The concept of bike touring is just as simple as it sounds: It’s the act of taking your bike on an extended trip, which can vary from a weekend spent crossing city limits or embarking on a weeklong tour that will cover hundreds of miles. It’s often likened to the backpacking of the biking world and can certainly include nights spent camping out under the stars. But what is a specialized touring bike? And what makes it so effective for this kind of exploring?
What is a specialized touring bike?
While most road or mountain bikes can be altered to handle such demands, a specialized touring bike will come equipped to climb steep hills, tackle long days of pedaling and even haul around camping gear—or a very well appointed picnic. Let’s get into the specifics—and dive into the features of Bluejay’s own touring bike, Bluejay Sport.
What are the features of a specialized touring bike?
A specialized touring bike might look pretty similar to your average road bike, at least to the untrained eye. While the shape of the frame might be similar, specialized touring bikes often feature a variety of handlebars—like butterfly bars, drop bars and flat bars—most of them placing the rider in an upright position. This allows for a comfortable pedaling experience, especially if you’re spending hours on the road or trail. The shape of the bars also offers plenty of options for hand placement, yet another comfort feature.
Specialized touring bikes can also be identified by their front and/or rear racks, designed to hold panniers and other types of cargo. With this additional load in mind, these cycles are designed with very specific geometry that allows them to remain stable when weight isn’t centered over the middle, as it would be if it was just you (and no extra baggage). Touring bike frames are often made of steel or aluminum, the former of which is great at absorbing bumps in the road and the latter of which is lighter and more aerodynamic. So, as you can see, it’s easy to choose a touring bike that meets your personal preferences for the most comfortable ride.
Finally, most touring bikes feature disc brakes, which provide much more braking power than rim brakes or V brakes. This is particularly important if you encounter inclement weather on your bike touring adventure, as disc brakes can hold their own through even a rain storm. The way these brakes are placed on the bike allows them to be sheltered from the elements a bit more, keeping them out of the way of falling rain drops.
Which Bluejay is a touring bike?
Bluejay’s newest bike model, Bluejay Sport, is an electric touring bike. It’s designed to tackle all the trekking, off-roading and city commuting your life requires—with even more power and more possibilities than a traditional touring bike. Plus, it looks good to, built with all of the retro-inspired design touches that Bluejay is known for.
Bluejay Sport is a class 3 e-bike has 5 levels of pedal assist and a 10-speed Shimano gear hub. As for max speeds, you’ll hit 28 MPH on this lightweight matte aluminum frame. The Bluejay Sport e-bike has an impressive 500W mid-drive motor that’s powered by a 48V battery, to provide 75 miles of exploring on a single charge.
For your most comfortable ride, this electric touring bike comes in two sizes: M (for 5’9” and under) and XL (for 5’10” and up). There’s also a slim sports saddle that’s super sleek but surprisingly cushy. The cross-country handlebars boast leather-covered ergonomic grips that look just as good as they feel. When it comes to safety, the Tektro hydraulic brakes have you covered, while the front and rear performance lights will keep your ride illuminated even during twilight hours.
For all of your touring gear, there’s a front and a back rack included on each Bluejay Sport. The back rack can carry up to 55 pounds, but whether you use it for lugging around a state-of-the-art tent or your adventure-loving toddler (in a bike seat, of course), is totally up to you.
Want to learn more about Bluejay Bikes? Visit our website here. We also offer plenty of info on how to maintain your bike and best practices for riders on our Owner’s Portal, found here.
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