carry a tent. So, how do you choose your travel bike?
Before you study maps and guidebooks, before you ask yourself whether you should pick up one or two books instead, you'll need to choose your travel companion: your bike.
What about aluminium or steel frames? Disc or pad brakes? Road bike or mountain bike? For a first bicycle trip, there is no need to break your head. Any standard bike will do, provided it has been properly serviced. But there are still some imponderables:
When travelling by bike, you will go everywhere carrying your stuff. Your bike will have to be able to cross towns and fields, adapt to different road surfaces (national roads, country roads, sunken paths or prepared tracks), while supporting the weight of your luggage.
This luggage will need to be well distributed between the front and the rear, so you will need to be able to fit strong carriers.
And then, even on routes with a small gradient, a loaded bike is worn, and a good transmission with a wide range of gears is essential. A reliable, durable and versatile bike that resists potholes and goes fast on small roads, how do you find it?
It's a good idea.
- If you're going away for your first weekend and want to try out a roaming holiday, there's no need to go into debt. The easiest solution is certainly to revise the bike that's lying around in the garage (gear shifting, wheel conditions, brakes and position), or even to avoid any travel logistics and rent a bike on the spot.
Bike hire is a growing business, with tourist offices often listing agencies offering this and more: pannier hire, route advice...
- If you're going away for one to two weeks, you'll probably have more stuff to lug around and fuller panniers. A city bike will be less suitable for long distances, less comfortable in the long run. Maybe it's time to invest, after all, cycling is the future. For you, the ideal companion would be more of a Mountain Bike or All Terrain Bike.
- If you are going away for several months, you probably already have an idea of your dream bike...
The most versatile bikes such as VTCs or mountain bikes are often the most common (rolling!) on the bike routes of France and Navarre. The gravel is very fashionable and the VAE is gaining ground.
This is the ideal bike to start cycling. It's the perfect compromise to be comfortable on asphalt roads and dirt roads, without having to worry too much about the road surface. We like it because it allows you to pedal with your chest raised more than a racing bike, a more comfortable position for long rides. When it comes to distributing the weight in the panniers, we're happy with the front and rear racks, which provide good balance. On muddy roads and between puddles, we appreciate its mudguards. In short, it's the Swiss Army knife bike.
The VTC is a very widespread bike, some models are more adapted to an urban environment, others are more sporty, depending on the width of the tyres, the geometry of the frame (but also the presence of a telescopic fork, the range of the derailleur, etc). A VTC can be found at affordable prices - €300 to €400 at the entry level, and there are often good second-hand models to start with.
In the world of VTCs, one star model stands out: the randonneuse. It's a bike sold as if it were going to be on the roads... tomorrow. The luggage racks and/or eyelets to attach them, as well as the dynamo hubs are already installed, all that's left are the panniers to attach. Without doubt one of the best compromises for a bicycle trip. For an equipped randonneuse, count around 1000 euros, more or less depending on the integrated accessories or the brand (Fahrrad manufaktur, Ridge Back, Trek 500...)
On the other hand, if you are planning a more committed route off the beaten track, which might shake you up a bit, it is better to get a mountain bike.
<It's a great way to get to know your friends and family, and it's a great way to get to know your friends and family. On the other hand, it is adapted to rough terrain: you no longer notice the gravel, pebbles, tree roots that traumatize your racing bike. If you plan to ride in the forest or on damaged roads, such as a week on the Grande Traversée du Massif Central, the suspended mountain bike, which absorbs shocks and vibrations, allows you to gain in comfort compared to the VTC - it is even necessary... Be careful, before organising your panniers, you will have to check if there are luggage rack eyelets or else plan to go bikepacking (panniers that attach directly to the frame, handlebars and saddle).
The gravel is the hottest travel bike, you can make fun of it, but it has taken the best of all bikes ... Gravel is the name of a type of cycling: in one ride, you go from the road to the back roads at a good pace. How does it work? With a kind of all-terrain road bike, whose handlebars are adapted to rough terrain and whose tyres are a little wider, with studs to hold on to in gravelly bends and a smooth strip in the centre of the tyre to track on the asphalt. It's a bike that sticks to the pioneering spirit of bikepackers, but there's nothing to stop you fitting racks.
The road bike can be adapted to a bike trip, often favouring the installation of bikepacking panniers if it is impossible to install a luggage rack. It's not the most suitable bike for carrying a lot of stuff and the frame isn't made for wide tyres, but you can get there first. As the name suggests, the road bike has its heyday on the beaten, trendy tarmac trails - it's less of a show-off on gravel.
The EAB is a subject in its own right. Adulated by some, hated by others... think of introducing the debate during a family meal, success guaranteed. VAS has many strong points. Firstly, it motivates some people who are reluctant to cycle. Secondly, it allows us to plan longer journeys, with greater differences in altitude: in short, it increases our capacities tenfold. And let's face it, acceleration is exhilarating. When travelling by bike, the main disadvantage of the EAB is the management of the battery. It is absolutely necessary to plan your stages so as to be sure not to run out of power, and the breaks must be long enough and in places equipped with electricity to be able to charge your little heart. Pedalling with a dead and heavy battery is frustrating and difficult.
So our choice would be the randonneuse or the gravel.
Bicycle models have invaded counter discussions, and expert cyclists talk about them lovingly, like bikers about their motorbikes. Legend has it that some people name their bike, or even talk to it in difficult times. Without going that far, a bike can be tamed. You get to know the sound of its brakes, the clatter of its freewheel, you get used to its little music. This familiarity with your bike makes you want to understand the origin of the slightest irregular noise. Sooner or later, you feel like fiddling, tinkering, grasping the workings of the beast.
The fork is often sold with the frame, but it is possible to choose a lighter fork (carbon, titanium), or a suspension fork.
The handlebar of the bike is your control room: it consists of a handlebar and a stem. The stem connects the handlebars to the frame, its length and angle can be chosen to give you a more comfortable position by varying the height of the handlebars. The handlebars, the part of the handlebars on which you rest your hands, can take many shapes.
As you study all of these items, you may find something to fit your bike quickly and cheaply for a first (or next!) trip.
Good luck and remember, it's the first pedal stroke that's the hardest!"
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