Originally Posted by echo victor

I think there's probably always been a distinction between people who want to understand how their things work and want to be able to fix them, modify them, etc., and those who just don't feel it's that important to have that knowledge. But I do think that modern convenience society encourages people to move into the latter group.

That said, I do understand that sometimes you need to get an answer to how to accomplish something quickly (e.g., for work), and you don't have time to become an expera large and not particularly user-friendly manual. Of course, that's what stackexchange is for...



And also to the OP, if you're interested primarily in durability and strength in a high quality build, you might want to consider frames made of 531ST tubing - my understanding is since this was the touring tube set, it was slightly thicker than the standard 531. Alternatively, anything made with Tange 2 tubes would probably be a good choice. If you find a bike from a custom builder made with these tubes, that should be a good indication of a quality build. And most major manufacturers' build quality on frames of this level was good, too (although there are examples of 531 Raleighs, for instance, with crappy brazing and such). 531 straight tubes, like the Raleigh Super Course, might be a good choice, too, since the slightly thicker tubes should be pretty durable if it gets knocked around.

Honestly, for the $500 price range, you could probably find a nice 531 bike with mostly Campy components. But any non-steel Suntour stuff from these years would probably be just as reliable and far less costly.