HollandCT

I've heard good things about the Trek 520. I have no personal experience with it but I know someone who has travelled the Alps with it and said it worked for him.

zs3889

This thread seems like the perfect place to ask this question so here we go!

I have been lurking around sub and been looking for an old steel mountain bike to convert into a touring bike. This Trek 850 came on sale today and from what I can tell, it's a 1995 Trek 850. The seller claims that the bike has new cranks, chain, front derailleur, cable, housing, and brake pads. He is asking for $180. The bike looks to be in really good shape in the pictures but I'm going to check out the bike tomorrow. $180 seems a little steep for an old bike so how much would you pay for it ,assuming that it has all the new parts?

mijome07

I'm currently re-building this MTB for on/off road touring rig. Just got the frame/fork yesterday from being powder coated. This is a budget-minded build and I shop wisely.

I chose this bike for the steel/Cro-Moly frame/fork, plenty of braze-ons (minus mid-forks, but there are work-a-rounds), long wheelbase (1079mm), decent chainstay length (444mm), rear drop outs are already spaced for 135mm hubs, able to take wide tires, semi-low trail forks and whatever else I forgot.

human33

Here is mine 1989 Giant Super Sierra mtb brought for 100eur!! I just come back from Croatia - Istanbul cycle trip on my 88 Cannondale st400 and now spending time on the croatian coast, having fun with Sierra. Thinking it would be a great touring rig for all kind terrain.

Its original from 89 catalog; triple butted cro mo with full xt m730/2, suntour rims, dia compe levers, giant stem/handlebar. Longer TT 59cm, but LHT has it too ..I brought new panaracer paselas 26x1.75.....

I would like to fully load it to see how it goes with stability since BB is little higher than usual touring frames, and how it is with flexing since BB is higher than usual touring frames....

If it shows ok, i am tempted to convert it as a tourer even some of my friends telling me it's a crime to touch that kind of classic vintage mtb ...We shall see.

Best regards from Croatia!

apolloturner

Specialized Rock Combo (same as a stump jumper). Powedercoated Blue. New disc tab fork. all new components but the 48/38/28 Biopace Crankset. With Panniers (Ortlieb City backs on front and back) was well under $500. There is no way I could have bought something for that much new and I had fun building it.

MassiveD

That's a nice looking frame H33. It looks like a nice long wheel base which is key to any kind of decent conversion. I wouldn't worry about it's classic status, you aren't doing anything to harm it.

mletts

Current project . . . 1st generation Jamis Dakota w/ Tange tubing. Expect drops, racks, and fat slicks on here right soon.

fietsbob

Might be a Garage queen which saw little Use ..

Happy Feet

My current touring bike is a 87 Raleigh.



I also had this mid 80's Maruishi rigged for touring before turning it into my cruiser bike. Light and very well constructed.



Just picked up a Marin Pine Country and am in the process of converting it for touring use. Same basic size as my Raleigh but a lot lighter and better components.



I'm selling this 84 Raleigh Portage which has low end components but a large strong frame. If I didn't already have two touring bikes I'd convert it.

DonValley

I found a Bianchi Grizzly in the garbage last winter. It looked to be a good size for my Son. Cleaned it up and it was in amazing shape. Mostly early 90's XT and deore components with perfect gearing for touring. It is also quite a long bike. I'd bet it could be pretty good for touring with a seat and bar change.

djb

hey Mr DVP, did you end up doing that fall tour you had talked about? If you did, where? Never saw any note of it.

DonValley

Didn't quite work out timing wise, so am relegated to being an arm chair cycle tourer. I did manage to use my new three season's tent one night about three weeks ago though. Drafty!

djb

too bad, I hope you can work something out in the spring/summer.
Ive never camped in snow, so I hope your sleeping bag was good enough!

GOv

I use an old 1999/2000 Specialized Hardrock (love the fit & feel of the frame) that has been upgraded for touring purposes. Frame/forks/stem and bars are original but everything else is changed. One niggle with it, fork doesn't have braze-on for front rack so will need to find an alternative for that. Chainstays on this bike is at 17".

Also have acquired a 1991 (think it's '91) Specialized Hardrock that is all original excluding the saddle. Low end components but really good condition overall on this for a bargain
Planned use for this is a winter/beater bike that may change as i use it. Chainstays on this bike are at 17.25" and has all the braze-ons i would need.

And no i'm not a die-hard specialized fan. But the best buys i've come across in my area for older bikes. Call me old, but still prefer the feel/fun of older bikes

careader

Hi. I'm planning on converting an older Trek 820 into a touring bike. Do I need to take any weight limits on the frame into consideration? Would a short travel x-country suspension fork improve that limit by much? I'm a big guy. 265lbs. Adding 50 lbs of gear and supplies seems like I'd be stressing the frame, but maybe not? frame material is steel. Thanks for any input.

djb

Given you are just about two of me, if highly recommend getting more informed answers in the Clyde section, especially for wheel suggestions, as I think you will get much more accurate info from them.

mletts

Dude! Nice whips, man!

Crashola

Giving CPR to an old thread! I recently picked up what is probably an early 90s vintage Lotus Pro Series 4000M MTB for my daughter to use as an urban bike. In the event she doesn't use it, I may convert it to a touring bike for my wife. Some basics: steel frame (not lugged), Deore LX front and rear DR, cantilever brakes, Deore LX crankset, 17.25" chainstay.

Would this be a good candidate for a dropbar conversion?

seeker333

For your wife, a MTB with drop bar is unlikely to be comfortable or a good fit.

MTBs are often not a good candidate for drop bar conversion. MTBs typically have a long top tube (TT) for use with a flat bar. Road bikes have a short TT to account for the fact that the drop handlebar and road levers/shifters will position the rider's hands 50-80mm further forward than if that bike were equipped with a flat bar. Mounting a drop bar on a MTB results in excessively long reach. Your wife would have to be tall or the MTB short for this to work, and then you may not have enough seatpost or stem to achieve suitable saddle or handlebar height.

Compared to men, women typically have longer legs and shorter torso and arms, plus their center-of-mass is higher, so a drop-bar-on-a-mtb is an even worse proposition for women.

A better idea would be to fit a trekking bar to your MTB, which shortens reach to controls rather than lengthening reach. You would be able to use the existing levers and shifters with a trekking bar.

For a drop bar you'd need new levers and shifters. Be advised that cantilever brakes are short-cable-pull brakes, compatible only with short pull levers (existing Lotus MTB levers, or any std road/drop bar levers). Most MTBs since ~1990 are fitted with long-cable-pull levers and brakes (Vee brakes, disc brakes). Don't mix short pull with long pull. Cable pull adapters are available but you're better off with the proper components.

438mm chainstays may work for your wife depending on shoe size/cleat position/rack/bags. Avoid large bags and you'll probably be OK. Be advised that mounting panniers far rearwards on rack to avoid heelstrike on a short chainstay frame can cause poor handling or shimmy.

Happy Feet

Well that's news! There are 5680 entries in the vintage mtb dropbar conversion thread in the C&V sub forum, probably one of the more popular threads there. But what do they know.

Try googling: RJ the bike guy dropbar conversion to see how that works. He goes through the whole process pretty well.

seeker333

I'm glad I could help. Thanks for the info but I've gone through this process a few times and understand it well. Drop bar on a std MTB results in very long reach (even with short stem), and likely unnecessary back, shoulder, elbow, wrist pain. If you want drop bars, put them on the correct frame from the start and you'll have fewer problems.

BTW, a lot of people doing something wrong to save a few bucks doesn't make it less wrong, or even less expensive (in the long run).

Happy Feet

Pics of your conversions would be awesome. I know there are lots and lots of pics in the thread and video I listed...

You are arguing a pretty minority position and suggesting all those other people got it wrong or are just too cheap doesn't help your position at all.

But you and I arguing won't help. I would suggest that the person interested look at that thread and see if any of the many many many mtb dropbar conversions look appealing. Either they do or they don't. If they do they can read or watch how lots of other people have done it.

Crashola

Thanks for your thoughts. I am looking into all options, dropbar, trekking, and the albatross bars that seem to be in vogue.

zandr32

MLETTS, I have a Jamis Dakota almost identical to the one you've posted here. It's even the same color. At some point I changed out the seat, so I'm on a mission to try and find the original seat that came on my bike. These particular bikes are one of, if not the the very first Jamis Dakotas made in 1983. Please, if you still own this bike, take great care of it. We may be the only two guys in the world that care enough to share what we have on the net. I just joined this forum. I'll be taking photos and sharing mine soon. Thanks for sharing yours!

Papa Tom

I love touring on my 1996 GT Outpost.