Touring - fixer upper

A friend of mine found this beaut sitting on the curb almost a year ago. We figured out that it's a Columbia, but any more than that we don't know. The geometry was the most attractive aspect of the bike for me, since most of the parts are cheap. Chainstays are 17" and I don't know if I measured the wheelbase correctly but I got around 48", it also has pretty generous looking fork trail so I deduced this might make a great touring bike if it got fixed up a bit. Problem is, it's HEAVY. This bike is obviously from a different era since the frame alone weighs 15lbs. Does anybody know anything about this bike or what kind of parts to give it to build a budget touring machine?

Thanks,
Tomas

http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/1.jpg
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/2.jpg
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/3.jpg
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/4.jpg (http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/1.jpg)
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/5.jpg (http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/2.jpg)
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/6.jpg (http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/columbia/3.jpg)

looks like it takes a one piece crank....

looks like it takes a one piece crank....
Agreed, but there is a conversion kit for a BMX crank that will work with a road crank that will allow a better crank to be installed, with a sealed BB!:D

not worth it. probably not even worth spending the money to buy new/used parts to fix up.

i'd only ride it as a campus beater- nothing more.

When I was about 12, I got a columbia bike for christmas. A couple of years before that, my sister got a panasonic. My new columbia collected dust while I rode her panasonic. Then she went to college, and got married, and THREW OUT THE PANASONIC! To get her back into cycling, I picked up a Panasonic on ebay for $40 including shipping--30 years old, and still shifted like a dream.
The Columbia? I think it got made into beer cans.

If the frame weighs 15 pounds, return the bike to the curb whence it came. Or better still, take it to a recycling station. The frame weighs triple (or maybe even quadruple) that of a modern frame.

This is not a "weight-weenie" issue. There is a point of diminishing returns, and with this bike, you have passed that point. Not every antique is worth restoring. If you had lucked into a 20-year-old Miyata 1000, the restoration might be worthwhile. When I bought a custom machine a few years ago, I kept my 1985 Miyata 1000 as a spare. It still rides like a dream.

For the cost of replacing parts on this old bike, you could buy a new one that would feel nimble and be good for touring. With a massive bike like this one, you will end up with an expensive clunker.

Cheap drop outs...

A cheap bike, and not a tourer, but would make a good, unique city beater, that's for sure. No reason to throw it to the curb.

BTW, I doubt it's a 48" wheelbase. Measure from c-c on the dropouts to get your wheelbase.

the farthest you should ride that bike is to the liquor store... just buy a whole other bike if you're going to do any real touring.

confirmed. It's scrap. probably never going to leave the basement.

I really like old Columbias, as roadsters and 3-speeds they are a blast, but that one is not Road bike material at this point. Leave the brakes and handlebars on it, and toss a weelset off an old department store 3-speed on the frame and have a neat beater.

Yeah, I'd go with a 3 speed or single speed rear wheel and used one piece crank, if you dig them up for cheap or free.

Otherwise, the bike scap.

Let that one go. Make a plant stand out of it.

if you plan on touring at some time-strip the bike to the frame,reassemble it,ride it.there,you learned something valuable for almost nothing.