Thanks, I just figured out what my BRC/Araya "road" bike officially is
. The geometry on it is EXACTLY like Ricohman's Nishiki - long head tube and all. It has 26" rims and a triple crankset that were confusing at first, but it's got to be a touring setup. (It's got about a zillion eyelets, too). That had been my initial guess, but the sport touring bikes are a bit of a rare breed around here.
Pics are in a thread called "Mystery Bazaar Frame" or something along those lines.
I'm planning to put nicer fenders on, Brooks saddle, rear rack, and although it's not authentic, I'm having the shifting moved up onto the handlebars (bar end shifters in friction mode). I can't reach the silly downtube shifters without getting my own knee in the way. Later on I want to put a rack-mount handlebar bag and some randonneur lights on there.
Can one switch out the 26" rims (center pull canti brakes) for 700s with different brakes? Or would that just cramp everything up and make it less functional overall?