DQRider 

Ah, I hadn't noticed this thread before. How cool! I have a few of these...

My first touring bike: 1971 Raleigh DL-1 Rod-Braked Roadster. Here it is set up for the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour (90 miles in two days around Lake Pepin, on the MN/WI border).





This bike weighed 62 lbs when we set out for Lake Pepin. Only the 24t rear cog saved me from having to walk up hills. Top speed on level ground was about 16 mph @ 80rpm. But man, going downhill with rod-brakes was a real eye-opener!

Then there's Gypsy Bleu, my 1974 Gitane Gypsy Sport 700c mini-randonneur conversion (my "prettiest" bike, so naturally French ):





Shimano Nexus 8 conversion, this bike was built around that lovely VO Grand Cru chainguard.

And here's my 1981 Fuji Royale 3-speed touring roadster conversion:






Yes, those are compound-curve bamboo fenders and the drivetrain is Sturmey-Archer AW 3-speed.

Finally, the latest addition to my stable; a 1982 Ross Aristocrat with full Shimano 600EX "Arabesque" groupset:





This is the most "unmolested" bike in my collection - weighing in at a svelte 24 lbs, it is also the fastest; my "sports tourer", as it were. This is my current favorite.

fleslider 

Not as Vintage as some of these other gorgeous tourers, but a solid tourer it is a ... 1992 Cannondale T1000

bwilli88 

Finally get to post this now that it is finished
1981
Centurion Pro Tour

Soody

I got a lot of inspiration from the bikes here. The ride is great.




What fenders should i look at for it? It's a 2002 Gunnar Crosshairs. There's ~50mm of clearance at the fork and the seat stays and tight at the chainstays with ~38mm. Tires for now are 35mm paselas on 25.4mm rims. Bike is for mixed surface touring.

ollo_ollo

"What fenders should i look at for it?"
Honjo, Velo-Orange or Giles Berthaudt will do, but check your bank $$ balance 1st. V/O for the best buy. Don
https://store.somafab.com/honjofenders.html , https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...Ahonjo+fenders

The Golden Boy 

I saw these pix on my phone when you first posted here- but they look really nice (much nicer) on the monitor vs. the little display.

Soody

cheers mate

bwilli88 

@DQRider where does one get those bamboo fenders?

DQRider 

Woody's Fenders out in Bend, OR. Cody Davis is a master-craftsman, and I've used his fenders on several of my builds. Prices are quite reasonable for this kind of quality.

Woodys Custom Wood Bicycle Fenders

DQRider 

Why thank you, Golden Boy. Photography and cycling are a great combination hobby. My photos are the trophies I take home from an excellent ride. I run them as a constant slideshow/screen-saver on one of my monitors at work. I guess you could call it motivation...

I have two more in the works right now; a ubiquitous early (cottered crank, steel wheels, etc.) Peugeot U08 that I'm putting on an alloy diet, and a rare 1974 Raysport Turismo (hand-built 531 frame & fork) that I'm converting to a light roadster for the Lake Pepin Tour. You will see them on this thread next Spring.

attylah

Those are beautiful. Thanks for the info on those.

CriticalThought

Hell All.

I'm afraid this isn't the greatest pic, but I thought I'd contribute all the same. Here she is sans racks and bags.

Late 70s Mercian Super Tourist. This thread is motivating me to take some better pictures, so thanks for that!

papik

My 1979 MERAL a classic French "randonneur léger" 25 /26 lbs, 12 speeds, 700 x 28 tyres , perfect for a day's travel...
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willydstyle

Wow, that's fantastic.

plonz 

This tandem is super cool. I have a feeling I could live out the rest of my days and never see another Mercian tandem.

CriticalThought

Thanks @plonz. I definitely need to take come better pics. She looks (and goes) like a locomotive, and the massive 60 tooth chain ring kind of adds to that effect with a strong stoker!

Vintage_Cyclist

There's one on eBay right now...

MERCIAN MODERNIZED TANDEM w/CARBON CRANKS, DURA ACE 10 SP & VELOCITY WHEELS

CriticalThought

That's a nice one all right, but I struggle to appreciate the aesthetics of that kind of mix of modern and vintage (if you consider 1980 vintage). Cool Mercian though... thanks for calling it out.

plonz 

Having spent some time in the Captain's "chair" of a tandem, those aero bars on that eBay Mercian make me cringe. That's a lot of rig to maneuver and I wouldn't want to be within 20 yards of one with the captain in an aero tuck.

jet sanchEz

Is there any reason not to build up a touring wheelset with some 36h Campy Record hubs? I have a set that are in great condition sitting unused and I think they would be a nice fit with my Panasonic Touring Deluxe bike, probably laced to a set of H + Son TB14s.

Thoughts?

Salamandrine 

They will be fine. I used to use campy hubs for touring in the 80s. They were fine for 2 or 3 week self supported trips. If you were planning to tour, for example, Patagonia over 6 months, sealed hubs might be better. Ditto for a really wet place.

JohnDThompson 

No, they're fine, durable hubs. An argument can be made in favor of sealed bearing hubs, but if your hub breaks down in Dry Gulch, Wyoming, you're more likely to fine 1/4" ball bearings at the local hardware store than compatible cartridge bearings. Just don't go crazy piling more cogs than you need on the freewheel. My experience is anything more than 6 cogs is asking for trouble, particularly if you're carrying a full load of camping gear.

El Chaba

Here is my Meral. It's more than three decades old, but when I restored it I modernized the drivetrain with 9 speed Campagnolo. It has an under the BB generator operated by the lever on the back of the seattube and a full complement of chrome moly racks that were custom made for the bike...and they are incredibly strong and stiff. (not shown are the front lowriders). The vast majority of my riding has been racing related, but I have had some awesome adventures on this bike...

The Golden Boy 

This is my most favoritest thread on this forum. The bikes here are beautiful, exciting and inspiring.

Because of that I'm shocked that I haven't posted my 1985 Trek 720 after it was rebuilt, again.

The frame and parts are all so cool, you could actually build a bike around most everything and not feel like too much of a dork. The TRP levers, the 10 speed Command Shifters, the XC Pro brakes or seat post, the Phil Wood wheels, the Dura Ace rear derailleur... Whenever I see this bike I have to pinch myself to realize it's actually mine, and that I'm really fortunate for being able to have it and build it up this way.

The Golden Boy 

And a gratuitous shot of my 1985 Trek 620: