Hello, I found this Terrago on Marketplace for 60€. I could probably bargain a little more.
Is it good for Bikepacking? I’m especially interested because of the front eyelets (?). What do you think of the 26“ wheels for this. Would a bike with 28“ better. Theres also the KTM which isn’t much more expensive and within reasonable distance.
Looking forward to your opinions!
by Skillipp
4 Comments
What kind of bikepacking? If you mean the original, more offroad oriented bikepacking, get the 26. If you mean the post-covid bikepacking (regular road bike touring with fancy marketing), both will work.
In any case, make sure to take them apart and service everything.
Depends on the terrain you are planning to ride on.
The 26″ giant is probably a bit sturdier, has more tire clearance and can be packed slightly smaller for an air plane or on a train. The things i would replace immediately besides wearables is the straight bar and maybe also the stem. I’d put a cruiser bar on it to reduce the reach. The went for insane high reach on early 90s mtbs back then with extremely long stems. Have a look over to r/xbiking to see some great conversions of 90ies 26″ MTBs to modern do everything machines.
The 28″ KTM will be faster on tarmac, allows a larger selection of 28″ tires albeit with probably 50mm max and seems to have more modern shifters. It is set up as a dad bike with a suspension seatpost. I’d probably swap the seatpost as that often squeals at that age and is prone to break some time.
Both are very old and probably need quite a bit of servicing. I’d check the shifters and Brakes on both and at least replace all of the cables and housings. Also check for BB play and wheel bearing play.
Personally i am not a fan of the early indexed shifting levers. I converted my 90ies MTBs all to 1x with thumb friction levers with a goat link for the derailleur and a large cassette. For bikepacking i’d also drop the fenders and dynamo lights to save weight, clutter and increase tire clearance. The dyno lights are very dim anyways and the Packsacks would mostly shield me from dirt. I also don’t care if i get dirty on a tour compared to my commute. But that may be personal preference.
Which one fits better? They are two different size bikes
First of all: both are suitable for bike packing.
I’ve got a lot of 26ers but even though they are sturdy and good for all terrains, I’m missing some fast wheels on tarmac and light gravel ins one points. The KTM is exactly what I’m looking for. Austrian quality lugged steel frame with eyelets on the fork, enough room for wider tyres, more comfort seat position without having to stack the stem first. I would go with the KTM.
Edit:
I’m inspired by this post of [bikepacking.com](https://bikepacking.com/bikes/mason-steinbrueke-bianchi-advantage/)