Originally Posted by
bikemig
There is a decent supply of 27 inch tires but clearly more limited than 700c.
700c to 27 inch conversion is as easy as pie. Worst case scenario is you'll have to find brakes with a bit longer reach.
I'm dubious that the "performance" difference between a modern tig welded frame and an older steel frame is a large one. My guess is that this is primarily placebo. That said, everything else being equal, I'd take a threadless system over a threaded one but not, in my book, a huge difference.
Mafac Racer calipers. Easy and cheap. Find a pair without too much play in the pivots, pay your $20 buck, put on Cool Stop pads and go ride on one of the best brakes ever made. (They work well , in fact better than many new brakes ever do, after a LOT of play has developed.)
I am NOT a fan of threadless heasets. They make the most basic fit adjustment harder to do - raise and lower the HBs to accommodate conditioning changes, injuries, different rides, etc. Yes, you do have to use grease on quills. Marine hub grease works so well, lasts so long and is so cheap that there is little reason to say that is a disadvantage. Changing HBs is a lot harder, but how often do you do that? (I have one bike where I run two sets of HBs/stems/ levers and calipers. Changing them out take 5 minutes and completely transforms the bike. And I never have to do a headset bearing check.)
Ben