The title pretty much sums it up. I own a 1982ish Trek 720. The bike is beat up cosmetically but it is in fine shape otherwise. I have all the parts for the build. Should I refurb it and ride it into the sunset? Or should I buy a modern comparable touring bike (surly LHT, velo orange campeur, soma saga, kona sutra, etc.)? I love my old bikes but some things have gotten better.


I toured across the country on this bike in 1997. The bike works great but I'd like to be able to run fatter tires and I wouldn't mind modern gearing either (but this is not a deal breaker).

So I decided it's time for a poll to help me make up my mind, .

Here's a pic of the old bike (it badly needs a paint job if I decide to keep it) (it's currently set up as a single speed with mismatching tape as a kind of pathetic anti-theft look, ):