Touring - Univega Gran Turismo

I saw a Gran Turismo the other day, it has full CroMo and is triple-buttted, looks like a decent bike, but I'm wondering if that triple-butted tubing causes problems for loaded touring because it is less rigid. Does anybody know?

I saw a Gran Turismo the other day, it has full CroMo and is triple-buttted, looks like a decent bike, but I'm wondering if that triple-butted tubing causes problems for loaded touring because it is less rigid. Does anybody know?
The '80s Gran Turismo was one of the finer touring rigs of the day, similar to the Miyata 1000, Specialized Expedition, and Trek 720. These bikes set the standards for todays' touring machines and were among the best production tourers ever assembled. Like the Specialized Expedition, the Gran Turismo's excellent frameset was probably manufactured by Miyata. The triple-butting makes for an excellent touring frame with the butting in all the right places.

If you have the opportunity to grab a nice one at a decent price, then do so knowing that you'll own one of the top shelf vintage tourers from the era of great touring bikes.

BTW, I tour with a vintage '83 Specialized Expedition and she'll be taking me 6,000 miles this summer, beginning in May.

I hope this helps,

Ted Phelps
Central Valley, California
"Epic Tour" begins May 14
discovery06.crazyguyonabike.com

The '80s Gran Turismo was one of the finer touring rigs of the day, similar to the Miyata 1000, Specialized Expedition, and Trek 720. These bikes set the standards for todays' touring machines and were among the best production tourers ever assembled. Like the Specialized Expedition, the Gran Turismo's excellent frameset was probably manufactured by Miyata. The triple-butting makes for an excellent touring frame with the butting in all the right places.

If you have the opportunity to grab a nice one at a decent price, then do so knowing that you'll own one of the top shelf vintage tourers from the era of great touring bikes.

BTW, I tour with a vintage '83 Specialized Expedition and she'll be taking me 6,000 miles this summer, beginning in May.

I hope this helps,

Ted Phelps
Central Valley, California
"Epic Tour" begins May 14
discovery06.crazyguyonabike.comThanks, that does help. And hurt. I actually committed to pick the frameset (in my size) up-- the only detail to be worked out was which day. I suggested a day, but left it up to the bike's owner to pick the day. Overnight, the owner of the frameset made arrangements for somebody else to pick the frameset up, so by the time I woke up this morning, I had missed out on it.

The price? Free. :(

the frame's got what I found to be a relatively high bottom bracket. I had one for a couple years built up as a fixed gear/ss and IIRC the bb was higher than the bb on my surly cross bike. I was using 700c wheelse with it too, and it was intended for 27". weird. it was a nice frame though, long touring geometry and lots of brazeons.

Well, a high bottom bracket makes losing out on this frame easier to take. And I keep reminding myself about the bent fork. And I'm getting my 90s dream bike this week, after waiting a few decades. Yep, things are looking better already. Thanks for the input!

Interesting development: After not hearing back from the guy with the Gran Turismo frameset, I assumed he had given it away. So today I got an email saying the other guy never showed up, and asking if I still want the frameset.

So tomorrow I'll be picking up my Gran Turismo frameset. The price? Still free. :)

Man, talk about happily ever after! That's great news -- good luck!

Thanks! It's turning out to be a great week after all!

So maybe this is a bit premature, but as I mentioned previously, this Gran Turismo frameset has a bent fork. I've seen a photo, and it doesn't really look apparent to me, so maybe it's just a small bend (I can't attach a photo by the way-- the file is too large for the forum). Anyway, what do people think-- should I try to have the fork straightened, or should I look for a good fork? Will the bike be safe if I straighten the fork? Will it make a safety difference if the bike is loaded or unloaded? Thoughts, suggestions, opinions?

how and where is it bent? as I recall, that was a fork with alot of rake as well as being pretty burly. 1" threaded steel touring forks are pretty easy to come by so I wouldn't put too much effort into it unless you really like the fork for some reason. could probably be done though.

I can't really tell from the photo. Really hard to tell, so maybe it's not a LOT of damage. Looks like *possibly* it's bent backwards at the steering tube (i.e. the angle of the forks may not be the same angle as the headtube). Hard to tell. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow when I actually pick it up. So how does one go about finding a steel touring fork if this fork is not repairable (I plan to have it professionally repaired, by the way, if I repair it)?

Yeah, I just held a straightedge up to the photo, and the angle of the fork definitely deviates backward from the angle of the headtube. The forks themselves don't appear damaged, just the angle is wrong. Worth fixing, or too hazardous for riding?

Blue Order, is that the Gran Turismo frameset from Craigslist in Portland? If it is, nice find--I was tempted myself. If it's the one from PDX, I'd recommend taking it in to Dave Feldman of Feldman Frame repair for an estimate. He could tell you if its dangerous, repairable, or ridable. You can contact him through the website for Sellwood Cycle. Worst case scenario, just throw a used fork on the bike. The Recyclery on Hawthorne has dozens for used forks, so you could probably find a replacement easily.

Cheers!

Blue Order, is that the Gran Turismo frameset from Craigslist in Portland? If it is, nice find--I was tempted myself. If it's the one from PDX, I'd recommend taking it in to Dave Feldman of Feldman Frame repair for an estimate. He could tell you if its dangerous, repairable, or ridable. You can contact him through the website for Sellwood Cycle. Worst case scenario, just throw a used fork on the bike. The Recyclery on Hawthorne has dozens for used forks, so you could probably find a replacement easily.

Cheers!Yes, it is that frameset. Right when I was starting to think about a touring bike, there it was. As soon as it popped up on CR, I did a quick search to see if it was worth my effort, and then I emailed the guy. I was the first one to respond, fortunately. Thanks for the recommendations!

Picked up the frameset today. Bent fork, but maybe can be repaired. Paint is a pearlescent dusty rose. That can be repaired too. :D

Bottom bracket is high-- 11 inches. Higher than the BB on my Moto Grand Touring, which is surprising, considering that the Moto isn't really a loaded tourer. Weird is right. Well, can't fix that one.