Originally Posted by bmthom.gis

THere's probably nothing wrong with your mesa runner for a touring bike. Maybe find some better components for it, but schwinn has been known for making some pretty darn durable bikes. Other potential options I would seek out are mtbs from teh early 80s (not sure what year yours is) - but there were a fair number that had more road bike sized frames then (Ross for sure had some larger geometries). But if your Schwinn fits, I would go with that. You likely won't get any better quality from buying an old Hardrock, at least component wise, except you would be getting Shimano instead of what I am assuming is Suntour.

How about some pictures? We can't really help you decide without seeing what you are working with.