My mountain bike makeover for touring
 

This summer I'm riding cross country (USA) and decided to modify my Diamond Back Mountain Bike instead of buying a new one! All mods and prices available on my blog.
Mountain Bike Mods Video

That will work!

Good on you, enjoy and post often.

-Snuts

Nice! Keep us updated on the ride!

How do you like those Moloko handlebars? I'm doing a similar conversion, and gave them and the Jones H bar a lot of thought before finally deciding on the butterfly bars.

I like the setup, stout but comfy. I wish they had Power Grips back when I rode with toe clips/straps--the Grips look much more comfortable & versatile.

Just got them yesterday so have had too much opportunity to try them out but plan to ride a lot this weekend and I'll let you know.

Wow, nice work. Really like those handlebars!

Got to take a ride this morning and I really LOVE the handlebars!!! So many positions for my hands and there are also a lot of options for mounting electronics, bags etc. With the old bars my hands would get tingly/numb after a while...no such issue with these!

Highly recommend :)

Nice job; I've been thinking of getting some velo orange crazy bars to convert my mtb for more touring duty

Nice job.

My touring buddy who I rode the southern tier route switched from touring bars to the crazy bars in Austin (half way) and really liked them. The moloko bars look good but heavy.

Also, ditch the solar charger...there are so many places to charge devices and so many small light battery pack options that you will probably never use it. My buddy carried one half way across the US on our tour and only used the battery pack. Unless you are really going at a leisurely pace and plan on hanging out in campgrounds for half a day. A nice thought from the co-worker but inefficient, heavy, and unnecessary when traveling across the US where you will probably never be more than 50 miles from available outlets.