Hi Andy,
Thanks for the feedback.
You are probably "spot on" with the NORBA reference. The bike is a 2005 Haro V4 18".
I know it's not the best option for Touring but I think it's the best I have to work with for now until I can get out of here and to a place where I can talk with a builder regarding a Custom MTB with a Lower BB that can also be used for Touring.
I started a weight reduction program for this bike because I think it can be lighter than my old 1990 DB Ascent MTB which I used to tour Western Europe and Spain in 1992 with a Lowrider rack for the Front Panniers and I had a Backpack strapped across the of the Rear Panniers and Rack.
Almost every component has been replaced with something lighter. I've already built a new Front wheel and the Rear is still to be started. With the new wheels alone, there will be a weight loss of over 2 lbs with the Rims and Nipples losing 200+g which will help with acceleration and climbing.
I mentioned BB Height because that was the dimension listed on the Haro catalogue. I measured the BB Drop according to the page on the BikeCAD website and it's about 19.05mm .
https://www.bikecad.ca/bb_drop
Don't know when I will get a chance to try your suggestion of increasing the Sag. I just updated the corresponding parameters (A-C, Head Angle, Seat Angle) for 50% and 75% Sag and the Trail for 50% was 60mm and 52mm for 75%.
I know about the OMM racks but they mount on the QR. I've looked at the Zefal Raider Front rack too but that's not a good option because the lower mounting uses a Hose style Clamp and the External Fork diameter reduces in the direction of the axle so the clamp would not fully grip the fork leg and so most of the weight would be hanging from the Brake Bosses.
I was originally thinking I could fit everything on the back with 2 Panniers totalling 40L and a Bag across the Top but after a dry run with the Bag that will go across the Top and being nervous about my shoulder and knowing that I have other things to load on when I get to my initial destination, I've decided it would be prudent to get some weight up front.
So, if the shorter trail would be offset by the use of Low Mounted panniers up front, then, the Salsa CroMoto Grande 29er could be the best option if I could find a way to securely mount a rack to it.
Regarding fit, before I had the accident I was thinking that I needed to be more stretched out. The latest stem 130mm 5° (flipped upside down) and seatpost with 25mm offset will help a bit but of course I haven't been able to test it. I have also changed from a 25° Backsweep Bar to an SQlabs Bar with 35° Backsweep and again haven't been able to test it. I think I need a bike with a longer Top Tube (TT) really. Previously I had been going in the opposite direction with shorter and raised stems on my old DB but I was still sliding forward on the saddle and pushing my butt backwards. The current fork has a 265mm Steerer and I have the Stem at the top of that and the Top of the Saddle is about 30mm below the Top of the Steerer with the Saddle set to the back with about 5mm more to go if needed. However, I have a feeling that this is not the optimal setup for the most ergonomic and efficient relationship between my Hips, Knees, Cranks and BB etc. Hence my comment about maybe needing a bike with a Longer TT. I have long femurs for my leg length but the Left leg is 8mm shorter than the Right with 5mm of that being in the Femur because of a Knee injury when I was 18 and hence the Right leg grew longer and developed a significant pronation due to me favouring the Left leg for 2-3 years. About 10 years back I changed from 175mm cranks to 177.5mm Left and 180mm Right which helped but replacing the 177.5 with a 175mm has been better. I have 177.5mm Right cranks and I would like to be able to get matching 172.5 Left cranks because I think I would be able to spin better. With the setup described above my knee is behind the pedal axle. I can't remember exactly what it was now but it was more than 10mm.
Thanks, MTB.