First post

[jargo432]

Great site!!!!

Been riding for a while now and have rekindled an old dream of riding my bike across the country. (as a kid while on vacation met 3 people camping in Yellowstone that were going cross country)

Going to have lots and lots of dumb questions so thanks in advance.

[painkiller]

welcome, sounds great. Do you have a bike? or are planning on building or modifying an existing bicycle. This is one of my go anywhere bikes. 1994 Univega 5.1, lots of sweet upgrades on this one.

[daniel1988]

Ahh wow that's a Nice bike man, how many gears?

[painkiller]

(08-30-2014, 09:50 AM)daniel1988 Wrote:  Ahh wow that's a Nice bike man, how many gears?

21 speed, DeoreXT equipped. Purchased used for $60 and built to suit.

[jargo432]

Wow, Nice bike

Right now I'm riding a Trek 3500 mountain bike. Most of my trips as of now are dirt/gravel roads, but I'm really wanting to move up to a touring bike. My bike shop (Ft Worth Cycles) said they would fit me to the right size of a Trek 520. I thought I'd stick with a Trek since they have been making the 520 for so long.

[nfmisso]

The 520 is a great bike. The 520 of today, is very different from the 520 of 20 years ago. Sounds like you have a respectably large budget. Remember that the bike is only about one half of your equipment cost for touring. Racks, panniers, lights, tool kit, pump, spares, etc add up fast.

You may also want to check in on the discussions here: http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/