pgoat

I have a similar issue - 2002 Orbea vs. 1986 Trek 500 - it's not a full-on tourer, but a racer with sports tour geometry (shares the same dimensions in Trek's line with their sports bikes of that year but decked out with better gruppo).

I compared the Trek with my wife's new AL Cannondale after a short ride this weekend and the buttery smoothness of the Trek, plus its potential accomodation of fender and racks (tho I use a seatpost clip on rear fender only when needed and no racks) is a nice plus for longer rides. The clearance for 700x25-28s is the main advantage for a smooth ride - those won't fit on my Orbea.

The main problem I have in justifying more investment in the Trek is the 20-yr-old factor (I already sunk about $750-800). The bike itself is in fantastic condition, but just to get the right stem and handlebar for fit's sake was a pain. I sold off a slew of threaded 1" quill stems about 5-6 years ago when you could still get them easily. Now they've disappeared from catalogs except for a few budget models. Aside of trolling ebay the availibility for old parts is drying up and for a passionate tinkerer/upgrader/tweaker who will use the bike regularly and hard, the effort becomes frustrating and cost prohibitive.

I mention all this because I suspect one could not always move the nice components over to a newer/better/lighter frame due to size incompatibilities. Aside from seatpost and pedals, nothing is really interchangeable between my two road bikes.

Sadly, one of them has to go (we need the space and the dough) and as much as I love my Trek, I will lose too much $ on the newer bike, so the Trek is now up for sale. I know I'll regret it but for someone like us who wants to really squeeze top performance out of a bike, you sometimes have to move up. I have no desire for load hauling and prefer to keep a light speedy bike (I use an old rigid MTB for commutes and easy rides - heavier and slower than the trek but a bit more burly for NYC streets, and less of a theft magnet)

It sounds like a new, modern bike with lighter frame but more clearance and braze ons is what you need. Rivendells are nice but pricey. Plus they use a lot of vintage technology; I'd just stick with my trek at that point.

I know people used to have to go custom build for a nice lightweight tourer. The trek you mentioned would probably be fine, but since you want zippiness and stability why not the custom? That would be your best bet, though very expensive. But if you use it a lot and know what you want why not drop $3 grand on the perfect bike?