rugerben

Ahh, yes. I love having a bike like that.
This is my bike that fits exactly that purpose. It's an early 90's (93ish) GT Talera.

bigwoo

Well, it has all gone out the window for me....

I love vintage rigid Stumpies more than just about anybody, but today I came across a Reynolds lugged Trek 830, the 1st year for this model......

Hmmm... Me thinks that a lugged Trek made in "The Barn" in WI trumps a Mid School Stumpy.... Thoughts?

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Again, I think that the key for a great MTB touring rig is to find an oversized frame and cut back on the stem length... That is working GREAT for me.... I think that fully loaded w/ some sweet Riv Mustache bars and a lugged stem would be ultimate, and a Brooks, and a re-paint, and I finally have a great use for my Suntour Bar-End shifters....

I can totally envision this sweet piece of 1984 history looking fine....

j. hughes

Looks awesome. Is it about an 84? Similar styling (and condition) to my 84 520. I'd love to find an older Trek MTB like that or an older stumpy. So far I've just got an older Ross mtb from about the same era that is doing pseudo touring/commuting duty. You're right about stem length too. A little shorter and a little higher.

bigwoo

You nailed it J Hughes.... The serial places it at 1984... The components are all dated 1983.....

DVC45

My "tourer/commuter" on the cheap.

mixtemaniac

nice lookin' trek. I'd love to find an 80s lugged MTB to turn into a commuter.

DVC45

Thanks! They show up on my local CL for <$150 most times. I got lucky, I only paid $30 for this one.

ebr898

Yep, I have been working on the perfect bike for some time. I have to admit I like the work'n at it as much as the riding. Here are a few and one future:

cs1

For the cool factor maybe yes. But then again why not buy an early 82-86 lugged Stumpy. I've got a nice 86 that I'm deciding on whether to mod or restore.

bigwoo

CS1,
The early lugged Stumpies are getting very difficult to find here in CO........When you do find one in the size you're looking for the price is thru the roof.....Rockies and all......
A lot of guys have recently gotten hip to the wonderful things you can do w/ a vintage steel MTB...

The things that struck me as special about this Trek -vs- any of my vintage Stumpy's is that it has a slightly shorter top tube than one would expect and a whopping 19" set of chainstays which would allow me to have some seriously loaded racks far to the back and out of my heels' way...

It's also virtually impossible to find an '84 Trek MTB in these parts anymore....

I think that to be fair to both of these classics, I'm going to have to do a mini/unbiased weekend tour on each and see which one ends up feeling better or putting a bigger smile on my face. Just what Mrs Bigwoo wants to see, more junky old bikes.....

mkael

Long toptubes on old mtbs is something new for me. It hadn't caught my attention. I did that with one bike have. It's drawback for touring are the short chainstays. It caused heel clearence issues. So things get as far back as possible , which causes weird cg and handling. No problems but just weird.

BrentDev

I have a 830 I picked up at a garage sale for $30(!!!!) that I am doing this to for my commuter in Japan. Although your comments on sizing have me worries. It's a 57, but I usually ride a 60 roadie. But so had riding it on the road it feels ok. Hopefully it isn't too small for med-distance commuting (less than 5 miles one way) Its a CrMo frame and onle Alivo components, but should be fine for the price.

Question: what is a good recommended tire for commuting (so wet and dry) on pavement for 26 in wheels? Was hoping to get something in the 1.4-1.5 range.

Thanks! Off for a morning ride in San Diego on a borrowed bike (out here ok biz).

bigwoo

BrentDev,
I think that you are going to be just fine with it as a commuter..... Don't panic about what some of us like for upsizing. That's a weird quirck that some of us have for riding very long distances and it doesn't apply to short commutes....

RE: a good tire, I will let one of these guys refer you to a good semi/city slick as I'm still researching them myself....

robatsu

Here is a Marin Pine Mountain that I set up for commuting/day trips about 8 years ago (pic is from about 1 year ago):



It did the job, and I rode it pretty regularly for a couple of seasons. But I found that I preferred a drop bar road bike modified with a similar end use in mind.

rugerben

Hey, you guys with drop bars on your MTB's (yes ebr898 and dvc45, I'm looking at you), do you find the geometry to be off?

I really like the look of your bikes, and I am thinking of putting drops on my GT that I posted above. I think that would really be awesome. But I can't help but worry that it's really built for an upright position and that using drops would make it feel funny.

Also, what brake levers do you recommend? I have cantilever brakes, and I've heard that some levers might not work well. Is this just an urban myth?

ebr898

The Geometry on the 1988-89 Trek 800 series ( I think the 900 also) is very close to the Riv Saluki/Belroit. The differance appears to me to be the wheel size and bottom bracket hight, of corse these are related due to the smaller wheel size on the mt bikes.
I have done one conversion with a 1997 Rockhopper to dirtdrop style bars ( Origin8 gary bars). I liked it but the top tube was just two long for me on the 19 in frame.
The Trek 820 I have is one of the sweetest (smooth & comfy) rides I have ever had. What is interesting is that I have had trekking bars on it before and it was just as comfortable. I of corse had to change stems to dial in the hand placement.

rugerben

sooo....it's not as easy as just sliding in the handlebars from my parts bin, hooking up road brake leavers, and popping in some barcons? Darn.

I hope the top tube is the right length for me to do it without having to change stem. I think I have a 20" or possibly 21" frame, and I'm 5'11.5" I usually ride a 57cm road bike frame. I'll have to check this out.

damn. But I've got one of those funky stems where the front brake cable routes through the stem. How can I replace the stem for that?

illwafer

aw man. i'm super jealous of that large trek mtb frame. nice score. i'm 6'4", and i've got the biggest marin eldridge frame made, and i gotta extend the posts/stems like crazy. however, i will say it is very light and smooth.

edit: forgot to say that bars like wald, mary, and north road can give you some good relaxed positions while still keeping your mtb levers as they are smaller diameter than mustache bars.

sykerocker 

The MTB to long-haul tourer is a wonderful idea. I did mine a couple of years ago and have found it to work excellently. About the only complaint with the concept is that putting the Bianchi against my Magneet 15-speed road bike tourer is that the Magneet is faster. I can do the 21 mile commute to work in about 15 minutes faster on the Magneet.



Then again, the Magneet is set up for two rear panniers, one handlebar bag, and the top of the carrier for strapping my camping gear. The Bianchi handles four panniers, has space for a large saddle bag in place of the current wedge, and has a lot more room on the carrier for strapdowns. So, I can either tour fast, or tour heavy.

The Bianchi is also the better urban bike - it's currently garaged in my office for lunch time errand running.

ebr898

No but it is pretty close, as said by Ilwafer there are bars that will allow you to not have to change your stem. I have found that the old mt stems that are set up for the cable pass thru, are too wide to allow a drop bar or mustache bar to go through. They make , or you will find in about any parts bin, a cable guide/stop that mounts in your headset as a spacer and allows you to change stems and have a stop for cantilivers.

Grim

Did it as well with a 89 M400 Cannondale. Put 1100+ miles on it last year. Only bummers was long top tube and gearing. Just too low for the road. I was all the time running out of top end. If I hadn't found the T700 I would go 26/36/48 cranks, possibly drops with a even shorter stem then the 90mm I had on it with the trekking bars.

DVC45

No problem with handling at all. Its like ridding a roady with traditional (non-sloping) top tube. I'm using Tekro levers and a Specialized handle bar (winged). The shifters are Suntour downtube shifters mated to a bar end adaptor pod from Rivendell.
I'm 5'6", so the small 18" frame fits me just fine. The more I ride it, the more I'm liking it compared to my Japan made Paramount, which has a longish reach compared to the Trek 900.

DVC45

Its canti brakes so your brake levers should work okay. Handle bar has a 25.4 clamp diameter. You should be set. Post pics when you are done.

rugerben

ebr and DVC- thanks guys. I hope to have the conversion done within a month, and I'll post pics when I do.

bigwoo

Syke,
You did a great job on that Bianchi! That is how I'm going to set the Trek up, except I'm going to run a lugged quill stem
w/ Riv Mustache bars and bar-end shifters.... I think that I also found a sweeeet pair of XL SKS fenders that will work great. Looking for good bottle cages right now....