Instead of putting a dropbar on the Apex consider putting a butterfly bar on it.
I upgraded an old DB and it's bombproof, but heavy. It had a 5speed freewheel. I spread the rear triangle to 135mm and put on an 8sp cassette. I prefer friction thumbshifters and linear pull brakes. It wouldn't be too hard to convert the Apex to touring, but none of this matters if the frame doesn't fit you.
