Trade: My Bianchi Tourer 58cm for your Hardtail MTB

My Bianchi Volpe 58cm/700c (tourer/faux-cyclocross bike) is being weeded from my Garden of Bicycles. This is because I'm now mostly touring on my Moulton AM7 or on my Dawes fixed wheel. And I think it's about time I had a go at mountainbiking.

The Volpe was bought new from the Missing Link Co-Op in Berkeley, California in 2001. It was about 900 dollars then. Since then it's not done huge service (around 3,000 miles I'd say, including a three week tour fully loaded over the Pyrenees & Massif Central last year). See: YouTube - A Bicycle Ride in France: August 2008 (part one)

I've made some upgrades to make it a great touring bike. As follows:

2008 - New rear wheel (Shimano Deore XT - super reliable)
2008 - New rear sprockets - 11-34. Very wide range, good for loaded touring/going up hills.
2008 - Nitto Randoneur handlebars
2008 - Nitto extra-long quill stem - I'm a believer in the word of Grant Peterson when it comes to bar height for long rides.
2008 - Dura-Ace Bar-End shifters
2008 - Brooks brown leather saddle B17 narrow
2008 - Pasela Panaracer Touring Tyres - 35mm - very smooth.
2004 - Front and rear pannier racks - Blackburn and Topeak respectively
2001 - Tange front fork
I'll even throw in a pair of Karrimor rear panniers!

There's a pic here:

Picture doesn't show the front racks, they're Blackburn low-riders.

I am not selling this bike. I want to trade it for a hard-tail MTB of approximately similar calibre/value. So if you've got one too many MTBs, and fancy taking to the hills on a tour, let's trade! I'm in Waterloo, SE1. PM me if you want to take a look.

Great Vid- just done a 1500km trip down the Loire and across into Swiss- not too many killer hills like yours though! F***!

Lovely bike- what type of MTB you looking for- got any ideas? have a friend who could do with your lovely Bianchi and has a few MTBs.

@knowthejo: Thanks! Would love to ride along the Loire one day.

I want an MTB for using exclusively off road, doing rides in the southeast, maybe get to mid-Wales sometime. So as light as possible, front suspension. I don't really know much about MTBs so I'm kind of relying on the perspective of whoever I'm trading with. Do they come in different frame sizes, I don't even know. I'm about 6'1".

Yeah it's a beautiful ride! Depending on what you prefer frame size you could go between 19-21 inches. Again you after steel or ally? Steel
makes for a better ride in my opinion. I know someone with a lovely orange p7 with front suspension- great for trails and is 21 inch. Could do a swap for that? I'll pm the details.

When you have a bike check out this thread and come out for a ride.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread2639-19.html

When you have a bike check out this thread and come out for a ride.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread2639-19.html

You know it! Time to get off those roads and into the mud. Can't wait.

But gotta trade the Bianchi because i just CANNOT buy another bike.

Oh, and one small upgrade I missed from the original listing:

2008 - Deore XT derailleur.

If I were completing the upgrade process I'd probably go next for the crankset and the brakes, not that there's anything wrong with the stock stuff, but you know, once you make one upgrade, it's a slipperly slope...

Why not go cyclocross?

• I'm on my 3rd Jake the Snake build now, so much faster xc and slippy slidy fun everywhere else.. tours and commutes too. Shame I don't fancy yours much but I'll soon have a good jts 4 sale..
  

Now gone.