Has technology changed touring?

[mercalia]

digital cameras a great advance - even a lowly 5mpixel Kodak easyshare I use that cost me less than £10 from ebay does a v good job. The fm radio in my mobile phone - dont need a separate tranny any more. A bit of old tech but better than any of the current alternatives - I have an old pda that has a full Anquet UK mapping upto minor road and track details - I dont need to carry a paper map any more

[al_yrpal]

Technology definately has changed touring big time, and people seem to have identified most things. But… .theres some way to go…

I would like the top of my bar bag to be a big moving map. I would like to see my route on the screen like a Kindles screen in colour of course and to be able to zoom in to show hostelries and attractions that I am passing close by. Simply tapping on something should give me a short audio description. The map should be visible in bright sunlight, totally waterproof and the battery should last several days.

I would like a 1kg totally waterproof pop up tent that can be deployed in seconds.

I would like my touring bike to be rugged and stiff with comfortable puncture proof tyres, but to weigh no more than 10 kg.

I would like a pair of totally waterproof rear panniers that weigh no more than 1 kg and a warm sleeping bag that weighed no more than 500g but cost less than £100.

I would like a saddle that you can easily change the shape of to prevent saddle soreness.

I would like to see more selection of reasonably priced light technical clothing that doesnt make you look like a beleshia beacon or advertising hoarding.

I would like to see more quiet routes for pedestrians and cyclists where through traffic is banned and the only vehicles allowed are for residents that live on it or deliveries to them.

Anyone anything to add?

Al

[MarkF]

Digital cameras are great, although I seem to be the only person using them, not a phone, nowadays. ATM's are the best modern things for me, prior to them money issues were such a pain.

When I tour I don't take a phone, I don't want to "contactable" (turning one off does not solve this problem) and it's great. I only use paper maps, I like to spread them out at the end of the day, accompanied by several cold beers, see the big picture and think about where I may go, a small tablet/phone screen cannot replicate that, I don't need or want to be guided by GPS.

[mercalia]

if any of you follow tech , Microsoft I think it is will some time or other market a VR glasses or goggles that dont replace the real world like games do but project onto the world we live and move in like a Terminator view. Think of the possibilities this has for touring? What would people here want in their viewer finder?

[mercalia]

Are Garmin so good? see my Pocket Loox pda with Anquet standard map from c2004

I never carry a paper map any more

I'll be very sad when I cant get any batteries for it any more

Pocket Loox pda with Anquet map

[Sweep]

if any of you follow tech , Microsoft I think it is will some time or other market a VR glasses or goggles that dont replace the real world like games do but project onto the world we live and move in like a Terminator view. Think of the possibilities this has for touring? What would people here want in their viewer finder?

Nothing.

[tatanab]

if any of you follow tech , Microsoft I think it is will some time or other market a VR glasses or goggles that dont replace the real world like games do but project onto the world we live and move in like a Terminator view. Think of the possibilities this has for touring? What would people here want in their viewer finder?

A big and easy to locate OFF control for the 99% of the time I do not want VR. I'm serious. Some years ago I picked up a rental car with inbuilt satnav. It kept shouting at me to turn around. When I found somewhere to stop, it took me the best part of 10 minutes (even with the car handbook) to find the OFF control that was hidden deep in sub menus.

[Tangled Metal]

VR when cycling? Is that the equivalent to sight that music headphones are to hearing? Reducing the senses with overload? Debatable I know but what if it does distract you and there is an accident? No thanks and I hope they are not stupid enough to promote it for driving or cycling use. I'm bad enough with a speedo!

Technology is an aid that you can choose to use or not. If you don't like technology then gears should also be out. What is old hat now was new once even maps. Ruling out technology without looking into it or even trying it has the potential to be a mistake. It is your choice but I have tried a few newer technology and some fail some succeed for me. I got a power monkey explorer for a backpacking trip once. A little solar panel and external battery. Never worked and it was not compatible with the smart phone so would not charge it due to power issues. I do know own another external battery that does work and ditched the solar panel.

Mapping is one of those personal preferences. I have read numerous pointless threads about digital mapping/GPS and paper map with compass. They come across as a helmet thread to me. How can you really argue that one is better when it is preference that dictates which you use. the argument about batteries is false with charging options and external batteries. Issues about wet maps is similarly solvable. My preference is paper maps but I do prefer the waterproof tough OS maps or the harvey maps on plastic. I also like to carry a compass in the hills and even useful on longer rides. I will carry a simple GPS (or intent to if I buy one to replace an ancient GPS60) on tours in the future.

I always carry my smartphone, LG G2. It is part of my usual life which I never completely leave when on my bike. We all have families and friends to keep in touch with and the smartphone is needed for that.

I also wear the best outdoor clothing I can afford, that is technology that really aids comfort when on the bike. Plus camping gear is technology. Who would have thought sub 1kg tents 30 years ago?? Well Karrimor for one. Seriously, there was a guy who did a speed Munro tour in winter in the late 70s or early 80s with a sub 1kg Karrimor tent. He made the cover of The Great Outdoors magazine too. However sub600g was not possible back then as a full 2 skin tent. Stove tech that allows gas to be used at lower and lower temps and greater efficiency such as radiant heat technology in the MSR reactor stoves.

Advances in bike dynamos, gears (durability and performance), brakes, etc. I can not see how you can say technology has not changed touring. Even the bike itself as a tech that has changed touring from being on foot or horse or whatever. Technology has changed our whole life so definitely touring.

I just wonder what will change next with touring? What is the next big thing??

[DarkNewt]

I am sitting here just finished building my new touring bike and I read this post and smiled, I have:

1. Samsung Galaxy S6 in a bikeconsole waterproof smartphone mount with backup battery (to stay in touch)
2. Garming Touring Plus GPS (So I get where I am going)
3. Biologic Reecharge and shimano front dynamo hub (pedal power)
4. Garmin Virb Action Camera (to record my adventures)
5. An HP Elite Pad as a pc (for writing my blog, uploading pics staying in touch)
6. A 4 port plug in USB charger (i can charge several devices in whatever cafe/pub i stop for a drink in)
7. A 10,000 mah battery backup (for when I really need it)
8. Waterproof Camera (for taking photos in the rain lol)
9. MP3 Player + Portable Speaker (because I like music)
10. Olympus Dicataphone, I can make notes very quickly without scrambling for a notepad and it lets me free flow my thoughts.

I DID DRAW THE LINE AT AN ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH

This lot is because I will be leaving on my bike for nearly 4 months!

So yes technology has changed touring, in the same way it has changed driving, flying etc... the good thing is if you don't want the tech you don't take it I love to hear of people still taking paper maps with them and doing it old school, but for me I like my tech - probably because technology is how I earn my living.

Also re: the GPS v's Map argument: My personal thoughts are this, for my tour the maps would weigh far more than my GPS, the GPS saves me time constantly stopping to read the map. Also yes GPS can run out of battery, but that has happened to me far less than a map being misread or being rendered into a soggy useless mess)

[pjclinch]

Biggest difference for us is before we set off, because planning is a lot easier with the Interweb to help.
On the bike itself I don't have so much as a speedo/mileometer and I'm in no great hurry to change that, but access to info when we want it is nice to have.

Pete.

[DarkNewt]

I just wonder what will change next with touring? What is the next big thing??

I think the next big revolution is going to see more and more electric bikes, things like the copenhagen wheel, for those unable to pedal long distances it will give them an in. i wouldn't consider that tech now, but I am really happy that at the back of my head it may enable me to keep going for that little bit longer when I am older or if injured. I spoke to a friend who tells me of someone with a degenerative muscle condition that means he just can't cope with hills but still goes out on group rides and kicks in the wheel when he hits a hill, MARVELOUS TECH for him!

I have even had a discussion about is it ok to have an electric wheel that purely relies on regenerative breaking to power it - is that cheating or just making the most out of your own pedal power.... ohhh I feel a heated discussion thread

[Dudley Manlove]

My first tour was only about 7 years ago, but in that time I've got my first smart phone, joined facebook, etc. The smart phone made on the hoof research realatively easy. It's still slow as browsing goes, so I only tend to use it when I have to. Facebook and social media - well that has a corrupting influence on all walks of life. It is very easy to make choices that are blogworthy or for some facebook attention rather than what you might do otherwise without an audience. My last long tour I wasn't on there, but I bet if I was I'd have spent rather more time staging photos than just getting on with it.

[DarkNewt]

I have avoided facebook/twitter in favour of my own blog which is more for me really although people are always telling me to get onto facebook.... I like blogs and forums not bought into the whole social media thing as I have seen the dark side of it all working in education and having left a few forums because of very nasty individuals.

[horizon]

The really amazing thing is that new technology has completely and utterly let us down. The greatest benefit that technology could have conferred on cycle touring is the huge diminution in working hours that would have allowed everyone if they so wished to go touring - the Great Leisure Time revolution. It was promised but never happened. Compare that to the universal adoption of the two week holiday early in the last century - that was a technological revolution as much as a social one.

So how much time has technology freed up for touring? Not a lot as far I can see. Cycle touring, obviously, is a time consumptive activity - technology cannot shorten it. Personally I would give up every piece of new technology for the freedom to have few weeks' extra time to tour.

Flying has changed people's horizons and yes, you can fit a trip to Australia into your annual holiday now. Using Google to plan a trip saves a little time. But two weeks is still two weeks and then it's back to the grindstone.

Cycle touring by its nature tends to eshew technology beyond the bike itself - that's the idea. And all those gadgets don't really detract from that (even though I don't use them). But they cannot really enhance it either: cycle touring needs time, serendipity, an open mind, some physical resilience, a sense of wonder and a feeling of joy. Technology could have released us to be able to experience more of that (even with paper maps) but instead it chained us to our work and held out as compensation some new toys to use on a short break. Give me an extra week over GPS any day.

[Bicycler]

The flip side has been the way that our expectations have changed in line with that technology. Once upon a time you just upped and left with what you had. Now it's too easy to spend months on the internet researching and to come away with the view that you need x bike with y kit and need to wear z clothes. You can easily come to the conclusion that you can't afford to go touring, that your bike isn't up to it, your tent is too heavy and your clothes are unsuitable. I understand that cycling is a minority pastime for enthusiasts who like to have good quality kit. That's all well and good but it risks deterring people by making them think that it is necessary to spend £££ on cycling stuff to go touring. That's why it is good when occasionally someone pops the marketing/enthusiast bubble to show you that you really don't need anything more than a bike and a desire to tour: http://tomsbiketrip.com/you-dont-need-a ... rob-maria/