Touring - getting a touring [mountain] bike ready for a friend...

I have a friend coming from St.Louis [he's originally from California] this summer to do our first bike tour. We plan on riding up California. There is a GT Passage [mountain bike] with an aluminum frame I'm looking at for $50. The seller said it's in good condition [?].

Anyways, I'm gonna try to get a bike ready with racks and panniers for my friend. That way, we can go for a 2 day ride to try out the bike[s] before we venture up north. His budget is $400 for a bike. I told him I'll try to keep it within that price. As far as touring, we plan on doing it self-supported [camping, hiking, etc.]. Can this be done with $400? Any advice and/or comments?

I have a friend coming from St.Louis [he's originally from California] this summer to do our first bike tour. We plan on riding up California. There is a GT Passage [mountain bike] with an aluminum frame I'm looking at for $50. The seller said it's in good condition [?].

Anyways, I'm gonna try to get a bike ready with racks and panniers for my friend. That way, we can go for a 2 day ride to try out the bike[s] before we venture up north. His budget is $400 for a bike. I told him I'll try to keep it within that price. As far as touring, we plan on doing it self-supported [camping, hiking, etc.]. Can this be done with $400? Any advice and/or comments?

Yes, it can be done.

There are websites that deal with backpacking on the cheap. They talk about ways of gearing up without breaking the bank. I wish I had exact links for you; but Google can almost certainly get you to some good sites.

The gear required for backpacking overlaps with the gear for bike touring quite a bit, so this sort of information can be very useful to you.

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You might try posting the question about the bike on the Classic & Vintage forum.

Many people will steer you toward steel frames for touring. A good aluminum bike will work fine too.

You want to aim for reliability, so your tour is not plagued with breakdowns and equipment failures.

Racks: Jandd Expedition and Extreme racks are very reliable, and are well priced.

Panniers: Jandd makes good panniers. They aren't exactly cheap, though. If you are so inclined, you might check out making your own. There are plans and ideas in the archives on this site and elsewhere.

If you can stay compact and light enough (and there are ways of doing so), you can get by with a large waterproof stuffsack strapped on top of the Jandd Expedition rear rack. That would save a lot of money and trouble and complexity. You wouldn't even need a front rack, and you wouldn't need panniers. (Panniers would enable you to get the weight lower, which is good; but if you go light enough, it isn't such a big issue -- and with a little practice and a good solid rack, you can have a perfectly good setup this way.)

You could use a small- or medium-sized backpack in the same way (rather than a stuffsack), and it would enable you to make some backpacking side trips. Nylon accessory straps (the kind sold at places like REI) are great for securing these sorts of things to the top of the rack.

Some people will say it is important to have a front rack; but I've toured lightly with just a rear rack, and it is fine. Others have said the same thing after trying it.

There are many other benefits to going light. Some people like to push the limits of ultralight; others just go with light-but-not-ultralight setups, so they are just where they need to be -- light but not too light. They aren't sacrificing the enjoyment of their trips, and have everything they need, but still manage to keep it compact and light enough.

Ultralight backpacking sites will have a lot of information and tips. There is at least one site that deals with budget ultralight gear.

There are all kinds of in-between possibilities and variations.

This thread might be of interest,

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=393043

Banjo Brothers panniers are reasonably priced and very good at keeping the rain out.

Thanks guys for the advice. I'm a BIG fan of Jandd products. I already have a Expedition rack on my Bianchi and will be outfitting it with Jandd Extreme and front/rear panniers. I recently got that discount email from Jandd. I can get the Expedition/Front Low Rack from bikeisland.com for $95. I'll have to check out those Banjo Brothers' panniers. Below is the link to the bike I'm looking at. There is also a Trek 830 I'm looking at for about $100.

GT Passage (http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/579454330.html)

I've got a GT Passage sitting at work, it's my daily lunch time errand runner and has about 600 miles on it since I put it back on the road. From the components which are inexpensive Shimano 100GS I've got it dated at 1991 or 1992, the only years that group was produced. It's blue, by the way, if that helps you in figuring whether or not we're talking the same bike.

Here's a few thoughts based on the past six or so months of use:

1. First off, I'll call it a hybrid, not a mountain bike. Hard nose, hard tail (the way I like them) but built lighter than an actual mountain bike of that era. 700c wheels, not 26" - a plus with me.
2. Positives: Comfortable frame, good responsiveness, decent wheels, cheap group that seems to work rather well, with a few qualifications. Actually uses a 7-speed cassette, not freewheel, giving you some room for future upgrade. Nice crankset, much higher quality than I would have expected. Effective brakes,
3. Negatives: While a quality product, it's still a bottom line LBS bike, so there are compromises. While the dérailleurs work well, the shifters are definitely showing wear. I cannot do a third to second, or, second to first shift on the front. It's climb to high, drop immediately to first and go back up to second. The dérailleurs are heavily plastic which has me wondering how long they'll last, or how they'll stand up under stress. Quick release only on the front wheel.

Am I happy with the bike? Definitely yes. Would I consider touring it? Yes, once I did a number of upgrades - although that's a moot question since I got my Bianchi Nyala built up and debugged about two months before finding this bike (wife got it for me at the dump, catching the owner about to throw it in the dumpster) - and the Magneet will be done by the end of this month.

What I'd do to tour the bike:

1. Add racks, panniers and fenders.
2. Replace the rear axle with one allowing a quick release.
3. Definitely replace the shifters - as seven speeds are a bit more difficult to find, and you do have a cassette rear hub, you might as well look at 8 or 9 speed shifters and change the cassette to match.
4. Having done the shifters, take out a bit of extra insurance and just upgrade the dérailleurs, Shimano Deore LX or XT would be a definite improvement.
5. If it still has the stock seat, find better. That seat is fine for 10 miles a day around town, I wouldn't want to try it long distance.

By the way, looking at the ad, that bike is a couple of years different from mine. That one has the triple triangle frame (I consider that a plus), mine doesn't.

I'm wondering how locked in you are to riding south-to-north. I think there are real advantages to riding north-to-south. Is that an option? Are you interested in hearing why? Will you be riding up the coast or inland?

Trek 830s were great bikes. You want to shoot for bearings that are in good condition. If you live in a dry area, and the bike has been stored properly, and it hasn't been ridden too much (or crashed, abused, or worn out) you're in luck -- and it can be good to go for many miles of touring.

I agree that north-to-south is worth considering.

Banjo Brothers' stuff is good, but I've worn holes in mine in perhaps half a year of (admittedly very heavy) use. Never had anything inside get wet, though, even in very heavy rain.

Thanks guys for the advice. I'm a BIG fan of Jandd products. I already have a Expedition rack on my Bianchi and will be outfitting it with Jandd Extreme and front/rear panniers. I recently got that discount email from Jandd. I can get the Expedition/Front Low Rack from bikeisland.com for $95. I'll have to check out those Banjo Brothers' panniers. Below is the link to the bike I'm looking at. There is also a Trek 830 I'm looking at for about $100.

GT Passage (http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/579454330.html)

For racks (since you are on the cheap), I'd suggest Delta Mega rack (http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=24) and Megarack front (http://www.deltacycle.com/product.php?g=27) for slightly less money. For economical panniers, it'd be hard to beat Performance Transits (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23828&subcategory_ID=2312). Not the longest lasting but not too expensive either.

As for the bike, don't go fancy on upgrades. If the bike shifts and the wheels turn, don't go swapping parts. I'd add bar ends or trekking bars to the GT, a saddle, new tires, grips and pedals of your friend's choice to it. A tune up would also be in order but don't go fancifing anything. Keep it basic because new parts will add up fast.

Higher level componentry (assuming it is in good condition) tends to be more durable. Some of the used bikes will come with a set of high-end components, others mid-range, and others lower.


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Some people with the money have bought fine bikes with intentions of seriously using them someday, or getting fit someday, etc. -- and then never really got around to it. They've basically sat in garages for years. Some of them are in excellent condition.