Following a ludicrous amount of research (by humans, not robots), I present to you a detailed spreadsheet of ultra-heavy-duty touring bikes being built and sold around the world, featuring bicycles from 44 builders in 9 countries on 3 continents, and links to each bike’s official webpage.
The bikes in this list are not designed for short cycling holidays, nor for casual local bike tours (though they’d be fine for these kinds of cycle tour too).
No: they’ve been designed specifically for extremely long, fully-loaded, self-sufficient bicycle journeys through remote parts of the world on challenging terrain over periods of time measured in years.
In other words, these are the most hardcore touring bikes in existence, designed for the most demanding cycling adventures possible (on Earth, anyway).
Any of these bikes could take a rider round the planet – and most of them already have.
Incidentally, why would I bother listing all these world touring bikes in one place (and then coming back to update the list every year)?
Simply because such bikes (and the accompanying specialist knowledge) can be hard to find in this tiny niche, and my goal with this blog is to help you get out riding on the right bike. Other bloggers will make you pay to download a PDF file containing a similar list of bikes. This one is free.
Many of these bikes are built to order. That’s why the spreadsheet is ordered by country of origin (though many bikes in the list are distributed internationally).
Heavy-duty, round-the-world-capable demonstration touring bikes are rarely on display even in specialist touring bike shops. Ordering, building and fitting them often involves weeks or months, and at least one in-person visit to a workshop (or at least it should!). Your participation in this process is critical at these prices and for this purpose, so where you and your bike builder are based plays an important part in the buying decision.
In the table below, you’ll also find the key specifications I’ve written about in my touring bike FAQ, including wheel size, frame material, drivetrain type, braking system, handlebar style, etc. This means you can easily shortlist the bikes that fit your requirements without trawling individual specification charts.
Some bikes are available in different configurations, eg: derailleur and Rohloff models, or flat- and drop-bar variants. Where differently-priced variations of the same bike exist, the price for the cheapest model is listed.
And away we go…
Country | Brand | Model | Frame | Wheels | Drivetrain | Braking | Bars | Price From | URL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | Vivente | The Gibb | Steel | 700C | Rohloff + Gates | Disc | Trekking | 6,000 AUD | viventebikes.com |
Canada | Panorama | Forillion | Steel | 700C | 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 | The Cyclo-Camper | Steel | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | 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 | Bombtrack | Arise Tour | Steel | 650B / 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 2,750 EUR | bombtrack.com |
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 | Paripa S.U.V. | Steel | 650B / 700C | – | – | – | 990 EUR (frameset) | rad-spannerei.de |
Germany | Rotor | Reiserad | Steel | 26” / 700C / 29” | Rohloff | V‑brakes / Disc | Various | Contact | rotorbikes.com/ |
Germany | Tout Terrain | Silkroad | Steel | 27.5” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Disc | Various | 3,500+ EUR | en.tout-terrain.de |
Germany | Utopia Velo | Möwe | Steel | 26” | Derailleur | V‑brakes / hydraulic rim | Flat | 2,959+ EUR | utopia-velo.de |
Germany | Velotraum | VK2 / VK3 | Steel | 26” / 27.5” | Derailleur | V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | 2,790+ EUR | velotraum.de |
Germany | VSF | TX-800 / TX-1000 / TX-1200 | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Hydraulic rim / Disc | Flat | 2,600+ EUR | fahrradmanufaktur.de |
Italy | Cinelli | Hobootleg | Steel | 700C | Derailleur | Cantilever | Drop | 1,700 EUR | cinelli.it |
Netherlands | Avaghon | S28 | Steel | 700C | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Hydraulic rim / Hydraulic disc | Various | 2,910+ EUR | avaghon.nl |
Netherlands | Koga | WorldTraveller | Aluminium | 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Flat | 2,750+ EUR | koga.com |
Netherlands | Santos | Travelmaster | Aluminium | 26” / 700C | Rohloff / Pinion | V‑brakes | Flat / Disc | 4,615+ EUR | santosbikes.com |
Netherlands | SNEL | Steel Ride | Steel | 26” / 700C / 29″ | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | 2,000+ EUR | snelfietsen.nl |
Switzerland | Aarios | Experience | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Flat | 3,460+ EUR | aarios.ch |
Switzerland | MTB Cycletech | Papalagi | Steel | 26” | Derailleur / Rohloff / Pinion | Disc | Flat | 3,200+ EUR | mtbcycletech.com |
UK | Bob Jackson | World Tour | Steel | 700C | – | – | – | Contact | bobjacksoncycles.co.uk |
UK | Condor | Heritage / Heritage Disc | Steel | 700C | – | V‑brakes / Disc | – | 1,100+ GBP (frame) | condorcycles.com |
UK | Genesis | Tour de Fer | Steel | 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Flat / Drop | 1,800 + GBP | genesisbikes.co.uk |
UK | Mercian Cycles | King Of Mercia | Steel | 700C | – | – | – | 1,340+ GBP (frame) | merciancycles.co.uk |
UK | Oxford Bike Works | Expedition | Steel | 26” / 700C | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes / Disc | Custom | 2,790+ 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 | Derailleur | V‑brakes | Flat | 1,050 GBP | spacycles.co.uk |
UK | Stanforth | Kibo | Steel | 26” / 650B / 700C | Derailleur | Cantilever / V‑brakes / Disc | Flat | 3,000+ GBP | stanforthbikes.co.uk |
UK | Thorn | Nomad Mk3 | Steel | 26” / 650B / 700C | Derailleur / Rohloff | Disc | Custom | 2,400+ GBP | thorncycles.co.uk |
UK | Woodrup | Chimera BD / Rohloff Tour | Steel | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom | Contact | woodrupcycles.com |
USA | Bilenky | Midlands | Steel | 26” / 700C | 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 + Gates / Pinion + Gates | Disc | Drop | 2,600 / 4,200+ USD (frame / complete) | co-motion.com |
USA | Kona | Sutra | Steel | 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 2,100 USD | konaworld.com |
USA | Rivendell Bicycle Works | Atlantis | Steel | 650B / 700C | Derailleur | V‑brakes | – | 1,750 USD (frame) | rivbike.com |
USA | Rodriguez | UTB | Steel | 26” / 700C | Derailleur / Rohloff | V‑brakes | Various | 4,000+ USD | rodbikes.com |
USA | Salsa | Marrakesh | Steel | 700C / 29” | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 1,150 / 2,050 USD (frame / complete) | salsacycles.com |
USA | Surly | Disc Trucker | Steel | 26” / 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 2,000 USD | surlybikes.com |
USA | Trek | 520 | Steel | 700C | Derailleur | Disc | Drop | 1,830 USD | trekbikes.com |
If these price tags make you feel a bit 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 commercial touring bikes available at lower prices.
If you know of any world touring bikes that are missing from this list, let us know in the comments. Thanks!
Something to add?