Weeks

Hey gang,
I've got a Trek 3900 (mountain bike) and a Trek 1000 (road bike, kinda racy). I bought the Trek 1000 because it looked cool and I figured it was going to fit my needs; all road bikes are the same, right?

But after riding for a while, gaining some experience, and talking to several different people, I've come to realize that my riding style is more geared towards touring rather than racing. I have no desire to ride races, but I am extremely interested in doing long-term camping trips with the bike.

Soon I am going to be riding the Katy Trail in my state, which is the longest continuous bike trail in the US as far as I know. Something like 200 miles. I'm going to try and break my teeth on that and see how I feel about the situation.

My question is, which bike should I try and convert into a more touring-style bike? I don't really have the cash to fork out to get another bike and I'm debating what would make more sense to use on long-distance rides. The furthest I've ridden was 110 miles. My mountain bike seems to be more comfortable and geared more 'friendly', as well as being able to support more road conditions. But my road bike is faster and lighter.

What do you guys think, and what should I get to convert?

jharte

I've ridden the Katy Trail several times. Actually, either bike would work fine. There aren't any 'hills' on the Katy. There are some pretty long grades, but hardly noticable. Think about where you will put your stuff on your bike.
I spend 3 days on the Katy when I ride end to end. Clinton to Rocheport (86mi), Rocheport to Marthasville (100mi), Marthasville to St. Charles. BTW, the trail was just extended another 11 mi, or so. I think it is about 235 now, or there abouts.
When you said you have ridden 110 mi, was that in a day? Pick the bike you can sit on all day.
I ride a converted MTB. Fully loaded, I have done several 120 mi days. For long loaded rides, I opt for my MTB. My .02.

late

I'd go for the Mtn bike, for the reasons you mentioned. Big slicks, a Brooks saddle,
and you are good to go.

There are some other reasons this might be a better choice. The Mtn bike, especially the wheels, are going to be tougher and take a larger comfier tire.

The Mtn bike should have eyelets for a rack. You can use seatpost racks, don't care for them myself.

You can play with the riding position, add different bars, some guys even add drop bars when they convert.

Weeks

late, why don't you like seatpost racks? any reason?

and i've done 110 in one day. i can be comfortable on the road bike as well (no real soreness issues) but i have concerns about it's durability, and i'd also like to avoid having to dish out 100 bucks for cyclocross tires

Bill Abbey

I would look at the tires on the mountain bike, maybe get down to 32's or combination tires. i would then add bar ends so that you have some changes in hand position. After that it is back racks and/or a BoB and you are set. I've done several legitimate rides (trans am and alaska) on my Marin in those configurations

NoReg

Seatpost racks are fine as long as you don't put any serious weight on them . A cantilever against an alloy tube is not the best rig for heavy stuff. Some of them also bounce.

wahoonc

Most seat post racks are rated in the 15#-20# range, frame racks can easily double that, not really enough IMHO for other than a quick light trip. I ride a rails to trails conversion quite regularly. I would think that you would be better off on the MTB with city tires on it. Especially if it is very dry or very wet. The trail bed is made out of crushed, packed gravel. Not particularly a good surface to ride on if you have narrow street tires. FWIW about the narrowest tire I have ridden on with success is a 1-3/8" (35mm) much under that and I would expect handling problems, especially if you are hauling any weight.

Aaron

late

What they said... they aren't really the answer for touring, especially if you plan on touring with a full load (tent, pad, stove, the weight adds up fast)

Have fun on your trip.

DuckFat

Forget racks/panniers. Do the mountain bike with a BOB trailer behind (cause panniers may not give you clearance with the short chainstays) and you'll have to change fewer components with a trailer taking half the weight. Ebay is your friend to find a used BOB. You'll want to switch to thinner tires (Schwalbe Marathons if you can swing it). Good luck with your trip.

TheBrick

If the trip is only 200 odd miles and you have done 110 mile in a day before I would chose what ever bike is most comfy for you. Personally I would ride the road bike, if it is fire roads you sould have no trouble with road tyres. Also as it is only 200 mile pack really light, a seat post rack or small rucksack should be enough for that distance, there is no point tacking cooking gear on such a short (short in terms of tours) ride, but like I said that is just me. Being as it is flat I would try and do it in one day. Good luck!

BigBlueToe

This is a question for which personal preference would be key. The only way to really find out is to do it twice, once on each bike, and you can decide which was preferable.

Okay, that's probably not likely. Here's my opinion:

Either bike should be fine, although I don't think the Trek 1000 is an especially tough bike, so don't load it up too much, and be easy on it. Using front and rear racks and panniers, rather than just rear, is easier on equipment since it spreads the load and takes weight off the rear wheel, which is often the most likely trouble source - broken spokes. If you don't have rack eyelets there are alternatives. You can use P clamps. Some rack manufacturers sell adapters for this. I think Old Man Mountain racks are made to be especially suitable for bikes without brazeons.

A trailer is an alternative to racks and panniers, and has advantages. I have a Bob. You can use it on either bike, and switch back and forth. All you have to do is buy a special skewer for each rear wheel. It can carry a ton of stuff, and everything goes inside a waterproof bag, so you don't have to worry about taking special precautions for riding in the rain. You are less likely to break spokes because half of the weight is taken off the rear wheel of your bike.

One disadvantage of the Bob is the weight - it's a lot heavier than racks and panniers. Plus there's a bit extra rolling resistance, plus there's the disadvantage of having a different-sized wheel back there for which you'll need tubes, maybe a spare tire.

My personal preference would be to use my Bob on tours without too many big hills (no mountain passes), especially on dirt roads, crushed rock trails, etc.

Isn't the Katy Trail crushed rock? If so, I'd either put big tires on the road bike, or small tires on the mountain bike. Will your road bike accomodate larger tires? I have Schwalbe 700x32 on my LHT and I think they'd work fine on that trail. My Armadillo 700x25 would not be good. My old bike wouldn't go bigger than 700x28, which wouldn't be the best.

On the other hand, your mountain bike has advantages. Does it have rack eyelets? That's a plus. The beefier frame is a plus for carrying a load. Mountain bikes often have long chainstays, which is good for using panniers, to prevent heel strike. Mountain bikes certainly accept wide tires, though wide knobbies aren't the best for touring. I'd put on a narrower hybrid tire, or even a "street tire". My wife has 1 1/4 inch Tom Slicks on her mountain bike and I'd use them for touring (although I'm not sure of how flat resistant they are.) If you have bar ends you'll have options for hand positions. Suspension is a disadvantage, because it adds weight to little purpose, but it's not a big deal; you wouldn't need to run out and buy a rigid fork.

I'd either go with the mountain bike with panniers, the mountain bike with trailer, or the road bike with trailer, especially since it doesn't seem like there will be many hills on your route. But the road bike with panniers wouldn't be a horrible choice either.

Which bike is more comfortable? Maybe you can ride a bike a long distance on a given day and be comfortable, but if you have to get up and ride a similar distance the next day, and the next, you might decide it isn't as comfortable as you'd like.

Weeks

Thanks for the tips all, very helpful and illuminating. I'll confess I hadn't thought about the spokes or even considered the BOB. Right now I'm leaning towards using my mtb since most people here are suggesting that. The only thing that makes me hesitant would be that due to a sloping toptube, there's only one water bottle holster.

How much do thinner hybrid tires usually run? And I'm going to bring a bit of camping gear this time (not much) not out of necessity, but rather to familiarize myself with the experience and using the different articles, etc, to guage how seriously I'd be able to handle a longer route. Probably a tent, bag, pad, stove, and related items

wahoonc

Depending on the hybrid, and clearance I have run 40's on my wife's GT Slipstream. It came with 35's on it. BTW hers has full fenders too.

Aaron

late

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...tegory_ID=5425

This is as cheap and small as you should go, IMHO.
If I was touring, I'd go a little bigger. But these came with my X02 and
I did light touring with them.

The Panaracer Pasela TG 1.7 would be a good choice. Keep the pressure low.
Don't know your total weight, but 70-80psi would prob be plenty fully loaded.

robow

Check and see but I bet you can't get any larger tires on your 1000 road bike than a 700 X 25. I didn't have enough clearance for even 28's on mine. For light touring, credit card touring, no problem with those 25's but not even fully loaded touring and you're going to be putting a lot of weight on those smaller tires, not a good idea. I like the mountain bike with city tires in the 1.25"-1.50" range.

KrisPistofferson

I've turned both MTBs and road bikes into touring bikes, and I must say it is a heck of a lot easier with a MTB. I don't know how much money you want to spend on this, but a non-suspension fork, some racks and panniers, thiner tires and some Nashbar trekking bars and you're good to go.

I had a Giant OCR that I tried everything to turn into a tourer back in the day-it was terrible. You could only fit 700x25s on it, a lame-ass seatpost rack and caliper brakes handle weight horribly. It was a fine road machine, but not a tourer.

BigBlueToe

You could carry a Camelbak. You could put water bottles in your panniers. You could get one of those holders that puts the water behind the saddle.

cynergy

Weeks - I'm in a similar boat. I used to ride a lot when I was younger. Recently I started riding again and bought a brand new bike. Not knowing much about bikes, I bought an entry level Giant OCR bike, but after having rode a lot lately, I realize now that I would have been better suited with a touring bike. I recently upgraded the drivetrain on my older Trek 800 Mountain bike and have been using it as a touring bike. I haven't done any long, heavily loaded trips yet, but I have ridden a lot carry packages, groceries, towing kids, etc.. Even though it's a lot slower than the road bike, I think it makes a much better tourer. I like the thick tires and the heavier steel frame. On some stretches of road, there are some steep downhill sections with bumpy roads. I really appreciate the durability of the steel frame and fat tires. Plus the geometry of the mountain bike frame is more comfortable for me than my road bike.

My mountain bike has all of the eyelets for racks and fenders (including two pairs of eyelets in the rear if i want to mount a rack and fenders). Plus the mountain bike has the nice big cantilever brakes which are helpful if you are doing any loaded touring.

Also, as other folks have mentioned, you might not be able to get any thick tires mounted on your road bike. I've slid out /crashed a few times on gravel roads riding my road bike with 700x26 tires and it was a bit scary.

Cave

Comfort, ability to carry the load, ability to cover the terrain, reliablility. Those are the priorities.

Speed and looks are nice too.