Originally Posted by TheRaptorFence
Hello, first time on these forums. My wife and I recently started touring, did 1100 miles of California coast from San Fransisco to San Diego and across to Phoenix. We did it all on a couple of hybrid Trek Seven-Two's. It was fantastic and we want to get more into touring.
So, question is: what are some good entry-level long haul truckers (preferably) or road bikes $400 or under to start doing so? Would like some quality, so I am willing to go to $500 but that's tough on our budget. Also needs to be something where we can haul saddlebags adequately on, and preferably needs to be able to take the weather. Used bikes are fine, so you can also name-drop some $600-$700 bikes to keep an eye out in used bike shops for. Just make sure to point out the difference bet
-TheRaptorFence
As others have suggested, you've established a really tight budget ...
FWIW. IMO, you really do not need to buy new-or-different bikes ...
Originally, a
Hybrid bike
was a Touring bike which had FLAT (
MTB) handlebars instead of DROP (Road) handlebars + a sloping (
again, MTB) top tube instead of a horizontal top tube ... with the optional handicap of a Suspension front fork coming later ...
If your bikes happen to have Suspension forks then you simply need to replace them with Rigid forks which you can typically get from eBay which were take-offs from new bikes for LESS THAN $50 ...
Tandem bike riders will often have the dealer replace the steel fork which comes with their new bike with a Carbon Fiber fork
before the bike is built up ...
Some Tandem forks have cantilever brake bosses & some have disc brake mounts ... some may have both.
OR, if your bikes have Suspension front forks AND if you like them, then you do not have to replace them.
A pair of Campagnolo shifters can be mated to MOST Shimano drivetrains ... the cost will vary between $100 (
used, in good condition ... just a little more for new pair of Campagnolo Veloce on eBay) to $400+ for a pair of fancy-schmancy, Super-Duper Record shifters.
Add a set of Drop handlebars + tape & cables/housing for $50 +/- ...
Add another $20-to-$50 for each pair of either
Mini-V-Brake calipers or Cantilever brake calipers.
So, figure
$200-to-$300 + some DIY time on your part & your Hybrid bikes return to their roots and become Touring bikes ...
If you come across a couple of frames which you prefer, later, then you can simply move the majority of the components over from your updated Treks.
FYI. This 90s vintage,
steel framed bike [
GIANT "Nutra"] began as a Hybrid/"Sports-Touring" bike with FLAT handlebars ...
Despite the skinny tires shown, above, the frame & fork can accommodate ridiculously large 700x52 (
29er) tires when fenders are not mounted.
Because MY "Hybrid" is older, its fork has a 1" steerer instead of a 1
1/8" steerer -- I moved the original, 1" threaded, Rigid fork to another bike.