hey looking to make my way into bikepacking and longer bike routes. used to do my commute in a fixie/single speed and want to start doing longer trips in europe.
this is my current option for starting point as I’m currently not going to spend much money on new bike. Is it worthy to spend money and time on this bike or is completely a bad option for bike packing?
by commedesjoao
5 Comments
If it rides well and is reliable, you can start on anything.
Get yourself a frame bag, bar bag, and saddle bag and go for an overnight somewhere close. See what you like and dislike, and work on it from there.
Any bike can be a bikepacking bike. It depends on your goals. What kinds of routes and terrain and distances etc.
This bike is going to be slow and heavy and a hassle to maintain and find parts for compared to a newer bike. But if it’s what you’ve got, then go for it.
There is no “right” or “wrong” bike for bikepacking, it’s whatever you want it to be.
It’s less than ideal.
I’ll set aside the fact most people consider bikepacking to be off-pavement. In that case, this bike would be completely unsuitable to the task.
But even if you’re planning on sticking to paved roads only, it’s still not ideal for a few reasons:
– Those tires are really skinny and would make a for a harsh ride over long days in the saddle.
– The drivetrain is lacking a good granny gear, which you’ll want when you’re going up long climbs with a loaded bike.
– The components are quite old in general and could be hard to replace.
– There’s no rack mounts, so you’re limited in what you can carry.
– If you want to use a frame bag, you’d probably have to move the shifters somewhere else because they would just get in the way of each other.
No. Minimal tire clearance and not enough eyelets and braze ons for mounting racks. You could road tour on it, with modifications, but off road, nope.
No, wrong bike. I’ll second the mention of an old 90s era mountain bike. But only if you’re really tight on a budget.