Mountain bikes have been a popular choice for lots of bike folks looking to use their recreational bike for commuting or bike camping.  Several reasons contribute to this popular decision a few of which are lugged steel, 4130 cromoly tubing, typically easy to install racks and fenders and very affordable.
Quality is usually without compromise when finding a quality used steel frame set as with the Peugeot Canyon Express, a steel lugged Tange tubed beauty.  Due to the simple fact that I had a spare 26" wheelset in my shop as well as handlebars, stem and other niceties I decided to build up yet another mountain bike as a touring bike or for commuting and bike camping.  

Some patience and searching for a good component group resulted in the Suntour Alpha 3000 set found on ebay for $50 as I greatly appreciate the simple design of old thumb shifters and can be a hard to find quality item.  This particular component group from Suntour offers a nice gear ratio in a five speed freewheel combined with a new Suntour crankset, perfect for pulling some hills with loaded panniers with versatility for recreational trail rides.  All in all building up these old frames for fun, convenience and comfort is a very rewarding experience.  Selecting a stem and handlebar combination allows for freedom of creating a comfortable posture and or multiple hand positions depending on intended use.  

Handlebars and stems are quite inexpensive particularly for older one inch threaded forks where quill stems in 22.2 mm diameter are very affordable.

Coming in at just under $200 made this build a no brainer with both investment and labor, not to mention the sheer pleasure of building up another high quality commuter bike with a steel lugged frame, beautiful! 
Here's a link to a nice article at Bike Touring 101 converting mountain bike as a touring bike.

A refurbishing project of a '60's Puch Bergmeister went surprisingly smooth and easy after the initial hard work and efforts to restore the bent fork and convert to a 14 speed cruiser.

A comment from a reader suggested I not add a handlebar basket as it would block the beauty of the ornate lugs and head tube badge.  

My search for a versatile handlebar basket began with considering a handlebar bag for photography equipment and other goodys that I enjoy taking with me on my bike rides.  A combination of a waterproof handlebar bag and basket seemed like a tall order and something I hadn't considered as being an available product on the market thinking I would have to make one myself, that was before I found the versatility and convenience offered in the Detours Town and Country Basket.  Installation is simple and mounting brackets are offered in 25.4 and 31.8 mm, quick release bracket, storm collar, rain cover and is made of sustainable bamboo and grass.  Weight capacity of ten pounds, nothing about it is heavy.  Handle straps provide ease of using as a tote option and the inner liner with drawstring keeps things protected whatever items one wants to keep safe and sound.   This is a very easy way to provide cargo options for touring and commuter bikes.   We share this one and will order another for my wife's bike, we like it that much.

For more information about other Detours products visit their site. 
Or use the link provided below for information or purchase.  

One of the joys of bike repair is finding older bikes worthy of refurbishing.  When I heard about this classic steel lugged '93 Bridgestone MB 1 mountain bike I had to check it out.

I got the bike for a very reasonable price and immediately went about converting the riding position to a more relaxed style for touring and commuting. Bridgestone bikes from that era built with Ritchey Logic tubing are very desirable to many Bridgestone aficionados as the thin strong steel makes for a very lightweight frame and when combined with the original rigid Ritchey fork it's one of the most lightweight steel mountain bikes ever produced.

The suspension fork that came with the bike had to be replaced when I discovered the one inch threaded steer tube was so stripped that the headset could not be removed to service the bearings.  After having to cut the steel tube to remove the fork I was able to salvage the original aluminum headset parts that were obviously damaged from some previous owners efforts to work on it.

I was looking for a one inch threaded fork and received two models for consideration.  First fork I installed is a nice commuter bike model from Breezer.  A nice, lightweight rigid one inch threaded fork at 1040 g.  The Breezer fork has threaded eyelets for rack and or fenders with a nice rake to it. While replacing the fork I decided to swap out the original eight inch long Ritchey stem and flat bar with a 95mm stem and some Touring Trekking bars in a 25 degree sweep. Add some inexpensive foam grips and felt good about the project thus far.  Didn't like the red so much and when I noticed the double eyelets of the Sunlite fork I decided to install that one as both forks use a 27 mm crown race it was convenient and easy to do.  Sunlite's fork has a longer steer tube of approximately 3/4 inches which meant cutting the threaded fork to fit, an easy task with proper cutting guide tools.  

After installing the Sunlite Fork and taking it for a test ride with the Trekking bars and UNO stem I felt like riding it further to get a feel for the bike's overall performance.  With the XT Thumbshifters and no sign of wear on the chain the bike is quick, light weight and not as twitchy as it was with the longer stem and flat bars.  Here's a combination of components I used for this project and has proven to work out very nicely in providing a quality, comfortable commuter bike in keeping with performance and handling.  

For bike folks needing a one inch threaded fork or wanting to replace a worn out suspension fork check out these forks from Breezer and Sunlite, respectively.  Here's a link for the 27 mm crown race as it can sometimes be hard to get as that size is frequently out of stock.