I bought a Lippy touring frame in 1979. Gorgeous red/orange bike made out of 531 with custom racks front and back, extra 5mm braze ons on the fork crowns and blades. Set up for 27"wheels. Perfect for 145lb rider plus 40lbs of gear although I rode with about 25lbs. It was great on smooth roads and over dirt roads. I rode it from Utah to Colorado to watch the 1980 Coors race.
Only problem is that it had a heinous shimmy above 25mph that required clamping my knees on the top tube. Which wasn't the end of the world since I wasn't going to be pedaling faster than 25mph but it's not an attribute I wanted in a touring bike and didn't have in any of my other bikes to that time. It's nice to have some time pedaling at high speed down a hill or shake a leg and stretch ones body without worrying about the wobblewobblewobbleWOBBLEWOBBLE.

Getting enthused about a particular tire is cheaper and has more opportunity for altering the riding experience and fit the conditions than the investment/expectations in the magic bicycle.