The $100 Touring Bike
I have to confess to being a hypocrite.
For months now, I’ve been telling impoverished would-be bike tourists that you don’t have to spend a mint to travel by bicycle and all the while I’ve been travelling the globe on my very expensive custom-built bike with Ortlieb panniers and Brooks saddle. To buy the same setup, you’re looking at $2,000-3,000. That hardly makes me a role model for sightseeing on a budget.
Things have changed a bit since our world trip ended. With our fancy bikes in storage, we now need new wheels but being currently unemployed, it couldn’t be anything flash. Instead, we put our theory to the test and bought two used bikes from the second hand shop. The cost for mine? A mere €75 or about $110 U.S. dollars.
Now, after a lot of talk and no action, it was finally time to put my theory to the test.
Can you really tour on a $100 bike? The answer is yes, but with caveats.
What $100 Gets You
Let’s look at what exactly you can buy for about $100 these days. In a new bike shop the answer is not very much, if anything at all, and certainly nothing worth touring on. Think a lot of junk imported from China, sold in varying states of disrepair and with parts so flimsy that you can’t even do simple tasks like adjusting the brakes.
At this price level, you have to buy second hand to have any hope of getting a half-decent bike. That’s how we found ourselves down at the local thrift shop. If that hadn’t panned out, we’d have scanned local bulletin boards and online sources like eBay and Craigs List. The second hand shop worked out though. We ended up with these…
They don’t look very fancy do they? And the truth is, they’re not. There are no special accessories, the pedals are made of plastic and the rims are slightly out of true. At least Andrew’s came with a back-wheel lock! Here are some close-up pictures to show exactly what you’re dealing with at this price range:
The good news is that they’re built on good, solid frames. They also have plenty of attachment points for water bottles and racks. That means the base is there for a serviceable touring bike. Before we bought them, we did the following:
- Checked the brakes to see that they were properly adjusted and responsive
- Looked at the wear on the chain rings to make sure it wasn’t excessive
- Ran through all the gears to see if they were moving smoothly
- Put the dynamo on to make sure it worked
- Took them for a quick ride down the road to see if there were any other big issues
The Test
With bikes in hand, and everything seemingly in working order, we decided the test of our $100 out-of-the-shop bikes would be a weekend outing with the Wereldfietsers – a cycle touring club. The plan was to cycle 120km over 2 days through the Dutch countryside, mostly on cycle paths and minor roads.
Overall the bikes did surprisingly well. Nothing critical happened that threatened our ride, however we quickly came to the conclusion that while the $100 bike did let us tour for a weekend, it would need some modifications to go on a longer trip. The most pressing changes required are:
- Better saddles – our butts quickly got sore and we felt it for days after the tour!
- Handlebar extensions – when you’re going further than the local supermarket, you need a few extra positions
- Upgraded pedals – we didn’t like our feet sliding all over the place
If we wanted to do anything other than relatively lightly loaded touring, we’d also have to invest in better racks since the ones that came with our bikes are quite flimsy.
The True Price
After a weekend on our new bikes, we decided that touring on a $100 bike is certainly possible but, unless you strike a real bargain, probably not so comfortable unless you spend at least another $200 upgrading the bike with a few basic features. This highlights the fact that when you start looking at $100 bikes, you have to think long-term and ask yourself if spending, for example, $300 up front might be a better investment.
The other point to consider is trust. Nothing is infallible but we had faith in our expensive tourers and they rarely let us down. These bikes don’t instill so much confidence. The tires and other parts are showing some wear, and the overall quality of the accessories reflects the price. Touring on these, we are always prepared to deal with potentially more maintenance issues than on a higher-end bike.
On the plus side, we don’t worry nearly as much about them being stolen! We’ve gained peace of mind in one area with our cheap bikes and lost it in another.
Our overall conclusion is that getting a good $100 Touring Bike is probably too much to ask. A more realistic budget would probably be at least $500, to bring a bit of reliability and comfort into the equation – essential if you’re going away for any length of time.
*A year after writing this article, we’re still riding the same bikes and have taken them out on several weekend trips. We’ve upgraded the tires (cost: about $100) and Friedel found an old Brooks Saddle in a market for $10. On a recent trip to Denmark, Friedel’s bottom bracket had to be replaced. Other than that, we’ve done nothing to them and yet they’ve provided us with many happy hours of touring – about 5,000km in all.
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I love this idea. Its also worth talking to your local ‘proper’ bike shop as people will always be coming in asking for a part exchange on a new bike – bike shops hate this. Ask the shop just to put you in touch with the new bike buyer so the bike shop isnt liable for selling you a dud. Its up to you then to make sure its roadworthy etc.
Even better to get in with the local bike club. It’ll be full of anoraks (like me) who are always upgrading parts, this results in a shed full of perfectly good spares that they’d be glad to see the back of. Add alll the bits together and hey presto a new bike!
I have put more than 10,000 km in Central and Norhtern Europe, Greece, Middle East, North Africa… on a 100 USD bike – 30 USD panniers, with very few repairs.
))
I never worry about my bike being stolen. I can let let the local kids to ride my bike, even if sometimes they would break something. And finding spare parts was never a problem, even in the middle of Egypt, or near Syria-Jordan border…
Besides, it is kind of hard to keep low profile on a 3,000 usd bike, the local people have an good eye for these things…
Last – Ye, sure, a 3,000 USD touring bike combo works better, but how many hours of work you suppouse to put, before you have these extra 3,000 usd (after taxes and other work-related expences
Of course, everybody knows better for himself
May be you could let us know the brands of your bike and panniers as I am also thinking of doing the same, just to prove that the $3K bike is not 30x better than the $100 bike.
This is a refressing attitude. I recently completed Scotland’s West Highland Way (100 miles totally off road) on a £90 mountain bike. No mechanical problems at all, though it was a bit of a rough ride.
I’m reminded of sustrans advice for choosing a bike: They note that you can spend as much as you want but you’d still be beaten hands down by a pro on a butcher’s bike: Lightweight, reliable kit does help, but it’s your legs that are important.
It’s a great concept. In fact I have done this myself. I would recommend that you look for either an old “sport-touring” frame (typical of your 1970′s 10-speed bicycles) or a rigid MTB frame (no suspension!) with a long wheelbase (typical of the late 1980′s/early 1990′s). I have done this with a couple of bicycles. The MTB is better suited to scenarios where you have to carry lots of stuff – 26″ MTB wheels are generally stronger and you have the flexibility with fitting narrower 1.3″ tyres or wider 2.0″ tyres, depending on what sort of terrain and load you expect. Old road bicycles with new 700C wheels and 32-35mm wide tyres are also good, but you do have to think a little more carefully about loading and weight distribution.
I bought a USD $50 old Schwinn ridgid frame and after much storage(hiding actually)I built it into a decent tourer. brooks saddle, extended stem, touring handlebars and Swalbe tires-Oh, and Bell bottle holders(the Mesa Runner didn’t come with braze on bottle mounts). It’s toured over 3000 miles with 1 major problem–The crank arm nut unwound twice! Got the BB replaced with a cartridge–No problem with that since. Next I may try to install a triple front crank for big hills.
Building up a bike like that is a great way to learn more about your bike as well. A friend just bought a 30 year old Koga Miyata tourer. I want one too!
I can’t comment on overnight tours yet…but I commute daily and go on weekend day long tours on an older mountain bike that was origionally probably only $350 a few years ago, I purchased it used for $25 and put a rack on it with some bags I already had laying around. I have no problem touring all day long but not sure about multiple day tours. I am new to touring but have been a commuter for over a decade. I’ll let you know next summer how it goes when I go on a multi-day tour.
Since I last posted here I built up a Touring bicycle from second-hand parts for a total of about $550 Australian Dollars (which at the time was about the same $300 US Dollars).
Of course, panniers and other essential equipment for touring cost more, but it is possible to build a good touring bicycle. Unfortunately on my last tour, I chose to ride 44km on an unsealed road and the grit killed the freewheel at the end of day 2 of the planned 4 day trip. If I had bought a mud-flap, that would have probably prevented this part failure.
Oh, and my bicycle is a 1982 Raleigh Royal. Nearly 30 years old, and going strong!
I bought this for $285:
http://media.photobucket.com/image/1986%20schwinn%20passage/buddydog99/photoze180.jpg?o=1#!oZZ2QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fmedia.photobucket.com%2Fimage%2F1986%20schwinn%20passage%2Fbuddydog99%2Fphotoze179.jpg%3Fo%3D2
(this is not mine, but it’s pretty much identical: 1986 Schwinn Passage)
I am very new to touring – in fact, I’ve yet to even embark on my first tour, and I’m wondering if I made a good choice, buying this bike?
As much as you can ever tell from a picture, it looks feasible. Is it comfortable? People have toured on far worse! Just go on your tour and you’ll soon find out how the bike feels to you for touring. Remember, the ‘right bike’ is a very personal thing. What one person loves, the other may hate, so you have to do a bit of experimenting for yourself. Have fun!
It’s quite comfortable. Thank you! And thanks for the fantastic site as well!
Would anyone please give me a tip on how to find people who may want to join me on an independent bicycle trip through Mexico, Central America and into cernral Brazil? I want to leave on the trip from California or Arizona in January sometime. One person needs to be a photographer so we can make a documentary and sell it to a travel show. I am thinking about taking a bicycle that has an electric motor on the front wheel for steep hills. And I may be open to doing part of the trip by train and or bus. Thanks! Athena
How much are you expecting the cost to be, roughly?