# Help me build a touring bike



## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I've been looking for a frame to build up as a light touring bike/commuter. 

I bought this old 80's Trek 830 Antalope Mtn frame as a project. It takes 26" wheels and the seller listed it as 123mm rear spacing(if that's true, I'll spread to 126mm and run 7 speed)

The only thing I've decided on is a Brooks B-17 saddle. 

Some questions:

1. Canti or V-brake?
2. Bars?
3. 26" wheels- I know squat about Mtn wheels. The rear spacing will probably force me to build my own..
4. 26" touring tires?

I'm open to all suggestions..

Thanks


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## mass_biker (Mar 26, 2002)

*Build suggestions (for a commuter)*

Bars - Nitto Promenade
Wheels - Fixed gear or 3 speed internal hub - front should be a Schmidt dynohub to power a light
Saddle - Brooks (but you already knew that)

Other:
- Get a nice Tubus rack and mount a nice B&M light to be powered from your front dynohub
- Carradice panniers and/or saddlebag

This would make a lovely commuter.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I was thinking about a three speed internal hub. Shimano Nexus?


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## the_dude (Jun 25, 2004)

Dave Hickey said:


> I was thinking about a three speed internal hub. Shimano Nexus?



i haven't any real experience with nexus hubs, but if you're planning on loaded touring, i don't think it'd hold up too well to the stress. at least not the 3 speed model.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

You shouldn't have any problems putting 650C rims/wheels/tires in there giving you lots of road and touring options. 650C tires are available up to 28mm.

FWIW Miss M has a set of 26" wheels with Open Pro Ceramic rims that she uses when touring on her Rivendell. Her frame will easily take a 26x1.5 tire.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Good idea....I was thinking 26" rims but I like 650c better...


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

*Maybe the 8*



Dave Hickey said:


> I was thinking about a three speed internal hub. Shimano Nexus?


To the best of my knowledge, the Nexus 3 speed is available only with a coaster brake and is 120mm spacing.

The 8 speed is available in two levels for a rim brake, a "standard" and a "premium", with the latter being heavy duty. They're both 132mm spacing. But they are a lot more expensive than the 3 speed, roughly $80 or so for 3, $180 for standard 8, and $250 for premium. Of course those are average retail and some searching or "connections" could substantially reduce the cost.

I'll say this, though. In our shop experience (a lot of beach cruisers), the Nexus in all its iterations is bulletproof.:thumbsup:


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## treebound (Oct 16, 2003)

I've been looking thru the pics of bikes on this page to get ideas for a future loaded touring bike, might give you a few ideas on stuff:
https://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

Sheldon Brown's Nexus page mentions this for the 7-speed hub:
https://sheldonbrown.com/nexus-mech.html
"If you leave off the Roller Brake, you can get the spacing down to about 126 mm."

So, my suggestion would be a Nexus 7 or 8 speed hub in the rear and a generator hub in the front, then some tires like the Panaracer Uff' Da! https://www.panaracer.com/eng/products/mtb/fr.html#uff and set it up sorta kinda like a urban assault Surly Pugsley only not so beefy a tire as on the Pugsley:







https://www.cyclelicio.us/images/jakubsurly.jpg


I don't know. I do know though that whatever you come up with will be interesting.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

I built something similar last year and posted some pics-

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=71774

I'd stick with drop bars if I were you- there's a big advantage to having that many places to put your hands. I'd stay away from the midge bars I used, though. After a couple months of riding, the tops really felt too narrow, though that could be in part because I used thumb shifters instead of bar end shifters.

Tires- there's tons of 26" slicks and semi-treads available online- nashbar has a ton- I'd start with something cheap and see if you like it, then work from there- Honestly, for a bike like this, a tire is a tire until you get used to all the quirks (and it will be quirky). There are also 26" paselas available- also fairly cheap.

Brakes- I'd stick to canti's- any old road lever will work with canti's, and they're pretty cheap.

I kinda believe that a bike like this should be built as cheaply as possible- that doesn't mean use crappy parts, but look for parts that cost less. Figure you're experimenting, and if you don't like it, you aren't out much. If you do like it, that's a bonus and you can spring for fancier parts as you need them. Plus, there's a special kind of satisfaction that comes from making cheap parts work...

good luck building it and post lots of pictures of the build!


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

buck-50 said:


> I built something similar last year and posted some pics-
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=71774
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link..I forgot about your bike. That is exactly what I'm looking for


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

1. canti for sure, but newer ones that take v-brake type pads (not old skool unthreaded post type), Pauls, Tektro/Cane Creek, squealy Avids, or pos Radius, etc.
2. your choice of drops
3. 26" is ok, this is what they do on the smaller Surly LHTs... you cannot use a mtn hub, but you know that... if you go with 26" you can throw on some knobbies and have a "monster cross" bike
4. there are a number of 26x1.125" or so tires to pick from


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## PdxMark (Feb 3, 2004)

That sounds like a fun project, but Dave Hickey asking for bike-building advice is like Doug Sloan asking for distance riding advice. I'll stick to helping newbies so I won't embarrass myself...


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## Reynolds531 (Nov 8, 2002)

Dave Hickey said:


> I was thinking about a three speed internal hub. Shimano Nexus?


I put a SRAM Spectro S7 on a commuter back in November, about 1000 miles ago. I can heartily recommend it, if you don't mind a pound or two more weight than a derailleur system, some grinding in 1st gear, the twist shifter, and can take some 20% jumps between gears (should be no problem for a fixed gear rider). SRAM is coming out with the iMotion 9 speed, but the freewheel version is not out yet. http://www.sram-imotion.com/ 

The SRAM Spectro P5 5 speed is used by the German post office. It's reported to be very rugged stuff. I think that the S7 and imotion are both rated for mountain biking.

Airbomb is the place for internal gears http://store.airbomb.com/Items.asp?Cc=475-T

I'll be very surprised if that frame isn't 130 mm or 135 mm OLN rear dropout.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Reynolds531 said:


> I'll be very surprised if that frame isn't 130 mm or 135 mm OLN rear dropout.


I'm thinking it might be a typo... 133mm would make more sense.. If that's the case, I have many more options open to me...


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## snapdragen (Jan 28, 2004)

Hey Dave! 

Would 650B tires/wheels work on that frame?


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I'm not sure. I don't know if the brakes will reach with 650B...It's a great thought if they will work...I'll check it out


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*Bars? Get a tandem and a dedicated driver.*

My first commuter was an early 80's Trek MTB come without indexed shifting . The top tube was r-e-a-l-l-y l-o-n-g. I'd check out that dimension before getting bars and stem.


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## roadfix (Jun 20, 2006)

I turned a NOS mountain bike frame I found on Ebay into a commuter/light tourer. I put this together from old 7 speed mtb parts I had laying around. Go with standard cantis as you can use practically any road lever out there. V-brakes require more cable pull and require either travel agents or V-brake compatible road levers such as DiaCompe 287-V's.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Unlikely*



Dave Hickey said:


> I'm not sure. I don't know if the brakes will reach with 650B...It's a great thought if they will work...I'll check it out


650B=584mm BSD
650C=571mm BSD
26MTB=559mm BSD


I am pretty sure you won't have any problems with the 12mm difference between 26" and 650C but the 25mm between 26" and 650B is probably too much.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Yep...You could use Paul's adjustable v brakes but they'd cost more than the frame....


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