If you already own a bicycle (a road or mountain bicycle perhaps), but you are unsure as to whether or not that bicycle is capable of handling the demands of the specific type of bicycle touring you wish to conduct, please leave a comment below describing your situation.

In your comment, please tell me:

• What type of bicycle you currently have (Make, model, year and condition).
• What type of bicycle tour you are planning to conduct (There are 5 major types of bicycle tours. See this article for more information).
• Where in the world you are planning to go on your bicycle tour.
• How much gear you plan to carry on your travels.
• Whether or not you plan to camp or cook your own food while you are on tour.
• And what type of road conditions you will be covering on your bike tour (For example: paved roads, gravel fire roads, rocky single-track trails, etc.)

After leaving your comment below, I will reply at my earliest possible convenience with an opinion as to whether or not the bicycle you currently have can be used on your upcoming bicycle tour or whether you need to purchase a touring-specific bicycle that is better designed for the type of bicycle tour that you have in mind.

For additional assistance, please see: The Essential Guide To Touring Bicycles

It’s official! I’ve completed step number one of the planning process for my upcoming trip to Europe. I’ve booked my airline tickets and my plans for yet another bicycle touring adventure have suddenly become a reality.

Since I am currently planning an 8+month bicycle touring expedition through Europe later this year, I thought it would be good to share with you not only my adventures from the road, but everything that goes into planning and preparing for a long trip such as this.

My goal in sharing this information, of course, is to help you plan and prepare for your own cycle touring expeditions. While you may not have the desire to go to the same locations that I plan to visit on my upcoming tour, you can take a similar approach when planning and preparing for your own cycle touring adventures – wherever they may be.

Today I thought I would share with you the steps I’ve taken up until this point in time in order to take my idea for a third European bicycle tour and turn it into a reality.

Sound good? Great! Then here we go…

The first step I took when planning this trip to Europe was figuring out which areas I wanted to visit. I decided early on that I wanted to return to Switzerland, so I booked a tour with European tour company, Bike Switzerland, and by doing so, committed to being in the Swiss Alps by the 10th of July, 2012.

Having the dates for the Bike Switzerland tour set in stone enabled me to work backwards and figure out what I would be doing in the months prior to arriving in Geneva for the start of the tour.

Working backwards, I decided that I would not leave my home in Park City, Utah USA until the beginning of May, as I am currently a season pass holder at the Deer Valley ski resort and want to remain in the area until the end of the ski season.

This meant that I now had a potential start date for my international travels (the first of May – the end of my ski season) and a future date (the 10th of July) in which I would need to be in Geneva, Switzerland for the start of the guided bike tour with Bike Switzerland. Between these two dates I realized I had just over two months of free time in which I would need to figure out where I would like to go and what I would like to do.

I decided right away that I wanted to go to Iceland. It is a place that I’ve been wanting to visit for quite some time, so I knew right off the bat that this was going to be one of my first destinations.The fact that Iceland is on the way to Europe also made it easy for me to decide that Iceland would be the starting location for my European travels.

From Iceland, I still needed to get to Switzerland, but I didn’t want to fly straight from Iceland to Geneva. There is a lot of stuff in between the two locations that I have never seen before, and since had the time, I wanted to schedule a few weeks to travel to these areas. Therfore, I decided that after leaving Iceland, I would travel to London, England and then to Amsterdam.

At the beginning of July is the start of the Tour de France and since I would be in the area around the first of July, I figured it would be pretty awesome to follow the Tour for a few days and check out the most famous bike race in the world for myself.

To make a long story short, I created a schedule for my travels that looks a little something like this:

• May 3 – May 28, 2012:   Iceland
  

• May 29 – June 10, 2012:  London, England

• June 11 – June 21, 2012:  Amsterdam, Netherlands
  

• June 30 – July 9, 2012:  Tour de France
  

• July 10 – July 20, 2012:  Bike Switzerland Bike Tour
  

With approximately three months of travel plans laid out, I decided it was time to book my ticket and make this thing a reality.

I did a quick search of the web for cheap airline tickets, but resorted to one of my favorite international airfare websites, Vayama.com, for my inexpensive one-way ticket to Reykjavik, Iceland and the connecting one-way ticket 25 days later to London, England. It was of little surprise that the cheapest tickets to Iceland were with the nation’s IcelandAir.

Before buying my tickets with the company, however, I checked the IcelandAir website to see what their policy and prices were for flying with a bicycle, as I will most likely be bringing my own bicycle with me to Europe.

A quick search of the website revealed that bicycles could be transported with IcelandAir and that they would be treated as one of my two checked bags for a small additional fee of $40 USD per direction. Taking my own advice, I printed out the airline’s policy in regards to bicycles and then purchased my two one-way tickets.

At the moment, I have no idea where I am going to go in Iceland or what exactly I am going to do there. All I know is that I have scheduled myself approximately 25 days on the island and I’ll figure out the details a bit later.

In fact, the only things I know at this point are that I am going to be in Iceland for 25 days and after that I will fly into London. Again, I don’t know exactly what I will do in London or how long I will stay there. All I know at this point in time is that by the 10th of July I need to be in Geneva, Switzerland for the start of my guided bike tour with Bike Switzerland.

This is usually how all of my long-distance bicycle tours begin. I pick a few destinations that I really want to see and experience, and as the trip goes closer, I fill in all the gaps.

The hardest part (deciding to go on a bicycle tour at all), however, has been taken care of. This European bicycle tour is happening! I’ve booked my tickets; I know when I’m leaving; and I now have a few dates to work from as I start to slowly fill in the gaps.

Photo by Mark Winterbourne Photography

Have you ever thought about making your bicycle tour more than just a trip by bike by turning your two-wheeled adventure into a theme-based experience?

Theme-based bicycle tours are a fun and interesting way to both travel the world and get others excited about your own adventures.

For example:

• In 2005 I cycled down the Pacific Coast of the United States and stopped to skate at nearly every single skateboard park along the way.

• In 2011, 24-year-old Darren O’Donnell rode his bicycle around the USA and visited every professional baseball stadium.

• And now, Diana June (aka Indiana June) is conducting a long-distance bicycle tour where her online readers get to vote and decide where she heads next through an “Indian Jones” type poll on her website.

These are just three examples of theme-based bicycle tours where a trip by bike has been combined with another fun and interesting activity, experience, or destination.

But you don’t have to be a skateboarder, baseball fan, or Internet junkie in order to conduct a theme-based bike tour. There are tons of other things out there to mix with your bicycle travels.

For example:

• You might cycle to all the amusement parks in the world.

• Ride your bike to and fish in every one of your country’s largest lakes.

• Use your bike tour as a chance to study astronomy, learn to identify constellations, and teach others about the cosmos.

• Cycle to the place where your grandparents were born and raised and research the history of your own family while you are there.

• Travel by bike to every Apple store in China.

• Ride your bike along the length of the Thailand and go surfing at all the great surf spots along the way.

• And any number of additional such ideas.

There are a ton of different ways to combine your bicycle touring adventures with other fun, exciting, and educational experiences. But now it’s your turn to decide how you are going to turn your bicycle tour into more than just a trip by bike.

Leave a comment below and let me know how you might turn your bike tour into a theme-based bicycle touring experience!

Photo by Ray_from_LA

But even though winter is nearly here, that doesn’t mean the month of November is a bad month for cycling. In fact, November is actually one of the best months out of the year for bicycle riders who are looking for a great deal on a new bicycle, cycling apparel, panniers, or related gear and equipment.

Readers of The Essential Guide To Touring Bicycles will know that November is one of the best times to purchase a new touring bicycle and other cycling equipment because it is during this time of year that many cycling shops are either closing down entirely for the winter season or are transitioning from their summer products (bicycles) to their winter products (skis and snowboards). If you can find a touring bicycle (or any bicycle for that matter) at your local bike shop during the month of November, you can usually get it for hundreds of dollars off its regular asking price.

While November may not be the most pleasant month for outdoor cycling, it is a great time of year to purchase top-quality bicycles and cycling-related gear for a fraction of its normal price!

Just look at some of the deals currently taking place right now…

All Ortlieb Panniers

25% Off @ REI.com Until November 28, 2011 (with REI membership)

Shimano MT33L Cycling Shoes

Save $20 @ REI.com until November 28, 2011  (with REI membership)

All Kinetic Bicycle Trainers

20% Off @ REI.com until November 28, 2011 (with REI membership)

Fox Flux Bicycle Helmet

35% Off @ HuckNRoll.com and Amazon.com

Contour GPS HD Video Camera

$60 Off @ REI.com until November 28, 2011 (with REI membership)

MSR Pocket Rocket Stove

$10 Off @ REI.com until November 28, 2011 (with REI membership)

Fox Digit Gloves

45% Off @ HuckNRoll.com

Petzl Tikka XP 2 LED Headlamp

Regularly $54.95. On sale for $41.99 @ REI.com until November 28, 2011 (with REI membership)

All of these questions will be answered in this long, but detailed article… so just keep reading… or scroll down below to the area that interests you the most.

What Is A Bicycle Trainer?

A bicycle trainer (or a “trainer” as they are sometimes called) is a piece of equipment that makes it possible for you to ride your bicycle from a stationary position. Very much like treadmills allow you to run in place, bicycle trainers allow you to cycle in place. But unlike a treadmill, a trainer is not an entirely separate piece of gym equipment. Instead, it is a device that attaches to your regular bicycle so that you can ride your bike in a stationary position.

There are two main ways that bicycle trainers are used.

1. They are used by cyclists who wish to warm up or cool down before or after a bicycle race or competition.
2. And even more common, they are used by athletes of all different skill levels so they can ride their bikes inside when the weather conditions are less than ideal, when time is of the essence, or when the cyclist wishes to participate in other activities (such as watching TV, reading a book, or checking his or her email).

On a personal note: Just about every cyclist in the city where I live (including myself) has a bicycle trainer in his or her home. When a big snow storm moves in, you can become trapped in your home for days, and being able to exercise on a bicycle trainer is a great way to stay in shape and not let the passing storm get the best of you.

What Kind Of Bicycle Trainers Are There?

There are a number of different types of bicycle trainers and each type operates in a different way.

There are, however, two major types of bicycle trainers, with several sub-types underneath these two.

In the photo above, the cyclist on the left is riding a bike positioned on top of a roller bicycle trainer. To the rider’s left (our right) is a bicycle mounted on a mechanical bicycle trainer.

The two major types of bicycle trainers you will see are:

1. Roller Bike Trainers (Or “Rollers”)
2. Mechanical Resistance Bike Trainers

Roller Bike Trainers

Roller Bike Trainers are the most simply-designed bike trainers you will see, as they consist of nothing but a set of rollers that you ride your bike on top of. With rollers there is nothing to hold your bike vertical, so you must maintain your own balance while on the rollers… and as you might suspect, the learning curve on rollers does take some time. When first learning how to use roller bike trainers, it is helpful to have something to hold on to so that you are less likely to ride off the sides of the rollers or fall to the ground while learning to balance.

Shown here: Minoura Action Roller Advance Wide Bicycle Trainer

The Benefits of Roller Bike Trainers:

• They are usually the least expensive type of bicycle trainers you can buy.
• They provide a more realistic cycling experience because you have to maintain your balance, just as you would on a normal bike ride.
• The fact that you can shift your torso from side to side, like you would when on your regular bike, makes it feel like you aren’t riding in place, but that you are out there on the road.

The Drawbacks of Roller Bike Trainers:

• Learning how to balance and ride on rollers takes some time – even for experienced cyclists.
• The rollers themselves provide no resistance to your bicycle. The only way to increase your resistance on the rollers is to shift gears.
• Rollers can not be used with knobby mountain bike tires. They are designed only for road and flat, touring style tires.

Mechanical Resistance Bicycle Trainers

The second major type of bicycle trainer is what is known as a Mechanical Resistance Bicycle Trainer. It get its name because this type of bike trainer uses a mechanism of some kind to resist the motion of the wheels… and it has a frame that holds your rear wheel in a vertical position (making it easier to balance).

The resistance mechanism on these types of trainers come in 3 major sub-types: wind, magnetic, and fluid. I’ll talk about each of these sub-types in just a moment.

Shown here: Elite Real Power CT Indoor Bicycle Trainer

The Benefits of Mechanical Bike Trainers:

• Because there is a frame to hold your rear wheel in place, keeping your balance on a mechanical bike trainer is a piece of cake.
• They are relatively small (in comparison to Rollers) and won’t take up a lot of space in your home, basement or garage.

The Drawbacks of Mechanical Bike Trainers:

• They tend to cost more than Roller Bike Trainers. And depending on which of the three sub-types you get, the costs can escalate even higher.
• Because the rear wheel is locked in place by the frame of the roller, you don’t get that back and forth “road-like” feel that you get on Roller Bike Trainers.

The Three Main Types Of Mechanical Bicycle Trainers

When it comes to Mechanical Bicycle Trainers, there are three main types that you will run across: Wind, Magnetic, and Fluid – each of which operates in a slightly different fashion.

Wind Bicycle Trainers:

Shown here: CycleOps Wind Indoor Bicycle Trainer

Generally the least expensive of all the mechanical bicycle trainers, a wind bicycle trainer creates resistance by having the cyclist power a circular fan that blows air onto the wheel.

Because these types of trainers are relatively primitive in their design, they are inexpensive, less-likely to break that some of the more complicated bicycle trainers, and they provide a relatively road-like ride.

The major drawbacks of wind bike trainers, however, are that they 1) create an incredible amount of noise… and 2) because the resistance to the wheel is created by wind and wind alone, the resistance is not as high as some cyclists would prefer.

Magnetic Bicycle Trainers:

Shown here: Graber Mag Indoor Bicycle Trainer

A magnetic bicycle trainer functions with the use of a magnetic flywheel on the back of the device. The magnetic pull that this device creates causes resistance to your bicycle’s rear wheel and by adjusting this resistance, you can make the bicycle easier or more difficult to ride.

The benefits of magnetic bicycle trainers are that they are nearly silent to operate (which makes them ideal if you plan to ride your bike while watching TV or making phone calls), but the drawback is that only a certain amount of resistance can be added before the trainer is prone to break.

Fluid Bicycle Trainers:

Shown here: CycleOps Fluid 2 Indoor Bicycle Trainer

Finally, there are fluid bicycle trainers. Fluid bike trainers are the most complex of the bicycle trainers you will likely run across and because of this, they are more prone to breakage that the types we’ve discussed previously.

Fluid bicycle trains function as a sort of hybrid between magnetic bicycle trainers and a totally separate type of trainer that creates friction with the use of liquid resistance chambers.

The major benefit of a fluid bike trainer is that as you begin to pedal faster and faster, the resistance to the rear wheel begins to progressively increase. This road-like feel is what many cyclists working on a bicycle trainer want to feel, but fluid bicycle trainers do have their drawbacks. Mainly the fact that over time the trainer is prone to overheat, expand, and begin to leak.

Other Types Of Bicycle Trainers:

There are a number of other types of bicycle trainers as well.

There are centrifugal trainers, which like fluid trainers, get progressively more resistance as you increase your speed.

There are special “virtual reality” bike trainers, which are hooked up to electronic video game-type systems that measure the cyclist’s speed, cadence, and other such measurements while at the same time placing the cyclist in a virtual world of some kind via the use of video screens, audio projections, etc.

And there are number other types of trainers in existence.

But for the most part, we’ve covered all the major types of bicycle trainers in this article.

Now the big question is…

Do You Really Need A Bicycle Trainer?

Well, that depends.

It depends on you, your goals for the future, the type of cycling that you do, and how you plan to use your trainer.

As I mentioned at the top of this article, I own a bicycle trainer myself and I use it mainly to ride inside on days when I’m trapped inside due to bad weather or when I simply want to get a workout in and I don’t have the time to actually go on a long, drawn-out ride.

If your goals are similar, then a bicycle trainer might be great for you!

When it comes to whether or not you really need a bicycle trainer, I can’t make that call.

For most cyclists, the use of a trainer may not be entirely necessary. But for cyclists who are serious about what they do, are training for an upcoming race or tour, or simply want a way to ride their bike when the weather outside is less than perfect, then at least giving a bicycle trainer a try is a great idea.

Like I said before: I can’t tell you whether or not you NEED a bicycle trainer. But I’m willing to bet that there are more than a few people reading this article who have experience with bicycle trainers of various types and could weigh in on this subject.

So, if you have a bicycle trainer… or you’ve had a bicycle trainer in the past… and you’d like to answer this question as to whether or not you think bicycle trainers are a valuable asset, then please leave a comment at the end of this article. I’d really like to get your feedback… and I’m sure others who are considering the use of a bicycle trainer would like to hear from you as well.

Which Type Of Bicycle Trainer Is Best?

Just like I can’t confidently tell you whether or not you should buy a bicycle trainer for yourself, I can’t confidently tell you which of the hundreds of bicycle trainers currently on the market is the best.

My opinion, after trying out and reaching dozens of different trainers for myself, is that price is usually a good indication of just how good a bicycle trainer you are getting.

Inexpensive trainers are often times very loud, prone to breakage, and/or in need or repair. While the more expensive bicycle trainers are quiet(er), prove a road-like feel, and will last you a very long time.

Tell me what you think: Just like I asked for feedback from experienced bicycle trainer cyclists in the heading above… I’d like to get your feedback here as well.

If you are currently riding on a bicycle trainer of any kind… or you’ve used a bicycle trainer in the past… what kind of trainer did you have (name and trainer type)? And would you recommend the trainer to other cyclists looking to buy a trainer for themselves?

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you with an answer just as soon as I can. Or maybe, just maybe, another cyclist here at Bicycle Touring Pro with extensive trainer experience will weigh in and answer your question as well.

Thanks for reading… and happy cycling!

Photos by Phil Roeder and K. Steudel.