Thanks to the body of knowledge from the BF Community, I was able to convert a "used" Motobecane Fantom Cross Team Titanium Cyclocross bike that I purchased 2nd hand into a road touring bike to do the ACA Pacific Coast Bike Route a few years ago.
Now, I am at it again!!! This time I am seeking advice from the BF Community on the conversion of a rare vintage 14" titanium frame Airborne Lancaster front suspension mountain bike ( XC hardtail) to a suitable touring bike for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR).
Backstory:
For the past couple of years, I have been chasing what felt like a rare unicorn. I knew that I wanted a titanium hardtail to do the GDMBR on my bucket list. However, finding a "USED" titanium bike within my limited budget AND small enough bike frame to suit my size (5'-2" ; 110 lbs) were real hurdles. Undaunted, I kept searching the classifieds.
Well, I finally found my unicorn! Yipppeee!!! I found her on Craigslist for a great deal. Here she is ladies and gentlemen. She's a real beauty IMHO! I love the fact that she is vintage and MINE.
Here are the general specs on the bike that I have chased down:
2002 Airborne Lancaster - Shimano XT & XTR Group
Bike Type: Mountain Bike Front Suspension or Hardtail
Size: 14" frame
Colors: Polished Titanium
Frame & Fork
Frame Construction: TIG-welded
Frame Material: 3AI/2.5 V Titanium
Fork: Rock Shox Pilot Race
Fork Material:
Rear Shock: N/A
Components
Component Group: Shimano Deore XT
Brakeset: Avid Mechanical Disc Brakes; Avid Speed Dial 5 Levers
Shift Levers: Shimano Deore XT 3x9 SL-M750 Shifter Set
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT bottom bracket mount
Back Derailleur: Shimano XT RD-M760
Crankset: Shimano Deore XT 22/32/44 teeth FC-M760/761 (170mm crank) Triple chainring
Rear Cassettes: Shimano XT CS-M760
Chain: Shimano CN-HG93.1/2x3/32
Seatpost: FLYTE (27.2 mm) aluminum
Saddle: Selle Italia
Handlebars: Easton Monkey Lite XC carbon fiber low rise handlebar
Handlebar Stem: No brand 90mm / no rise
Headset: FSA 36 degree cartridge
Wheels
Wheel Size: 26" wheels
Hubs: Shimano XTR HB-M965 32 holes for disc brake
Rims: Mavic X-317 Disc
Front Tire: Hutchinson Tech Airlight Scorpion 26"x2.0" (made in France)
Rear Tire: Hutchinson Tech Airlight Scorpion 26"x2.0" (made in France)
Spoke Brand: Wheelsmith
Spoke Nipples: 32 nipples Silver color (brass? or alloy?)
Total Bike Weight: ~ 23.5 lbs with above specs
Bike Fit: Overall, the bike fit feels fairly comfortable for my height and size without having made any changes to it yet. However, I'm a road cyclist and I have no experience with mountain biking so I don't have much to go on at this point until I actually get out on the trails and do some long rides. I do realize that the bike geometry is more aggressive and suited for XC racing than what I am intending it for.
Overall Condition: The drivetrain seems to be in fairly decent condition after the bike was cleaned up. However, the vintage Shimano Deore XT shifter levers seems a bit sluggish but I'm not sure if that is something typical with mountain bikes. The only thing that I can compare it to is my Shimano Dura Ace shifters on my road bike. The gear ratio on the Airborne Lancaster is excellent with a range of 17.7 to 103 gear inches per Sheldon Brown's Gear Calculator.
Here are some changes that I am considering on the retrofit for the bike:
C1) Change the 90 mm stem to something a bit shorter with a rise for better reach and control as my arms feel slightly extended and the handlebar a little low.
C2) Switch out the aluminum black Flyte seatpost with an aluminum silver Thompson Elite seatpost that I already have.
C3) Switch the Selle Italia seat with a female Selle Italia Diva Gel seat that I already have on my road bike.
C4) Replace the Shimano 9 speed chain (CN-HG 93.1) to KMC 9 speed chain (X9.93).
C5) Consider replacing the carbon fiber Easton Monkey Lite XC handlebar with an aluminum Jones H bar with riser. I'm replacing the carbon handlebar because I want to add load to the handlebar to hang a handlebar bag.
Summary of Upgrades per BF Recommendations from the comments below:
C6) Lube shifters (lube or WD-40?)
C7) Change cables on the bike.
C8) Check bottom bracket for titanium corrosion and add Teflon based grease.
C9) Checkout following products for GDMBR: Suspension dropper seatpost (per video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1e3g8uqrJU&t=3s); Shimano PD-T8000 XT pedals (dual); Tubus rear rack;
Revelate Design Nano panniers or
Moosetreks panniers;
Topeak Versa Cage and Versamount and Zefal Gizmo.
C10) For lower gearing: Upgrade 22T chainring to
20T chainring 64bcd on Ebay per how to video (20 Tooth Small Chain Ring) and upgrade 32T cog to 36T per max limits of the RD or go even higher to 42T or 44T with Wolf Tooth linkage.
C11) Evaluate existing performance of Rock Shox Pilot Race fork. Research new front suspension forks (DT Swiss, Fox, Manitou). Choose around 100 mm of travel.
Questions:
Q1) Anyone else familiar with the Airborne Lancaster Titanium HT frame and has experience bike touring with it?
Q2) Based on the above bike specs, would you have any recommendation on changes, upgrades, or concerns with respect to using the bike to bike touring on the GDMBR? I have tried to provide the model numbers for the component parts since some of it is vintage.
Q3) Since the frame size is very small (14"), I suspect there is not enough clearance for using bags for bikepacking. My current plan is to add a handlebar bag in front, and add a rear rack (Old Man Mountain or ?? better suggestion) and use panniers. I already have an Old Man Mountain (OMM) rear rack that I used on my titanium cyclocross bike for road touring. The OMM rack is rather heavy though and it utilize skewer mounting instead of bottom braze-ons. A rear rack with skewer mounting makes changing a flat tire on the rear tire a bit more challenging. Otherwise, the OMM rack is bomb proof. I am open to other options though. The Airborne HT has braze-ons for rear racks. See photos of top and bottom braze-ons for the rear rack below. I am worry that the disc brake may interfere with mounting the rear rack to the bottom braze-ons. I had the same problem with the Motobecane Titanium cyclocross bike and hence, I had to use the skewer mounting instead. Any recommendation on alternative rear rack options for HT bikes with rear disc brakes that can handle very rough trails? Most aluminum rear racks made for bikes with discs seem cheap and too flimsy for the GDMBR (example the Ibera rear rack or the Axiom).
Q4) To provide more even weight distribution between the front and back of the bike if I use only rear panniers, I'm considering adding some sort of mount on the front suspension fork like the
Salsa Anything Cage with hose clamps. Or consider a front rack like the
Topeak TetraRack M1 that mounts on front suspension forks and is compatible with 26" tires. Does anyone have experience using these on their bikes or even better recommendations?
Q5) The current tire size is 26" x 2.0". Any recommendations on tire sizes for the GDMBR that would be suitable on the Airborne Lancaster HT? Is 2" wide tires adequate with a hardtail for the GDMBR or should I consider even fatter tires if my bike geometry allows?
Q6) Would anyone know the geometry of the 14" Airborne Lancaster or has the 2002 Airborne catalog? I would love to know the geometry.
Q7) What is a good pedal replacement recommendation for the GDMBR? I have the Shimano PD-A530 SPD Dual Platform Pedals and standard SPD pedals that I use for road riding but I suspect these are more for road biking and not suitable for mountain biking.
Q8) Would anyone have the instruction manual for the Rock Shox "Pilot Race" fork? I searched online and found instruction manual for the Rock Shox "Pilot XC & SL" but not the "Pilot Race" since it does not have a lockout on it. It is slightly different.
Q8) Any other considerations that I should think about GDMBR but just don't know any better to ask since I am not a mountain biker?