Gavinin

Hello to all. I am planning to ride from Lisbon to Istanbul in the summer of 07. The only touring that I have done so far was along the KVR railroad here in B.C. I spent 6 days on that trip with my girlfriend. We rode on full suspention cross country Mt bikes with full panniers. Being that the whole trip was on dirt the full suspension bikes excelled in my opinion, and we were faster, and less fatiged at the end of the day compared to those around us. However as I will be ridding on roads in southern Europe I was looking at purchasing a hard tail crosscounty Mt bike with front suspension. Am I crazy? I have never rode long distance on anything other than a Mt bike. Should I be considering a true touring bike, and if so why, and witch one? They seem to be far more techy ( is techy a word ) . Help ease me into the world of touring bikes, or away from them. Any words of wisdom here would be greatly appreciated.

Bikepacker67

Assuming it can take racks and full fenders, MTB's make for excellent tourers (they're usually pretty hardy, and have the right gearing for climbing with weight).

They just need a lil' tweaking - such as finding some higher PSI slicks (assuming you're road touring) and some bar ends for extended hand positions.

womble

Lots of people tour on mountain frames. I'd personally forgo suspension of any sort, unless you get serious pain in your hands or wrists.

NoReg

A mountain bike with slicks, does pretty well on pavement. Try new tires and possibly rims, and you are off to the races.

As you already know, an MTB is a superb offroad tourer, on road though the edge goes to the 700c touring bike if you are big enough to run those wheels.

Basically, in comparison:

- The drivetrain and brakes are similar.

- The wheels are very different, essentially the 26" wheel was chosen to provide the same rolling diameter with fatter tires. So both systems assume the same ideal, it just makes sense to choose the 700c when you don't need the fat tires. However little wheels have some advantages, and if your main priority was not replacing your MTBs, you would get by fine.

- The frames are generally quite different, since MTB frames are often driven by handling rationals that don't apply to on road touring, so here the clear advantage is also for the touring bike.

- Finally bars. This is obviosuly a mater of personal preference. Road bars are the best simple system for road riding yet to emerge. You can find many other options, but on the road, in the open, wind is a far greater challenge than control. Fatigue from unvaried hand positions is a far greater discomfort. I favour road bars with gloves, but you can choose this part from your own preferences. If you happen to prefer MTB bars, it does make your braking and shifting choices easier and cheaper.

Given your need to use mass transit just to get to Lisbon, and perhaps at other times on the way, you should at least check out the Bike Friday option.

I think Touring bikes are generally far less techy than MTBs. The market is pretty small, and the technology has not really moved that much in 50 years.

NoReg

Suspension. Great idea. MTB suspenssion is overkill on the road environment. Just as a road motorcycle suspension doesn't look like dirt bike suspenssion, the same is true here. A loaded bike on pavement is pretty comfortable since the bags act as a vibe suppression system. If you need more suspenssion you should look at a more compact system like hubs with built in suspenssion, though minimal travel.

I don't know anything about the route from Lisbom to Istambul, but one thing I learned about euro travel is they have far richer infrastructure, so look carefully at how relavant the american approach honed in the wilds of NA is to your target area. A lot of american tourist look like they are headed for everest base camp when they hit euro. I don't have any answers just be sure the approach you take meets the terain and cultures you are entering.

mntbikedude

I have a Raleigh M60 Mnt bike with front suspension. I've used it for two tours down the Pacific Coast and am planning a 3rd summer of 06. I love this bike and like that fact that I can use it for both touring and mntbiking.

Blackberry

Just make sure your hands are comfortable on flat bars all day. I would try several shorter tours to be sure. Even with bar ends, I find it difficult to tour on a mt bike. But if that's not an issue for you, go for it (with the mudguards and higher psi slicks as mentioned above).

RoperIN

Here are some suggestions, in what would be my order of preference:

1. Get a used bike designed for loaded touring (rack mounts, touring geometry, etc.) Much cheaper than new because many cyclist wannabes buy one with some romantic dream of "touring across Europe," ride for a few days to "get in shape," then sell their bike because their butt gets sore. You can get a great deal on a nearly-new touring bike if you're patient enough to look for a while. Just make sure it's the right size (road sizing is different than mountain sizing.) Rivendell and Sheldon Brown web sites both have common-sense approaches to bicycle fit.

2. If you already have a hard tail MTB, replace the knobbies with 26x1.5 road tires (I've used Panaracer Paselas and IRC road tires with good success.) Get good quality racks and panniers and a comfortable saddle (take the time to break in a Brooks--you'll love it.) Most importantly: Switch out your flat MTB bar for something with more hand positions--you'll need it. I've used a Scott AT-4 for touring on a MTB--it was great. I still have that bar on my commuter. It's out of production and may be hard to find--I still see them on Ebay occasionally. MTBs are geared well for loaded touring and usually have a rugged-enough frame to handle the extra weight. The canti brakes provide clearance for fenders, which you should mount on any touring bike.

3. If neither of these options work for you, get a new touring bike. Trek and Cannondale both have reasonably-priced touring models. Take a serious look at Surly--for a bit more cost you get a very well-made touring bike.

One of the best ways to prepare for touring is to start commuting on the bike you'll use for touring--you'll get a good feel for how the bike handles in a lot of situations, especially traffic.

Good Luck!

NoReg

I'm liking the "real" touring bikes. But there are advantages to MTBs. For one thing it can be easier to get fit with them. They have a semi Bike Friday thing happening where they are low, so you can get your stand over by adjusting the seat post, within say a 2 fist range rather than a 1 fist extention as on road frames. And yet, my MTB had the same overall length as a touringf rame 42". Though my 42" touring frame was really 43". But it's all pretty close.

I get heel strike on an MTB, but that is easy to fix with a little bracket that fits on both holes, and has a third hole drilled aft an inch for the rack. Also not all shoes are as big as sandals for a given size.

The biggest problem with an MTB is that it is designed to weave around all kinds of junk stuck on the trail. My road bike thinks the white line is a lane, and will track like nobody's. Pretty relaxing ride.

Tom808

Peterpan,

Do you have a source for the bracket which moves the rack back to avoid heal strike, or did you make it yourself? My buddy has rather large feet, so this is an issue for him. I assume this bracket goes down by the axle and effectively moves the rack braze-on back an inch or so. Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

kidreger

i'm currently on tour with a hardtail Giant Boulder SE mtn bike from north dakota to florida (im canadian actually.) It's day 23 for me today in central missouri, and i can tell you from personal experience that im not finding it to be too difficult. I looked into getting a rigid fork put on the front before i left but didn't because of the cost. i just tightened up my suspension (i can adjust my suspension) as much as possible. you're not crazy, because im actually doing it, and it's not crazy. get on your bike and go, you'll have a blast, i promise!