gugie 

Lots of C&V bikes would work just well. I'll give a plus one for front loading your bike. Here's a couple with tent, sleeping bag, the whole shebangabang:



If you don't load down the rear end you can keep with a fairly lithe frameset.

jefnvk

Yep, if you have any specific questions, let me know. We did from the Airport to Reykjavik, around the Golden Circle and a bit into the highlands, then back to Reykjavik over a week. Also took a car as far as Jokulsarlon last time. I did the entire ring road in a car in 2008.

With 32mm tires, I'd suggest sticking to paved roads unless it is a well used dirt road. Normally I wouldn't be so timid, but the dirt roads can go to crap in an instant there, we had to turn back a couple times on 50mm tires.

Another tip: 10%+ grades aren't uncommon there. Make sure you have GOOD brakes. Not vintage, GOOD MODERN brakes that work in the wet. I hit 47MPH loaded up on a gravel downhill

bikemig 

Quality C&V touring bikes tend to command a premium. Vintage MTBs, on the other hand, tend to be fairly inexpensive. But then you have to deal with either a flat bar set up (that may or may not be a downside for you) or a drop bar conversion. You end up with a stout touring bike in either case.

This is my drop bar Specialized stumpjumper that I set up for touring. It can take 26 x 2.0 tires and fenders and it has lots of gearing for pretty much any terrain. I'm running it with 3 x 8 gearing and indexed bar ends:

jefnvk

Oh and a blackout tent if youre going in the summer, or at least a really good sleeping mask. Nothing like waking up at 2am to a bright, vivid lime green ceiling cause the sun just came up. For that matter, a good tent that can withstand wind too.

RamAlaRag 

Nice looking bikes! I hope to keep the weight in the front.

RamAlaRag 

Haha, very good point, I haven't decided on a date but it will likely be late Spring/early Summer. Also noted on the brakes, thanks!

RamAlaRag 

I hadn't considered a vintage MTB, not a bad idea at all, I would definitely need to do a drop conversion., but still could be a good option, I'll keep my eyes open.

ryansu

+1 on using a vintage MTB, 1983-89, the earlier MTBs have a lot more in common with touring bikes than later MTBs, relaxed geo, braze ones galore, rigid fork, some them are even lugged.

This article gives a nice list of vintage touring bikes to expand your search a bit https://bikepacking.com/gear/renovat...-touring-bike/

gugie 

If you're wanting to front load the bike, you should consider low trail. Weight on the front wheel can make handling a bit squirrely, especially at lower speeds. I can easily stand, climb and keep the bike in a straight line front loaded on my low trail bikes, it's a lot harder with high trail.

Many 80's touring bikes seem to have been designed with a loaded down rear rack in mind, low tail is less important. Of the bikes that were low trail, many Fuji models were low trail, my Centurion Pro Tour handles well with a front load as well.

RamAlaRag 

Interesting, I thought front loading pretty much always helped increase stability. I'll probably have bags front and back, but intended to throw my heavier stuff up front.

gugie 

Mostly noticeable when standing on the pedals, which I like to do on long climbs for short sections just to use different muscle groups and stretch my back out.

RamAlaRag 

Very good to know. Thank you!

Hobbiano 

You might want to consider something like a mid-nineties Trek 520. I've found a couple over the last few years - a '95 and a '96. One cost me $250 and the other $180. Both on local craigslist.
Both have lots of clearance for larger tires, 37mm - 40mm, and oversize True Temper steel tig welded made in USA frames with 135mm rear dropout spacing. Decent Shimano components, 7-speed, but easily up graded to 9-speed.
Not exactly vintage but only just modern enough to be easy to up grade or find parts for. And a well thought of tourer.
There is lots of info on these in the touring sub-forum and catalogs with specifications on the vintage Trek site.

RamAlaRag 

Thanks for this, I'll check them out! Being born in 1996 I wouldn't consider it vintage.... But oh well. Not a bad option at all!

RamAlaRag 

Thanks for the link!

Salamandrine 

I like 80's MTBs too, but they are heavier and slower. If you know you'll be riding on gravel roads sometimes, it is somewhat more relaxing to have fat tires, since you don't have to worry about your line all the time. If you have decent bike handling, a classic tourer will do fine on occasional stretches of gravel. They are generally designed to fit a 27 x 1 1/4"(or 700x32) tire with fenders, which means that a 35 or 38mm tire will fit fine without fenders. A fatter tire OTOH would give you some more freedom to explore the off road.

A third option would be to split the difference, and do a vintage tourer with a 650b conversion. That way you get the benefits of light weight and fat tires. Obviously it's a bit more involved.

FWIW no longer easy to buy a cheap nice MTB in my area, at least in large size I need. After a futile long search, I ended up getting a Riv Clem Jr frame instead, which is kind of like a vintage MB-1, but not all rusted out, and with much cooler lugs and "29'er" tires.

Gratuitous pic of ultralight tent in light coast breeze. I had the panniers inside to prop it up and keep it from collapsing totally.

AeroGut

Not to mention crazy long chainstays, at least as long or longer than any touring bike.

jefnvk

That was my load/setup FWIW. A mile down the road to the right, we were turned back when the road changed from that decent gravel to pretty much small fieldstones.

RamAlaRag 

I love the idea of a 650b conversion, is this something I could do to most frames, or what is required? Sorry, newb..... 😉

RamAlaRag 

That looks awesome! Thanks for the share

AeroGut

Not really answering your question, but if you really want to go vintage, the early Peugeot randonneur bikes like the PX50 came already with 650B wheels and canti brakes prior to about 1970 or so, at which point they switched over to center-pull calipers. There are of course, many negatives to working with a French bike that old, but the style is cool. There are some nice images of a restored one in this French cycling forum:
https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=23893

RamAlaRag 

Those are amazing! I would love one... I wonder if I can find a 54cm roughly...

Salamandrine 

Show Us Your 650B Conversions

What is required depends on what you start with. It can be as simple as putting on some long reach brakes and building up a new set of 650B wheels. The smaller wheels/rims mean that there is going to be more room for a fatter tire, without really needing to modify the frame. It is going to be easiest if you start with a bike that doesn't have cantilever studs already, since they would need to move down by 19-23mm to fit the smaller wheels.

A lot of people will bend more rake into the fork to reduce the amount of trail. This is supposed to improve handling with a front load, especially at lower speeds.

conspiratemus1

The Ring Road goes by tunnel under some fjords, some (most?) prohibited to cyclists. Iceland bike maps indicate which. The old road which you will be required to use will go up to the head of the fjord and back down the far side. It will usually be gravel except that road along the long peninsula in the far west, connected to Reykjavik by a long tunnel shortcut, appeared to be paved. This peninsula actually lies off the Ring Road but it suggests itself as a short bike tour, a less ambitious alternative to attempting to ride around the island. The total absence of trees -- Iceland was deforested by the Vikings for pasturing and for charcoal to make bog iron --. frequent rain, and near-constant wind and overcast would make touring in Iceland psychologically challenging. Iceland has become very busy with mass tourism in the last few years, Game of Thrones fans they tell me. Traffic is heavy on the Ring Road near Reykjavik and on the (paved) roads (e.g., the Golden Circle) leading to the waterfalls, geysers, and glaciers reachable by day trip from Reykjavik, a lot of it tour buses trying to keep a schedule despite pokey tourist rental cars & campers. Prices for everything were very high in 2016 -- the time to have visited would have been right after the property markets collapsed in 2008 when the kronor got kicked in the slats. The landscapes are amazing, though, certainly worth the stopover from Europe on Icelandic Air. We didn't even unpack our bikes.

RamAlaRag 

Like I said earlier in my post, there are several things bringing me to Iceland, both in my studies and outside of my studies - from a personal interest. I have cycled in challenging areas (i.e Alaskan arctic circle), though not 'toured.' I look forward to the challenge, landscape, and unique characteristics of the region. Tourists are everywhere and can be unpleasant, but that's the trade off for using any public infrastructure system in any unique or beautiful region accessible by most means of transportation.

Overall, it should be a good experience worth having, but negatives should be considered in any trip.

Appreciate your input.

Cheers,
G