rebblack

I am new to touring and looking to get more into it without buying a brand-new bike and breaking the bank. Feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed at what to look for. Would this Peugot Chromolite be something worth pursuing for $390 CAD? Can't post a pic because I'm new to the forum - maybe I can DM if interested in helping.

Here are the specs on the ad:
PEUGEOT Touring bike
frame: L: 5'8" - 6'.
CromoLite Cromoly 21-speeds.
(rims) : 700c ALUMINIUM like-NEW
Tires Rear racks & 3 bags.
Excellent condition.

cb400bill

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TiHabanero

There are quite a few changes that need to be made to that rig before it is ready for a longer tour. A day or two-day ride, sure, but long haul, not ready yet. 390 CAD is a bit pricey from my perspective since there is some work to do on it.
390 CAD is something close to 290 USD.

Jeff Neese

Assuming that you simply mean that he'd need additional things, like a front rack and panniers, etc. I don't know that he would need to make any changes to the actual bike. It's clearly designed to be a touring bike, judging by the long chainstays and the rack mounts on the front fork.

Thulsadoom

I'd personally change the shifters, which is an easy job, but otherwise it looks like a great touring bike for a heck of a deal! A much better bike than I started on, that's for sure.

L134 

If it fits, it is worth pursuing.

GamblerGORD53

$300 at the most. The rims look like they are worn thin. Looks like it's only big enough for 5'10".

OldCoot

Looks very serviceable to me. Of course maintenance items on used bike is always a must ( cables, pads, tires or whatever else is old and tired). Have fun!

garryg

Do some homework on gearing for touring bikes and figure out if that bike has a low enough gear for loaded touring. Looks like it will need new cables and housings and maybe brake pads. If you have a proper gear range on it and the bike is your size then it will do you fine.If you could come up with $7 or $800 Can there are much better options.

Doug64

Have you had a chance to ride this bike? The rear derailleur, and the chain position on the chainrings look strange.

indyfabz

First things I noticed.

mstateglfr 

I would disagree with the 'excellent condition' claim. It may be in working condition(unsure, based on the rear derailleur), but I dont think that is 'excellent condition'.

This could be a really cool bike to use for touring. Quirky cool that its a brand which really isnt seen anymore, but is modern tig. Thats a small window of time for such a bike to have existed...like 5 years. Not sure why I always think that sort of thing is neat, but it adds appeal for me.
Anyways...
- The bars are not the shape I would want for comfort. They may work for you.
- The brake levers are not what I would want for comfort or usability. Changing them will cost $25usd for some Tektro RL340 levers, or something similar.
- The shifting on that bike is not at all what I would want. I would change it to either STI shifting or some bar end shifters. Bar end will likely be cheapest. This will cost $25-60usd depending on if you buy new or used. Based on the drivetrain, just buy a style that has friction mode for the rear.
- Check the rear derailleur. I am not sure what is going on there, but it looks like the chain doesnt run thru one of the pulley wheels.
- I would change the brake and shift cables. The shift cables would already need to change since I would have bar end shifters, but the brake cables being changed at the same time will just let you start with all new cables. The rear cable looks like it was caught and bent on something(see the middle of the cable as it runs along the top tube). $10usd for these.
- No idea what those tires are, but they dont look new or particularly appealing(whether your goal is fast rolling, good wet grip, or flatproof). So new tires would likely be on the list. That adds another $85usd.



The changes above are not required by all, but I listed them because they would be required for me if I wanted to ride that bike for many miles over many days. What you want may vary.

mstateglfr 

How can you tell the rim thickness from that picture?

Yan 

I don't think this is worth $390 CAD. This is a ride and throw away bike, not a keeper / upgrader.

I don't see a need to upgrade the shift levers. However it's a 7 speed which means it has 126mm rear spacing. You won't be able to upgrade it to a newer drivetrain. The current cassette doesn't look low enough for touring, you will struggle on climbs. The old styled brake levers are much inferior to modern designs, you'll want to upgrade those which will cost $30 USD (plus tax, shipping, cables, labor). You're looking at about $450 CAD to get this thing working, which I think is a bad deal.

Since you are in Montreal I'd suggest going to a community bicycle recycle workshop and building up a slightly more modern frame.

cyccommute 

There’s nothing strange about the rear derailer. The bike is in the small/small combination and the derailer it just folded up against the frame. Nothing wrong at all.

cyccommute 

Everyone else seems to have a problem with this bike but I just don’t see what they see. From the picture, it appears to be a bike set up for touring. It’s probably a late 80s/early 90s Japanese made frame. There is a model name on the top tube but I can’t read it. Can you find out what model it is?

Price seems fair.

It has lowrider mounts which puts it in the touring bike realm almost by default. The rear derailer looks like an early 90s Shimano Altus or perhaps an RSX. The crank is a 5 bolt mountain bike crank from the same era. I suspect that someone removed the STI shifters and added the stem shifters and old style brake levers. It looks like a solid bike and worthy of touring as well as upgrades

Doug64

Take a close look at the chainrings.

cyccommute 

I did. There’s nothing strange. Here’s a close up.


I put in an arrow to show the position of the chain. You can see that the chain is behind the middle ring and is, in fact, on the smallest ring. Nothing wrong at all.

Here are some photos the illustrate how the derailer folds up when in the small/small combination. On the Moots, there is no chain and you can see the derailer just tucks up on itself.




I was working on this one and happened to have it in the small/small combination. The chain is a link shorter than the Peugeot so the derailer is not quite tucked in on itself. You can also seet that the chain is running behind the middle ring just like the Peugeot.

Jeff Neese

Do you do your own maintenance? The reason that matters is having your LBS do a complete overhaul, which you would want before taking it on any tour, will add to the cost. That's in addition to any new parts and materials. It would still probably be worth it and be a lot cheaper than anything new, but at least estimate the total cost ahead of time.

When you look at basic refurbishment - new tires/tubes, rim strips, brake pads, cables and housing, chain and freewheel, handlebar tape, etc. you're looking at easily $200-250. If you have to buy a new seat, or other things, consider that. If you need the bike shop to perform the work it would be another $150-200. So even if you don't have to replace anything major, your total cost could exceed $700-800. Cheaper of course if you can do all the work yourself.

To my eyes, that bike looks like if it were completely refurbished as I'm describing, it would be better than anything you could buy new for that and would make a fine touring bike.

Calsun

A great and inexpensive bike for touring is the Centurion Iron Man triathalon bikes from the 1980's with their great frame geometry. I owned one and it was very stable and great for long distance rides. The only downside is their having downtube shift levers. They sell for around $400 and so with that base cost it would be easy to change out the brake levers for one that can be used to change gears.

mstateglfr 

What now?
That bike has no eyelets on the fork or rear, it has 413mm chainstays, a 74deg HTA, and fits a 25mm tire.
There is nothing about that bike which would make me want to tour with it.
Ha, I like how you claim downtube shifters is the only downside. That is about the least concerning part of using that bike as a traditional touring bike.

Jeff Neese

No way. An Iron Man does not have the geometry or component setup (gearing, brakes, etc.) for touring. Plus that ultra-light but also ultra-thin Tange #1 tubing is certainly not strong enough to carry a load.

LeeG

It might be ok. It might be a good deal. I can’t tell the condition of the tires but if they’re over ten yrs old you’ll probably want to replace them which will be another $100. It’s really not possible to provide a useful assesment of a bikes condition from a pic. It’s you who has to make that judgement and if you’re not confident you can do that you can easily spend the same amount more on a couple basic renovations.
So did you get a bike yet?

Xavier65

There are probably better 2nd hand frames of classic touring bikes to be had, i.e. of frames that were precisely designed/configured for touring.

Even 2nd hand classic tourers, such as Dawes.