Originally Posted by racoonbeast

Thanks for the help everyone. It has helped me get my thinking straight along these lines. I read what Sheldon has to say about the 650B. Makes sense. It seems like a 29" wheel would not give you any earth shattering benefit, and would get in the way of using fatter tires and clearance for racks and fenders. The info about bottom bracket clearance is appreciated. Older mountain bikes and frames are cheap and there is no shortage of them out there. At least not around here. I think that I am going to take this route to build myself a touring bike. I don't know much now, but I imagine that I be smarter when I am done. Thanks again.