On the Road

Long-distance cyclists spend hours on the roadside arguing over what kind of bike is best, and no definitive rule exists. Touring bikes with solid frames are a good compromise, but if you are doing all of your route on tarmac, just an old-style racer is fine.

Mountain bikes are excellent, particularly if you are going off tarmac roads – indeed, for long periods of off-road work, anything else eventually tends to break and, although you suffer more tyre drag on a mountain bike than a tourer or racer, it might be a better way to go if you’re not in a tearing hurry.

Another argument is alloy frame or steel. The alloy lobby argues that their frames are stronger and lighter, but the steel frame fans rightly say that you can easily find a welder to weld up a steel frame if it breaks. You have to be doing some fairly hard-core riding, with very heavy weights on bad roads, however, to break modern bikes, which are very strong.

It’s best to buy a reputable brand of bike, but it doesn’t need to be excessively fancy. Things like suspension and other gadgets are just more complications that can and will eventually go wrong. Treks across Asia have been done on second-hand Saracens, Treks and GTs with no trouble.

One thing to bear in mind though is that you’ll need lots of gears if you’re going through hilly territory. That bottom gear on a 21-speed mountain bike might seem excessive on your streets at home, but put 15 kilos in your luggage, and ride up a dirt road in Nepal, with your lungs giving you half your normal puff and you’ll thank the salesman who talked you into it.

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