Bjorneas

I am planning a big tour for Summer 2022 (half of the trans am, I think) and it will be the first tour for my 12 year old son. I’m not sure what bike will be a good choice for him. Maybe the easiest thing is to put slick tires and trekking bars on his Trek 830? I am up for buying him a dedicated touring bike, but could use some suggestions. It is a bit tricky because I’m not sure how tall he will be next summer. Age 12-13 is tough like that.

djb

Your modifications idea is a perfectly good one, the big plus to mtb for touring is the fairly good low gearing as is.
I would try out some little short tours to see how he likes it, and to carefully assess how he is with safety etc.

I've toured a lot, and have done some with my kids, but on carefully chosen roads.

I've toured on my mountain bike, and it worked fairly well.
have you ever toured before?

Bjorneas

I just finished the east coast greenway from Maine to NYC. That two week tour was my first. Loved it and want more.

fishboat

You may want to spec-out what it'll take to convert the mtb(including parts sources) and also spec out-choose a touring bike. Your son may well outgrown the mtb too...in which case you'll need to know a specific plan b for an appropriate bike. In any case, buying a new bike now would be risky. Presumably, the bike & parts supply chains will be in better shape next year.

An additional thought..you might want to keep tabs on the used touring bike and higher-end (older,1990's) rigid mtb bike market..a Trek 970 or 990, Specialized Stumpjumper or the like(there are others, but a Trek or Spec will be the most available on the used market). Higher-end bikes as they'll be nicer/lighter frames with good component groups. I'd target frames in either type the next size up from whatever he rides now. If you buy either type at the right price, and it doesn't fit, you should be able to sell them for what you paid for them. At that point..if a different size is needed..you'll basically know exactly what you need to know to target the right bike make, models..etc..

You may also want to take a look at
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nversions.html
I did a drop bar conversion on a Trek 970. Both the front and rear derailluers (Shimano XT) were completely compatible with Shimano STI shifters. The RD is known to be compatible with STI's while the FD technically isn't compatible. That said, I had no issues setting up the XT FD as any other (road) FD..works fine. I'm told both the Shimano DX & LX FD also work fine with road shifters.

djb

The one advantage with trying trekking bars is that all the controls pretty much will slide on as is, plus they are cheap.
Lots of good 1.5in slick type tires too.

Just try out weekend trips to see how he likes it, plan conservative distances, and especially safe roads, and see how it goes.

fettsvenska 

I like the idea of using his current bike. However, he is at the age where growth spurts happen and so he may not even fit his bike next year. One other thing to consider it that a good set of bar ends might work well enough to provide alternate hand positions. My son toured with me on flat bars like that. I put WTB All Terrain tires on his bike and they worked great. I can't speak for the Trek 830 but the 930s/950s have most of the required braze-ons to support racks and fenders. They also have the right rear drop out spacing to tow a BOB trailer.

Pratt

Djb's advice is excellent. The other advantage to some 'rehearsal' tours is finding out what he needs/wants. Every tour is a learning experience, and the early ones have the steepest slope. A couple of shakedowns will guide you better than the best advice we can offer.

skidder

One other consideration to buying him a new touring bike is availability; there are very few in LBS (at least in my area), so hopefully the inventory pipeline will be recharged by next spring. Good idea to do some simple mods to his MTB and go for some short overnight/2 night/three night trips.

skidder

One other consideration to buying him a new touring bike is availability; there are very few in LBS (at least in my area), so hopefully the inventory pipeline will be recharged by next spring. Good idea to do some simple mods to his MTB and go for some short overnight/2 night/three night trips.

indyfabz

Western half of the TA? If so, I would not go completely slick. There are a couple of dirt options in MT (and maybe other places) that are really nice. Maybe something with an inverted tread, like the Continental Top Contact II 35c, which actually measures 37c.

BTW...How did you like the PA portion of the ECG? It passes near my house in Philly. Not much green. And does it still use Industrial Highway (PA 291) Chester/Eddystone area?

bikemig 

Biggest problem with a MTB for touring is lack of hand positions and the easiest fix is a trekking bar. The second biggest problem may be the tires but that is an easy fix. The gearing works for touring. The bike has attachment points for a rack.

imi

I tried drop bars on my Miyata On-Off Road Runner. The reach was fine, but my gawd it felt like a weird riding position. I went straight back to the flat bars.

skidder

I got the widest drop bars I could find (48CM) and they are noticeable better than the regular 42cm-44cm bars that come on most bikes YMMV.

imi

Interesting. I’ll remember that if I ever consider a mtb conversion again. I imagine the wider bars give you a somewhat lesser upright position, neh?

djb

imi, the width of bars really doesn't affect this, but your uncomfortableness on drop bars could either be unfamiliarity with drop bars, or the frame length combined with stem length put the bars too far forward, or also some dropbars have a much longer "reach" from the top corners to where the hoods are, and much deeper "drop", distance from the tops to where the drops hand position is.
Then of course there is the relative height of the bars. Many bikes, due to design (racer) or just too short a "steerer"--the top part of the fork that sticks up and to which you attach the stem, so the dropbars are lower than the seat.

you'd be surprised how comfortable a good dropbar setup can be, if it is NOT too far forward or NOT too far low.

also, bikes designed for flatbars will usually have longer toptubes, requiring a very short stem for a dropbar conversion.
My tourer is like that, and I have a 50 or 55mm short stem, and the bike handles great, no problem using a short stem.
I can ride this bike for weeks and months with no hand, wrist or neck problems.

djb

Imi, I see what you mean by wondering if wider feels lower. I guess maybe a tiny amount if bars are really wide.

what I wanted to emphasize is how that with dropbars that are close enough to you and high enough (and have shallow drops) that a real advantage is how useable the drops are when there is a big headwind.

this is the great advantage of my setup, that I can comfortably spend time in the drops. Yes I'm nearly always on the tops or hoods, but it's easy for a change to be in the drops for a minute or two every so often to help stretch different muscles.

fishboat

+1

If considering a drop bar conversion, nearly everything involved with handlebar reach can be estimated before you do the conversion and those results can be compared to a known, comfortable, bike. (this calculator is handy: Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net) Compact drop bars (shorter bar-reach and drop) are a plus. Selecting bikes with a shorter top tube helps of course. Trek has all their geometries available for older bikes..which is a tremendous help. The early 90's 900 series mtn bikes have 10-15mm shorter top tubes than 1994+. Typically these bikes will have a low-short head tube. And typically you'd want to raise the bars to approximately saddle height. When you do this, the bar-reach is effectively shortened and gives you more latitude in the required stem. I use a VO Cigne 90mm stem on my Trek 970 DB conversion. While a 70mm Cigne is available if needed, the 90mm is preferred..for me.