# How to modify my mountain bike for touring?



## xtremgirl (Oct 18, 2005)

Hi all!

I would like to use my hardtail mountain bike as a touring bike. Yet, I wonder which modification do I have to do in order to convert my bike. I also want to use it as a mountain bike as well - thus I don't want to buy a specific touring bike. 

Please give me your advices on which parts I should change and any specific rear and front rack that you would recommend. 

As well, will my wheels be strong enough to handle huge weight (50-60 lbs) ? Should I change my disk brake to v-brakes? If so, I'll need to change the wheels.. If I keep the disk brake for now , which rear rack would you recommend? I don't have any special spot to attach conventional rack. 

I want to use pannier/rear and front rack combinaison instead of a bob trailer. 

Details of my bike (taken off the Giant Website):

user The ATX 890 and 870 series are race inspired bikes, built with premium components and our 3lb super-light aluminum frame. At Giant we custom draw,shape, and butt all our aluminum tubes, and each frame we produce is hand welded.The result? Some of the most advanced aluminum frames on the market. 
colour Race Yellow/Black 
frame ALUXX SL super-light butted aluminum 
fork is currently 125mm, to be changed to a lock on fox f80 or f100.
derailleur Front: Shimano Deore 34.9
Rear: Shimano XT 9 spd. 
derailleurshifters Shimano Deore 9 spd. 
bottombracket Shimano UN72 68 x 113 
chain KMC Z9200 
pedals Time ATAC Alium clipless 
handlebar Titec X XC 6061 butted 
stem Race Face Prodigy 8 degree 
headset Cane Creek ZS2 threadless 1 1/8" 
grips Giant Santoprene 
brakes Hayes Hydraulic Disc 
saddle WTB Koski Contour 
seatpost Race Face Prodigy 27.2 x 350 Black 
rims Mavic Crossroc 24h tubeless black 
hubs Formula SL sealed bear. Blk.anod.24h. 
tyres Hutchinson Python 26 x 1.95 
crankset Raceface Prodigy 22/32/44 175mm 
cassette Shimano XT 11-32 9 spd. 

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP !!


ps. if you have any pictures of your converted ride, feel free to post them


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## Ken in KC (Jan 12, 2004)

*Best way to convert...*

Buy a touring bike. Seriously. Unless you have a custom hardtail, the chances that you can retrofit a mountain bike to a touring bike is slim. I'm not saying it can't be done but you'll be a lot happier with a dedicated touring bike.


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## trained_monkey (Aug 11, 2007)

I have a Giant Rincon that I have kitted out as a tourer/commuter/city bike. I replaced the riser bars with a set of butterfly bars, swapped out the suspension fork for a Surly 1x1 rigid fork, fitted a set of SKS fenders, changed to a Brooks B17 saddle and swapped to a set pair of Maxxis Overdrive tyres.

You wouldn't need to go to these lengths. At a minimum I'd recommend swapping to some slick or semi-slick tyres and adding a rear rack. If you don't have the eyelets for mounting a rack you could look at Old Man Mountain racks or maybe go with a trailer.

Using my MTB for touring works quite well, although if it was something that I was going to do more regularly I'd probably look at buying a dedicated touring bike.


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## xtremgirl (Oct 18, 2005)

thanks for the advice, any more?

The reason why I don't want to buy a touring bike yet is for the budget and also because I want to keep my mountain bike. I plan to do a 2-3 weeks trip in August and probably a longer one next summer. How are the Brooks saddle? As well, do I need to change my fork to a rigid fork or can I keep my suspension fork ?? I rather keep it  (it has a lock on on it)


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## jcaino (May 26, 2007)

really all you need to do is swap tires. you don't really need to change anything else.

add a rack if you want to carry stuff.

it won't be as light as a touring bike, it won't handle like a touring bike...but then again, it isn't a touring bike, now is it?

lots of people do this...


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## scuppy (Nov 10, 2007)

I've had front racks on telescoping forks and rigid. I currently use a linkage fork (parafork), which is better suited than telescoping. The problem with telescoping is very few have mid mount brazeons for racks (RST do). If you get a WB instead of Fox, you can use the vbrake mounts. Old man mountain racks can be set up like this, using the quick release to take most of the weight and the v-brake mounts to hold them upright. Dont try to make your own clamp system with telescoping forks or you could wreck them. Old man mountain have quick release systems for the rear as well.


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## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

axiom makes some nice racks that work with disc brakes(i think) topeak also makes some. i'd recommend a rigid fork but it's certainly not required. a fully loaded mtn bike will handle horribly though, not saying you can't get used to it, but honestly a good touring bike is set up to be ridden with lots of weight, and handles just fine with it on there. jamis makes a nice-ish one for under $900. (disclaimer: i won't make a dime unless you buy it from me, and unless you're in central iowa that's unlikely. i only mention it because lots of people think touring bikes start with a surly long haul trucker for $1500+)

for a 2-3 week tour a converted mtb would work but not be ideal. if you were planning a several month tour i'd highly recommend a dedicated touring bike. as someone who's done coast to coast o the usa, a touring bike is a great thing to have and is the proper tool for the job.


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## Lutarious (Feb 8, 2005)

*Tour Monkey*

I just set this bike up, and it is not done, but I plan on doing some touring/bikepacking with it.I'm not going to do anything special besides adding racks. I plan on pulling my BOB trailer for my commute and for touring, mostly because I want to be free to ditch my gear and ride trails whenever I am in a good place to do so.

I'm using kevlar bead tires, and I will likely put on smoother, sturdier tires for touring, (with the Nanos in the bags for when I want them.)

Just scored a Brooks B-17. I now own three Brooks saddles - one for each hardtail.

May swap the WB magic 100 from my DeSalvo to this one eventually...


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## damion (Jun 27, 2003)

*Easy.*

A pair of fenders, semi- slicks, and a BOB trailer.


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## Lutarious (Feb 8, 2005)

*Fenders, yea....*

Fenders are probably a good suggestion.

OP, Where are you and where are you thinking of touring this summer?


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## bouncybouncy (Mar 30, 2006)

My Monkey has served me well on trail and as a commuter...soon to be tour'r!!!


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## jcaino (May 26, 2007)

man...i want to get a KM bad....


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## jabpn (Jun 21, 2004)

bouncybouncy said:


> My Monkey has served me well on trail and as a commuter...soon to be tour'r!!!


Blech! Either go with all brown accents or change out that grip tape to pink (might as well paint the fenders then too). :nono:


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## amishscum (Nov 12, 2006)

Google "mountain bike touring" or "touring bike" and you'll find all kinds of sites with a wealth of information.

I could be wrong, but I think most touring enthusiasts recommend strong wheels with 36h hubs that can handle the added weight of touring gear. The wheels listed in your bike spec might be suspect for touring...

Good luck!


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## trained_monkey (Aug 11, 2007)

I went with the Surly 1x1 rigid fork simply because the RST Capa fork that the bike came with was heavy and didn't have a lock out. When you're sweating it out up a long climb you quickly start to resent the fork bobbing. If you're forks have a lock out and you're happy with them, then I'd stick with them.

The Brooks B17 saddle is ok. Lots of people love them. Mine's good, but I don't really find it any more or less comfy than other saddles I've had.

Its interesting to note that Thorn Cycles have just released the Raven Sterling - an MTB touring bike. Thorn bikes have a really good reputation for their touring bikes and they are strong advocates of 26" wheels for touring.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

'Converting' a hardtail mountain bike to a tourer is dead simple- don't let anyone tell you otherwise, or even suggest that a mountain bike isn't sufficient for touring. Touring is far more about the attitude and the fun, than it is about the equipment.

Assuming that you're mainly going to be riding on the road, some narrow tyres would be a good start. Blackburn racks are good standard rear rack (and Blackburn makes mounting hardware if you don't have holes for the rack at the top of the seat stays). If you want front panniers just thrown on a cheap rigid fork. Bar ends to give you more hand positions for long hours spent in the saddle, and replace the hyrdo disks with v-brakes which you can tinker with on the road.

The 24 spoke wheels look slightly dubious from a loaded touring perspective, but hey, if they gradually fail and then you can replace them when you need to (okay, this might not be the case if you're touring in Mongolia- I'm assuming you're thinking of touring in a Western country)


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## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

problem is with 24 spokes, if you snap one, it's a ***** to get the wheel true enough to ride well, and in many places(especially the western US) the next place that would have a spoke could easily be 100+ miles away. i've toured on 36 hole wheels for some time and once broke 4 spokes in a single day, replaced 2 and got it true enough to ride 65 more miles to the next shop. granted i found out later that i had wheel that were built with flawed spokes that had an impurity in them, but yeah, being able to gimp along until you can find the right parts and or a good mechanic/shop is crucial for longer tours.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

Hmm... you've got a good point about spoke failure, especially if the OP changes to v-brakes.


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## PCC (Sep 5, 2005)

There's no real reason to switch to V-brakes, is there? Disk brakes would work better than V-brakes in probably 99% of the situations she may be facing and the only real issue with them is the added weight and difficulty mounting a rack or fenders, which should be somewhat easy to overcome.


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## DocAltie (Feb 7, 2006)

The mountain bike I used from 2000-2004 is my commuter now. It's a Litech magneisum frame with X.7 drivetrain and Avid Ti V-brakes. My adjustments:

** Spicer Ti fork
** Salsa Motoace 11deg bar and ends.
** Cheap-o plastic fenders
** Fork rack
** Powerstrap pedals
** Panaracer FireXCPro 1.8's

It goes everywhere and does a little everything now.

Ride what you like as long as you are riding.


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## womble (Sep 8, 2006)

PCC said:


> There's no real reason to switch to V-brakes, is there? Disk brakes would work better than V-brakes in probably 99% of the situations she may be facing and the only real issue with them is the added weight and difficulty mounting a rack or fenders, which should be somewhat easy to overcome.


Discs have more stopping power, are better in the wet and usually need less maintenance. The difficulty with discs (especially hydros) is that if anything goes wrong, they're not really fixable on the road and finding parts can be very difficult. They'll work better 99% of the time, but it's that 1% when they do fail that it'll be a major PIA.

V's are simpler- you can carry a spare cable, you can bend things back into working condition after a crash, you can see how much pad you have left and you can pick up spares at any shop.


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## cobba (Apr 5, 2007)

Where do you plan on touring to and for how long?
Looking at photos of the 2001 ATX-870/ATX-890 it looks like V-Brakes aren't an option as the frame doesn't look like it has V-brake bosses on it. Here's some photos of them:
ATX-870: http://archive.giant-bicycles.com/cn/catalogue_popup.asp?sPageID=popup&popuptype=zoom&modelid=9515
ATX-890: http://archive.giant-bicycles.com/cn/catalogue_popup.asp?sPageID=popup&popuptype=zoom&modelid=9513
Without the V-Brake bosses and Rack mounting bosses on the seat stays it might be difficult to attach a rack to the frame, the seat clamp could probably be used as an attachment point. Hydro brakes probably wouldn't be a problem depending on where you plan on touring and what condition they are in, they might be a problem in a third world country if you needed to repair them. The 24h rims wouldn't be much good, 32h would probably be a minimum needed and 36h would be much better. Tyre choice would depend on what types of roads/tracks you'll be traveling on.


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