Originally Posted by tourbike
"i mean OLD old...say 70s to early 80s...that is, if they made good touring bikes back then??? the kinds of bikes that people throw out or sell for $40..."
The other problem is that 27" wheelbases are on their way out, and finding 27's in, say, Outer Mongolia when your tire blows out is pretty much impossible. Not too bad for touring the States though.
When I upgraded my'84 Voyager, I went to 700c wheels and 9-speed cassette (and STI). The fork brake pivots had to be moved and the seat+chain stays rebent; simple jobs for a frame builder with tools. My lbs is owned by a guy who used to build frames. He did the work for free (including repainting the fork after it was "torched") because he did some of the upgrades.
Al