A touring bike makes the perfect vehicle for escaping modern life, allowing you to take to the back roads for slow-paced exploring. While touring bikes used to have a classic, narrow road tyre build with rim brakes, as with almost all bikes, there are now options with modern specs with wider tyres, disc brakes and lower gears that allow you to take on mixed surfaces or just spin fully-laden up steeper climbs.
Whether it’s rolling down country lanes with your camping gear stuffed in a pair of traditional panniers, or heading into the wild laden with ultralight bikepacking kit, a touring bike was the original long distance load lugger, long before trendy bikepacking came on the scene. Tough and happy to transport heavy loads, touring bikes are also great for commuting when you’re forced to return to civilisation.
Traditionally, touring bikes all sprang from a remarkably similar mould: steel frame and fork, upright riding position, basic groupset with a triple crankset, sturdy tyres, mudguards, rim brakes and one or more racks. Now the variety of designs, price-points and components can be bewildering. But fear not – if you’re in the market for a new touring bike, we’re here to help.
The first step is to decide what you want to do with your prospective new bike. Will you be sticking to the tarmac or venturing off-road? Do you demand speed or would you rather prioritise stability? How much stuff will you be carrying and how do you want to carry it?
The second step is deciding how much money you’re willing to spend. Some bikes come fully equipped with racks and mudguards, while some arrive with no extras included or just as a frameset, so it’s important to figure this into your budget too if applicable.
Once you’ve decided what you want from your bike and how much you can spend comes the fun bit.
Below Cyclist recommends some of the best touring bikes on the market, with prices ranging from around £1,000 to over £4,000. Depending on your needs and budget, each of them has plenty to recommend it if you’re looking to bag yourself the best touring bike for your needs.
If you’re looking for something more explicitly aimed at leaving tarmac, don’t miss our guide to the best gravel bikes – there’s some overlap between the genres, but this guide focusses on the more traditional touring bikes.
Cyclist’s pick of the best touring bikes
- Ribble Endurance 725 Disc: From £1,599
- Marin Lombard 1: RRP £995
- Cube Hyde Pro FE: RRP £1,199
- Condor Heritage Disc: RRP £1,149 (frameset)
- Ridgeback Voyage: RRP £1,350
- Giant Toughroad SLR 2: RRP £1,299
- Thorn Nomad: From £3,500
- Bombtrack Beyond 1: RRP £2021
- Kona Sutra: RRP £1,599
- Genesis Tour de Fer 20: RRP £1,500
- Surly Disc Trucker: RRP £2,400
- Stanforth Conway: From £3,750
- Tout Terrain Silkroad II 275: From €5,249
Why you should trust Cyclist’s advice
Full disclosure: we’ve yet to ride any of the bikes on this list. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t know what to look for in a quality bike for loaded rides over long distances. We spend our lives riding and writing about bikes and understand what makes for a comfortable, reliable, quality ride.
Our review team, led by Tech Editor Sam Challis, isn’t averse to a touch of touring either, as witnessed by writer Emma’s 2,000km-plus trip to Tunisia (she’s seen climbing the Gotthard Pass above).
The best touring bikes
Ribble Endurance 725 Disc
From £1,599 | Buy here
- Steel frame with carbon fork and mudguard mounts
- Choice of configuration via Ribble bike builder
The Ribble 725 is made using Reynolds steel, with a carbon fork. The base spec is equipped with Shimano Tiagra, mechanical disc brakes, Mavic Aksium wheels and finishing kit from Ribble’s in-house Level brand. Ribble’s bike builder makes it easy to choose your own spec though and you can add mudguards and other accessories.
The geometry is comfortable for long, loaded rides, but also sporty enough for faster, lighter multiday outings. The external cable runs with outers to the bottom bracket offer weather resistance with easy maintenance when needed if you have a mechanical on your tour.
Marin Lombard 1
RRP £995 | Buy here
- 9-speed Shimano Sora groupset with subcompact chainset and mechanical disc brakes
- Wide 40mm tyres for comfort
For light touring duties, the Marin Lombard 1 offers an alloy frame and fork with internal cable routing and robust wheels equipped with 40mm Vee Tire G-Sports rubber for comfort or to take in rough or unpaved roads.
There’s enough gear range from the 9-speed Shimano Sora groupset to get up climbs while fully laden, thanks to an 11-34t cassette paired with a 48/32t subcompact Marin chainset. Mechanical disc brakes come from Tektro, for reliable all-weather stopping and there are mounts for a rear rack and mudguards, although you’ll need to factor these into the total price when setting up for touring. Marin has painted the Lombard with reflective paint, so long hauls with early starts and late finishes are safer.
Condor Heritage Disc
£1,149.99 (frameset only) | Buy here
- Steel frame and fork
- Customisable spec to your requirements
Touring bikes are uniquely suited to being custom-built, allowing you to tailor the bike to your quirks and the needs of your expedition schedule. As such, Condor’s steel touring frame makes a great starting point.
Made of Columbus Spirit steel and with a Tange fork, it’s classic looking, yet a lightweight construction and 37mm tyre clearance with mudguards fitted and disc brake fittings mean it’s also up to date. Geometry is stable but not sluggish, while modern touches like the third down tube bottle cage mount and sloping top tube keep it user-friendly.
Cube Hyde Pro FE
£1,199 | Buy here
- Aluminium frame and fork
- Fully specced with mudguards, lights, rack and kickstand
An upright tourer, or a practical commuter? The Cube Hyde Pro FE easily fulfils both briefs. All the key markers of touring ability are present and correct, including puncture-resistant Schwalbe Big Apple 55mm tyres and hydraulic brakes, plus a finishing kit that includes mudguards, rack, kickstand and dynamo lights. Another bonus is the low maintenance Gates belt drive with Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub gears.
With an aluminium frame, it’s light compared to many steel bikes, while the broad tyres and upright ride position ensure it remains comfy for the long haul. With integrated cables, the whole package also looks pleasingly neat, with plenty of space up-front for a bar bag. Its price is very competitive for the spec on offer too.
Ridgeback Voyage
£1,350 | Buy here
- Reynolds steel frame and steel fork
- Rear rack, mudguards and wide-range 27-speed gearing
With its Reynolds 520 steel tubeset at an entry-level price, both the Ridgeback Voyage’s build kit and frame come from the classic school of touring bike design. With 32c Kenda Kwest tyres and mudguards it’s most at home on tarmac, or well-graded tracks.
Despite being heavier than aluminium, the steel frame should last a lifetime while adding strength and comfort. The Shimano Sora derailleur offers nine speeds, with a triple chainset increasing the available low gears. Mini V-brakes provide the stopping – perhaps the one chink in the Voyage’s touring armour.
Giant Toughroad SLR 2
RRP £1,299 | Buy here
- Wide-range 2×9-speed gearing
- 50mm tyres for off-road action
Stretching the definition of what constitutes a touring bike, the Giant Toughroad will transport you and your gear over everything from tarmac, through gravel, and onto the trails beyond.
Sporting mountain bike-style 50mm tyres, the Giant is suited to rough going, but with 700c wheels it’s also able to accept slimmer models, meaning it’s easily adaptable to more sedate use.
In either guise, its flat handlebar will put you in a comfy position where you’ll be ready to respond to obstacles on the road or trail, while the D-Fuse seatpost evens out bumps before they impact your bottom.
With an aluminium frame and carbon fork, it’s light, while there are the mounts for a front and rear rack and mudguards to set yourself up for touring.
Thorn Nomad
From £3,500 | Buy here
- 26 inch wheels can be configured for road or off-road trekking
- Claimed 40kg load capacity
Perfectly accessorised with a map holder and sandals, the Thorn Nomad Mk 2 is a practical tourer’s moderately saucy dream. With 26-inch wheels, it’s strong, manoeuvrable and easily serviced in even the most far-flung spots. Thorn says you can load it up with up to 60kg of stuff. It’s in the process of replacement with the Mk3, which offers even more options including 700c or 650b wheels, derailleurs or a Rohloff gear hub and disc or rim brakes.
Available in eight sizes mixing different top tube and seat tube lengths it’s possible to get a comfortable fit regardless of your proportions. Fully customisable, it may look dorky, but the Nomad has been well proven all across the globe. A touring classic.
Bombtrack Beyond 1
£2020.68 | Buy here
- Wide tyres and gear range for off-road adventures
- Geometry tuned for long rides
A radical and very modern touring bike, the Bombtrack Beyond 1 is ready to venture far from the beaten track. Mountain bike-width tyres, massively broad gearing and great flared handlebars mean it excels when the going gets rough.
With a low slung frame, it’s easy to chuck around. This is paired with a high front end to reduce stress on arms and back when spending hours in the saddle.
With mudguard, rack and three bottle mounts, it’ll take traditional panniers or bikepacking bags. There are even fixings to directly attach a snack box to the top tube.
Kona Sutra
RRP £1,599 | Buy here
- Mixed spec groupset provides wide range gearing
- Complete with rack and mudguards
Fully specced with a Shimano Deore drivetrain with a triple chainset and 11-36t 10-speed cassette and complete with old school bar-end shifters and TRP mechanical/hydraulic brakes, the Kona Sutra’s configuration provides a robust, wide-range set-up. There are enough mounting points on the frame and fork to bolt pretty much whatever you like to the bike and set off into the unknown.
Supplied with a rear rack and mudguards, the rest of the finishing kit is quality too, from the 40c Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tyres and WTB rims to the wide flared bars and gorgeous Brooks leather saddle.
Genesis Tour de Fer 20
£1,500 | Buy here
- Steel frame and fork
- Racks and mudguards included
Equipped and ready for adventure, as a complete package, the Genesis Tour de Fer 20 is unbeatable value. Stacked with quality extras, the front and rear racks, Shimano Claris groupset and mechanical disc brakes will serve for either commuting or longer tours. Upgrade to the Tour de Fer 40 and you get an upgraded Shimano Tiagra groupset and dynamo lighting too.
Hung off a reliable and ultra-comfy disc-equipped Reynolds 725 steel frame, the complete bike rolls on tough 36 spoke wheels. Happy to be laden down, the 700x40c Vittoria Randonneur Tech tyres are as indestructible as you’ll find, while stopping them flinging spray at the rider are full-length mudguards with mudflaps.
Surly Disc Trucker
£2,400 | Buy here
- Low maintenance, easily available components
- Adaptable frame allows multiple drivetrain configurations
The popular Surly Long Haul Trucker is a classic, robust, upright touring bike and this disc brake-equipped version improves stopping, lowers maintenance and boosts rider confidence when transporting heavy loads.
The no-nonsense steel frame uses only the most common and durable fitting standards, meaning the parts bolted to it are both long-lasting and easy to replace if you find yourself somewhere remote. There’s even a holster to carry spare spokes built into the frame.
Ultra-adaptable it’s available with 700c or 26in wheels, and can be converted to use Rohloff hub gearing and fitted with an internally routed dynamo hub.
Stanforth Conway
£3.750 | Buy here
- Designed for fast touring
- Shimano 105 spec with TRP Spyre mechanical disc brakes
The traditional looks of the Reynolds 853 steel Stanforth Conway belie its speedy nature. Made for pace over distance, it’ll accommodate panniers, but is happier being loaded more minimally than some packhorse-style tourers.
Built to a stock geometry in the UK, it has bosses for racks at both ends along with mudguards. Paired with plentiful tyre clearance, it’s a versatile machine, yet retains an emphasis on fast riding.
its gearing and finishing kit can be adapted as needed when ordering, but as standard it comes with a Shimano 105 50/34t double chainset and wide 11-34t cassette. You can even spec Dura-Ace bar-end shifters if you prefer these to the new-fangled STIs.
The bike’s name comes from it being created in collaboration with adventurer Sean Conway, who used it to claim the record for cycling across Europe. You can read about his exploits here.
Tout Terrain Silkroad II 275
€5,349 | Buy here
- Gates belt drive/Rohloff hub gearing
- Lights and brazed-on rear rack
From deep in the wilderness comes Tout Terrain. This dedicated touring manufacturer from Germany creates all kinds of fabulous bikes. Its popular Silkroad model blends indestructible 26-inch wheels with an equally robust Dedacciai steel frame which includes a built-in rear rack.
Able to be run with a Rohloff hub and Gates Carbon belt drive for minimal maintenance, disc brakes mean it’ll keep rolling even if the wheels get bent out of shape.
It comes in a whole pallet of custom colour options, and is fully customisable.
More into bikepacking? Read our guide to the best gravel bikes for more load-lugging options.
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