Raleigh will celebrate 125 years in the bicycle business in 2012, making them one of oldest and best known bicycle manufacturers on the planet. The 1940′s version of the post-war Raleigh Clubman was a bicycle used for all manner of riding – from multi-day tours to road racing and time trials. Today, the modern Clubman has changed remarkably little. With its current geometry, Reynolds 520 steel frame, and distinct fork shape intact, Raleigh has worked hard over the years to maintain many of the bicycle’s original characteristics, while at the same time combining it with the modern components one would expect in a quality commuter, sport touring, or long-distance bicycle.

As its name suggests, the Clubman is an excellent bike for commuting and club rides, but can also be used to handle the demands of short and long-distance bicycle touring. While the retro characteristics of the Clubman may not appeal to everyone, those who appreciate the bike’s classic styling will feel that the Raleigh Clubman not only gets them where they need to go, but does so with some old school speed and fashion.

Frame & Components

The Clubman is built on a steel frame, which means comfort and flexibility on long-rides, as well as the rigidity and strength that is needed when you load up the bike with a decent amount of gear. The bicycle’s frame also has several steel braze-ons. It’s got a pump peg, chain holder, and the mounts needed for attaching a rear rack. There’s also front and rear fender mounts, two pairs of bottle cage bosses, and a drilled chainstay bridge.

Up-to-date components like Shimano’s latest 2×10-speed Tiagra transmission with a 50/34 crank set and 12-30 rear cassette will surely be appreciated for their deft shiftability.

While the Clubman can be used for various types of cycling, the most recent models of the bike tend to be more oriented toward speed and racing. However, the Clubman is really an all-rounder, Audax, randonneur, fast tourer, or whatever you want to call it kind of bicycle. It has a 39½”/1,000-and-odd millimeters wheelbase, 72° head angle allied to an almost 2″/50mm fork rake, clearance for 28mm tires and mudguards, with caliper brakes and all the eyelets you could wish for. The bicycle even comes with a Brooks leather saddle!

Attaching a rear rack to the Clubman is a breeze, but equipping the bicycle with a front rack is much more difficult, as there are no braze-ons in the front fork for your typical front rack mounting.

The Raleigh Clubman does, however, comes with pedals and toe clips, which will fit most people just fine, but will need to be replaced by people with larger shoe sizes. In fact, the pedals and clips, while very much appreciated, are usually replaced in a short amount of time by most serious Clubman owners.

Two other items that may soon need replacing are the bicycle’s handlebar tape (which seems to rip and fade rather quickly) and the bicycle’s two tires, which are more suited for local commuting than they are for long-distance touring.

Finally, the wheels that come with the bike can handle a fair amount of riding, but they aren’t the highest quality wheels in the world and may need replacing after only a few thousand miles.

Purchasing & Costs

The suggested retail price of the Raleigh Clubman is about $1,100 USD. You’ll need to contact a Raleigh dealer in your area to test drive, purchase, or special order your new bike. If, however, you can find this bicycle for sale at the end of the touring season, you can usually grab it for a hundred or more dollars less. The price of the bicycle, therefore, makes it one of the more affordable lightweight touring bikes on the market.

At around 24 pounds the Clubman rides fast and handles like a racing bike, but can put up with the weight you might add to any other touring bicycle. For those who like to ride fast and light, the Clubman is the ideal bicycle. While the gearing isn’t there for strenuous uphill sections, stronger cyclists can usually remain in the seated position until a 16% grade, with anything steeper than that requiring a standing struggle or an embarrassing uphill walk.

The Clubman’s steel frame gives the bike some bend, which can be a little nerve-racking at first. However, it is this flex in the frame that soaks up the smaller bumps in the road and provides you with the comfort you need on longer rides. Going down large hills, the bike handles like a dream and is incredibly stable. The Clubman likes to go fast and that is exactly what you can expect to do with it!

The best and worst thing about the Raleigh Clubman is the compact Shimano Tiagra 50/34 crank set. You’re likely to develop a love/hate relationship with this choice in gearing. While the high gears are very much appreciated on flat and downhill sections, climbing can be a struggle. But once you reach the top of the pass, you’ll forget all about the pain your just endured and will be glad you’re still riding your Clubman.

Clubman Conclusion

The Raleigh Clubman is a superbly useful, uber-cool, daily rider which comfortably gets you to your destination with both speed and style. For the price, the Raleigh Clubman might just be the perfect fast commuter. While the bicycle’s components could be a bit stronger, at the end of the day, the Clubman has a superb riding frame with decent parts and enough style to get you a regular admiring glances.

The Clubman is a great bike for people who like to travel fast and light and prefer to ride without three main chain-rings. Getting rid of that small ring, however, means that you’ll need to be in good shape to get the most out of the Clubman. And if you aren’t in shape now, you’ll get in good shape after a few weeks on this bicycle.

Overall, the Raleigh Clubman is a 7 out of 10 as a touring bicycle and a 9 out of 10 and a daily commuter.

About The Author: Jason Cazier works in California and likes to take long vacations to wild places around the world. Jason’s first long-distance bicycle tour was a 2,500 mile ride across New Zealand on a Raleigh Clubman. He is now planning his next bicycle touring adventure.

Got a question or comment about this bicycle? Leave a message below and let’s talk some more!

Winter cyclists not only need special types of clothing for their cold weather bike rides, but they need to understand how their various layers of clothing are meant to overlap and inter-work with each other. This video demonstrates one technique for dressing for the bike in cold-weather winter conditions. The clothing system detailed in this video will allow you to cycle in temperatures that range from 32 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to -40 degrees Celsius).

Got any other hints, tips, or suggestions for riding your bicycle during the cold winter months? Leave a comment below!

After traveling for more than three years across North America, South America and Southeast Asia, Tim and Cindie Travis have self-published three separate books about their bicycle touring adventures.

Their first book, The Road That Has No End, is about the couple’s decision to leave home and their first few months on the road. This book is the Travis’ most interesting in my opinion.

Their second book, Down The Road In South America, is a good account of their travels in this particular region of the world, but lacks some of the life-changing magic that their first book contained.

Finally, Down The Road In Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, is the third, latest, and (possibly) final book in the series, and I found it to be short, simple, and targeted largely at arm-chair travelers.

Down The Road In Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam is by far the shortest of the couple’s three books. While the paperback copy of the text is actually 228 pages long (also available on the Kindle), many of these pages are padded with large black and white photographs, over-sized text and additional information that many readers won’t want or need (such as a list of the equipment used on their travels, photos of the couple’s bikes and gear, etc).

I’m not the fastest reader in the world, but the brevity of this book allowed me to breeze through it all in three short sittings. After reading the book, I know that Tim and Cindie spend several months in this corner of the world, but the length of the text made it seem as though they may have only been there for a couple weeks.

Like all of the books in the “Down The Road” series, this third book about the couple’s travels in Southeast Asia is equally easy to read. In my review of their first book, The Road That Has No End, I stated that “the book is so simple and so down to earth, however, I often times thought it may have been written for a small child or possibly an elderly grandparent.” The same can be said for the second and third books as well. The writing is so elementary that, while I know some people will appreciate the ease with which the book can be devoured, I found the tone of the writing to be somewhat offensive – as though I were stupid and knew nothing about the world.

I’m sure, of course, that Tim and Cindie didn’t mean for the book to come across this way, but instead wanted to make the text appeal to those who know very little about the world and have possibly never traveled for themselves. I, however, read for the challenge, inspiration and to learn something new… and this book was lacking in those three departments.

While Down The Road In Thailand, Cambodia And Vietnam is certainly short and easy to read, there were a few stories sprinkled throughout the text that I did enjoy. The couple’s encounters with hotel thieves, street people, and crazy Asian traffic was exciting to read about. The rest of it, however, felt a bit dry and devoid of flavor.

In the end, the Travis’ third book about their cycle touring adventures is a good short, but not super memorable.

My Overall Rating: 6 Out Of 10

Learn more about this book at: Amazon.com

On June 30, I’ll be traveling to Liege, Belgium for the start of the 2012 Tour de France bicycle race. For the first week of the race or so, I will follow the Tour in person, camping alongside the race route each night and cheering for the riders as they whiz past each day at break-neck speeds.

While I am doing all this, I want to create a short documentary film about the spectators – the people who follow the Tour de France in person.

When the Tour de France comes around each year, there are thousands of people who camp along the race route each night and either follow the Tour from start to finish or a come out to glimpse just a small part of the race for themselves. I want to create a short film about these people… but I need your help!

If you or someone you know is planning to follow the Tour de France in person this year, I would love it if you got in touch with me.

I am trying to find a small group of people that I can follow around for the first eight or nine days of this year’s Tour de France and document every aspect of their lives – from where they sleep each night to what they eat and who they are rooting for in the Tour itself.

If you or someone you know is planning to follow the Tour de France this year and you would be interested in being in a short documentary about the experience, please get in touch with me right away! You can get in touch with me by leaving a comment at the bottom of this article or by filling out the contact form on this page.

I’ve been wanting to experience Iceland for myself for several years now… and I’ll be getting that chance this coming May!

On May 4th, I land in Iceland with my friend and college roommate, Brandon Roesler, and together we will cycle approximately 800 miles around Iceland over a period of 24 days.

24 days may seem like a lot of time to see such a small country, but bicycle touring is a slow endeavor and we plan to do more than just rack up the miles while in the country.

Above you will see a map of the approximate route we plan to take around Iceland on our bicycles… and a more in-depth breakdown of this route can be found below.

Fly Into Keflavik International Airport

We fly into Iceland on the morning of May 4th. After we land, we’ll assemble our bicycles and take off toward Reykjavik. It is a short 30 mile ride from the airport to Iceland’s capital, so that’s probably all we’ll do on day number one.

Stock Up In Reykjavik – The Capital

We’ll spend a day or two in Reykjavik – both exploring the city and stocking up on food and supplies for our venture into the wilderness. While in Reykjavik, we’ll also be participating in a short one-day bicycle tour with Reykjavik Bike Tours.

Explore Our Surroundings At Thingvellir National Park

We’ll then cycle north toward Thingvellir National Park. Most of the campgrounds in Iceland don’t open until May 15th or later, so we’ll have to fend for ourselves and camp in the wild without access to toilets, showers, or any modern amenities.

Marvel At The Geyser in Geysir

Then we’ll ride a short distance further north-east to Geysir, the location of Iceland’s most famous hot-water geyser.

Off-Road It To Friðland Að Fjalllabaki

After Geysir we begin a long and beautiful off-road ride toward an incredibly scenic and remote area of Iceland known as Friðland Að Fjalllabaki. We plan to spend several nights camping in this isolated region of the country before continuing south and hitting up with the Ring Road.

Roll Onto the Ring Road At Kirkjubaejarklaustur

The Ring Road is the 832 mile (1,339 km) road that runs around the perimeter of Iceland. We had originally thought of cycling all the way around this road while we were in the country, but decided that doing so would prevent us from seeing some of Iceland’s more isolated regions.

Camp On The Edge Of The Vatnajokull Glacier

Traveling north on the Ring Road, we will cycle our way to the base of the Vatnajokull Glacier and camp out for a day or two in the Skaftafell National Park. During our time here we will explore the nearby glacier and take in the beauty of the sea.

Head West On The Ring Road

Then we’ll jump back on the Ring Road once again and head south, back in the direction we previously came from, and continue past the village of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, back towards Vestmannaeyjabær, Pörsmörk, and Selfoss. We’ll then cycle back through Reykjavik and continue cycling north towards the Snaefellnes Peninsula.

Cycle Along The Snaefellnes Peninsula

It will take us about three days of heavy cycling to reach the peninsula, but once we get there we will be able to take in some of Iceland’s most beautiful beach-side landscapes. I’m hoping to see some puffins and other native wildlife as well!

Soak It All In At Snaefellsjoekull National Park

Then we’ll finish the trip with a quick cycle around the Snaefellsjokull Glacier, before turning around and heading back to Reykjavik and the airport at Keflavik. At this point, Brandon will fly home, back to the United States, and I will continue on the United Kingdom and mainland Europe after that.

Note: This route around Iceland isn’t necessarily set in stone, and I’m sure that our travel plans will change a bit once we land in the country. But hopefully this gives you a general sense of where we plan to go during our 24 days in the country, and the type of scenery we expect to encounter along the way.

What do you think of the route we have planned? Do you have any suggestions on what else we should see and do while we are there? Leave a comment below if you have a question or a comment.

Photos by dumbledad, pocius, axelkr, exfordy, Land Rover Our Planet, giam, o palsson, benfff85, gladas_f, benfff85