Touring - A good base for a touring rig?

Hey there,

After lurking this forum and reading a bunch of sites, I've decided I MUST give touring a shot.

I recently acquired a Schwinn Probe and what I am wondering is...would it make a good base? It seems to be *quite* stable and it has rack and fender mounts. And it was free!

The crank arms are cracked around the pedal boss, and would definitely have to be swapped out.

And there are multiple spots that need to be painted...so I 'spose I'll end up just re-painting the frame/fork.

I am just wondering...where would I go from there(other than general overhauling)? Drop bars? Stem? Racks?

I've read up so much, but with all the information out there it's a little overwhelming.

What do y'all think?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v62/levisghost/105_0571.jpg

the frame is steel, a little heavy, but shouldn't be a problem if it's straight and you
have enough heel clearance. and the price was right.

you may want to upgrade the components someday. if they still function, that can
wait. replace the arms now (and probably the bottom bracket while you're there).
if the ride is rough/noisy on pavement, try slick or lo-profile tires.

otherwise, borrow/buy some panniers and go a few weekend tours before you
start changing parts out.

As you may have noticed, you're likely to find any number of viewpoints on this forum, including people who ride mega-distance events on Wal Mart bikes. But since you asked....I personally am not crazy about riding long distances on a flat bar bike. I like to have different hand postions, so I would consider different handlebars. On the other hand, some people love flat bar bikes. You might want to ride it around for a couple of months to see what YOU like before making any major changes.

Whoa! Quick replies.

Thank you.

The tires WILL be swapped out for some slicks at the same time as the arms, I forgot to mention that. This bike will be used as a commuter if not for touring.

Definitely replace those tires with slicks.

An overhaul is almost certainly in order. I wouldn't bother with drop bars. Get some bar ends to provide more hand positions. And a Brooks saddle, of course.

I rode several thousand km on an old 1982 Stumpjumper whose geometry is similar to your bike.
I changed to drop bars and bar end shifters, put fenders and slicks on it and it was perfect.

I would definitely change the bars if you are serious about touring. If you are on the bike for hours every day you need a variety of hand positions.

Not everyone likes riding drop handlebars. After riding both flat and drop bars, I've settled on flat bars with bar-ends. Works for me. Doesn't work for everybody.

If you don't have a preference, I'd suggest that you experiment with the flat handlebars you have on the bike first. Don't forget to try bar-ends if you feel you need more positions. I find that drop handlebars give me 2.5 useful hand positions, but the bars are too narrow and I don't like the brake position at all. I get about 2.5 useful hand positions on flat bars w/bar-ends, and I like the width and brake position.

And then if you don't like the bars you have, think about drop bars. There are also trekking bars (lots of hand positions), moustache bars, randonneuring bars, etc.

indeed, i also think that slicks would be a better choice for touring.

i´ve been touring with straight bar with bar ends and have not encountered any major problems. however in my new tourer i put drop bar on because i´d like to see how it works, if i will like it better. so far (it´s been raining so far! dammit!), it´s been ok, but i do find it somewhat unstable because when i´m in "normal position" (as in straight bar position) everything´s fine then when i have to reach out for the brakes then it´s a bit unstable and i feel kinda weird, but of course, it could be that i need to adjust my setup a bit to get to an ideal poisition or that i need to get used to this.

the rack looks somewhat skinny, i doubt that they will hold.