Bjorneas

I have had no luck finding a used touring-specific bike for my 5’0” 13 year old for this summer’s tour (half of the Northern Tier, I think). I am now thinking about finding a hybrid and perhaps putting on trekking or drop bars. I intend to carry his panniers, so it won’t be heavily loaded. Any suggestions about what bikes or features I should look for as I scout Craigslist here in Florida? A new bike is probably not in the budget, I’m afraid.

robow

If you can't find a hybrid, which would work nicely, don't be afraid to go the route of an old school steel or aluminum mountain bike from the 90's or early 2000's. Often times the frames have all the braze-ons you need, are also easy to convert for touring and can be found relatively cheap. Most important, make sure the bike you select fits the young man well.

Tourist in MSN

Typically frames for drop bars have shorter top tubes than frames for flat bars. Thus, if you put drop bars on a hybrid, you might want to shop for a smaller sized hybrid than you typically would.

If there is a bike charity or a bike coop in your community, they might have bins of used parts that would make a conversion less costly. But the shifters might not be cheap if converting to drop bar shifters.

How tall will your 5 foot teenager be next summer?

I am sold on drop bars for touring, I use the drops for headwind riding or for long shallow downhills. But in some regions, such as continental Europe, touring bikes with flat bars are more common than here in USA. Don't assume you need drop bars to tour. A lot of people tour on drop bar bikes but even in strong headwinds do not use the drops.

fishboat

What he said..

Having converted both a hybrid and mtn bike to drop bar touring bikes, and toured on them,..some thoughts.

In the hybrid type, a Trek 750 is a good choice, there's lots of them available on the used market. Lots of room for wider tires (42mm without fenders, 38mm with SKS 53mm commuter fenders), in the early 90's the frame geometry is the same as the Trek 520 touring bike. You can load them up with front and rear racks(forks often had mid-fork mounts) as well as fenders and you'll find threaded mounting points everywhere you need them. In 1994 and newer they'll have a 15 inch frame (previously 17 was the smallest). Look for a Shimano drive train as it'll simplify the conversion process. 750s, like many/most hybrids at the time, have a triple crank and a reasonable gearing for touring..or at least a good start(hub/derailleurs/road shifter compatibility..) to work into adequate gearing. I built up a 1991 750 as a drop bar touring bike for my GF(Claris 8 speed drivetrain, STI shifters). She's used it on numerous tours with a 4 pannier setup(20-30# of gear/food) and it performs very well. When not touring it's her do-everything gravel bike..38mm tires. She loves the bike.

Issues to think about with the above: With your son being 5 foot..a 15 inch frame will likely be too big for him. Though he may grow into it by the time he uses it. Trek has all their spec-manuals available online(Trek, Fisher, Klein, Lemond bike catalogs, bicycle brochures). Look them over closely by year as you find bikes to see what you have to work from. Trek also has a year by color list online (https://www.vintage-trek.com/model_numbers1.htm)..when you find a used bike, look at the list, determine the year, then look at the spec manual...

For mtn bikes..also a great base for a tourer (I tour on a '93 Trek 970 drop bar conversion..wonderful bike), I'd look at a Trek 950 or 970. Why am i suggesting all Treks..easy..they have all their data online and they are readily available. Other Mfgs had lower sales and/or their catalogs are nowhere to be found..makes this process much tougher. Trial and error buying bikes to find out how they'll work can be time consuming, pricey and a pita.

Much of the same pluses to a mtn bike conversion are the same as I've mentioned on hybrids above. Lots of room for nice tires, fenders, mounting points, good starting drivetrain. Look for Shimano components and cantilever brakes(compatible with road shifters without add-ons to make them work). My 970 DB conversion was an inexpensive no-brainer. Road shifters are compatible with both front and rear derailleurs (XT). The 970 (950 also?) comes with a 13-30 cassette..a 12-32 SRAM cassette fits and works great. The front end is 46/36/26 most often.

With mtn bikes you'll have a better chance of finding a 13-14 inch frame to fit your son, though it will take some looking.

One thing you'll run into..as tourist suggested above, a shorter top tube is desirable. Trek mtn (and hybrid?) bikes in the 1990-1993 range will have a shorter top tube, by close to an inch, than 1994+. One challenge you'll run into with buying a smaller bike (to get a shorter top tube) is the need for an extended length seat post..no problem there as they are available. Though once you get a longer seatpost to get the saddle height right you find yourself a bit up in the air relative to the smaller, lower head tube. A steerer tube extension and riser stem may be needed to get the handlebar height right. The shorter top tubes of the early 90s Treks solved these issues..helped quite a bit at least. I tried an 18 inch 970 before I did any conversion(I normally ride a 20ish inch frame)..the 18 felt claustrophobic..and a longer seat tube and the extension of drop bars weren't going to fix it. I bought a 20 inch 970..much better. My DB 970 is a very comfortable, fun bike to ride.

With the calculators available online (Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net) you can look at a potential DB conversion bikes, measure the (frame & handlebar) stack & reach, compare the S&R of a known comfortable bike, look at the stems and handlebars available(specifically the bar drop and extension), compare them to the handlebar stack and reach of the existing flat bar....and get a very good idea of how a DB conversion will fit before you spend the money & time on the actual conversion.

We run Schwalbe Big Ben tires for touring(26x2.1 & 700x38)..very comfortable, easy rolling tire.

indyfabz

Why change bars? Maybe just add bar ends for more hand positions. I did the entire NT with a group of 12 others. One guy rode a Cannondale hybrid with bar ends.

cyccommute 

You are going to find that you are up against a problem of finding a bike that is small enough. Please don’t put him on a bike that is even a little too big. You wouldn’t be comfortable on a bike that is too big and he’s no different. Fit is as important for him as it is for you.

That said, I’d suggest a Specialized Vita (small) or Sirrus (XXS). Either would be a good choice for a small rider. My wife has a tiny Vita that I had powder coated.

DSCN1059 by Stuart Black, on Flickr

Trek FX might also work but it has a taller standover which is going to be more important for a smaller rider.

Miele Man

Bar-ends can also be mounted inboard of the shifters and brake levers so that he can have a more aerodynamic position.

Or you can by dropbar barends for a straight bar. Something like these.

https://www.amazon.com/Vincita-Bicyc.../dp/B087ZH6CVB




Cheers

velojym

Not super obvious in this pic (I'm a thousand miles away visiting family right now, so can't get a better pic yet), but I slipped some 'inner' bar ends on my FM for the above stated purpose.
They actually work really well, though I still want to dial in the angles. I can present a narrower profile to the wind, and can give my hands an extra position that's similar to riding on the hoods. I set this up for the moment, but am thinking real hard about a Surly Corner Bar for this bike.


I've also done a drop bar conversion on an older fully rigid steel MTB, and once I got the cockpit dialed in, it's FAHbulous! I did have to find some long pull drop bar levers, and they work great with the v-brakes.

thumpism 

If you're looking at older touring bikes that turn up, a 19" frame might be the smallest you're likely to find. That will probably give about a 28" standover height. Find out how tall your boy can go before you start looking. A 28" SOH bike might be too tall right now but he could grow into it by tour time. That's a gamble, though. Probably better to look for a newer (year 2000 onward) hybrid or mountain bike with an even smaller frame, but the drop bar conversion could cost as much as all the touring gear you'd buy for the bike.

Where in Florida? No telling what we might find that could be suitable for him. I'd suggest one of the tiny Trek or Cannondale tourers from the '80s for the cheapest sorted bikes you could find. There are some super touring deals out there IF they fit. Good luck!

thumpism 

Here's one of those tiny Cannondale tourers I was talking about; 18" (I think) frame, long wheelbase (note the space between the seat tube and rear tire) and lowrider braze-ons on the fork. Needs only a triple crank for the hills. This one's in MA and priced at $100. Hard to beat. My wife had one.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...02607183406171

thumpism 

Miyata 615 tourer in a small size with the small front wheel (Terry-type frame design) with triple, cantis. Fuji, Shogun and others made these.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...10877209775389

thumpism 

Yet another option, the 650 wheel road bike, and this one is a Fuji. Less a touring bike but another frame/wheel option. I'll stop now.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...06321350738486

Russ Roth

That bike sucks, seriously, its awful. Don't get one like it.

It sounds like this is being over complicated, at 5' your kid should have no problem fitting a 48-50cm bike, personally I'd skip the whole touring bike and look for a cross or gravel bike or since you're looking at carrying most of the weight, just a older more relaxed road bike. Not certain your budget but unless you have all the parts converting an old mtb or hybrid won't come cheap and can be down right annoying. For a younger kid I often look to women's bikes as they tend to be built smaller. One good example https://www.ebay.com/itm/37361490574...wAAOSw43Jgx8zs this took me about 4 minutes to find but its knowing to look for women's. Actually if I wasn't going on vacation and didn't just build my daughter a new track bike I'd get this for her. The pilot is more of a relaxed geometry then a pure race bike, has rack mounts at the dropouts, for my wife's we bought a seat collar that allows the upper rack to bolt on. Has longer stays so the feet don't hit the panniers as easily, carbon fork and seat stays for all day comfort. I'd have to double check what size is possible but I know we've put 28c tires on hers which is a fine size for touring under a light load and a light kid. There's plenty just like this in other brands with a little searching in the 5-800 range that will do a lot better then modifying a heavy hybrid or antique mtb.

GamblerGORD53

^^^^^^
Yes the Fuji sucks, but yours is WORSE. LOL. NO spokes and the same useless tri frame.

Here's one closer to target, 17". Boca Raton.
https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/bik...387772669.html

djb

good suggestion on the vita. We have a size small vita in our household, first used by my wife abd now my daughter.
Good bike, light, and even in stock trim it's a good traveling bike. 8 speed, 48/38/28 and 11-32. Crank is overheated but can change rings on the stock sugino crank.

staehpj1

Those are really cool little bikes. If I lived near there and had a family member who it fit I'd jump on that sale at that price assuming the crack in the frame looked repairable (I think it does).

robow

If you can spare $550, the yellow frame available in a size 50cm. It's not perfect in that yes, I would want a lower low but you might be able to change out the rear cassette to aid in that.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...e-roadbike.htm

Skikick

Anyone here spent much time riding with the Surly Corner Bar yet? Intriguing option.