Which retro mtb suited for bikepacking

[Iwasgoodonce]

Another vote for early 90s Saracens. I have had a 1990 Kili Flier Comp from new. You would have thought the Competition frame would be rubbish for anything other than racing.
I fitted a shorter stem, 130 instead of 150, which made it comfortable to ride for longer. It had rack mounts from new. Nice and discrete more akin to beefy bottle cage mounts than other brazed on mounts.
Very strong; it has survived a lot of abuse and still on the original paint. Saracen powder coat had a well deserved reputation for toughness.

 

[DoctorRad]

… 1990 Kili Flier Comp …

Tange Prestige and similar tubings are just as strong as heavier tubes, but are lighter because they can be made thinner, usually because of a combination of the alloy composition and heat treating.

However, thinner walls can lead to more risk of damage in roughty-toughty conditions, but unless you have stupid-light racing tubing, you'll probably be okay.

An alternative would, of course, be titanium, which opens up a whole load of other options, not to mention possible build-quality issues…

 

[Tommy27]

My current set up. I'm in two mind about changing the gearing, but not sure how much lower I can go with 7 speed and triple?

 

[hamster]

On the gearing one you can always split an 8 or 9 speed cassette and use the cogs. There used to be a 34T cassette available, so you 20T front and 34 rear is possible. Add a modern 9 speed mech with a really long cage which will take a 43T or even 45T difference.

For me anything below 22T front and 32T rear (or 20T / 30T) is hard to get moving and barely worth it compared to walking. Usually I have 22/30 or 24/30.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

On the gearing one you can always split an 8 or 9 speed cassette and use the cogs. There used to be a 34T cassette available, so you 20T front and 34 rear is possible. Add a modern 9 speed mech with a really long cage which will take a 43T or even 45T difference.

For me anything below 22T front and 32T rear (or 20T / 30T) is hard to get moving and barely worth it compared to walking. Usually I have 22/30 or 24/30.

But what if you want really low gears
I have my coat and gloves

 

[grantoury]

But what if you want really low gears
I have my coat and gloves

Where is that ignore button again.

 

[hamster]

But what if you want really low gears
I have my coat and gloves

Here we go again!

 

[Titiritero]

For me anything below 22T front and 32T rear (or 20T / 30T) is hard to get moving and barely worth it compared to walking. Usually I have 22/30 or 24/30.

Sometimes a lower gear is nice to have, we're talking bikepacking here (which to me means touring on rough terrain).

I was pulling a kids trailer in South America and my knees would have welcomed something lower than my 22x34. Similarly, in the Indian Himalayas, the passes are not steep, but they can be 20km long at 4000mts, so anything that allows you to spin for 3 hours is great!!

On our first day going above 3500mts, still poorly acclimatised, my friend and me did the daily 60km all in the small front ring, even though there was no serious climb on that day.

Although some new cassettes are ridiculous, tourers rarely complain of "too low gearing"...

 

[M-Power]

It used to be said that it was better to have heavier gauge steel frame tubing ( eg 531 ), especially if you were touring in far flung exotic locations, the reason being it would be easier for a local welder to repair any breakages. Ti was out for that reason.

 

[Spankyfart]

I was pulling a kids trailer in South America and my knees would have welcomed something lower than my 22x34. Similarly, in the Indian Himalayas, the passes are not steep, but they can be 20km long at 4000mts, so anything that allows you to spin for 3 hours is great!!

Get a Rohloff, I'm turning all our bikes into 14 gears.
They are amazing, but you'd probably already might know that.