Conversion of a Specialized crossroad 1994 into touring bike

Hello everybody,
I dream to do a touring trip. Also, I cannot afford a new touring bike (Otherwise I would choose a trek 520 or a Surly...), so I am thinking to convert a specialized crossroads (1994) into a touring bike (for a light 2 weeks trip, 50 km/day maybe along the Danube in Germany, Wahrscheinlich ).

So I am looking for opinions of other bike fan, experts; I have 2 special questions:
What do you think about the geometry of this frame in a touring perspective ?
Do you think it is economically worth it to convert this hybrid bike instead of buying a second hand touring bike ? (I plan to buy marathon schwalbe tyres, rear rack paner, more serious crankset, road handlebar...)

I wait your answers.

NB: I took the picture from another forumer

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That's my ex bike
If yours in good condition and fits you fine, it is a great tourer.
I drove it with great pleasure.
Only thing worth replacing could be the cantis.
With full packaging they could be not powerful enough.

Go for it. Me, I wouldn't bother with the drop bars. I've used my 2001 P7 in different configs - with rack, panniers & mudguards & with bikepacking gear - seat-pack, bar & frame bags.

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Yes, I agree that it should be a great bike for touring. I've done a few tours on converted MTBs and hybrids and they work well. Like Jamis Diablo says, make sure the brakes (new brake pads or convert to V brakes?) and also wheels (service the hubs, check the spokes as well as tyres) are good as the extra weight will put more stress on them, alongside a general service (chain, cables etc). A comfortable saddle will be your friend - hopefully the one fitted is good but if not maybe swap it, and 'butterfly' touring bars or bar ends with added padding would let you keep your brake levers and shifters and offer more hand positions - long hours on the bike will make you glad of being able to swap position from time to time. A decent rack, mudguards and a spare inner tube and off you go!

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Hello

This bike will make a very good touring bike.

Assuming the frame is the right size for you and it feels right enough i would first go and buy the touring kit that you need i.e touring tyres,mudguards,panniers, bags,tent,etc and mount it all and make sure everything is adjusted properly and done up tight with nice new brake and gear cables and maybe get a new chain. Put on whatever your cycling clothes tend to be and go for a few 50km rides over much the same kind of terrain you expect to ride on, on your two week tour.

Once you have done that and found out what hurts (or doesn't) then you will know what to buy. Some things you might have to buy 2-3 times so don't go blowing the budget first time!. You might find the only things you need are a saddle and some bar ends to be comfy for 50km along a canal. Well set up cantis can be very good but defintely go to v brakes and v brake levers if you aren't happy. I think any super cheapo random shop v brake could be better than a poorly set up canti brake. So..if you are lucky you may just need to buy 3 things

Carl

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I converted a 1991 Miyata Triple Cross to a drop bar bike with bar end shifters. I posted a photo of it here. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=364661 I built it out of used parts from my spares and really like it. I've not done any over night trips with it, but I think it would be a suitable light / credit card touring bike. I don't believe it would be good for loading up with 80 lbs of gear and riding around the world. I did check its specs against my friend's Miyata 1000 and they did seem fairly similar. So you could get away with it by adding fenders and racks and maybe changing the tires to something more robust. Because of my conversion to drops I've kept cantis on the bike and am pretty happy with that so far. I find vbrakes make fitting fenders more challenging.

I've toured overnight for short trips on mountain bikes using flat bars with aftermarket bar ends - the long ones - to give me some additional hand positions. Its was ok, but I prefer drop bars.

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Lovely. I have had a few of these, there's a pink one in the garage waiting to be rebuilt.

I think they might be the original Grav bikes. Not that Gravel isn't just mountain biking before the comfort years.

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I do like these old Miyata bikes. The triple cross, quick cross and alumni cross are indeed some of the original *cough* gravel bikes. I think it is fair to say that alot of bikes can be cross purposed and used for all sorts of riding and hopefully the OP has been given confidence that it is possible with what they have.

Like alot of people on these forums i had a bike as a pre-teen that went everywhere and did everything. It was a blue Puch singlespeed and somehow i managed to do gravel, drop-offs, and road riding but maybe only because it had a saddle with springs . Back when i was racing time trials i used my mums old 3 speed shopper to train on behind my mates moped but not in lycra! . The theory behind this was it would be really hard work and much cheaper than buying a bike named a training bike.

So... go for it OP and show us the results

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Augustus":1i0wguft said:

Lovely. I have had a few of these, there's a pink one in the garage waiting to be rebuilt.

I think they might be the original Grav bikes. Not that Gravel isn't just mountain biking before the comfort years.

Click to expand...

Funny - I think of them as the original 29'ers. I still remember reading a review of Bruce Gordon's Rock'nRoad bicycle in the late 80's which was initially marketed as an xc mountain bike. But yes, they make great gravel bikes with the right tires.

Hi all,

Thanks for your advices and your enthusiasm !
I think I will ride it to go to work and for some 50 km trips and I will see if I feel comfortable with the geometry. Otherwise I have already buy Schwalbe marathon touring (rear) and delta cruiser (front) tyre =).

My next upgrade will be the saddle (thanks to your advice), right shifter (not in good condition),crankset (old shool campagnolo ?), rack and mudguard. For the canti, I will set them correctly and I will see. Finally, I will post photos when it will be upgraded totally (my next summer vacation are in more than a year...).
I am looking forward to ride it when the snow will melt...-_-'

Otherwise, do you know where I could find cheap bar end shifter friction ?
Thank you again for all your answers