clubman 

OP, don't go tilting at windmills by looking for things that could but won't likely go wrong during a trip. IMO the bike provides an economical opportunity to hone your mechanical skills, set up your fit, kit out the bike and do a loaded tour. Test rides are useful and fun.. Mechanical stuff happens to everyone on occasion but if you start with a thorough inspection from a credible mech (find him) and fix any issues, you're good to go.

gugie 

BITD people used to ride cross counry with only paper map, no google, no cell phone, 14-28 five speed freewheels, 52-42 cranksets, etc. The engine and mental condition of the pilot are much, much more important than the bike.

People have ridden 40 lb Schwinn Varsities across the country. The bike the OP is considering using is light years better than one of those. The optimal approach would be to have a custom touring bike with all the latest touring gear...but for 10% of the cost, I think that Schwinn Voyageur would be at least 80% of the performance, and an order of magnitude (at least) of the value.

Be audacious. Plan on a short tour ASAP. You're getting close to analysis paralysis.

Somehow this old thing got me down the California Coast BITD, even though I tour on much better kit nowadays.


.

gugie 

It looks ugly. I've filled in a few dented chainstays with brass, some with JB Weld, always for cosmetic reasons, never seen one with sgtructural issues. Dented chainstays for tire clearance and/or chainring clearance make more of a performance difference - they make the stays more flexible. Squeeze in the other direction, if anything, might ovalize the chain stays in the horizontal plane, which would stiffen the sttays.

EddyR

I enjoyed reading this thread and it brought back s lot of memories of being on the road by myself. It is amazing what you can do if you do not know any better. From 1956 to 1959 I went on quite a few long distance rides alone. I was 16 in 1956 and my first long ride was Binghamton NY to Baltimore Md about 300 miles as there were no interstates yet. Some times I’did shorter miles but it was a lot more difficult and took a lot more time. I covered all off New England and a lot of Canada. The bike was a 1954 Raleigh three speed. I rebuilt every part on this bike many times. I had put drop bars on it an but grip shifter on it.I took very little with me. Most of the time I took one tire and a small custom Eureka tent with me. The local bike shop gave all my parts and Eureka gave me the tent. The one thing that did give trouble was cotter pins getting loose a then the crank are would get off center. I never worried about not getting home as I cold get a bus home from anywhere on the east coast for $30. There were times when I was walking big mountains that people stoped and gave me a ride. I slept in jails when I could find them in small towns. The police would always feed me and take my picture. My picture with my bike and tent did appear in a Eureka add one time. My last long ride was well north east of Montreal Canada in 1959. Back wheel broke two spokes and it was to late in the summer to fix it. I gave the bike to the local bike shop and got a bus to the Us border at HillIsland. A week later my bike came back with a rebuilt back wheel. I gave the bike to a local kid in 1961 when I got married. I never had any problems with the Archer three speed but I did lube it often. Note. I did have a ten speed from 1958 on but I felt the three speed was more reliable. Much later in life I rode my single speed from Clearwater fl to Tallahassee and back.500+ miles ,
total 300 ft elevation gain!
EddyR

Lascauxcaveman 

The Surly LHT (or Ogre, or old school MTB with a modern wheel set) might be the choice if you're really packing a LOT of weight and therefore are concerned about breaking axels and whatnot. Those bikes will be stiffer and heavier and not as much fun to ride, though. The Schwinn is the better choice if you're not getting too crazy on what you're packing.

Or you could step up to a Cannondale ST, which is both stiffer and lighter than the others.

J.Higgins 

I whole-heartedly agree with this post. I've spent the last ten years making some very happy people with my mtb dropbar and touring conversions. Any solid fork Trek, Specialized, Gary Fisher, Giant, GT, etc mountain bike makes a fine and solid tourer. The brakes and gearing are well-suited to touring, and the frames can hold a nice wide tire. These bikes are the closest approximation to modern gravel-capable bikes and tourers. Sure, you can easily spend a ton of cash on all new components, but a nice Trek 800-900 Series bike is a great place to start.

bwilli88 

I would prefer my 81 Centurion Pro Tour but my 83 would do just as well.

Cougrrcj

Gugie, I did mine (flat-ish southern Great Lakes region Cleveland-Milwaukee/Madison and back tour) with a 14-24 five-speed freewheel and my Fuji's original flexy 51/39 three-pin Maxy crankset. A canvas duffle bag wrapped in a plastic garbage bag that was bungie-corded to the aforementioned Pletscher rack... The things we did back in the day - before we 'knew' better, eh?

Velo Mule

I have been watching this thread with great interest. The Schwinn Voyager SP was one of the bikes that I dreamed about back the '80's. Some are suggesting using a '90's mountain bike. These are great suggestions too. Either bike would work and work well. It is my point of view that the Schwinn or late '80's touring bike is more "elegant" with a lugged frame, semi sloping fork crown, nice colors. The '90's mountain bikes are more function over style. Tig welded frames, unicrown fork, also nice colors, but different.

These mountain bikes are tough. I commuted on a Trek 800 and it never missed a beat. Nothing happened to it except getting really dirty.

I am of the opinion that if you get a new(er) bike, a mountain bike or a touring bike, it will work.

I am also following this, because a part of me still wants to do this trip too. So, I mull over the same type of questions in my head.

Are you doing this solo? If so, you will be carrying all your gear and not able to divvy it up with a partner. That could be quite a lot of weight. Of course, camping gear has gotten better too.

Keep letting us know how you are doing, what bike you get, how a shorter excursion works out. There is also a touring section here that will be real helpful.

RH Clark

Thanks so much for the interest. I will be self supported on the long tour but will be doing several shorter tours including the Natchez Trace 440 miles assisted first as a proving ground.

The Schwinn was a total bust. I spoke to the seller and questioned him about the condition of the bike at length before driving 4 hours one way, which would up to be 5 hours with traffic. I got there and everything I was assured of was nothing but lies. The "new tires" were completely dry rotted. The "absolutely zero rust frame" had rust spots. "Just tuned and serviced", apparently means 15 years ago. Brakes were so bad as to be basically non existent on this "completely restored" bike. I give up on Marketplace. this is the 3rd time I have been totally lied to and wasted time and money! I couldn't even get the rear wheel to tighten enough to stay straight in the frame under torque. The bike I was assured could leave on an across the USA tour tomorrow, didn't even make it 200 yards down the road. It's been a long time since I wanted to punch somebody in the face. I don't understand just lying to somebody. My plan now is to sell some of my best stuff and buy a new Surly Ogre.

Darth Lefty 

I think the Schwinn will be fine if it's up to code.

If you want to really exhaust the Surly angle, get on Pinkbike classifieds or the Surly and Salsa Trader group on Facebook, some place modernists shop. The Ogre has I think three generations of frame. This year they have offered the Ogre is in a "commuter" build with a 1x drivetrain and hydraulic brakes, not a wide enough range for touring. The frame is the same it's been since 2017 https://surlybikes.com/blog/ogre_sauce when they made the fork shorter and triangle bigger, and somewhere in there they eliminated the cantilever studs. The real advantage of the Ogre and Troll are their fancy drop-outs that allow you to mount nearly any axle standard or shifting. The Bridge Club is very similar in a lot of ways but is de-featured to only run "normal" stuff, if you don't really need those options.

gugie 

Now that just sucks, and puts a bad taste in your mouth about vintage bikes.

I'm wondering why the Surly Ogre is high on your list.

RH Clark

In truth I want to ride one and possibly a few others that may be similar in adventure touring style. My current bike is a Trek Marlin 5. It's fairly close to that type bike if I'm not mistaken. I keep the fork locked most times and I've progressed enough as a rider to handle about anything I want to ride just by using my knees as shock absorbers while descending. I don't get that wild anyway so basically I could do all I want on a rigid bike. I could use my Trek but it would be easier to set it up as a weekender bike camping bike, than as a 6 month long tour bike. The Ogre is about all I know of right now but I'm researching before I buy.

The purpose of the Schwinn was to get me some experience on a drop bar touring bike inexpensively and have something possibly worthy of building up, if I preferred that type bike to my current flat bar MTB.

gugie 

If you're sticking to paved roads, there's no need for suspension forks. Straight mountain bike bars allow for only one hand position, dropped or trekking style bars allow you to move around so you're heads don't get tired from one position. I almost never go down into the drops on my road bike except when I'm riding into a heavy wind - which will happen from time to time on a long tour.

I went back and re-read your posts. Looks like you don't want to spend a lot of money, and a few have recommended looking at an older mountain bike. Since there were tons of them sold in the 80's and 90's, you could find one for cheap. Put some dropped or trekking bars on them, some road tires, and you'll have a good, sturdy bike to take cross-country. Post your specific location so we can go shopping on Craigslist for you (we love to spend other people's money!). There's a good chance a Bike Forum member is near you to help out! Your backpacking experience will translate well to bike packing.

You and I are almost exactly the height and have long torsos. An ideal road bike for me is a 24" seat tube. A 23" old school horizontal top tube mountain bike would probably be about right. A stem and handlebar change would get you in a good, comfortable position.

Darth Lefty 

You've got time and gas to spend an entire day driving across the state to look at an old Schwinn that you don't really want, but you don't want to afford a new bike?

RH Clark

I spent $50 in gas. I thought it a better gamble than buying a $2000 drop bar touring bike when I had never spent any time on one. The plan was to learn how I liked that style bike. I've only been on one for a few minuets at a time. I can't know how I really like one until I spend a couple weeks at least on one. The Schwinn was an attempt to buy something to learn on and possibly go through mechanically if I liked it, or sell it if I didn't.

The plan would have worked if the bike hadn't been grossly misrepresented. I questioned the seller extensively as to condition over the phone. For some reason however "completely restored, new everything" description, turned into a, "just drug it out of the barn after 15 years", bike.

mechanicmatt

Where are you again? Alabama? Anywhere near Chattanooga, TN? What's your size/inseem?

Darth Lefty 

Look, man, an LHT is not $2000 even brand new. And you're not sure that's what you want, either. Not everyone loves it, it sits really long and low unless you run a lot of spacers on a smaller frame. And the Ogre is running at a premium for its extra features like I mentioned, and both of them have an upcharge for brand cachet. If you like them there are cheaper options. REI has several steel touring, bikepacking, and heavy-commuting bikes in the same price range and they give you 10% back in REI-bux. Bikes Direct has things like this for $600 ish. You are going to spend a long time with whatever bike, do some test rides.

mechanicmatt

I totally agree with Darth Lefty here. A lot of people do not like LHT, or the Ogre and they are a bit much for what they are. If you are going after new, I think REI has a bunch of better offerings. Salsa has a decent cheaper option too with their Journeyman series.

Honestly if you are near Chattanooga, I may have something that could work for you. PM if you'd like.

polymorphself 

I don't have a lot to add here, but my thought is this: Assuming good condition, why would it have worked in the 80s for touring (exactly what its made for), but not now? It's interesting to think about what the release of subsequent products and marketing does to our brains in regards to the products that came before. Broken or not, they suddenly don't work? I'm guilty of this thought process as well, but I try not to be.

RH Clark

I completely agree brother. I know I was jumping the gun a little. The thing is that I have this whole other urgency to get going inside me. It's all connected to my about to turn 52 and total body transformation from when I turned 50. I've lost between 160-190 lbs and gone from not being able to get on a bike at 360 lbs , to a slim 170 lb 6'2 aspiring and healthy lifestyle and cycling advocate.

I'm cooling my hells a bit now and trying to get to know some other cyclists. I'm in NW Alabama Winston County

Miele Man

I like rigid frame/fork MTBs converted to a dropbar as a touring bike. With 26" wheels there's a very wide range of tire sizes one can use. Here are some images of MTBs I've converted to touring bikes. Btw, if you don't want to spring for bar-end shifters, then you can use either stem-mount shifters or Shimano Brifters or Campagnolo Ergos or similar brake lever/shifter combos.







Cheers

RH Clark

I appreciate the info on REI. I'm a ways from you and for now I'm going to set up my Marlin 5 and ride it until I get to ride some different bikes. I'm 6'2 170lbs with a 32-33" inseam. My Marlin at 19.5 inches with 29" wheels may be a tad small but I seem to be able to ride it fairly well. I can walk it slowly through the woods, or run up a hill leaning over the bars. I was just hoping to get some different bike experience with the Schwinn. It seemed to fit me fine also though it was 59cm with 27" wheels.

alcjphil

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed. However It would have been possible to negotiate a much better price given the problems you found. Tires? Subtract at least $50-$60. Brakes? They worked well at one time and probably need a full overhaul, cables, brake pads along with taking the callipers off and cleaning and lubricating. Take off another $50. The rear wheel not staying in place? In one photo I see the rear quick release skewer sticking out a long way past the nut on the derailleur side. My bet is that the skewer was replaced with one that is too long resulting in not being able to adjust it properly unless the original owner didn't know how to properly use a quick release, they don't work like a wing nut. Take off another $20. If I had been there buying that bike, and it fit me well, I would have negotiated my behind off and if I couldn't get at least half off the asking price I would then and only then walked away. By the way, some rust spots on the frame of a bike that is over 35 years old is not a deal breaker, just a negotiating point. This bike would have been an ideal starting point for someone like you who is going to take classes on bike maintenance. You could have used it to hone your skills, and if in the end after fully tuning it up, you didn't choose to keep it, you could probably have sold it for more than you paid for it

RH Clark

All that is possible.It's also possible that I was so disappointed at the vast difference between a detailed description and how the bike actually looked, that I just threw my hands up in aggravation. After being let down at the sight of the bike ,the seller suddenly tells me that he doesn't have much time for me to check it out because he needs to get back to work. I say suddenly because I've been talking to him on 2 occasions while driving over and he has never mentioned any time limitations. I did tell him over the phone that I wanted to ride the bike and would find out if anything was wrong with it.

Even though I was disappointed by the bike's appearance, I was willing to give it a shot. It just simply was a bike that needed a lot of work rather than the in tip top shape bike I had been expecting. I had obviously been lied to again from a Marketplace seller and I was aggravated enough that I didn't want the bike at any price.