Hello! This is my first post in the touring sub-forum. I haven't done any touring yet, just commuting to work daily, but I would like to give self-contained touring a try someday for fun. I have a 1985 Nishiki Cresta that I found on craigslist last summer after months of looking. Given that my bike's drivetrain is mostly original (as far as I can tell), is it worth upgrading my bike or should I look at something new like a LHT?
I've read differing opinions on vintage touring bikes in the classic and vintage sub-forum. My bike has Tange 2 double butted tubing--some say that this frame is just as good as newly manufactured frames, while others say that the vintage touring frames are wobbly/flexy when fully loaded.
I'm just curious what you guys think about vintage touring bikes and if mine would be as capable for self-contained touring as a modern touring bike if I were to upgrade various components.
The bike is currently in good mechanical condition: I've had the hubs, bottom bracket and headset packed with grease and adjusted properly. I keep an eye on hub tension since the rear likes to loosen up sometimes and I don't want to ruin the hubs before I decide whether or not I'm going to upgrade or not.
Wheels:
The bike currently has Araya 27 x 1-1/4 wheels with a LePree front hub and Sunshine rear hub. These would probably be the first upgrade I would consider, going to 700c and spreading the rear to 130 or 135 to fit a modern road or mtb hub.
Drivetrain (derailleurs, shifters, chainrings, crank):
The bike currently has a Suntour LePree rear derailleur (the goofy 3 sprocket one) and a Deore front derailleur, along with a Sugino GT crank and Sugino Cycloid (biopace equivalent) triple chainrings (48/40/28) and a 6 sprocket (32-14) cluster in the rear. If I upgraded the wheels, I would likely have more sprockets in the rear, which would likely necessitate a different derailleur and maybe a different shifter. I've never used bar-end shifters, but I know many people like them on touring bikes--I wouldn't mind giving them a try. When it comes to the bottom bracket and crank, I have no idea what is good. The cycloid chainrings are kind of weird--what kind of options do I have if I decide to replace them? Do I have to replace the crank alongside the chainrings? Also, is the bottom bracket something that needs to be upgraded? I'm not sure if there have been advances since the 80's in such things...
The remainder of the bike is great, in my opinion: lots of braze-ons, low-rider mount on the fork, 3 sets of bottle bosses (although, the two on the downtube necessitate small bottles since one interferes with the shifters and the other can hit the fender--bar end shifters would fix one of them).
Attached is a picture of my bike parked at work. I've added a few things: Tubus Cargo rack, Brooks B17N Imperial saddle, planet bike fenders, crank bros pedals and marathon greenguard tires.
So, what would you do you think? Would my bike with the upgrades I have in mind give me the same functionality/durability as a newer tourer, or are new touring bikes better in some way?