DBF, I like the idea of pushing a design and surely what you want would be one heckuva bike. On the other hand one of the values of being a cyclist is that the bike itself doesn't need to be a technical marvel to perform well. I've loaded an inexpensive rack pack and panniers on my mountain bike and have had a great time.

I'm building up a '95 Cannondale T700 because I've long had an itch for a drop bar light tourer/downtown bomber/fire road rider and will present it to this forum when finished for some expert comments about what I did wrong and what can be better.

Brad