Road Fan

Well thanks, and I have over the years trained myself to see what's going right and what's not. The work "hypocrisy" was based on the fact that I have often (over 10 years on BF C&V) recommended users of vintage frames to get frames cold-set rather than just muscle the wheel in, and here I'm saying to be careful about cold-setting (I guess the truth is both - cold set your frames so the wheel actually fits, and be careful it's done correctly). I believe in having frames aligned. And I've even had a highy hardened and costly OX-Plat frame cold-set! I do trust the process when done carefully by folks I know. Ann Arbor has some great technicians left.

Road Fan

Ok, that explains the look! I've never owned one.

Schlafen

sweet rando rig 👍

The Golden Boy 

I really love them- I don't like the look of the new ones- but I do like that they wouldn't catch on some of my shorts like the older cloth ones do.

chancelucky

Unlike many here, my bike mechanic skills are pretty limited. I change flats, clean and lube chains, adjust non-disk brakes, replace jockey wheels, change chains,and beyond that, it gets iffier, especially since I don't have the tools and my local bike coop is basically closed due to COVID. I wound up using my local bike shop, Bullseye Bicycles of Durham, N.C. I also don't have a garage full of old bicycle parts. Anyway, here's my 1986 Univega Gran Turismo before and after. In my case, I'm not planning any loaded tours with it, so went for more of a gravel-lite thing-- I don't really do challenging single track any longer either. I spent most of the money on wheels (H plus Son). I happened to get a pretty good deal on a Sora 3000 groupset. I don't race. In fact, I sometimes get passed by riders older than I on rusty English Racer type bikes or, even worse, on Elliptigos. I do draw the line with adult trikes. Anyway, I just wanted a groupset that shifts when it's supposed to. It did change the look quite a bit. Almost everything that used to be silver is now black. The visual change might horrify the restorationists, but I don't regret "modernizing."

I found that I prefer brifters, especially off road. I did make the questionable decision to go from 3x to 2x, but I honestly hadn't used to granny gear in some time and the hills here aren't that steep or long. Going to 9 speed does give me a couple more ratios that I actually use. Going to the brifters also eliminates the brake cables coming out of the hoods and added the over the hoods hand position which I use a lot, especially uphill. The result is a very comfortable bike that I wind up going 10 miles further than I originally intended that I can take on pretty much any road/path that isn't either mud or boulders. Bullseye did a really good job and they worked with me in letting me hunt for parts on e-bay and bring them in for the rebuild.

mstateglfr 

the pink frame looks great with the modern drivetrain and archetype rims!

ctak

It'll work great with just a little planning to sync everything up.

Here's my 2x9/10 speed 83 Pro Tour 15
- Rear triangle spread to 128mm, works well with many modern wheelsets
- 700c conversion (swapped to cantis with more room for adjustment)
- fits 38mm gravel tires or 35 and fenders (as pictured)
- Compact 50/34 chainset and 11/32t cassette, which is all the range I need for light touring in the PNW
- Long cage Deore xt rear derailleur, dirt drop bars with extra grips

PugRider

Awesome, I’m near the end of a very similar Gran Turismo build myself, love how yours turned out. Maybe I’m just noticing it, but I seem to be seeing an uptick in touring interest going on here lately, myself included. Perhaps a little wanderlust building up due to the pandemic. Anyway, nice bike, enjoy!

Campytourer

l

Yes, it´s very possible. I rebuilt an `86 Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra with modern Campagnolo Record group, with the exception of the chainset, which is a lower group model (Centaur) due to the BB being square tapered. I did this purely because a friend built gave me a pair of wheels with Campag 10spd Record hubs. Cold setting the rear triangle is pretty easy. It´s handy if the frame you´re planning to use has braze-ons for the front shifter due to changes in tube diameters meaning modern clamps wont always fit older frames. Dual pivot brakes are excellent and infinitely better than the old rim brakes, I didnt need to use long reach ones to accommodate a 700c rim. Some fiddly adaptations of mounting bolts (sourcing shorter recessed bolts etc) were needed, so a little time and patience required. But she looks great and rides like a dream. Took her up Alp D`huez in France a couple of years ago on her inaugural tour, handled like a dream doing 93kmh (58mph) on the descent, and drew a lot of attention at the cafe at the top.
Good luck with the build, it will be worth it!

brixxton

Swapped everything I could, shifters

Bars, brakes

Wheels, gearset. Ignore the chain I hadn't finished but you get the idea. If I had something nice I wasn't using it got a home on the Univega. Sorry about the crappy paint job

mstateglfr 

brixxton

I had no idea what a following these Univega had. When I first got it the paint scheme was to much to handle, but we've been on a steep learning curve together and I can't see me letting it go.

GregU

Or just buy a Surly. Steel frame, modern components, reasonably priced. https://surlybikes.com/

There are other similar volume production manufacturers of steel framed bikes.

Guyatwork37

That was originally the plan, but we like the idea of touring on vintage steel bikes. Just our preference this time around. It's not simply about the bikes being steel, but 80s steel.

shoota 

Looks like those front brake pads are backwards, did you do that to gain clearance on the fork when they're released?

ctak

Exactly, and ime these particular pads work great in either orientation

shoota 

Great to know. Are those Kool Stop? If so, which model?

Cycle Tourist

The upgrades you plan are definitely doable. Here's a nice uo-10 converted to a dandy touring bike. I'd say a triple is a must in Colorado but 7 is plenty for the gearset. There are also plenty of 7 speed shifters to be had. I never found a six or even a 5 speed freewheel to offer any real obstacle to touring. It's the wide range that's needed. A 5 speed freewheel with half step gearing gives you plenty of choices. I've gotten lazy over the years and settled on a seven speed gearset as just easier to use and skipped the half step preferring the range approach for the triple. Also it's easier to adopt an older bike to expand to a seven speed freewheel or cassette.

Cycle Tourist

Several have mentioned adding drop bars to a mtn bike but consider a vintage hybrid. It's easy to find tires. They usually have bosses for racks even low rider bosses and they already have cantilever brakes. What's not to like?😁

brixxton

Absolutely and I applaud your choice to go true vintage steel. If you have the skill set and a quality frame you end up with something that's yours, unique and has soul!

ctak

KoolStop Thinlines https://www.jensonusa.com/Kool-Stop-...ed-Post-Salmon

GregU

I'm with you. I have a 1991 Witcomb made from Reynolds 531ST tubing. 3x7 gearing with Microshift brifters, 44x34x24 chainrings.


There are plenty of 80s touring bikes you can customize to your liking with modern parts. You can go 7 speed w/o adjusting the frame, or even 8/9 speed if you do the Sheldon Brown 8 of 9 on 7 method. The Microshift 7 speed brifters are excellent.

8 Of 9 On 7 -- or 9 of 10 on 7

If your 126 mm frame is aluminum, carbon fiber or held together by glue, you shouldn't try to spread it. That still doesn't mean that you're stuck with 7 speeds!

Any 7-speed Shimano Hyperglide Freehub will actually work with 8 or 9 sprockets, without any modification! What you need to do is to use 8 of the sprockets from a 9-speed cassette, with the 9-speed spacers -- or 9 of the sprockets from a 10-speed cassette. This trick also is useful when cassette body transplantation isn't possible -- on an off-brand hub or a Sachs 3 x 7 hybrid-gearing hub.

To make this work, you'll also need to use a 9- or 10-speed chain and shifters. Your old 7-speed derailer (except 1996 or earlier Dura-Ace) should work OK if it isn't too badly worn. Most, but not all, 9- and 10-speed shifters will work.

The limit stops on the derailer will cause the useless position on the shifter to be locked out, so this will work as a perfectly normal 8- or 9-speed rig.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html

homelessjoe

Since you asked here is what Homelessjoe has to say.......If you find an old Specialized Expedition or a Portage.....those bikes are beautiful and bombproof as it is......they were designed to do exactly what you want to do and go where you want to go......you cant improve perfect........you could drive them across Siberia and depend on then to bringing you home.........as is.........with a quill stem you can adjust your bar hight when ever you want........its amazing what a relief it is on your back and butt to change your riding position just an inch higher or lower after a long day.......I think quill stems are a must for long distance touring.........dont cold set that frame.....when those bikes left the factory they were perfectly precision laser beam straight........going down the road in a straight line is a must on a long ride......if your are snaking down the road and snaking up hills it will wear you out to fast because you will keep using you upper body trying to balance.....both the Specialized and the Portage are 21 speeds....and the components are better than 105.....they are stronger....you dont need to change anything.......if in good condition the are ready to go.....you may want to change a chainring or a gear or two depending how strong you are.....but adding more gears wont help nothing.......fresh double butted spokes is a good place to spend your money...you will be amazed what a broken spoke will do to your disposition when you are 35 miles from nothing......new tires ...grease........get the best seat there is.......and dont get a new untried seat and head off for the great divide......try it out for a week or two.... break it in......I wish I was going with you.....I was there two years ago

Jor54

I'm in the same position as the OP. I have a 1990 Trek 750 that I would like to use to do some long distance touring. This bike has 32 spoke wheels and I'm definitely going to upgrade the real wheel to a strong 36 spoke wheel. Do you think it would be ok to leave the original 32 spoke wheel in the front? I weight about 240 lb and I am planing to use 2 panniers in the front and 2 in the back, although I don't know how much gear I will be carrying yet, since this is the first time I will be doing this.
Your answers are greatly appreciated.

52telecaster

Personally I'd go 36 front and back with panniers front and back. The bike is an excellent choice if it fits. I typically carry most of my weight up front since my butt is hard enough on the back wheel.