Most of our hotel tours are e-bike friendly – you can check them out here – https://tdaglobalcycling.com/hotel-to-hotel/ – and please contact us if you have any other questions – [email protected]
]]>Other riders have used similar bikes in the past without issue. Make sure to bring spare shifter cables, especially if they are a proprietary type.
]]>Hi Joe, you are going to love the Odyssey. Be prepared for a hilly but gorgeous start in Greece. The Touchstone series is a good choice for this tour. Having a wide gear range for the climbs will be very helpful. Having spare disc brake pads will too. There are some steep grades on some of the climbs and descents. Whichever bike you choose, make sure you use a mountain bike style pedal and show so that you have tread for walking around off the bike and when you arrive to the hotel and need to carry your bag into the hotel – road shoes and pedals are not recommended. Reach out if you have any other questions. We are happy to help – [email protected]
]]>It really comes down to personal preference. We have a pretty even mix these days of riders with steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon frames these days. Spare parts availability (tires and tubes) is different in every country, but both are generally available, if there is a bike shop at all. And sometimes you can get lucky and borrow a tire or tube from one of the other riders on the tour.
]]>Hi Sally, The bike sounds good. We have replied to your other questions by email.
]]>About 15% is off-road. Some of the paved portions are in very good condition, but other parts can be in poor condition, with gravel patches and potholes etc. You should be able to fit a 45mm tire on your bike, at minimum.
]]>We suggest a MTB as some of the roads are quite rough, and most people would be happier with front suspension. However, if you can fit a 2″ / 50mm wide tire on your bike, then it would certainly be able to handle the tour.
]]>Hi Bo, While as a general rule we do not recommend carbon bikes for any of our tours, it is a personal choice and really up to you.
]]>Best regards
Bo Fagergren
Hi David, its a beautiful looking bike, but not ideal for our tours. It appears that the maximum tire clearance is around 30mm. For Madagascar (where road conditions vary greatly) you want to have a good and wide tire that is versatile on different road surfaces and also helps to absorb the vibrations and bumps of the road. We recommend 45 – 50mm tires for Madagascar. Titaniium is a nice light weigh material though more expensive to replace if stolen. We tend to recommend midrange aluminum or steal framed bikes.
You could check out the Kona Sutra line, Salsa and Surly bikes, as well as the Cannondale Topstone series and the Specialized Diverge bikes. Good luck and happy bike shopping, feel free to email us with any follow up questions.
]]>Thanks for the question Kathy – an important one indeed. I hope you are getting excited for the ride next year!!
Firstly, I think the advice in this blog is sound and the ideal size for Trans-Europa is 35-40mm tires. This will give you the versatility to ride on all types of roads. Did you find this had advantages when you had wider tires in 2017?
The first half of Trans-Europa is not necessarily flat, but the start in Estonia and the Baltic States are not mountainous and it does give you a bit of time to ease into the hillier portions in Poland, Slovakia and onwards. The road surfaces are mostly good paved roads but we do have on occasion a dirt or gravel road or bike path and sections of roadway under construction – so its good to be prepared for anything.
That being said, everyone is welcome to bring the bike (and tire size) they choose – these are just our recommendations from our many tours and years of experience. Everyone in the end has to make the best choices fr their situation and no one bike will be perfectly suited. If you are riding on narrower tires, just be prepared for less traction and stability on loose surfaces. Carbon rims are not ideal, as they are more prone to nicks and scratches when out in the elements and leaned up and piled at coffee stops.
]]>Hi Renata,
These are using two different systems of measurement. The 2.1 maximum size for your bike is in inches, while our 35/40 recommendation is in millimetres. The max for your bike in millimetres is around 53 – so 35 or 40 size tires will fit just fine.
]]>Have people used recumbent trikes on your tours before? I own a foldable Catrike 559 with Schwalbe Marathon plus tires. I have done many wonderful 3-day bike camping trips on gravel trails with it, but I do not know if it would be suitable for your tours.
]]>Hi Steve. Glad you are interested. The Schwalbe Marathon Supremes are pretty good. Not great on unpaved roads (which there are some on Bamboo). Maybe consider the Schwalbe Marathon Mondial or Plus. And pack a spare set that you could use if it starts wearing through quicker when you are fully loaded. We allow everyone to bring a spare set of tires that we store in our support vehicles. This is a great blog about touring tires… https://tdaglobalcycling.com/2020/08/the-best-tires-for-cycle-touring-schwalbe-marathon/
]]>Thanks, Steve
]]>Hi Neil, While we are expanding the number of e-bike friendly tours we offer, the Trans-Caucasus is not one of them.
]]>We have certainly had many titanium litespeeds on our tours. The risk of theft is generally low but this depends on how committed you are to keeping it locked up at night and within eye sight during the ride day. The other risk with expensive carbon and titanium bikes is damage to the frame that would be unrepairable during the tour. Lastly, scratched, scuffs, cracks are always possible when they are moved in and out of vehicles, or leaned up against railings or other bikes. That’s why sometimes its just nice to have a less expensive steel or aluminum bike you don’t have to worry about as much.
]]>Yes, please contact us for details on which trips are e-bike friendly.
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