Hi, I'm looking to buy a used bike and customise it to make it a touring bike.
This one I found has a 50cm steel frame (i'm 170cm) and is listed for 120 USD. Would it be possible to use it as a touring bike ? Are there any important questions I should ask before buying ?
Thank you for your help
by FewCommunication988
5 Comments
The question is why would you want an older heavier bike that’s not designed for touring , why not save up for a modern , lighter, better equipped bike so you can enjoy the experience better ?
My personal checklist when looking for touring bikes
✅ Thick tires for suspension and durability
✅ High Stem for nice posture
✅ Outer gearing you can fix yourself
✅ Eyelets for rear rack + already has a decent looking rack.
❌ Missing fork eyelets – but there are alternatives to attaching things to the front, so no biggie 😀
I cant see the gear ratio, but I see granny gears so it should be more than enough for your starter!
How is the rust around the various joints and mechanical parts?
Only recommendation with be a different seat. But you will feel that on your first test ride.
MAYBE you want a different rack, but only if you putting ton of rear weight.
Frankly, I think it looks amazing and a really good price!
I can’t tell, does it have fork eyelets? Hard to tell from this photo. Otherwise yeah, good price and looks capable. It’s older though so make sure it uses 700c tires, and find out what gearing ratio it has, you want to be sure it can handle some hills.
I’d say that it is a perfectly fine starting point for building up a budget touring bike if it fits you and is in good mechanical condition. The rear rack doesn’t look very beefy though, and might need to be replaced if you carry any sort of significant weight there.
If you pedal and goes forward that means it works