i recently put together a pretty cool bike, in my humble opinion, i used a supergo access mail-order mtn. bike frame(surely you've seen their ads) a good deal at $200, i think, then used an odd assortment of new and used parts including an old pair of specialized "dirt-drops" handlebars, a brooks leather saddle( a lucky find at a great price), suntour xcd 6000 rear derailler and suntour bar-end shifters(must keep them in friction mode) and sugino cranks in the good old standard bolt pattern(that's getting hard to find). i haven't done a loaded tour with her yet but i'm sure she'd do well, this is the bike to travel through mongolia with!