Re: your worst touring bike

Nathan,
you can definitely tour on a mountain bike.  I toured across Canada on
my Specialized Rockhopper.  All I did to it was switch the front fork
to a non-suspension fork, and put 1.25" slick tires on it.  And it did
me well.  You can also tour with a fron suspension tour, but for the
length of a cross Canada tour and the remoteness of certain parts I
preferred to simplify my setup.  Look atz old man mountain for
mountain bike specific rack options.

Cheers,
Frank

On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 10:10 AM, Nathan Wajsman <[email protected]> wrote:
> Speaking of which...this thread, and this message in particular, prompts =
me to ask the question:
>
> I would like a touring bike. At the moment, I have a nice KTM road bike, =
and a nice Lapierre mountainbike (front suspension only). I do not ride off=
-road, and so I am thinking whether adding some bits to the mountainbike wi=
ll make it suitable for touring. Its gearing is certainly suitable; what it=
 lacks is any provision for baggage (other than the small handlebar bag I u=
se for daily odds and ends). But someone told me that there are actually re=
ar rack systems that can be mounted on bicycles even if there are no pre-dr=
illed holes. That, and changing from the current knobby tires to something =
better suited for the road. Any thoughts? I could of course just buy a prop=
er touring bike, and may well do so one day, but for now I am looking for a=
 short term solution. I do not need to carry sleeping bag or cooking utensi=
ls or tents, just clothes, toiletries, camera and my wallet stuffed with su=
itable plastic :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> [email protected]
>
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>
> YNWA
>
> On Feb 19, 2011, at 10:17 PM, Denis Kertz wrote:
>
>>> From: Scott Loveless [mailto:[email protected]]
>>> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2011 9:48 AM
>>>
>>> Just for the sake of conversation, what's the most ill-suited bike
>>> you've ever taken on a tour?
>>
>> Well, it wasn't my bike but when I rode the Southern Tier route in 2004
>> starting from San Diego, I met a guy coming in the other direction from
>> Florida near the Arizona border. =A0He had an ordinary hard-tail mountai=
n bike
>> that was almost certainly what he just happened to have and so it was his
>> touring bike. =A0What was unusual wasn't his bike but his pannier "syste=
m."
>> He had a rolled up bedroll strapped to his straight handlebars and two d=
ay
>> packs swinging freely from each end of his handlebars. =A0I've always
>> regretted that I didn't get a photo. =A0The interesting thing was he see=
med to
>> be perfectly content with his arrangement, contrasted by my "correct"
>> front/rear pannier arrangement. =A0I use my memory of this encounter to =
remind
>> myself that the trip is still more important than the best/correct equip=
ment
>> and that folks are surprisingly adaptable to whatever they have availabl=
e.
>>
>> Denis
>>
>>
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