Rebuild a Motobecane Fantom CX into budget tour rig.
 

I bought this used, Fantom CX back in 2016 or 17. Had it converted into an electric with a Bafang kit and rode it as a commuter until it was stolen in early 2021. Got the bike back in pieces, but luckily the thieves had no idea what the Bafang was. That said, I transferred all of the Bafang gear to a used folder I got and the Fantom CX has just been sitting in my kitchen for the past two years. Now I'm looking at putting together a touring rig for some regional, 50-100 mile, strict pedal power trips.

Would it be ideal to try and throw modestly priced parts from ebay and such onto this to get it rolling again? Or should I just go new/used again? Nothing appears to be wrong with the Fantom CX frame from what I could see. I'm just looking at putting a triple crank(seems to be an old school thing now), some heavy duty wheels for my own girth(yeah, I'm a bit of chunk), and apart from new cables/housing, that's about it. Thanks in advance for any feedback on this. I really need to jump back into posting here!!!

Sounds to me like an excellent plan. Low enough gearing and sturdy wheels are a great start.

I'm just shopping around and trying to keep the price point low as far as parts go. Used tandem wheels for $350 seem to be the biggest biter. Everything else could probably found for not a whole lot I'm guessing. I think I only paid like $100 for this Fantom CX in its original configuration back in 2017 or whenever I first got it. But I did paid about $350 to get a more reinforced 20"/406 rear wheel for my $170 used Dahon. When the "beef up" project parts are 2-3x the amount of the entire bike itself. That's bikEnomics!!!

Something like this with 36 spokes might work for you and save you a little cash.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/33450795727...3ABFBM0KasiNlh

I looked up this bike and didn't see anything that would disqualify it as a great tourer.

Take a ruler and measure the space between the rear dropouts. It's either 130mm or 135mm. Make sure the wheel you buy has the same width hub.

Only other thing I'll have to source is another Microshift bar end shifter for a triple. Then slap either some Schwalbe or Gatorskins on and I'm gold.

I have a cx bike that has done fine duty for touring, but you should check the chainstay lengths etc to see if you will be able to have panniers on it without hitting your feet on the bags, especially if you are tall and have large feet.
also, does it have eyelets for racks?
will it be twitchy, everyones opinion of twitchy is diff
what size tires will safely fit in , as a very heavy guy, having larger tires will be a help to your wheelset (lower pressures, more suspension effect)

I would really get it looked at properly for headtube damage or whatever before throwing money at it. should have begun with that actually.

Not too tall at 5'8ish. But my heels tend to hit bags. Suppose that could be remedied by mounting the bags a tad out of heel strike zone or get smaller capacity panniers. I've got some Ortliebs I picked up last year for $80. Great for my Catrike Expedition, a PITA for my Dahon.

Will definitely check the head tube for any damage. Nothing visible from what I could see. And this Fantom CX was bought from an Amarillo transplant RN who just didn't have time to do any serious riding. Weirdly enough, he preferred his single-speed for his 20 mile commute. But he was a young buck too, so he could handle it.

Heel strike should be manageable, similar chainstay length to my bikes, just choose a rack that will be far enough back and panniers placement on rack.
THis bike appears to come with 32mm, so you may be able to put 35, 38?
Finding suitable triple parts should be doable, 9 ,10 spd stuff., Although harder around here.

I've done a fair amount of loaded touring on a cyclocross bike (Surly Cross Check). Heel strike was not a problem with a decent rack. The frame flexed a bit under expedition loads, but it wasn't a big deal. I had zero issues with that bike and would still be riding it if it hadn't been run over by a car.

Thanks all for the encouragement. Definitely going to be updating periodically as the rebuild goes along. Shouldn't take forever. Maybe by the time Autumn rolls along what with work and other chores to attend to. Might even give it a frame painting!!!

how much gear do you intend to take along?
if not too much, put it all in front panniers. no heal strike issues.
if more, load into a single-wheel trailer with NO panniers. less weight on the rear wheel.
or go modified....."tour-packing?".......front bags and front platform rack, triangle frame bag, and saddle bag with no rear rack.

all good and plausible ideas. Front panniers on a good rack, plus a large seat bag 10, 15 L with lighter stuff, as asked, how much stuff to carry really is the key here.

Check the rear wheel OLD (over locknut dimension) to make sure it matches your frame.

I have a phantom cross check which I raced cross on. It’s a true cross bike, I.e. built for 32mm tire clearance, relatively quick geometry, top routed cables. It’s mean for cyclocross not gravel, not touring.

it’s a different bike from a Surly Cross check which is not a cyclocross bike in the UCI sense. I’ve raced gravel, and toured with the phantom, but it’s not the ideal touring platform

I could see what you mean. But I've already got an elevated riser stem and a front and rear rack I managed to retrofit. Figure I put it to use and see how it does before I blow money on an actual touring platform. If it isn't my bicycle activity blowing through my funds, it's range toys and range time!!

^ No doubt you can make it work, and a lot be said for making use of what you have. My post was just meant to point out it’s a different bike from something like a Surly cross check.

As I said, I’ve used it for gravel and touring even though it’s not the best purpose built bike for those uses.