Building & preparing a bike for Touring from a 1980ties mountain bike frame

This is the bike and what I typically pack for a dry (summer) bicycle tour. Touring in the early spring or winter would necessitate carrying a few more items of clothing.                                 

The Bicycle:                        

This bike was built from bottom up transferring all parts from a time tested mountain bike of recent time.                                                                                 I I use Shimano STX shifters & brake sets. These are reliable shifters that are robust & repairable if required.

   I had modified the bike slightly from its stock configuration to accept modern oversize stem as well as classic stem. Another observation is that these bikes have the 1" headsets, and the quills/stems can be raised up much higher than you can get with a modern 1 1/8" threadless headset.                                                                                              This gave me the flexibility to swop handle bars and also get parts travelling in lesser advance Countries.

   Both the rims & spokes had been replaced with Mavic aluminum &  #15 Stainless Steel spokes with brass nipples.                                              The Stock chain rings are 26, 36, 46 with a 12-28 7-speed cassette. For tours longer than a weekend, I usually switch the Sports tires to a 26”,1.5 Panaracer Nylon type for lightness in overcoming rolling resistance.            

I equipped the bike with only these to be self sufficient:                                                                                    Specialised Seal bearing pedals                                                                                          Custom made Alloy front rack                                                                                             2 Water bottle cages on handle bar                                                                                             1 water bottle cage on bottom tube                                                                                               A double action Avenir pump                                                                                  Specialised cycle computer                                                                                    Bar-end with Sponge Grips & review mirror                                                         Custom made left & right Front panniers                                                                           Mountain panniers in the front                                                                                  Custom made Handlebar Bag                                                                                    Nylon tool Seat Bag                                                                                                   

The Gear: All contained in these panniers

Thoreau said, "A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone," and this rule works fairly well for bicycle touring and camping. Part of the reason for going on a bicycle tour should be to get away from the complexities of the world. But access your route so that you are equip with the minimum to be self sufficient.

Left Front Pannier-Clothing Bag

1 Rain Gear – whatever works for you
Emergency 1st aid kit
Personal "kit", Soap, Shampoo, etc.
Pack towel – full size cotton bath towels

1 Pair Casual Shorts

1 Pair Sweatshirt

1 Pair of light Long pants
2 Pairs of underwear
2 pairs Socks – wicking (cotton is not recommended)
1 pair Swim trunks
1 pair Sandles

Right Front Pannier

Bike clothing-1 Riding Shorts, 1 wicking T Shirt
Sleeping bag

Water Canteen- spare water bottle

Cooking gear (stove, fuel, pot, bowl, cup, etc.)

Food Supply (in yellow plastic bag)                                                                                  Extra straps, ziplocks

  Seat Bag(Tool bag)  Choose the smallest saddlebag possible - that way, your tools won't rattle around. Stuff any extra space with newspaper or a rag to keep everything quiet.

       What to pack in the tool bag.                                                                                                                        A good multi tool which have at least 5 & 6mm Allen wrenches & a Phillips Screw driver at minimum, which are the most commonly used for bike repairs.            

       1 good spare tube  (in a zip-loc bag with talcum powder)

        A Patch kit & 2 tire levers.

       You can also bring individual tools which should include these at minimum.                                                                                                       A Plus and minus combination Screw Driver which are commonly used.

             At least 5 & 6mm Allen wrenches                                                                                                                                      Chain tool if you plan to ride off road and a spare pin if you have a Shimano chain.                                                                                          A spoke wrench to keep you continuing your ride if you have a broken spoke or a bent wheel.                                                                         

       Although Expensive bikes like Trek which is a good bike and good for touring but not for me on long distance gravel.                                                                                      I had friends who had rebuilt some older model mountain bikes and they seemed to have no problems in Touring plus they could carry out minor welding on the frames should it break due to a fall.                                                                   Aluminum framed mountain bike are usually designed for Racing rather than Touring and it did get a bit uncomfortable after a long time in the saddle, plus its  front shocks absorbs portion of your energy making it lesser efficient.

Happy Touring on a budget!.

From the desk of Timothy Wooi                                                                                    20C,Taman Bahagia,                                                                                                               06000, Jitra, Kedah                                                                                                      Hp:0194514007,Email timothywooi@gmail.com