Kactus

My thoughts go to a Raleigh International or Motobecane Grand Record when I think "fast touring" or dual purpose bike.

spiker

I bought my Lotus Odyssey new back in '81 with just you're requirements in mind. Good luck finding one. Still my go to bike, great all-arounder, did my quickest century on it. Commuted it on it. First generation with the 600 brakes. Never an issue with the loads I carried not to mention being 6'5'' 200 odd lbs. Had a job with tons of time off if not great pay, off on numerous 3 to 15 day adventures.

cyclophilia 

Trek, Specialized, and Centurion - all mentioned above - are nice bikes.

A couple of additional considerations:

What type of terrain? Will you need a triple chainwheel or is a double sufficient?

Are you looking for an all original/classic vintage bike or something that has been upgraded and customized?

If you can borrow a 1970s Gitane Tour de France in your size, give it a test ride. Some of the mid-level Motobecane and Bertin and Sutter bikes would also fit your desire for light weight and nice handling characteristics.

machinist42

'84 Lotus Odyssey, Columbus SL/SP, 23.5 lbs. With a wheel and pedal swap, and racks removed, it rides like the wind. I haven't weighed it in that configuration.
(Apologies for the 630 front, and 622 rear, This was in 2015, soon after painstakingly acquiring the Odyssey, which involved a 7 mile walk. Long story. I was seeing which wheels and tires might look most appropriate. In the process I discovered the cantis needed no adjustment whatsoever to switch from 630 touring rims (22mm?) to 622 racing rims (19mm?)I don't take a lot of photos.)

I'm sure the Voyager SP weighed in around 24 lbs, as might have the Univega Specialissimo, (saw a splendid example a couple of months ago: sweet dumpster find for him, I look in the wrong dumpsters, obviously), and others mentioned before in this thread. I have recently purchased a very light '72 Falcon San Remo which is full 531 DB, save for the seat tube, which is plain gauge. The extra stiffness that provides makes it a very versatile machine.




I have made a change, or two, since this picture was taken in 2015...

3alarmer 

...I have now, and have had in the past, a garage half filled with touring and sport touring bicycles. I own and ride a Raleigh international, an 80's Cannondale tourer, a couple of higher end dedicated touring bikes with longer wheel bases, like a 70's Paramount P-15, and one of those Shogun tourers they made and sold for a while during the glory days of Japanese touring bikes.

The one I ride the most right now is this Panasonic made, early Schwinn Voyageur. But you need to build new wheels for it, if you find and buy one. With a decent set of 27" wheels built with Sun rims, and a set of reasonable tyres (thank you National Tire and Rubber) it just comes alive in the classic sport touring/randonneur tradition. I have no real explanation as to why. I think it's a three main tubes only frame, so not really highly regarded in a world that gives homage to Columbus SL and Reynolds 531. And the components like the derailleurs and crank are not particularly high end...but functional and durable. I think you need to try out some properly sized bikes in the "sport touring" classification, and see what feels right to you. What this means is you will probably be looking for something with a longer wheelbase than most of the'80's race bikes you see on CL, but shorter than a dedicated tourer. Almost everything built in the 1970's qualifies, but it has to be at least better than a hi ten frame, and you should be prepared to do a lot of restoring of the mechanicals. Or be willing to pay someone else to do it / have done it already.

Also, learn about wheels.

3alarmer 

...p.s.: The Woodrup is for sure a better bike for sport touring than that Schwinn Voyageur. But you'll never find one in your size, and even if you do, it will cost you a lot more.

rccardr 

3alarmer 

,,,what's also nice about the Cannondale tourers is that they sold so many of them. They pop up pretty regularly at decent prices used.

noglider 

I was inclined also to recommend a Raleigh International. I love mine. But handling is not fantastic at high speed. It's not made to be super maneuverable. I'm not complaining; I'm just saying it's not a nimble racing bike.

Bad Lag

I have to ask you to -

Define "touring bike" for us.

Define light weight

What's your budget?

Drillium Dude 

That looks like a great setup. Just enough room for the stuff one would need, gearing for the real world yet still looks racy. Cool

DD

plonz 

Vintage, lightweight, touring, day trips.... Sounds like the perfect description for an 80's sport touring bike whereas long-haul trips would require a full-on touring bike. I think @Andy_K nails it with his Specialized Sequoia. It was the racier sibling to the full-on Expedition touring bike. Sport touring was kind of an ambiguous category but a category nonetheless back in the 80s.

Whatever nameplate, look for more relaxed geometry, wider tire clearance and maybe a triple chainring for hilly areas. Full-on touring models will have a lot more braze-ons.

Aubergine 

plonz 

Nice bike but OP did sort of, kind of, maybe stated "lightweight". My UO-8 is heavier than my GT Karakoram mountain bike!

Aubergine 

devinfan

rccardr 

The subject Cannondale. First build in Spring of 2015:


Later build done in fall of 2015 (Deore derailleurs, larger cassette):



The one I rode from DC to Pittsburgh on gravel:

cooperryder

This digital scale shows my 86 Schwinn Passage at 26.70 lbs. rounded off.

This is with a Brooks B17 and no real effort to lighten it up. I have bare frame and fork weight I can post after I find paper I wrote it on.

No saddle bag with spare tube ,etc at this weigh-in.

I'm running Vittoria Voyager Hyper tires in a 700 x 38 that measure 40mm wide on Dyad rims.

RobbieTunes

Overpriced: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-KLEIN-...kAAOSwFOZbIpkZ

Fair, maybe a bit overpriced for what it takes to build it modern....: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Kle...IAAOSwzyBbf~6j

RobbieTunes

Thanks. In that exact mode, I ran a 55-miler with moderate hills and held 17.5 including climbs, 2 bottles, sandwiches and lights in the front bag, bananas and a change of clothes in the rear with my wallet, etc. Jersey pockets empty.

I wanted to make sure it wasn't just excitement, so I got a hotel room, had a couple-three beers, got a good night sleep and rode back the next day. Pretty much the same speed, a bit higher but I had a tailwind.

And I'm not fast. I think the bike is geared right for me and it simply does not feel heavy.

I've modified the earlier picture to show the now "full" package that I plan to begin some unsupported touring on.

This is the bike, and mostly the mode, that I plan to ride across the US, if the opportunity arises.

The Golden Boy 

That's hot.







OK, Pokey...

stardognine

You're absolutely right, the T-series is just the newer, less vintage-y version. Actually, my 1991 ST600, and the 1992 T700 shared the same frame, with the horizontal top tube. All following T-series frames used the sloping top tube.

ascherer 

Picked up this 1984 Lotus Eclair for my wife today. More here.

clubman 

Here's my 92-93 T-1000. Still horizontal, still nimble, still stiff and fast.

The Golden Boy 

I thought I responded more to this thread than just humping Robbie's leg...

When talking about taking *some* stuff, but not a few day's worth of stuff... I'd be looking at a sports tourer. The only drag there is that "sports" bikes are generally farther down the food chain from either the racing bikes or the tourers. So, generally, you'll have a heavier tube set with lower quality/prestige parts. The big C&V exception to this was the Specialized Sequoia- a premium tube set with premium components- with a somewhat aggressive geometry, but a somewhat longer wheelbase.

The first bike I fell in lust with was the 1986 Trek 400 Elance. It has a butted 531 main frame and CrMo stays and fork- The components were midline- nothing bad in the least- but a little lower than 105 level stuff. I figure it has a good tube set, IMO- it's the most beautiful color combination- so I made it my mission to build up that bike with upper level components. Right now it's sitting with XC Comp and XC Pro derailleurs, 6400 series brakes, upper level Maillard hubs, and an Avocet triple- As this bike sits- it can carry a decent rear load- when I do use a handlebar bag- it's one of the Cannondale removable bags. If I was to use a front bag more often, I'd get wider bars and either add or just go with a front rack.




1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr
1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



Recently I was thinking of acquiring a sorta custom ordered bike- Something along the lines of that bike ^, but perhaps a little lighter tube set and canti brakes. I probably won't do it- but it's fun to think about how cool it would be.