Sorry, I should have added more detail. The bike has rigid forks. No mods.
Option 2 was to be a touring bike, i.e. already kitted with racks, etc.
One concern I didn't raise is that when I did use it for a little on & off-road touring [edit: not long-distance touring, just a few days!] with a Blackburn rear rack, it’s very close run thing with my heels & the panniers. No idea if that reflects a shorter chain stay length on this type of bike - ?
Was wondering if for the money and time involving in re-kitting I’d be better to pick up a second-hand, but more modern tourer despite that there don’t seem to be a lot of them around here. (Not helped by needing a smaller frame - of the few I see for sale, most have large frames.)
More later - busy day in front of me. Thanks for the feedback.
[Edit: Blackburn rack fits onto clamp (P-clamp?) on seat upright portion of frame, not entirely solid fitting - can wriggle just a little - & carrier always felt a bit light. No front racks, not sure if you can fit them easier either.]
Originally Posted by
Tim_Iowa
Old rigid mountain bikes can be made into good tourers. Your Karakoram has a rigid front fork, right?
However, they need to be in decent condition to begin with. It sounds like yours needs some work. Look at how much it would cost to fix its needs and compare that to a new bike. It depends how much of the work you can do yourself.
Don't worry too much about scratches on the frame. If they're not rusting yet, just touch them up with paint or nail polish. A contrasting color paint adds battle scars, and makes your bike even less attractive to thieves!
Maybe try option 2b, find a second hand bike that can be made into a tourer. You may find an older rigid mountain bike or road/touring bike in better shape than your GT, and use that as a base for a build. Mtb + butterfly handlebars = decent touring bike.
I recently found an old rigid Schwinn mtb in really good shape, and I am working on converting it for road use. I tried upright handlebars, but I think I'm going to go full touring with it and put on drop bars with bar-end shifters, and full racks.
