Originally Posted by
mijome07
I bought a brand new Bianchi Bay City hybrid/fitness bike 3 months ago. So far I've been riding it around town and trips to the beach [I reside in Southern California]. I know you can convert almost any bike into a touring bike, but I'm wondering if this aluminum bike would be suitable. It has riser bars with SRAM grip shifts. I wanna install dropbars with bar end shifters. Also put Jandd Expedition front/rear racks and panniers. It came with Alex wheels and Kenda Kwest 700x35 tires. After I'm done upgrading the components on the bike, I can still use it to commute to work, weekend trips, etc. So it can be my commuter/fitness/touring bike. Any advice on upgrading the bike would be appreciated.
http://www.bianchiusa.com/07_bay_city.html
If you will look at the forum back threads, you will see that people are touring with Trek 3700. Everything can be done, but is it good? You will decide.
If you will go with dropbars and barends, you will need to change the brakes. All this setup will cost a lot of money. You can buy an expedition bar. You will have the comforts and don't need to change anything.
The front crank is high. you can change the rings to 22 the lower and decide what will be the higher rings.
I would go with rear cassette of 34 but 32 is good enough for now.
My advice to you, if you don't really attached with your heart to the bike, just try to sell the bike and buy a real touring rig.
nJoy