26" (Dirt) Touring Frame - Options?

[Espresso_]

Hi all

Having just completed my recent road bike project, I'm now looking into my next (cash-strapped) project.

I have a near-new hard tail 26" mountain bike gathering dust in my attic; I bike I built up to see what building a bike from scratch would be like. The parts on the bike are all very new and decent (full SLX group set etc). I've since discovered that mountain biking is not really my thing, and when it is, renting a full suspension 650b is way more fun!

I'm thinking a gravel/dirt tourer of some kind could be a good use for the parts, I guess using the Surly Troll as a default. I want to use as many of my MTB components as possible and build a new bike as cheaply as possible.

Surly Trolls themselves seem as rare as hen's teeth to buy online or second hand, and full RRP does not meet my budget spec. They also seem kind of boring (as all Surlies do, to me) but I could live with that if it were cheap enough.

Suggestions?

E

[Warin]

Cheap? Use the frame you have, see if you like it... minimum money max funds for travel. Need more space for luggage? Some use the 'extra wheel trailer', might be cheaper than another frame?

[Blakeylonger]

Dirt as in single track? Add frame bags to your existing 26" bike.

Dirt as in twin track or dirt/gravel roads? Your soma DC *is* a touring bike and has plush rubber already. Buy tubus racks and ortlieb panniers and you're done.

[Espresso_]

Dirt as in single track? Add frame bags to your existing 26" bike.

Yeah single track or stuff that's rough enough to maybe need a suspension fork.

Frame bags are most sensible. Might consider a Jones Loop Bar for a few more hand positions, but that's about it.

Dirt as in twin track or dirt/gravel roads? Your soma DC *is* a touring bike and has plush rubber already. Buy tubus racks and ortlieb panniers and you're done.

Yep - gone there already. It's extremely capable and quick - especially on smooth gravel.

[Blakeylonger]

Dirt as in single track? Add frame bags to your existing 26" bike.

Yeah single track or stuff that's rough enough to maybe need a suspension fork.

Frame bags are most sensible. Might consider a Jones Loop Bar for a few more hand positions, but that's about it.

Commuter Cycles, Friday 530pm, bring beer/ginger beer & chips, ask the resident ne'er do wells about various setups.

[Espresso_]

Commuter Cycles, Friday 530pm, bring beer/ginger beer & chips, ask the resident ne'er do wells about various setups.

Can't make it this week. Is this a regular gig?

[il padrone]

Frame bags are most sensible. Might consider a Jones Loop Bar for a few more hand positions, but that's about it.

Run a straight bar with long bar-ends for a more suitable range of hand positions. This will give you 3-4 good variations. Your wide leveraged climbing/standing positon is much more comfortable and usable if it is forwards rather than to the rear imho.

[Blakeylonger]

regularish gig, numbers vary week to week depending on who's around and what's happening. jones bars and apidura / revelate bags in stock too.

If you want to get aero and be bikepacking ontrend, H bars are what you want, but maybe try putting some barends/mini TT extensions inboard of the grips on your flat/riser/sweep of choice before you drop the cash.

[Tim]

Commuter Cycles, Friday 530pm, bring beer/ginger beer & chips, ask the resident ne'er do wells about various setups.

Do you know anything much about these guys ie. honesty, reliability, quality of mechanics etc?

I live in country Vic and have never visited the store but I have heard there is a medium size, Rohloff equipped, Tout Terrain Silk Road, my current dream bike, at a good price, on the shop floor, right now.
I can the feel the impulse centre of my brain twitching.

[il padrone]

You would be pretty correct there Tim.

http://commutercycles.com.au/news/2012/tout-terrain/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Blakeylonger]

Do you know anything much about these guys ie. honesty, reliability, quality of mechanics etc?

Huw and the gang are 5 star. From race bikes to klunkers they treat them all right.

[Espresso_]

Do you know anything much about these guys ie. honesty, reliability, quality of mechanics etc?

Try as you might, you will not find a better bike shop. They know their sh*t, and they know other people's sh*t. And they are really nice.

Here's just one example - I went down there one afternoon trying to find a small fiddly spacer part for fitting my mudguards that neither of my two walking-distance bike shops wanted to know about. They didn't have what I needed either, so they fabricated something that met my needs, then and there.

And they didn't charge me.

And it worked, perfectly.

E

[Tim]

Mmmmm, niiiiice, neeeeew, biiiiicycle. Drool, droooool.

Is there much difference in quality (or anything else) between the silver and gold Rolhoffs?
I've not read or heard of any (great) problems with either.

Thanks for the replies and good to learn of a reputable bike shop.
Sorry about derailing this thread, I'll start a new one if things progress.

[il padrone]

I think the gold hub is just a gold-anodised shell, really no difference in quality of the mechanicals. I have the black ano version, my wife has a silver polished one. The new silver ones are now anodised so they will be less shiny, but will not loose their shine over time and require more polishing

Of course if you get the real gold-plated one (24 carat) there is a but of a 'quality' jump




Some handy information here on why a Rohloff is a really good thing.

[Espresso_]

Run a straight bar with long bar-ends for a more suitable range of hand positions. This will give you 3-4 good variations. Your wide leveraged climbing/standing positon is much more comfortable and usable if it is forwards rather than to the rear imho.

I've been there and tried similar grips on a previous flatbar bike. By hour 5 I was having all sorts of pains - it just doesn't work for me, for whatever reason - not to say that they didn't improve the situation over the standard flat bar though. And by that stage I'd dropped enough cash on Ergon products to justify just buying new bar.

Also, as this bike will likely also be tackling some single track at times, the whole hooks-on-the-bars thing doesn't inspire me with confidence in terms of getting tangled in trees and stuff. The Jones bar has that in its favour.

Really need to ride a Jones bar bike somehow...

E

[TouringPhil]

Here's my project almost finished, Converting my 27.5" Giant Talon 1 to a touring bike.

Tubus Rear rack
Brooks B17 Select Saddle
One Man Mountain Lowrider front rack
Jones H-Bar
Satoria adjustable stem
Schwalbe Marathon 27.5" x 1.65" tyres

There the main upgrades Ive completed thus far on my bike. All that's left to do is increase the length of my front Hydraulic Disk Brake hose and maybe adjust the angle on the Satori Adjustable stem up more so I have a higher bar height.

[Espresso_]

Here's my project almost finished, Converting my 27.5" Giant Talon 1 to a touring bike.

Jones H-Bar

Looks good Phil.

What was your experience that led to the purchase of the Jones Loop Bar?

Any feedback on the bar setup thus far or is it too early to tell?

E

[TouringPhil]

Bit to soon, the H Bar only turned up in the post about a week ago, but so far, I love them.

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[Wingnut]

I considered the H Bar but I discovered that the hand position at the end of the bar is a lot further back when compared to a flat bar...thus it left me too squashed up in my position on the bike...

[il padrone]

I considered the H Bar but I discovered that the hand position at the end of the bar is a lot further back when compared to a flat bar...thus it left me too squashed up in my position on the bike...

+1

I have a very similar hand position on my roadster commuter with the North Road bars. It is quite upright.... OK for some riding around town and very comfortable (as long as I', not pushng a headwind), but not ideal for longer rides and higher overall speeds.

[TouringPhil]

H Bar perfect for me as I need to move the handle bar further back. I drove 6 hours to a bike store so to to get fitted and they end up selling me a bike that is way to long for me, I am getting pain in my wrists as I feel like im fulling forward on the bike, lots of weight on my hands, even with the changes shown on the imagei postedof my bike, I am still getting sore numb hands after a ride, this is why I need to lengthen the brake hose, so I can get the stem adjusted higher and moreback.

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[Espresso_]

I have a similar issue, which is one reason why the "just ride what you have" option won't work for me here - my MTB started as a frame purchased cheaply from eBay for the original project and it's too big for me, uncomfortably so on anything over a 15km trip.

The other reasons are the lack of mounting points for racks (not insurmountable) and the fact that I just want a new (cheap) project.

I'm trying to find an On One Inbred horizontal slot version with a rear mech hanger (or similar) at this point - cheaper alternative to the Troll.

E