Hi everyone,
I'm 17 and along with 3 friends hopefully we will be riding a 3 week tour of France next July/August. My question is what bike to use. I currently have a Cube Agree GTC SLC. A carbon race bike as well as a giant revolt 3 which is ALU and built for CX and touring. Last year I toured on the gai t with panniers and fairly bulky equipment. Next year I want to cut down the kit I'm carrying and use frame bags and saddlepacks. Could I ride my race bike (rated to 120kg, I'm 62kg) or should I go for the giant?

The giant would need ~£150 spent to get old stuff changed chain, brake pads etc. The cube would require the purchase of saddlepacks and frame bags etc. If told to use the giant I would use panniers instead to save the money spent on saddlepacks to get the bike up to scratch.

Any advice gladly welcomed

The cube would require the purchase of saddlepacks and frame bags etc.

I assume the race bike would too?

Have you got any more details? Lots of people have toured on lightweight race bikes but there's a lot of factors to consider -

Where are you actually going, will it be 100% tarmac? Will there be any alpine scale climbing?

How much kit are you willing / happy to leave behind?

What bikes is everyone else riding? No fun if everyones pace is wildly different.

Do you mind sacrificing some ride comfort for speed?

We have just finished six days' touring Brittany ( currently in St Malo awaiting the ferry tomorrow) and have been following "voies vertes" this directly translates as "green lanes" but a better translation would be "eco routes".

They are a mixture of quiet roads, old railway lines, canal tow paths and some paths and farm tracks. They are designed to be family friendly so no real technicalities and avoid busy roads where possible. Don't know how much of the rest of France is served by them though the one we finished on goes from Roscoff to Kiev!

We happened to be on rigid MTBs but the ideal bike would be a tourer with at least 32c tyres or a gravel bike.

We mainly stopped at camping municipale sites along with the occasional commercial site. Unfortunately France has also suffered at the wheels of the motor car and many villages are simply dormitories for the nearest town and all the facilities like patisseries and bars have closed down. Worth doing your homework on this.

We had tarps and bivvies as we'd set out to ride the French Divide but a lightweight tent shouldn't be much bigger especially if split between two. Some tourers we met had masses of kit, as in 100 litres or more but apart from a lightweight stove setup there's not much I missed. Many people were amazed at how little we had but I felt as if I'd too much. Different mindset I suppose.

The roads in France are generally pretty well surfaced so a road race bike will be fine as long as you don't load it too heavily. 5-6kg well distributed will be OK for the handling. Much more than that and it may depend on the specific bike design and how you have it set up. Useful thing to do is strap a few 2l bottles of water to it in the right places and see how it feels on a quick local ride. Personally I'd go for the CX bike but not so much so if it needs a lot of work doing.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

The cube would require the purchase of saddlepacks and frame bags etc.

I assume the race bike would too?

The cube is the race bike. The giant already has fittings for a rack an dpanniers which i have from my previous holiday.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Have you got any more details? Lots of people have toured on lightweight race bikes but there's a lot of factors to consider -

Where are you actually going, will it be 100% tarmac? Will there be any alpine scale climbing?

How much kit are you willing / happy to leave behind?

What bikes is everyone else riding? No fun if everyones pace is wildly different.

Do you mind sacrificing some ride comfort for speed?

We are hoping to do long distance. From roscoff to the pyrenees for a few days and then back up again. All in all about 3 weeks. It should be 100% tarmac, we certainly arent intending to do any singletrack. I am more than happy to take half a tent, sleep bag and mat, change of lcothes and washing essentials, thats about all i think. 2 of my friends will be on a road bike, the other a hybrid with suspension he can lock out. we are intending to do about 100km a day if not a little more so comfort isnt a massive requirement.

whitestone wrote:We have just finished six days' touring Brittany ( currently in St Malo awaiting the ferry tomorrow) and have been following "voies vertes" this directly translates as "green lanes" but a better translation would be "eco routes".

They are a mixture of quiet roads, old railway lines, canal tow paths and some paths and farm tracks. They are designed to be family friendly so no real technicalities and avoid busy roads where possible. Don't know how much of the rest of France is served by them though the one we finished on goes from Roscoff to Kiev!

We happened to be on rigid MTBs but the ideal bike would be a tourer with at least 32c tyres or a gravel bike.

We mainly stopped at camping municipale sites along with the occasional commercial site. Unfortunately France has also suffered at the wheels of the motor car and many villages are simply dormitories for the nearest town and all the facilities like patisseries and bars have closed down. Worth doing your homework on this.

We had tarps and bivvies as we'd set out to ride the French Divide but a lightweight tent shouldn't be much bigger especially if split between two. Some tourers we met had masses of kit, as in 100 litres or more but apart from a lightweight stove setup there's not much I missed. Many people were amazed at how little we had but I felt as if I'd too much. Different mindset I suppose.

Sounds very similar to what i did last year. We camped mainly at municipal sites. This year we hope to do the same, cook our own breakfast and just get sandwhiches for lunch. We will take a small stove for cooking pasta and other meals in the evening. I know that cycling on the busier roads can eb annoying but there were plenty of minor (C and D?) roads for us to use so we will stick to those i think.

Hi, I'm planning to bikepack from Cherbourg to Lourdes in August. Never used a Camp Municipal before do you have to pre- book for a pitch ?? Are French campsites accommodating if I just turn up with a one man tent ?.

The camping municipales vary from a bit of ground next to the village football pitch with no facilities to quite posh affairs. We never bothered pre-booking but if you were in very popular areas then it might be wise not to rely on them. There must be a website listing them all, not every village/town we passed through had them. Commercial campsites are similar to those in the UK with areas set aside for RVs needing electrical hook-ups, family camping, etc.

Thanks whitestone. I camped for the first time one night last year (Cherbourg to Mont St Michel )in a hedge/ field ,didn't get a wink of sleep ,alert at EVERY noise. Left tarp,sleeping bag and hammock in budget hotel in Coutance next morning .swore it would be hotels for me next time BUT I'm going to try again with a one man tent .Any advice on municipal/camping appreciated.

Just watch out for blokes lurking with bows, especially if they're called Henry.

yes paul 82, re-reading my post sounds like I need to get a pair ,but I'm guessing municipal camping is safer than wild camping ???

William II Time wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:51 am yes paul 82, re-reading my post sounds like I need to get a pair ,but I'm guessing municipal camping is safer than wild camping ???

Neither are particularly dangerous/risky. Remember that bivouacing is legal in France except in specified areas. As in the UK, arrive late, leave early and no-one would need know you'd ever been there.

Thanks very much , that's reassuring ,if push comes to shove will have to wildcamp, hoping its something that I can master as it opens up more travel/adventure

William II Time wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:51 am yes paul 82, re-reading my post sounds like I need to get a pair ,but I'm guessing municipal camping is safer than wild camping ???

It was a silly joke based on your user name: William II of England was shot in suspicious circumstances while hunting in the New Forest which led to his younger brother Henry gaining the throne. Nothing to do with natural concerns about camping in a foreign country, wild or otherwise, when you haven't done it before.

Thought that was pretty clever play on Username I do appreciate a good quip,pity you had to spell it out for moi