Touring - Miyata TripleCross for Touring

Hey so I'm relatively new to cycling and and even more so to touring, but would like to do a lot more this summer. So I'm looking for a touring bike as my only properly fitting bike right now is a Colnago. What do you guys think of this?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/bik/2883593123.html
Catalog pages here:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_whtVpXkKwlQ/R1xHjzQpqTI/AAAAAAAAAb8/dMDIpuDXJDA/s1600-h/img200.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_whtVpXkKwlQ/R1xCfDQpqBI/AAAAAAAAAZs/XAvWQSB36gU/s1600-h/img218.jpg
I'll also be using it as a commuter so this seems to be a great fit. The triple-butted and splined (never heard of this) Miyata tubing seems strong but can anyone confirm that this will hold up to touring weight?
I expect to be doing touring just within WA for now but will likely continue over the years. Do you think this could be a "loaded" or just a "light" tourer? For now I'll probably just be running a rear rack but expect to load up a bit in the future.

Thanks


Darin

Is it the right size? condition takes personal inspection,
can you spot bent tubes by looking at them?

expect getting an Overhaul, so all the bearings are of known condition
and freshly lubed before starting out.
cables housing , stem and bars change to what fits best.
and a saddle that your Butt likes .
racks mudguards that will be 1x+ on top of the initial buy.

what I can answer is that a friend still rides a Alucross, the one with the Aluminium main frame and a steel rear triangle (its to the left of the Triple on the chart you put up). It is about 20 years old and he has used it for touring and all kinds of stuff, and it is still going strong and handles fine with a rear rack full of things.
I dont know how the geometry is diff between the Alu and the Triple, but his has performed very well over the years (I dont think he has used it with front bags too, I'll have to ask him)

I had the Alumicross and a weld on the rear triangle gave out after 8 years. Miyata gave me a whole new all steel frame. My son and I have been riding it for 14 years and it is holding up well.

If you have a bike that fits now, compare frame measurements. If they are close, the rest of the fit can be done with the handlebar stem and the seat post.

The fit is what I'm most concerned about, I guess my question there would be is there a general preference in touring bike sizing? I've heard some people say they prefer something slightly larger for touring, what do you think? My current bike has a 58.5cm ST and 57cm TT and it's just slightly on the larger end of my size range.

I have a rear rack, one pannier, will be using my brooks, will probably switch out the bars for drops and am prepared to spend a bit more to get another bag and fenders as well as do any overhauling I need to do. I'll also probably be replacing those BioPace chainrings

I have a Miyata TripleCross which I toured through India with. It was fullly loaded and held up fine.

Miyata is a great bike builder. They made their own tubing and the quality of the steel splined framesets is really high.

good to hear
thanks everyone and i'm going to try to check it out in a few days

The fit is what I'm most concerned about, I guess my question there would be is there a general preference in touring bike sizing? I've heard some people say they prefer something slightly larger for touring, what do you think? My current bike has a 58.5cm ST and 57cm TT and it's just slightly on the larger end of my size range.

in my opinion and experience, a bike that fits you so that you can ride comfortably all day with proper hand positions, weight on hands, etc should have no bearing on what "class" you want to put it in. I would strongly suggest that if the bike you presently ride works for you well, then see if this frame can be set up with the same seat to bar lengths etc etc. As others have said, if it is close, stems and such can allow you to fine tune it so that it works for you. My old touring bike had always just a bit too much reach, but I lived with it even after getting a shorter stem, but using it as a template, I've set up my newer cross bike (basically an everything bike) with just that little less reach and it is so much more comfortable.
Dont know how old you are, but even if you are young, its always better in setting up this bike to copy or improve with what you are familiar with, and not to go with something that "some people say". Are you inferring that this frame is larger than the one you ride now, which you say is close to being too large? You can put shorter stems on, but there is a limit, so perhaps just be careful that this frame really isnt too big for you before you put time and money into it.