anyone transformed a hartail into a touring bike?

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Has one ever successfully (key word, here in terms of rider comfort) done this...i was reading a lengthy article written on the web by a chap named desousa (here's the web link: briandesousa.com/bicycling/tech/convert.htm ) and he says/shows
how its' done.

this interests me as i have a fab (used) dekerf generation hardtail (handbuild by chris dekerf out here in vancouver bc, who used to make the bikes for Rocky Mountain)....but I am thinking
of getting a touring bike for its larger 700cc wheels and geometry, ie., drop bars vs straight..

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

Feel free to email me directly at
joseph.collins@telus.com

Originally posted by canali
Has one ever successfully (key word, here in terms of rider comfort) done this...i was reading a lengthy article written on the web by a chap named desousa (here's the web link: briandesousa.com/bicycling/tech/convert.htm ) and he says/shows
how its' done.

this interests me as i have a fab (used) dekerf generation hardtail (handbuild by chris dekerf out here in vancouver bc, who used to make the bikes for Rocky Mountain)....but I am thinking
of getting a touring bike for its larger 700cc wheels and geometry, ie., drop bars vs straight..

Any feedback on this would be appreciated.

Feel free to email me directly at
joseph.collins@telus.com

i have a KHS hardtail that im converting at the moment for a 3000km tour accross the nullarbor (western australia to victoria).

ive changed the handlebars to a special touring type only made in aus, that allow lots of hand positions.

i plan to use a trailer(bob yak) rather than panniers .

I have a brodie hard tail and have used it for several tours. The longest of wich was 1100 km. If the tour is on pvement the tires can be switched for 1.25" thick mountain bike tires pretty easily. Just pop on the other tires and tubes.

You're probably wondering about a system to attach front paniers to the suspension. I did this with a couple brackets from home depot. The brackets fasten snug around the shocks, and the panier rack attaches to the brackets. Make sure it's tight though. Or the brackets will slide down once you're on the road. One way to prevent this is by wrapping a little duct tape around the suspension forks just below the panier brackets.

Good luck.

Originally posted by Icarus29
I have a brodie hard tail and have used it for several tours. The longest of wich was 1100 km. If the tour is on pvement the tires can be switched for 1.25" thick mountain bike tires pretty easily. Just pop on the other tires and tubes.

You're probably wondering about a system to attach front paniers to the suspension. I did this with a couple brackets from home depot. The brackets fasten snug around the shocks, and the panier rack attaches to the brackets. Make sure it's tight though. Or the brackets will slide down once you're on the road. One way to prevent this is by wrapping a little duct tape around the suspension forks just below the panier brackets.

Good luck.

there are some mtb suspension fork pannier racks on the market. cant remember what they are called, but they are apparentl good.