I've got a hankering for a bike like the one shown above. Except that is a new custom show bike and I want to make something from a c&v bike.
I'm thinking take a decent steel road frame that is too small for me, fit long post and stem, some flavor of narrow MTB rim, get brake mounts repositioned for cantis or add disc mounts, then a vintage MTB drivetrain?
Or would you start with a rigid MTB frame?
Someone please correct me, but I think there are structural issues with trying to go disc brakes on older frames - the forks are not meant for moving the braking forces to the hub; maybe similar problems with the rear triangle. Bicycle Quartly's Jan Heine writes about this in his blog, I believe -- that a person can get a lighter bike with rim brakes because structure does not need to be added that disc brakes requires.
Repositioning canti-bosses indicates you will be brazing, correct? I've only done a bit of low-temp sil-brazing for rack bosses. Everything I read says canti-bosses need the higher temp brass (ugh.... might have that metal wrong... can't remember). But I didn't try that because I don't have any kind of oxygen set up. But MAP-air seemed OK for the silver brazing.
If can't add anything else that has not already been said: start with an too large MTB frame, or '90s hybrid frame that will take canti / linear pull brakes.
I'm pretty sure the bike companies will start marketing 26in MTBs as the next big thing soon - they'll tell us how the smaller wheels allow quicker handling / acceleration or something like that.....
I use an old RockHopper for my touring commuting / go everywhere bike. It's heavy but does what I want in a nice slow good workout kind of way. It had dropped bars, then I went Jones Loop bars to get more back & up right.
I'm planning on using a GUNNAR CrossHairs for the faster stuff ~ which is almost a hybrid frame! Ha! (My LBS practically gifted me a too small GUNNAR. So I'm saving up to get a bigger one then sell the smaller one. Even too small it seems pretty nice. )
cheers.