Have you ever been enticed by the idea of an adventure? Do you like to be self-sufficient? Well, bike touring might be the chance you have been looking for! We go through our lives pining for adventure or a change to our daily routine. This is what my wife Christina and I were thinking when we decided to start seeing the world 15 miles per hour at a time! We asked ourselves what type of bikes and gear are needed? Do we have to buy everything, or can we use what we have? What kind of weight do we want to haul around? Remember that when Bike Touring, the only engine you have is the one you were born with!
What type of tour am I intrested in?
The first aspect you must figure out is what type of tour are you interested in. It could be a day trip of only a few miles or a multi-day to even months-long excursion covering hundreds of miles. Long-distance touring appealed most to us. So, we decided to choose bikes that could support all the gear we would need and convert your bike to tour!
Choosing a bike to convert to tour…(The best bike is the Bike you already have)
We didn’t have the money to buy new bikes. Purpose-built touring bikes can cost between a few hundred to thousands of dollars. We chose to build our touring rigs off the bikes we already had. They aren’t perfect, but they will get us going. If you do not have a bike I would suggest checking to see if your town has a community bike project. These types of programs can teach you bike maintenance or you can buy a great used bike for a fraction of the cost of buying new.
Most touring bikes have a steel frame construction and drop handlebars like a road bike. Also, some have an aluminum frame better for weight but less ridged. Our bikes feature aluminum frame construction but were built for light off-road and commuting.
The bike on the left is my Scott Sportster P4. The bike on the right is Christina’s Trek Euro Commuter Bike. Thankfully, we already had back racks, but these can be found on Amazon for as little as thirty dollars. Just ensure that the rack you choose has a fifty-pound capacity and fits your bike. So, these are the bikes we converted to tour
Road bikes are not necessarily well suited for long-distance touring if carrying a lot of weight. They are built for speed and few have frame attach points for racks and fenders. Also, they are not as strong as a hybrid, touring, or mountain bike. Pictured above is an example of a Road Bike. (I will confess…Yes we do use our road bikes as a light touring set-up)
How do I carry all of my stuff?
The Second aspect of Bike Touring we needed to figure out was how to carry all our stuff. We needed enough space for all our gear without adding a ton of weight and keeping our costs low. On our touring adventure, we would be traveling almost 100 miles a day and would need to camp. So, we decided on a combination of buying two sets of readymade panniers and seat bags then making our frame bags.
Panniers
The panniers we chose were the Ibera Rak-Pak system with quick release. These are water-resistant and come with a rain cover for torrential downpours. They can be ordered on amazon for around fifty dollars per set.
Trunk Bag
Another critical piece of gear is a trunk bag. This bag fastens to the top flat portion of your back rack and can carry a multitude of things. We generally use it to carry food and extra rechargeable batteries. Some purpose-built trunk bags can cost over a hundred dollars. We chose to repurpose large camera bags bought from a thrift store for under 12 dollars.
Frame Bags and Water Bottle Mounting
After figuring our back-rack system, we needed to make our frame bags. There are many frame bags on the market. These bags can range in price from twenty to over a hundred dollars depending on your needs. Thankfully, my wife has a master’s degree in Theater Costume construction, so we had the ability and sewing machines to build our bags. We just had to make a pattern that would contour the bags to our bikes. The geometry of my bike is straight forward, but Christina’s bike was a little more challenging. We had to build a bag that was useful but also fit into the limited space in her frame. The material for our bags is water-resistant nylon bought from Hobby Lobby. We sewed in hook and loop straps to make install and removal easy. Most frame bags are fastened in this way protecting the frame in the process.
As you can see the frame bags perfectly fit our different frame geometry, allowing us to carry smaller items and spare bike parts. The additional bike parts include two inner tubes and six spare spokes. Additionally, pictured above, are our water bottle mounts. My frame has two water bottle cage mounts. Mounting water bottles to Christina’s bike was a little more challenging. We bought two water bottle cages and fastened them to the top of her down tube with hose clamps. If you choose to mount cages in this way make sure to put some sort of barrier between the cadges and the frame. We cut an old tire inner tube fit to the length of the bottle cadge.
Where do put my Tent Poles?
When transporting all our camping gear, we have had trouble finding a place to house our tent poles. Like with our bikes themselves we wanted to use what we had if possible. It’s best to use lightweight backpacking or bike touring tent but we had a standard tent already. Packing the tent was easy it fit in a pannier however, the poles were another matter entirely. The solution we found best was to make a roll that could mount under the down tube. We made this roll with the same water-resistant nylon material as the frame bags. When imagining the roll, think of how drill bits are placed into a roll then strapped with hook and loop fasteners. This is the same solution we chose.
Under-the-seat Bags
The last bags we bought were and under the seat and top tube bags. The Under-the-seat or saddle bag fits just as its name implies. This bag features two pockets on the outside meant for additional water bottles. However, we generally put a Bluetooth speaker in one of the pockets with a cord that reaches to our trunk bags connected to a rechargeable battery. In the seat bag, we store our tire patch kit, tire changing tool, and bike multitool.
The top tube bag is an Ibera bought on amazon for fifteen dollars. This bag is water-resistant and features a top pocket for your phone a storage compartment for snacks and an additional rechargeable battery. We found it necessary to buy a 90-degree ten-inch charging cable to be able to plug in your phone when necessary.
How do I recharge my electronics?
When riding over a hundred miles in a day, you will need a way of recharging your batteries. We chose a battery large capacity battery with attached solar panels. We place the solar battery on the top of our trunk bags fastened down with bungees. This method of fastening the battery allows the solar panels to flex slightly without breaking. The third aspect of bike touring are your tires and fenders.
Tire selection and Stability!
Tires are very important as they support all the weight. It is necessary to select tires that will sustain the types of terrain you will be riding in. During a bike tour, you will encounter a variety of surfaces such as gravel, smooth and rough road, and dirt. We chose a cross tire that is smooth in the middle and features tread on the outside that also offers puncture protection. The slicker portion will allow for a smoother road ride and will grip on gravel and dirt. Our tire decision fit the entire mantra of our build which was adaptability. We can ride in a variety of conditions and surfaces.
Bike Stability and peddles
Choosing a kickstand might seem straightforward forward but consider the amount of weight it will need to support. When long-distance bike touring you will carry an additional thirty-five to eighty pounds let alone the weight of your bike. My bike weighs in at twenty pounds and I generally carry fifty pounds of gear. So, I chose a kickstand that has a leg on each side and could fold the same as a traditional kickstand. This was the best option for the stability I needed, and it allows the bike to stand freely. These types of stands, and many more, are available at your local bike shop or amazon. They can cost anywhere from ten to a hundred dollars. Additionally, some choose to use no kickstand at all, a tree, building, or a collapsable pole.
Peddles
The type of peddles you use needs to be considered. There are many types of peddles used in bike touring, but the most common are platform and clipless. Clipless peddles allow a firm push and pull pedaling Technique. Utilizing clipless peddles allows the rider to peddle more efficiently but has a smaller foot contact surface area. These peddles also require specific shoes to use.
Platform peddles are the most commonly used on bikes. They have the benefit of a large contact surface area, but the rider cannot utilize the push-pull technique losing efficiency. Using Platforms, the rider does not need any special shoes to use. This can help keep the cost down and reduce weight by not having to pack an additional pair of shoes. Christina and I chose to use a type of pedal that combines the best of both styles. On one side of our peddles we can ride as a platform the other side features a clip to fasten our bike shoes when riding long distance and uphill.
Seats, Handlebars and Safety
The fifth and last aspect we will discuss converting a bike for touring is handlebars and seats. Ok maybe a little safety, you know just for fun… There and many handlebar types allowing for differing hand and riding positions. Our bikes have straight bars offering few hand positions to choose from. The only solution, fitting our budget, was to buy bar ends. These allow us a more upright riding position which is more comfortable when riding long distances. Having the ability to change your hand positions allows you to lessen the likelihood of fatigue. A fatigued rider is a sad rider with little motivation or stamina.
In the end, we chose bull horn bar ends. They can be found at your local bike shop for around twenty-five dollars. Also, think about the types of grips you will need we chose more ergonomic grips to better support our wrists. Your handlebars are also a great place to mount a bike computer and a rechargeable front light for nighttime riding. We have also placed several red backlights on our back racks for safety. We also placed an endcap mounted rearview mirror so we could see cars coming up behind us while road riding. This might look a little dorky but is a necessary safety feature that can’t be overlooked.
Seats
Speaking of comfort, choosing a seat is a hard thing to do. You need to decide what is more important to you. A thin hard seat will be light, but you will fatigue quickly. Your butt will thank you if you go with a more padded seat. Make sure to consider the fit, and geometry of your seat. There is a difference between men’s and women’s seats. Ask your local bike shop to fit you before you just buy off amazon. The fit is the distance between your sit bones. Trust me get fitted!! Also, buy some padded bike shorts…you will not regret it!
Final Thoughts
There are many aspects of touring such as cost, safety, weather, weight, and time. This post focuses on the choices we made when converting a bike to begin touring. Christina and I bought or made our bags and gear attachments. We wanted to give you a larger picture of how to put together a touring rig or help identify a starting point if you are interested. We chose not to delve deep into the different types of bike frame, fork, breaks, or gear configurations yet. If you know little or nothing about biking this could confuse or distract from the overall build process.
Our goal is to reach those who love bike riding and want new challenges or know nothing about bike touring. The only way you can start your Bike Tour adventure is with a bike. We chose to save money and convert the bikes we already had. Touring can be extremely rewarding and a great way to spend time with your family. It also combines more than one hobby and will call upon many skills at the same time. We are still on this journey right along with you as we are constantly refining our touring set-ups and gear. I hope after reading this you have a better understanding of how to convert to bike tour.
