Building a touring bike, I require almost everything!

TomGale

Retro Newbie
Okay so i'm planning a ride of 20,000 miles on a shoestring budget and need to build a touring bike capable of such a feat. Please have a look at the list below to see if you have anything relevant or if you have anything else that i might need

*Firstly i need a large steel frame that takes 26 inch wheels. Rim brake or disc i'm not too bothered. I'm 6ft7 so anything 20" or over will be considered. If you've got an old kona frame or cove handjob or similar PLEASE GET IN TOUCH

*2 Ortleib panniers, and a steel rear pannier rack

*A decent set of 36 spoke, double walled rims ie Sunn Rhyno

*A handlebar bag capable of carrying a small DSLR camera

*Small DSLR camera

*XT hollowtech Crankset or similar

*Brooks leather saddle

*Avid BB disc brakes (will have to get frame first)

*Water bottle cages

*SPD shoes to fit uk size 14

*Handlebar ends

*Schwalbe Marathon XC tyres or similar bombproof touring tyre

*Topeak Alien multitool

*Drivetrain XT or XTR

ANYTHING ELSE YOU THINK MIGHT BE RELEVANT THAT YOU OWN AND DON'T WANT PLEASE GET IN TOUCH!

Cheers
 
If you're riding that far consider Bhrama bars - one piece handlebars with bar-ends built in. They'll give far more hand postitions than a flat bar and bar-ends. A few have cropped up in the for sale pages recently.

You might be better off starting with a bike as a donor than buying bits separately - you'll get exactly what you want, but it'll cost a lot.

SP
 
Take a look at the CTC forums on bottom brackets - anything other than square taper doesn't seem to last.

I'd take a look at steel Marins - they tend to be in big sizes. They also make good tourers. I've done thousands of miles on a 1990 Palisades on 4 continents. I'd also suggest buying a cheaper one - the thick-walled tubes make the bike more robust and better able to deal with heavy loads and the rough and tumble of touring. A Specialized Rockhopper would also be a great choice.
 
I have a pair of schwalbe marathons 26x1.9 or 2.1 can't quite remember. they've covered about 250 miles only and are in great shape, let me know if interested.
 
As already mentioned its probably better to go for a square taper BB as these last longer and are easier to find when you are out and about, especially if you are off the beaten track.

As splatter said, bars like these are great for touring, your hands don't get so tired:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SILVER-ALLOY- ... 415eb108d9

Consider a dyno hubbed front wheel, this will give you lights and a power source for charging your phone and batteries.

I used a steel framed Kona, the early ones already have rack mounts on them

Good luck, if you need any help PM me, I've done a bit of touring before.
 
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I have a 19 inch Lava Dome frame in my for sale thread (link below). I am 6'2" and rode it ok, I used a fork with a very long steerer and spacers in the headset, combined with a short(ish) stem and risers, made it quite comfortable. May be a little to short for you still though, but figured I would mention it just in case!

Good luck with your travels!

Dan ;)
 
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