safariofthemind

Nothing wrong with this bike for touring... If you are doing loaded touring the weight of the bike as a percent of the total bike+rider+load is not such a big issue with this type of use. Make sure you have good gearing (low gear in the 20 to 25 gear inch range) and have nice reliable components and you are golden. Also make sure you have slick/road tires. Makes a huge difference in comfort. Once you've done a few tours you'll know what you like and you can invest in a purpose built rig ... or not.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

MKIV987

Yep, my first investment is going to be a deore group set, followed by some new brake pads and rubber

transporterjr

I'm still regretting setting up my 24" frame '85 Trek 850 with my Blackburn mtn front and rear racks, Mt Zefal fenders and giving it to a relative who I doubt took care of it and it's long gone. It had 485mm long chainstays! Man you could have mounted a water bottle behind the seat tube! https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/t...ll-Terrain.pdf

I always said, "This frame would make a great touring bike", but I had my Fuji, so I didn't need another touring bike. Now, I would have loved it to build a 26" wheel tourer with 1.5 or 1.75" tires. Deore XT components would have been fine for me, even today. Handlebar, stem, brake levers, maybe shift lever changes and I would have called it done. Damn, I really need to let go, but I think these old MTN bike would make great tourer - but note that the bottom bracket is going to be high on most of them.

Chris Pringle

Just did it myself. A couple of weeks ago I converted my '92 Trek 700 hybrid MTB into a touring bike.

This is how it looked before...



Now, this is its new look...

transporterjr

Great job Chris!

safariofthemind

Looking good Chris.

Using an MTB with rigid fork is a good low cost way to tour. The caveat is to watch out for front loading. Purpose built rigs have more relaxed front geometry so you can load up in front without getting squirrelly steering and a longer wheel base and chain stays to avoid heel strike, among other modifications. With an MTB, it pays to keep your load in the front under 20 lbs (5 or 10 is best) and your back load at under 25 lbs. You can also add a Jandd or similar frame pack to distribute some of the weight between the hubs. 40 lbs total load is a good goal to shoot for. For really heavy loaded touring it's best to not cheap out and get a touring bike IMO.

Another trick: put heavy things at the bottom of your bags and try to keep your center of gravity as low as you can. Also, try slightly underinflating your tires when going over rough pavement (but watch out -- too low and you'll get pinch flats). Experiment and you'll get a feel for what is just right.

transporterjr

Thanks safariofthemind. I have a straight fork on my mtn bike, 90's Univega Alpina Team, and I was planning on using front panniers on low riders and a dry bag on rear rack only.

Time for a trial run!
John

Chris Pringle

Thanks for the tip. In that case (given the type of bike), will it be better just to load the rear rack and leave the front unloaded? I think the max. weight of the two bags will be about 30 lbs combined.

safariofthemind

Typically you are fine with a 30 lb load spreading between the back and a handlebar bag. Keep the bag at 5 to 7 lbs, with things like your wallet, jacket, maps, etc. Should work out great. And don't dismiss a frame bag like the Jandd I mentioned - they work very well for your tools and other heavy, dense items because the weight between the hubs does not affect handling as much. Enjoy.

Got Lost Again

The first ride on my converted 800 was 30 pounds on the rear only. I rode 100 miles over the day and it seemed way too light on the front end when climbing hills. On later rides, I put about 15 pounds up front on low riders and the bike was way more stable up hills AND overall. It also stands up on the kickstand a lot better...

transporterjr

I ran old Tailwinds front panniers on blackburn Low Riders (took some mods to fit straight fork), small rear panniers in the rear, drybag with down bag on rear rack. I had 12-14 lbs in the front, the rears had about 21-25 lbs in the rear, depending on food. Balanced, could ride no hands. A more relaxed fork would be better - but still works.
John

transporterjr

Reviving an old thread here. I "have" an 85 Trek 850 Mtn bike - Tange Prestige Tubing, very strong, 24" frame, the longest chain stays known to ma - that I'm thinking of making into a 26" touring bike. I am curious if it just going to be a heavy beast and I should skip it. Since I don't have the bike right now, I don;t know what it weighs. I could swap out rim to old Araya RM-20's and I would change to drop bars.
Is this worth it? I also have a 27" Fuji Touring Series IV, but though the Trek might make a nice rough road/gravel road tourer. Are there old aluminum Mtn Bikes with "long" geometry that would be good as a 26" touring candidate?

John

eofelis 

Beautiful!!

seeker333

Most Trek mtb frames had 425mm CSs, like nearly every other mtb ever made.

transporterjr

485 mm for this 1985 Trek 850 frame - over 19"! I think there may be enough room to mount a bottle cage facing the rear tire on the seat tube.
I have heel clearance problems with my 1990 Univega Alpina Pro, otherwise, I would just convert it into a tourer.

shipwreck

My first long tour was done in the winter, rode from Chicago down to my home in Arkansas. Took the canal paths of the great Illinois trail, the Mississippi river trail, the Katy, the Frisco Highline trail, and lots of nasty pavement. Had no idea what was in store for me, with flooding rivers, storms, washed out bridges, Fifteen miles of muddy slime on a canal path where I carried the bike for a couple miles rather than backtrack, and more mud that I sloshed through.

At the time I did not have a decent bike for touring, but I had an antelope 850 that was way to small for me. Figured what the heck and built it up with junk parts I had on hand. So glad I did, my current touring bike could handle that stuff, but having an actual offroad frame was a life saver a few times on that trip. I mean, I even got barbed wire wrapped up in the back wheel, snapped several spokes and bent the heck out of it. I was able to find a 26 inch wheel from a junked BSO, and made it the final 450 miles on that. Would have never found a 700c!
This is it on an unloaded trip to town on a rest day. As you can see, there is a lot of room between the tire and seat tube. I did have some old canondale bags that gave me enough clearance with a size 12 shoe.



I still have the frame, but am constantly looking for a much larger one. In my opinion this is a great bike to convert. Not perfect, but if I ever do a tour as horrible as my first this is the kind of bike I would want again.

Got Lost Again

Check out the frame geometry of your Trek or any other steel MTB in comparison to a Surly LHT. You will find them to be very similar. The 800 I have pictured in my previous post is still rolling strong and is a very comfortable ride. It weighs like 36 pounds with racks.

Ive always kinda thought backwards about bikes. Generally, everyone raves about their "frame material" that it is made of this and that and how comfortable it is, only to forget they threw on a fancy seat, aero bars and stuff; the things that actually make your bike a comfortable ride. How many times do you ride in the middle of nowhere and think, "wow, nice frame?" What Im thinkin is, "wow, Im glad I picked the right gearing, quality components correct bars and such". Comfort and reliablilty is #1 in my opinion so if the frame fits, all that is really important is that you set it up with quality components.

mntbikedude

My son has a Trek 820 that he tours with and swears by it. Apparently it has a chromoly frame or something. His biggest tour was from Alaska to Mexico, all done on a converted Trek 820. https://alaska-to-mexico.blogspot.com...&max-results=4

Picture of 820 in action https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ih7N5qRUch...h/100_0231.jpg