MTB to Touring bike

[Lee-M]

Hi all,
A while ago I changed the wheels and bought Marathon tyres for my Felt hardtail mtb and have gradually added racks and panniers and to test it all out I did a two day tour last week around Datmoor to see how things went which apart from choosing the two days of rain went pretty well .

It's a bit hillier than I thought and with the exception of somewhere around Tavistock the granny wheel got more use than it ought to have done but depsite the weather the bike ,panniers and tent performed well which was the main point of doing a short tour. To iron out any problems.

I know weight isn't too much of an issue with touring but I am wondering if I ought to investigate keeping all the goods bits of my mtb (wheels,tyres, bars, disc's etc) and transferring them to a frame from Thorn's or the like.

It's a fairly comfortable mtb ,or it will be when I change the saddle, so posture wise I wouldn't want anything too different. I've got the touring bug now and plan a couple more this year so perhaps I'm thinking I should invest in a specific frame . A wise move or should I ride the mtb until it separates ?

 

[redvision95]

If the bike handled it well and If you are comfortable on the bike, why change to a different frame?
MTBs make perfectly good tourers with a few adaptions which it sounds like you've already made. I'd say stick with the MTB.

 

[TheDoctor]

That∆. Thorn make perfectly good touring frames, but I doubt you'd get a noticeably lighter bike from the swap. If your current setup works I wouldn't change it just for the sake of it.

 

[Lee-M]

That all sounds good and reassuring not to mention cheap . I will carry on with the mtb with the addition of a Brooks saddle to make the journey just that bit more comfortable .

 

[Hugh Manatee]

My old Saracen makes a fine tourer. Despite being back then, aimed at racers, it has all the required braze on fittings. All I had to do was refit the original rigid forks, find narrow tyres and fit a shorter stem. 150mm was a bit stretched to ride for any length of time!

I don't feel the need for a specialist touring bike. It does everything I need.

Edit: one of my first tours with my bro happened around where you went! We camped near enough to Princetown to make the wobbly ride back to the tents after the pub easy!

 

[Lee-M]

By the end of the second day I had quite an ache in the top of my shoulder . Whether that is leaning too far forward I'm not sure yet but getting a shorter stem might ease that particular problem .

I camped near South Brent and spent a very comfortable evening munching on beef and ale pie and a few pints of the local brew , which wasn't the best if I'm honest but certanily numbed the legs for a while. I couldn't face another cycle up hill so I walked the mile back to the campsite . And if I needed a widdle on the way back, which I did , I could pee at the top of a very steep lane and watch it trickle all the down the hill . Hours of fun.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Been getting around on mine for some time. I added drops and new brake levers and racks, and all is well. Just a church sale mtb from the 1990s.

 

[Bodhbh]

I know weight isn't too much of an issue with touring but I am wondering if I ought to investigate keeping all the goods bits of my mtb (wheels,tyres, bars, disc's etc) and transferring them to a frame from Thorn's or the like.

It's a fairly comfortable mtb ,or it will be when I change the saddle, so posture wise I wouldn't want anything too different. I've got the touring bug now and plan a couple more this year so perhaps I'm thinking I should invest in a specific frame . A wise move or should I ride the mtb until it separates ?

I'd suspect your current frame is lighter than a Thorn touring rig. They are not light frames. My mate has a Thorn, I use a steel framed MTB, and with racks/mudguards/touring wheelset and tyres, I can't pick them apart weight-wise. The Thorn - Sherpa iirc - feels more stable, and is slightly less flexy under load (25kg). I guess it's due to the lower BB and it's got stiffer tubing where it needs to be. That said, when we get together we normally do some off-road stuff and funnily enough the MTB rides better there - I never felt inclinded to buy one!

Last time I looked Thorn's generally didn't have disc brakes, so you might have to change your wheelset too.

 

[Lee-M]

That's interesting you say the Thorn frames aren't particularly light as I assumed that all touring frames ,although not super light , had a lightness about them . I'm putting all these comments about conversions and touring frames together and I'm starting to fall in love with my modified mtb . I can feel a surge of wanton lust towards a lump of metal . Wouldn't be the first time matron.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Keep your mtb for touring. Save your beer tokens for a faster road bike?

 

[KneesUp]

Keep your mtb for touring. Save your beer tokens for a faster road bike?

Or for beer, or more touring trips

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Or for beer, or more touring trips

or all three and more

 

[Heltor Chasca]

My first 'tourer' was an old MTB. A bit too big but lovely. Keep all the bits as when you come to selling it, you will have more of a buying audience if it is a MTB rather than a bespoke tourer. Apart from people on here, the general public won't get it.

 

[KneesUp]

My first 'tourer' was an old MTB. A bit too big but lovely. Keep all the bits as when you come to selling it, you will have more of a buying audience if it is a MTB rather than a bespoke tourer. Apart from people on here, the general public won't get it.

The public like Coldplay and the Nazis - the public are idiots (to mis-quote Peep Show)

 

[mickle]

This my daughter's tourer based on a 16" 2008(ish) Kona Smoke.