Touring - using old road bikes for touring?

Hey everyone, I have a 78' Peugeot Monaco that is in near perfect shape. I wanted to start doing some short tours (no longer than a 1-2 weeks). I don't know much about touring bikes and was wondering if this bike would be appropriate for what I want to do. It seems pretty heavy and racks can be mounted in the back and front. The bike cost me $50 and I don't want to spend more than $300 on upgrades. Is it worth investing money to make this bike more for touring and what do I need to buy? I definitely need new handlebars because the stock ones are to narrow for me (which means also getting that nitto 'French' stem so I can use 26.0 bars). Should I get a crankset with 3 chain rings or can I just change the chain rings I have on now to make it better for hills and whatnot? I really appreciate any help!

Wow. What a score!! I hit the thrift shops and craigslist a couple times every week, and can't find anything that will even fit me, let alone something that nice.

It appears from reading this forum, you can tour on just about anything. Some people pay a steep price for comfort, and gadgetry, others just hop on and go. I guess it's really up to you and what you would feel comfortable on. Only you will know what your needs are. But If this bike will take racks, and the gearing is manageable, what's stopping you?

Tell anything you can about the bike and you will likely get back more comments.:) Examples---describe the gearing that it has on there now, the number of chainrings and number of teeth per chainring, crankset brand if you can see it, the number of cogs in back with number of teeth per cog, the type of shifters (downtube friction shifters?), type of hubs and rims if you can see anything written on there, size of tires and condition, wheelbase length and chainstay length, and whether there are any markings on the frame as to what kind of steel tubing it is.

In addition, there are probably people on the Classic and Vintage folder that can tell you more about that bicycle.

I have an old steel touring bike from near that same time that has worked well for touring. Your bike sounds like a good find! Sheldon Brown/HarrisCyclery has a lot of parts for old bikes as well as explains a lot of options for upgrading older bikes and discusses compatibility issues. I suspect that you will find this page at Sheldon Brown useful for starters in your research. Start at top of page. http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/freewheels.html#5

I liked the poster's comments above. If everything is already working on the bike and it has eyelets for racks front and back, then that is a heck of a start. You could try it out right away on some shorter weekend tours close to home to kind of see how things go before deciding what you want to upgrade. Regarding gearing, however, most everyone eventually wants to have a triple crankset, but there is nothing to say you can't make it work with a double---depending on where you are touring and how strong a rider you are. Nonetheless, Sheldon Brown has reasonably priced, triple touring cranksets that will work with a variety of freewheels or cassettes in back:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/cranks/11074.html

You can tour on anything. One of my friends had a 1979 Peugeot on our 1st tour and none of our bikes had triple chain rings or any "real" touring components.I say go for it and take some pics to post here!
In fact, these old "road bikes" were all we used for touring in the old days.
I toured extensively on a bike just like this none. I built this bike as a replica for a 25 year anniversary ride last summer.
I even scrounged up old NOS Grab-On grips from MEC.
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/fj40/DSC01777.jpg

I've got a pic of the old Peugeot in a group photo. Double chain rings and all.

in the mid 80s i toured on a 1980 Peugeot (sp?) sport-type road bike, with just a 40-52 crank and a 13-28 six speed rear. The wheelbase was a little short for racks, panniers and fenders but it sufficed.

People toured on them back in the day so it is certainly possible.

Where will you be touring? If it is hilly at all... At the very least I would put on the smallest inner ring that the crank will take.

For about $80 you could get a new crank like maybe the Sugino XD 600 (46,36,26). It will most likely work with your current front and rear dérailleur assuming that the rear one is a long cage model.

What is the largest sprocket on the rear?

Having low enough gearing goes a LONG way toward making the trip more pleasant if mountains or even hills and a load are involved.

Do you have any pictures?

I even scrounged up old NOS Grab-On grips from MEC.

Wow. Your bike really looks great! I have those same grips on my old steel tourer----cushy!:D Nowdays they try to sell some bar tape with a little gel in it for a high price that doesn't work half as well! I guess it is lighter though! I have the same brake levers as you too, but the gum hoods are shot. Are those original levers or were you able to buy a great looking replacement set somewhere?

Wow. Your bike really looks great! I have those same grips on my old steel tourer----cushy!:D Nowdays they try to sell some bar tape with a little gel in it for a high price that doesn't work half as well! I guess it is lighter though! I have the same brake levers as you too, but the gum hoods are shot. Are those original levers or did you find someplace to buy a great looking replacement set?

I took the hoods from a new pair of Weinman's I had been saving. But the hoods will be going back where they came from when I finally get around to ordering some hoods.
If you look close you can see the hole for the "safety" lever. The Shimano 600 levers have no such device.
You can get them on ebay from time to time.

A few things to consider.

Good wheels - particularly if you load it down, the wheels should be checked to make sure they are straight and true with properly tensioned spokes. Use the widest tires that will fit - at least 1 1/8" x 27" (approximately 28mm wide).

Gearing - Lower is better. Depends on where you are planning to ride but the stock gearing is probably too high. Whether you need a triple chainring depends on how strong you are, what load you're carrying and where you plan to go.

Fit - If you're planning to replace the bars and stem anyway, position them higher than the normal 'road bike' height. Start with the bar about even with the top of the saddle, then adjust to your preference. Check the rack and saddlebags for clearance with your heels when peddling.

With $300 you should be able to get it into shape for touring without any problems.

Continental makes Gatorskins in 27*1.25" size that will fit in my old frame. I believe most 1970s and early 1980s road bikes have clearance for 27*1.25" tires.:)

thanks for all the help, I'll be make sure to post pictures and get more details soon. Right now from what I've gathered from Sheldon is that French bikes are tricky! But I know that the bike was made for the US market so standard freewheels should fit. I'm not entirely sure about the tires, I think because it was for the US market that they should also be the standard size for old road bikes.

I still have youthful energy and I also ride a fixed gear (52 x 18 up until yesterday) to get around and do semi long rides on(usually between 10 and 35 miles), so I think I could handle gear ratios that could be a little higher than normal. I've already started planning a small weekend trip so I'll see how it is and if I need lower gear ratios and whatnot.

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but I was thinking about doing the same thing. Last month I bought a late 70's [?] Ross 10 speed steel touring [?] bike for $45 off of craigslist. I'll probably put about $400 into the bike. I'm planning on using it for light-medium touring. I'll use Jandd front and rear racks. I can give full specifications at a later time.

Ross bike (http://www.flickr.com/photos/9320902@N04/2113697670/)

<<I'm not entirely sure about the tires, I think because it was for the US market that they should also be the standard size for old road bikes. I've already started planning a small weekend trip so I'll see how it is and if I need lower gear ratios and whatnot.>>

Sounds great! Concerning the wheel/tire size, can you find any numbers on the rims or tires at all? The tires may say something like 28-630 rather than 27*1 1/8 for example, with 28mm being the width and 630mm being the rim diameter from seat bead to seat bead. Those 27*1 1/4" Continental Gatorskin tires that I recommended above also say 32-630 on them, for 32mm width and a 630mm diameter rim from seat bead to seat bead. There is about a 95% chance that your rims are 630mm rims, more commonly called 27 inch wheels. Those mm numbers are the ones that actually make sense.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html

Good luck!

Can you tour on old road bikes?

Certainly!
1986 Schwinn Passage, 27"X1 1/4 wheel tire (630-32mm). I used a kid trailer for cargo and did the upper peninsula including across the firetrails and fireroads in the Natl Forest.

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o260/TomStormcrowe/UP2/UpperPeninsulaII076.jpg

Dude... I love old Peugeots! I have an '84 commuter 5-speed with a rack, lights, generator, 700c tough aluminium eyeleted rims and original German stickers! I had a Peugeot racer as well but I sold it. I love the feel of those frames.

Couple of things to consider before you upgrade. Bottom bracket is French which means you can't just upgrade it. If you have cottered cranks you are kind of stuck. The rear hub might be Heliomatic, which means no upgrade either. Check out Sheldon Brown's French bike pages for lots of good info.. and PARTS THAT FIT! http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/french.html

I think this bike may actually be a "pseugeot". I read that a Canadian company was making Peugeot's in the 80's (I made a little mistake and put 78 instead of 87 in the description) and it instantly came to my mind that my bike has a Canadian flag on the chain stays. The good news is that its parts are probably compatible with American parts. The frame is made of HLE tubing - is this desirable for a touring bike? I've never heard anything about it.

You think you can ride your bike 100 miles unloaded? If that's true, you'll be able to tour on it, no problem. You see, it's not really about the bike--- it's about you. If you're commited and in touring shape-- you'll do fine.

check out Ken Kefier's bike pages, he has some good information on using older bikes for loaded touring.http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/touring/campgear.htm

I've got an old Pergeot Pantera which I keep meaning to build up. It's a nice bike, but has an 80's paintjob which needs respraying (not only because the decals are really offensive to the eye, but because the paint is pretty bad in places).

I found it at our dump. Everything works fine and it's a nice ride. Main problem is clearance. Not enough for mudguards, which in my neck on the woods, UK, you need.

The only other thing I'd be aware of is that I believe they have a differnet size bottom bracket, and as such, should you have any probems on the road and don;t take a spare yourself, you might not be able to get it repaired. That said, in 30 odd years of cycling, I don;t think I've ever...no, I won't finish that sentence. Only trempting fate.