Following an unspeakable amount of research, here’s my tabulated list of expedition-grade touring bikes being built and sold around the world, featuring bicycles from 43 manufacturers and makers in 9 countries on 3 continents.
The list is designed as a starting point for you to research suppliers of bicycles that have been designed not for short cycling holidays, nor as mainstream do-everything touring bikes, but for ultra-long-distance, heavily-loaded bicycle journeys in remote parts of the world on varied and challenging terrain.
In other words, this is a list of the very finest touring bikes in existence, designed for the most demanding cycling expeditions on Earth.
Any of them could take a rider round the planet. Most of them have.
There’s no clearly agreed-upon name for this category, so “expedition touring bike” is the one I’ve decided to use.
Why bother listing all of these touring bikes in one place and then coming back to update the list every year?
Simply because expedition touring bikes (and the accompanying specialist knowledge) can be hard to find in this ultra-tiny niche, and my goal with this blog is to help you get out riding on the right bike.
Expedition touring bikes rarely appear even in specialist touring bike shops and usually have to be specially ordered, often involving at least one in-person visit to a workshop, sometimes several.
Because so many of these bikes are built to order, the table is sorted by country of origin. Your ability to test-ride and get the bike properly fitted is critical at these prices and for this purpose, so where you’re based plays a big part in the expedition bike buying decision.
You’ll find columns comparing each bike on the main differences I’ve written about in detail in my touring bike FAQ series of posts, including wheel size, frame material, drivetrain type, braking system, etc. This means you can easily shortlist the bikes that fit your requirements without trawling specification charts. Some are available in different configurations, eg: derailleur and Rohloff models of the same bike, so I’ve mentioned this (and the difference in price) where appropriate.
Where there is more than one variant for a given bike, the price for the cheapest option is listed.
Country | Brand | Model | Frame | Wheels | Drivetrain | Braking | Bars | Price From | URL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | Vivente | The Gibb | Steel | 700C (28”) | Rohloff | Disc | Trekking | 6,000 AUD | viventebikes.com |
Austria | KTM | Life Ride | Aluminium | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Hydraulic disc | Flat | 1,000 EUR | ktm-bikes.at |
Canada | Panorama | Forillion | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 2,400 CAD | panoramacycles.com |
France | Alex Singer | Cyclo Camping | Steel | 650B | Various | Various | Various | Contact | cycles-alex-singer.fr |
France | Gilles Berthoud | Berthoud JM-19 | Steel | 650B | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | Contact | gillesberthoud.fr |
France | Rando Cycles | Globe-Trotter | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | V‑brakes | Flat | 2,000 EUR | rando-cycles.com |
Germany | Boettcher | Safari | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Flat | 1,350 EUR | boettcher-fahrraeder.de |
Germany | Idworx | Grandone Travel / All Rohler | Aluminium | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | Disc | Flat | 5,100 / 6,000 EUR | idworx-bikes.de |
Germany | Intec | M01 | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | Contact | intec-bikes.de |
Germany | Norwid | Spitzbergen | Steel | 26” | – | – | – | 1,200 EUR (frame) | norwid.de |
Germany | Patria | Terra | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | Hydraulic rim | Flat | 2,582 / 3,694 EUR | patria.net |
Germany | Poison | Morphin | Steel | 26” | Shimano Alfine | V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | 1,732 EUR | poison-bikes.de |
Germany | Rad-Spannerei | Hardo Wagner | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) | Derailleur / Rohloff | Various | Various | 950 EUR (frameset) | rad-spannerei.de |
Germany | Rotor | Reiserad | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) / 29” | Rohloff | V‑brakes / Disc | Various | Contact | rotorbikes.com/ |
Germany | Tout Terrain | Silkroad II | Steel | 26” / 27.5” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Disc | Various | 3,500 / 4,700 / 4,500 EUR | en.tout-terrain.de |
Germany | Utopia Velo | SilberMöwe | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | V‑brakes / hydraulic rim | Flat | 2,787 EUR | utopia-velo.de |
Germany | Velotraum | VK2 / VK3 | Steel | 26” / 27.5” | Derailleur | V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | 2,790 / 2,890 EUR | velotraum.de |
Germany | VSF | TX-800 / TX-1000 / TX-1200 | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Hydraulic rim / Disc | Flat | 2,600 / 4,800 / 5,600 EUR | fahrradmanufaktur.de |
Italy | Cinelli | Hobootleg | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Cantilever | Drop | 1,690 EUR | cinelli.it |
Netherlands | Avaghon | S28 | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Hydraulic rim / Hydraulic disc | Various | 2,910 / 4,010 / 4,710 EUR | avaghon.nl |
Netherlands | Koga | WorldTraveller | Aluminium | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Flat | 2,600 EUR | koga.com |
Netherlands | Santos | Travelmaster 2.6 / 2.8 | Aluminium | 26” / 700C (28”) | Rohloff | V‑brakes | Flat | 4,615 EUR | santosbikes.com |
Netherlands | SNEL | Steel Ride 26 / 28 | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) | Derailleur | V‑brakes | Flat | 2,000 EUR | snelfietsen.nl |
Switzerland | Aarios | Experience | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Flat | 3,460 / 5,300 EUR | aarios.ch |
Switzerland | MTB Cycletech | Papalagi Gi | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | Disc | Various | 3,600 EUR | mtbcycletech.com |
UK | Bob Jackson | World Tour | Steel | 700C (28”) | – | – | – | 645 GBP (frame) | bobjacksoncycles.co.uk |
UK | Condor | Heritage / Heritage Disc | Steel | 700C (28”) | – | V‑brakes / Disc | – | 1,000 / 1,100 GBP (frame) | condorcycles.com |
UK | Genesis | Tour de Fer 20 / 30 | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Flat / Drop | 1,800 / 2,200 GBP | genesisbikes.co.uk |
UK | Mercian Cycles | King Of Mercia | Steel | 700C (28”) | – | – | – | 1,340 GBP (frame) | merciancycles.co.uk |
UK | Oxford Bike Works | Expedition | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) | Derailleur | V‑brakes / Disc | Various | 2,790 / 3,000 GBP | oxfordbikeworks.co.uk |
UK | Ridgeback | Expedition | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | Disc | Flat | 1,350 GBP | ridgeback.co.uk |
UK | Spa Cycles | Steel Tourer | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | V‑brakes | Flat | 950 GBP | spacycles.co.uk |
UK | Stanforth | Kibo | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | Cantilever | Flat | 2,800 GBP | stanforthbikes.co.uk |
UK | Thorn | Nomad Mk3 | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | Disc | Various | 2,400 / 3,300 GBP | thorncycles.co.uk |
USA | Bilenky | Midlands | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Various | 3,047 / 4,927 USD (frame / complete) | bilenky.com |
USA | Bruce Gordon | Rock ‘n Road Tour | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | V‑brakes | Drop | Contact | bgcycles.com |
USA | Co-Motion | Pangaea | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Disc | Drop | 2,400 / 4,000 USD (frame / complete) | co-motion.com |
USA | Kona | Sutra | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 1,900 USD | konaworld.com |
USA | Rivendell Bicycle Works | Atlantis | Steel | 650B / 700C (28”) | Derailleur | V‑brakes | – | 1,750 USD (frame) | rivbike.com |
USA | Rodriguez | UTB | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Various | 3,400 USD | rodbikes.com |
USA | Salsa | Marrakesh | Steel | 700C (28”) / 29” | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 1,150 / 2,050 USD (frame / complete) | salsacycles.com |
USA | Surly | Disc Trucker | Steel | 26” / 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 2,050 USD | surlybikes.com |
USA | Trek | 520 | Steel | 700C (28”) | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 1,830 USD | trekbikes.com |
If these price tags make you feel physically sick, by the way, and you’re not afraid of putting in a bit of effort, you can probably get a touring bike for cheap or free. Check out the story of how my scrapyard-rescue touring bike made it all the way across Eurasia.
There are also plenty of mainstream touring bikes available at lower prices.
If you know of any expedition touring bikes that are missing from this list, let us know in the comments. Thanks!
Something to add?