Building a touring Bike, Converting my MTB HELP NEEDEED

d14vd_h

Hi guys i have recently relocated to London and im planning to use this base to do some serious touring, im going to start off easy with London - Brighton, then maybe London - Newquay and certainly London - Paris in March

i dont have a touring bike in ym quiver but i do have a custom built MTB that i would like to convert/utilise, its redundant since i got an NS core freeride MTB,

ive included pictures; i was hoping you could help me by telling me how i should upgrade/replace, i dont want to spend a fortune and i dont want to buy another bike,

straight off im thinking solid carbon forks, full set of mudguards and rear rack/pannier, new tires (which?), refit the big ring (currently got a bash ring),
a different set of handle bars, i know its not conventional but i think 'aero' bars look as if they would have a lot of useful poisition, straight to a slight drop then the bullhorn ends what do you think?
i also dont find the exisitng saddle overly comfy so will take the chance to replace
should i fit a front disc or will shimano lx v's be fine?
should i replace my dmr flat pedals?

the bike has been well cared for and given a service is rideable.

let me know ure advice and product reccomendations
cheers
Dave

meagain

Here's one (well, similar) I did earlier...



What you plan is all straightforward enough - except that carbon rigids for 26" wheels tend not to have 'grd eyes at the drop outs - and even if work around that, usually not easy to "fit" to crown either. I THINK that a pair of (older) Project 2s (as on mine) would better serve your purpose. The rear end looks fine for full 'grds (better than mine - no eyes and had to use zip ties at the chainstay bridge).
Handlebars? Personal prefernce obviously - but I'm a big fan of "ski" bar ends.
Tyres? If all tarmac, then some decent quality x1.3- x1.5 slicks. If mixed ground, then I rather like Conti Dual Fighters.
Probably missed something important, but no doubt other views will be along shortly...

alfablue

Hi Dave

I converted my Rocklobster Titanium mtb to a tourer. I swapped the Rockshox SID SL forks for rigid Kona Project 2 triple butted steel forks (they come in different lengths, ensure you get one that is suspension corrected to match the height of your suspension forks). I looked round for carbon forks but could not find any that were much lighter, and they all cost a lot more.

The rear of the bike did not have mudguard or rack mounts, so I bought a Tubus Cosmo rack and used their excellent quick release skewer lower mount, and their upper mount (like posh p-clips). I fitted rubber sleeved p-clips for the mudguard mount. The rack was extremely solid in this arrangement, and "as one" with the bike.

The new forks had mudguard eyes.

I fitted wide SKS chromoplastic mudguards.

All the original mtb gearing was fine.

I fitted long "ski jump" style bar ends and wrapped them with bar tape - gave lots of comfy options.

I fitted a Selle AnAtomica leather saddle (gods own saddle!!!).

I fitted Schwalbe Marathon 26x1.5 tyres - excellent.

Problems:

1) Some mtb's have quite a tight rear end geometry meaning there can be heel clearance problems with panniers. My Tubus rack and the QR mount both move the rack more rearward than normal, and the Tubus rack has a lower mounting rail too, which lowers centre of gravity and leaves the top of the rack more easily accessible.

2) I really prefer drop bars, despite the bar ends, I still get aching wrists with flats on long tours. It is prohibitively expensive to change the flasts to drops on the mtb, and the geometry would end up too long anyway.

3) The bike is very twitchy under load, I get used to this but I was very shocked at how stable my girlfriends bike was when loaded for touring (a Trek 1.2, a road bike, not even designed for touring). Although I have done plenty of tours on my mtb it has made me decide to get a dedicated touring bike and return the mtb to it's former use. I am not saying your mtb will be twitchy like this, but it could be, and if so it is not a good feel. Many people do tour successfully with mtb's though. But I reckon you would be better saving the money and getting an entry level dedicated tourer such as the Edinburgh Cycle Co-Op Revolution Country Traveller or a Dawes Horizon (basically the same bike I think). They come ready to tour and when you add the costs of mods and accessories to your mtb the price won't be far different.

meagain

And another - tho' it is a little different currently and was always I think more of an ATB than an MTB! It's actually a better "tourer" than the one above (grd'eyes, rack points etc) but the frame is not quite as pretty!

d14vd_h

guys i cant thank you enough these replies are incredible

i will be using my mtb and although as you say the parts cost will mount up, i love building up bikes and this bike is redundant i feel guilty!

do you think aero bars would be silly, i think they look good and seem to offer positions for climb / speed / comfort

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=26983

d14vd_h

ps i will be reccomending the edinburgh cycels bike to my firend who is accompanying me on the trip and needs to buy a bike

meagain

AND two of us agreed on Project 2s!

Where will you mount the shifters on the aero bars? And being ROAD bars will the diameter be right for the shifters (might not be for the existing clamp but can probably get away with that - shim if necessary)?

d14vd_h

this is very true
i will stick with bar ends
and defo get project 2's

Bodhbh

The other option for handlebars is to get some 'butterfly bars':

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Modo ... -15573.htm

When converting my MTB to a tourer I stuck some on and they've been great on long rides, probably 3-4 different hand positions. Think you can get cheaper ones elsewhere although.

I left the suspension on the front and got the Tubus rack for suspension forks and stuck on some Marathon XRs, although to be fair probably don't do enough miles off-road to justify it. Probably should stick on some rigid forks myself.

meagain

Yep, butterfly bars are comfy things! Can get 'em cheaper than at sjs - often some Raleigh branded ones on ebay.

amaferanga

Another option is some On One Mary bars with inboard mounted bar ends. I've used this set-up and butterfly bars. Butterfly bars are good on-road and on good quality dirt roads, but for real rough stuff they're far from ideal since brakes are mounted too far in.

Tubus racks are good, but I prefer Old Man Mountain racks. I've broken a Tubus Logo on tour (3 times in fact), but never an OMM. Plus they are specifically designed for bikes with no mounting eyelets. OMM make racks for the front as well which work with suspension forks. A rack-style front carrier is IME better than a low rider for real rough roads.

d14vd_h

guys further to these messsages i have found a edinburgh cycles revolution on ebay,
local collection only near my home in scoltand, its ideal in many ways and a lot cheparer than the sum of parts for conversion,
however the listing says its only 8 speed
would i struggle with this for long distance touring or would it be enough and make the bike simpler
hope to hear from you soon
David

alfablue

There are several models of bike in the Revolution range, some designed as urban commuters and I think they may even have an 8 speed hub geared version, however if it IS the Country Traveller it will be 8 speed in that it is an 8 speed cassette, but it will have a triple chain ring, so 3x8=24 gears, which is perfect for a tourer. Just check the exact model out.

andymiller

8-speed is fine - though obviously that depends on having the right combination of gears.

meagain

THIS one on th'bay?

"edinburgh bike co-op revolution courier hybrid"

Tidy bike for light(ish) touring I imagine. 3x8 should be fine!
If can get it for say 150 quid probably a fair buy - wouldn't go higher (I failed to attract a bid at that for the one in my first photo - and that has as-new £300 wheels/tyres and new LX drive train!).

alfablue

It is a flat barred hybrid suitable for the city really, it has only 8 speeds, single front ring, I wouldn't want to tour on it.

d14vd_h

thats the very one mate
yeah as i say i dont neceassrily need it, my friend who accompanys me will need a new bike and this seems only to need a rack/panniers and some bar ends (and perhaps some bits and bobs to make it mine)
if it is too small for him or he wants a brand new one i would be more than happy to save the money

d14vd_h

ona nother note do you guys know of an online stockist for the project 2 forks?

alfablue

d14vd_h wrote:

thats the very one mate
yeah as i say i dont neceassrily need it, my friend who accompanys me will need a new bike and this seems only to need a rack/panniers and some bar ends (and perhaps some bits and bobs to make it mine)
if it is too small for him or he wants a brand new one i would be more than happy to save the money

I believe for touring it needs a triple chain ring unless he is very strong, look for the Revolution Country Traveller, that particular bike offers nothing over a standard mtb that has rack mounts.

d14vd_h

ok thanks man
will defo take that on board
what about those forks, chain reaction and ebay proved fruitless
cheers

alfablue

They seem to be hard to find now, Evans and JE James seem to have them, but make sure you get the right length. Alternatively, try eBay, or what about the Surly ones on Wiggle, they could be a good alternative.

d14vd_h

i like those a lot
my bike didnt originally come with suspension; i retro-fitted the rockshox
would these forks definatley work
would the large clearance the forks boast look silly with 1.5mm tyre tread?
cheers guys

alfablue

Well, if your frame was originally suspension corrected, then all is fine. If you retro-fitted suspension and it wasn't suspension corrected, then the front end would be a bit higher than designed and would slacken the steering geometry, however if the bike has been fine / you are used to it then it should be okay. I don't think the large tyre clearance will be a problem, the Project 2's are the same in this respect (in fact I don't expect you would find any 26inch forks that weren't like this).

johny c

David,

I converted my old Cannondale to a trail/tourer, it has P2 forks and Schwalbe tyres. I'll send you the rest of the details if you're interested. A wee donation to the lifeboats and you're very welcome to it, for yourself or your friend. Season of goodwill, etc.

d14vd_h

absolutley blown away by this offer, i have sent a pm
thank you very very much :shock:
inspiring stuff,
perhaps could even dedicate one of the proposed trips to lifeboats - gather sponsorship from friends/colleagues, inform the lifeboat society what im doing etc
of course on top of a donation for the bike??