How unreasonable is it to take a mountain bike touring?
Hi all. I'm looking to do a trip from Calais to Normandie to see family. Would it be completely miserable to use this bike? The distance is roughly 337km, according to Google maps.
As long as the bike is reliable and comfortable for you to ride, it’s suitable.
If you want to make some comfort or speed changes, handlebar and tires would be the best starting point.
Oh and obviously (hopefully), you need some bags (bikepacking bags or rack+panniers) to carry stuff. Don’t go out with a backpack.
uncertain_expert on
In 3 days? Unreasonable. In a week, perfectly practical. You’ll be slower, but you will see more.
Distinct_Mud1960 on
Go for it! Someone here once told me that the best bike for touring is the one you have right now.
I’ve done 1000km+ tours on my mountain bike that I got when I was 15. Just make sure its fitted properly for your body.
eisevetsapap on
People in history have ridden further on worse bikes. If you can afford to take it in to a shop and make sure everything works well and maybe find some more road oriented tires. Otherwise give it a try!
SuccessfulVacation31 on
stick some faster tyres on it and you will be fine. I cycled from Edinburgh to northern Spain on mine ( indirect route, 5000km) . Far more comfy than a road bike. Its not a race its a tour. Outside of the UK most tourers use flat bar bikes
Vergansa on
it’s definitely possible if you are not aiming for speed. I’d look for some universal rear rack, most likely the ones you attach to the seat post and then reinforce with two tubes to the frame.
I have one and it holds up to 30 kg. I would also look for a frame bag and handlebar bag.
I would also change the tyres for something thinner and slick-ish, ideally with higher pressure which would reduce resistance.
walton_jonez on
You should probably get some more suitable tires and give the bike a good once over. I’ve done some touring on an old 26 inch mtb. Not the most ideal but it was what I had at the time.
Test before if you can comfortably sit on it for 80-100k depending on how much you want to ride per day.
Sofiner on
Its not unreasonable. BUT it depends on these: are you comfortable riding it? Can you mount your gear there? How many km/day do you intend to ride? If you are able to cover around 30-40 km on your weekend rides, you could be able to cover 80-100km / day depending on your fitness and hills. This would give you around 4 days of riding with nice scenic pace, or 3 days of higher speed challenge. On tours, comfort is speed 8n a sense that you can cover distances easily if your wrists dont hurt, your shoulders / back is not stiff, you can sit in the saddle comfortably. I would recommend using different paths though than roads with cars. Try cycle.travel for planning and mapy.com for navigation.
sa547ph on
It’s still possible, but do prepare to make modifications to make the bike comfortable and durable for very long tours.
Oxi_Ixi on
I use mountain bike for touring for ages, all is good so far. Mine have been to a few tough places like Turkish East and Ladakh, and survived just fine.
Never done multiple months tours, so probably that might be too much.
Actually, I even passed Normandy on my bike into Brittany while doing Santiago de Compostela tour from Belgium!
10 Comments
As long as the bike is reliable and comfortable for you to ride, it’s suitable.
If you want to make some comfort or speed changes, handlebar and tires would be the best starting point.
Oh and obviously (hopefully), you need some bags (bikepacking bags or rack+panniers) to carry stuff. Don’t go out with a backpack.
In 3 days? Unreasonable. In a week, perfectly practical. You’ll be slower, but you will see more.
Go for it! Someone here once told me that the best bike for touring is the one you have right now.
I’ve done 1000km+ tours on my mountain bike that I got when I was 15. Just make sure its fitted properly for your body.
People in history have ridden further on worse bikes. If you can afford to take it in to a shop and make sure everything works well and maybe find some more road oriented tires. Otherwise give it a try!
stick some faster tyres on it and you will be fine. I cycled from Edinburgh to northern Spain on mine ( indirect route, 5000km) . Far more comfy than a road bike. Its not a race its a tour. Outside of the UK most tourers use flat bar bikes
it’s definitely possible if you are not aiming for speed. I’d look for some universal rear rack, most likely the ones you attach to the seat post and then reinforce with two tubes to the frame.
I have one and it holds up to 30 kg. I would also look for a frame bag and handlebar bag.
I would also change the tyres for something thinner and slick-ish, ideally with higher pressure which would reduce resistance.
You should probably get some more suitable tires and give the bike a good once over. I’ve done some touring on an old 26 inch mtb. Not the most ideal but it was what I had at the time.
Test before if you can comfortably sit on it for 80-100k depending on how much you want to ride per day.
Its not unreasonable. BUT it depends on these: are you comfortable riding it? Can you mount your gear there? How many km/day do you intend to ride? If you are able to cover around 30-40 km on your weekend rides, you could be able to cover 80-100km / day depending on your fitness and hills. This would give you around 4 days of riding with nice scenic pace, or 3 days of higher speed challenge. On tours, comfort is speed 8n a sense that you can cover distances easily if your wrists dont hurt, your shoulders / back is not stiff, you can sit in the saddle comfortably. I would recommend using different paths though than roads with cars. Try cycle.travel for planning and mapy.com for navigation.
It’s still possible, but do prepare to make modifications to make the bike comfortable and durable for very long tours.
I use mountain bike for touring for ages, all is good so far. Mine have been to a few tough places like Turkish East and Ladakh, and survived just fine.
Never done multiple months tours, so probably that might be too much.
Actually, I even passed Normandy on my bike into Brittany while doing Santiago de Compostela tour from Belgium!