I'm planning on doing a long loaded tour in the late Spring and have been looking at purchasing an entry level touring bike (LHT, 520, or similar). While I was at home last weekend I spotted the bike below in my parents garage which I had completely forgotten about. I wanted to get your guys opinions on whether or not it is worth upgrading, instead of buying new. As far as I know it was purchased in Belgium in '91 or '92 when my dad was stationed outside of Brussels in the military. It's a Peugeot hybrid of some sort, that's all original except it used to have fenders, a rear rack, and lights I believe. My dad used to ride it to work and back, and is the only bicycle he has owned since I can remember.

The frame seems like a good candidate. It fits well, is steel, and has a good 42'' wheelbase. My main concern is that nearly everything else will have to go. The Rigida wheels are 2.125'' wide and are super heavy. I'd love to use it but with a low budget in mind, and knowing nearly every component is going to need to be replaced, do you think it is worth overhauling, or would I be better off just buying a complete? Anyone have any more info on this bike? Thanks.

It depends. If you turn it into a dream build, it will end up being more expensive than buying a bike off the shelf. If you just address the minimum needs and hunt around Craig's list and E-Bay for parts it could be cheap.

Otherwise, nice straightforward steel frame. Crown fork. Braze ons for a rack and fenders. What kind of bottom bracket? What is the rear dropout spacing?

Speedo

An LHT or a 520 are "entry level" rides?

Why would you need to change every component on this bike?

My point is: I've done quite a bit of touring, and I've seen people touring on some very un-fashionable machines. You don't neccessarily have to have the absolute latest and greatest everything to go out and ride anywhere you want to go.

How long and what distance is the trip?

Based upon the images you provide, it seems to me that many of the parts on that bike probably are fine. How would that bike ride if you did the following:

1. Disassemble everything (bottom bracket, hubs, crank), clean, add grease, and reassemble.
2. Replace chain if in poor condition.
3. Replace brake pads with Kool-stop version (the original are probably solid and hard now).
4. Check brake and gearing cables and housing and replace if stiff or rusted. The thumb shifters, if mechanically sound, will work on most any derailleur you add (if you add a new derailleur) since they appear to be friction.
5. Replace tires with newer model that are slick and narrower. Do this only after 1-4 to save money; if 1-4 don't make the bike work, don't spend money on nice touring tires.

I'm not looking to create a dream build. I'd just want to build it up with low-mid components such as that on the LHT, so that it's reliable, and I would feel comfortable taking it cross country. I want an upgraded triple crank, cassette, rear derailleur, drops with bar end shifting, lighter and narrower 26" wheelset with slicks, etc., while still hitting lower than the $1000 LHT price point.

Right around 5.25'' or 133mm, but i don't have a means of completely accurate measurement. Any 26'' wheel ideas?

Not sure on the threading.




Hoping to go coast to coast on the TransAmerica with three or four buddies.

The first question I would ask is, does the frame of this bike fit you? If so, it looks like a perfectly capable and actually a really nice bike. If you want to sell it, let me know.

Here's what I would do:

1: check out how well everything works first, especially the shifting. Do the shifters work smoothly? Do they need replacing? If not, hey, a friction shifter is a shifter is a shifter. Bar end shifters aren't much different from the shifters you already have. If you put some mountain style bar ends on the bars, at about the same width as your shoulders, you will have essentially the same hand position as a set of drop bars with your hands on the hoods. Which is where you'll be 99 percent of the time on a tour. So I would just keep the flat bars if the shifters work OK. You could maybe switch to a more ergonomically correct set of flat bars though.......

2. What kind of gearing do you have? I would go for at least a 24 or 26 small chainring and a 48-52 big ring. Maybe a 36-42 middle. Depending on the load you'll be carrying, you'll probably want a cassette with a 11-12 to 28-34 range. It's nice to have a small granny. Those are all suggestions. Gearing depends entirely upon what kind of shape you are in and the load. I've seen people touring across the country on fixies with crazy loads. If you are comfortable with the current gearing, I don't know why you would have to change it. If you wear something out on the tour, replace it as you go. A bicycle is not the space shuttle, you can generally mess with drivetrain components as you go. But I'd modify the drivetrain only to provide the gearing you feel you need, rather than change everything. It looks like your crankset is in fine shape, in the pics. A new, quality, chain and cassette is a good idea, before you go, once you have the gearing figured out.

3: How true are the wheels? Check out your hubs. I tend to agree with your decision to probaby just spring for some new wheels. A good, dependable set of wheels (particularly the rear wheel) is one of the most important things on a tour, or on any bike for that matter, in my opinion. Get some good wheels from a reputable builder, and spend a few bucks on some good tires. You won't likely regret it.

4: Check the bottom bracket for smoothness. Pull it apart and go over it. Is it OK? If it needs replacing, put on a good one.

5: You'll want a set of fenders.

6: I'd change all the cables even if they look fine. Housings too. Get a spare of both shifter and brake.

7: Replace the brake pads if they are worn.

8: spend a few bucks on pedals and shoes. Me, I use Look pedals. Most people use mountain pedals on tour. Whichever, that's another place to NOT scrimp. Figure out what you want and buy them.

9: Saddle. The importance of finding a saddle that works well for you cannot be overstated. There's a zillion threads on saddles. Good luck.

10: racks, pans, trailer, etc. No matter what bike you end up with, you have to find out what works for you.

All in all, I don't see any reason why this bike wouldn't work very well for a long tour. As long as the shifting works well and the frame fits you. There's so much more to touring than having a brand name "touring specific" bicycle.

I better slow down on the coffee this morning........

Does the bike fit you? Is the fork steel?

First of all, +1 to pretty much everything Thulsadoom said. Find out what kind of coffee he drinks.

Hmm, didn't the OP say something about that... oh, here it is:

(Sorry, Neil! Couldn't resist!) ANYway:

I vote YES! It looks like a cool frame to me, and the bike has a family history, which is also worth something. The great thing about upgrading is that you can do it a little at a time. If the bike is from the early 90's, as seems likely, I'm guessing there's nothing exotic about the threading of the BB or fork or anything; pretty much standard stuff. If those are steel rims, I'd replace the wheels. Steel cotterless crank? yeah, replace that too. If I were you, I'd peruse Craigslist and make the rounds round yard sales, flea markets, thrift shops, etc. for the next few months, and see what you come up with. You may find some kind of decent ten year old bike from which you can get a better crank and wheels, perhaps other stuff.

You can always spend more money on the bike, but don't do that just yet. Get to know it first. You'll be spending enough money on racks, panniers, etc.

You might leave the straight bars and put drop bar ends on so you can duck out of the headwinds when necessary.

Thanks for all the advice.

Do you think I would be better off having a set built than buying prebuilt? Any 26'' wheel set recommendations?

Well, Peter White at

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wheels.asp

or Harris Cyclery at

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels/584.html can sell you a wheelset that would probably last a lifetime for $290-$400.

Rocky Mountain Cyclery sells some good wheelsets in their Ebay Store at:

https://stores.ebay.com/Rocky-Mountai...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Just a couple of suggestions.

I'm into converting old school MTB's into touring/commuting bikes. There's no better base to start with IMO. Your bike is clearly pristene.

Having said that, I see that there is a steel, possibly cottered crankset on that bike, which leads me to conclude that it is a low-end Hi-Tensil frame. That would give me pause as to suitablilty for an extended trip. While there is nothing weak or poor quality in a well-built hi-ten frame, per se, you will pay a toll on the long daily ride in terms of the dead-like feeling. Everything will come thru the bike to you. In a week, you'll be dead-like, too.

Get on a bathroom scale and weigh it. If it's 31lbs or more, it's hi-ten. A good MTB frame will weigh around 28-30lbs. A high quality MTB will weigh in at about 27-29lbs. You can do things to lighten the bike, but you can't add much long-distance quality to a hi-ten frame.

It has good points: double eyelets, slender tapered fork instead of the baseball bats they used later, lots of fender room, long geometry, and a good size for road work. The single bottle position can be easily remedied.

If I'm right on my speculation, this bike would be a great street-bomber, but I'd hesitate to recommend it as a cross-continent candidate.

Your call...