Advice and options turning mtb's into touring ones

[Trevstonbury]

Good Afternoon,

I am looking for some advice on kitting out 2 mountain bikes for touring across South East Asia. The bikes are Whyte 604 Compact and 605 (2016 models), with no alterations from their original spec. We are looking to bike through Mongolia, China and through the rest of SE Asia to Singapore and will be carrying our luggage on the bikes. Our main concern is that the bikes are fitted with the most suitable tyres which provide the right balance for efficiency on roads vs ruggedness for tracks in places like Mongolia with many being dirt/gravel. We would also like to know if there are any suitable panniers or other accessories you would recommend for such an extended journey, we will also be looking to take spares, inner tubes etc...
Any advice would be much appreciated!

Kind regards
Trevor

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Hi Trevor,
Don't know your bikes but I have converted an old Trek MTB for touring.

My advice is to get the strongest wheels you can get and to carry extra spokes and learn how to do all the basic mechanicals for your bikes.

Keep the components as simple as possible, that way you can get spares along the way.

You don't mention how much you will be carrying, so recommending panniers etc is a fool's errand. In any case, the mounting mechanism may well be as important as the bag given the terrain you will be travelling over. I use Ortliebs and have never regretted that choice.

For detailed information research on CrazyGuyOnaBike.com.

Search the journals for the areas you'll be travelling through and see what people brought and needed.

Good luck!

 

[Drago]

What shifters are you running? Will you be able to replace them out in Mongolia?

Alloy frames are great, but if the worst happens where will you find an alloy welding artisan in North Nowherestan?

Hydraulic brakes are very reliable, but if one should require attention where will you find a bleed kit or spare parts in rural Chinawan?

It's perfectly doable for you, but there's a lot to think on.

My tip from a more modest Lincloln to Southern Spain ride - run spare cables alongside the originals and tape them in position. It's an old motorbike touring trick - you'll know immediately where the cables are, there'll be no faff in the dark or the rain deciding which cable is which, and the tape itself makes a useful emergency too.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I really like Schwalbe Smart Sams for multi surface stuff. I have used them on gravel, chalk, tarmac, clay and loam. My first tourer was on an old Mongoose which served me well. Now I have a little Cube hardtail apart from my dedicated tourer. If anything I would use grips or bars that give me more hand holds. I would also change the saddle. Otherwise it’s great.

Two friends have just done a good tour of Scotland, off-road. They have gone back to panniers rather than bike packing luggage. It looked just the job.

 

[Gravity Aided]

"H" bars may be an interesting and useful option. They would give you more hand positions and space on the bars, as well as a more upright position. Most purpose built MTBs have a long top tube, that may help out with that.

 

[Vantage]

Looking at the specs of the bikes I can see a few issues based on what I've read over the years.
(Note that I have yet to tour myself but I do know bikes)
27.5" wheels. From what I read, 26" wheels are the most popular in the places you want to venture.
Alloy frames are a little more prone to fatigue than steel and as Drago pointed out, finding someone who could weld a repair safely might be tricky. As alloy isn't keen on flexing it may wear you out quicker too.
Get rid of the suspension forks and replace with rigid ones. One less thing to fail.
Disc brakes......there's pros and cons to these.....
If you bend a wheel they allow you to continue riding without affecting braking and can offer more braking power for the extra weight you'll be carrying. But, will you be able to source new pads or a rotor if it's damaged/worn out? How much braking power do you really need? There comes a point at which the tyres will lock up or the bike will fold/flip you over.
As for a recommendation on tyres, Schwalbe Landcruisers come in just about every size imaginable and the centre tread helps them roll along tarmac beautifully. The side nobbles are handy in gravel/mud etc and punctures from personal experience are rare.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Our main concern is that the bikes are fitted with the most suitable tyres

This is a very minor concern (but probably Marathon Plus). For a set of major concerns, see comments above (steel/alu, fixed fork, hydro v hybrid v mechanical disc brakes, discs v rim brakes).
Is this for a couple of years' time?

 

[MichaelW2]

27.5 is not widely available outside of good bike shops so take at least one spare folding tyre and at least 2 inner tubes each. Take spare brake pads and a couple of drive side spokes or kevlar replacement spokes.
You have fittings for rear panniers only. The benchmark for touring luggage are Ortleib bags attached to Tubus racks. Ortleib or carradice bar bags are also pretty useful, solid mount, quick release, map holder.

For expedition water bottle holders, I like glass-reinforced nylon, a bit flexible, with a loop that surrounds the bottle. I have suffered broken bottle cage and you have to find a new place to store bottle.

Touring bikes are typically lower tech than racing bikes, with parts that are repairable and when worn out, degrade usably rather than work/don't work. Aluminium frames are not really weldable but field repairs can be done using glass fibre tape and epoxy resin such as araldyte.