Classic tourer
 

I am looking at buying a touring bike. I like the Surly LHT as far as newer bikes go. Someone in another thread mentioned a miyata 610 being a good option if you can find one in my size (6'4" - 34" inseam).


I definitely want a more relaxed riding position than my road bike. Will this accommodate that? Also, how large of tires (700) can be mounted on this?


Thanks in advance

It depends. By and large, most touring bikes were designed with 700 x 32c (or 27 x 1 and 1/4 inch) tires in mind. Some can take a larger tire, some cannot.

There are a lot of really great vintage touring bikes out there assuming, of course, you can find one to fit.

If you want a vintage road bike and you want fat tires, a 650b conversion is likely the way to go.

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...nversions.html

There are a lot of good options out there for a classic touring bike. (If you are talking extemely loaded, expedition type touring, then some of the newer bikes are probably better options.)

While far from a definitive list, I would look at the Miyata 610 and 1000 (very nice, but very pricey due to almost cult like status. Thanks Sheldon Brown!) The Univega Specialissima is almost identical to the 1000, while being cheaper in most markets (it was made by Miyata for Univega.) The Centurion Pro Tour and later Pro Tour 15 are also excellent. Lastly, Trek 520 and 720's are also fairly common and sometimes reasonably priced.

I would look for something from around 1985 or so. The market dropped out of touring bikes just after this, so there isn't much available later until the mid 90s from some makers. Before this date, they were still working out just what a "good" touring bike needed. The late 70's through early 80's touring bikes often had regular side pull brakes, and lacked much in the way of rack mounts and bottle bosses. Basically, most of them were regular road bikes with slightly heavier tubing, and maybe slightly relaxed angles and longer chainstays. By 84-85, the top models had front and rear rack eyelets, as well as fork blade and seatstay rack mounts, and usually 3, or at least 2 sets of bottle mounts.

I found an old pdf manual for a 1981 miyata 610 with a 430 chainstay, with size 12 feet should I worry about my heels hitting the panniers?

Too many variables, this depends on the shape of the panniers and the length of the rack. You can always find a longer rack or a pannier with a cut away. There will be a way to make this work. But yes you will want a touring bike with decently long chain stays to be on the safe side. Personally I'd prefer a bit longer chain stay but you can find a rack/pannier combo to make this work

That's a good question. I *think* you'll be okay, I didn't have issues with my size 11 feet and my 82 miyata 1000.

chainstay looks to be the same according to an old pdf I found.


thank you. now to consider...

I'm thinking 4-10 day trips, camping along the way. No idea of how much weight in the panniers as I'm just getting into this.


so 2 questions:
1. is this bike a decent fit for me for "now"?
2. is $280 too much for a found one in my size?

Best to start a separate valuation with pictures in the C&V valuation forum. $280 is near the top end for a miyata 610. That said, quality vintage touring bikes do not pop up all that often and tend to command a premium. At that price, I'd expect the 610 to be in top notch mechanical shape with fairly new tires. Use the condition of the bike, the condition of tires, etc. to ask for a discount. I'd peg this closer in value to $200 but a lot depends on condition and there are no pics of the bike.

hi. 6'4" Size 47/48 shoe. tour a lot on old tourers. Panniers can be slid back on a rack and adjusted to avoid heel strike on any decently long chainstay.

Under $350 for a high quality old tourer in your size is a price point that I've used as a guideline.

Tourers I have: Raleigh Alyeska, Trek 620. Any steel sport tourer can serve. If you look into the bags that bikepackers use and learn to go more ultra-light, you can tour with one of those giant seat packs and a frame bag. I'm leaning more towards this kind of setup on a dirt drop mountain bike conversion for the unpaved rail-trails and canal towpath doubletracks.

You could tour on anything from this (with a lower stem - offer $80 and put on fatter tires or do a 650 b conversion): https://chambana.craigslist.org/bik/6062857740.html

To these: https://chambana.craigslist.org/bik/6039117390.html

https://chambana.craigslist.org/bik/6039117390.html

But a purpose-built tourer with nice panniers makes a trip much nicer.

I'll toss out here that Fuji has had nice touring bike models over the years too. But as you're a tall guy I would shy away from traditional tube diameters and seek out more current bikes with larger tubes. The Surley LHT and Trek 520 come to mind. Andy

I've got an 82. Every once in a great while, I've got a bit of a nick on the back of my heel. I have a size 8.5 foot, and the bike has an Axiom Journey rear rack and Nashbar waterproof panniers, which are wider rather than taller.

Nice bike, though, just know the early 80s were a bit different than the mid-80s. The earlier were more of a sport tourer than the full out tourer, with caliper brakes instead of cantis and lacking the fork brazeons.

Good deal on a 57: 2011 Raleigh Sojourn Touring Bike-Disc Brakes-Reynolds 520 Steel Frame | eBay

Since threads are useless without pics, here are a couple of my 610 with bags and modern brake levers. Previous owner did the bar end shifters, which I highly recommend:

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--IxG5Fb9U...0/DSC00251.JPG
http://i1376.photobucket.com/albums/...pswn9rbixe.jpg

OP probably needs a bigger Raleigh Sojourn, I rode a 59 at 6 feet even. The RS is a tour bike for sure but heavy. It rolls over about anything. The geometry is more of a modern bike though vs classic tourers. For me my 1985 bridgestone t700 is way nicer bike than the RS or I daresay the LHT. If you can find a 61cm 1984 or 85 t700 (no other model year) I believe it to be one of the nicest tour bikes ever built, even better than Miyatas! Fighting words I know! The 1984/85+- era tourers are the best imo.

1) A vintage touring bike like these certainly would carry "enough" for this kind of camping, especially if you can resupply along the way. If you are talking food+water for the whole trip, that gets harder. "Enough" is kind of a sliding scale -- you will want to bring the kitchen sink at first, but after hauling too much stuff around, you will generally figure out how to make do with less, or only carry things you can use for multiple purposes. Some of the hard core types in milder climates tour on not much more than I could stuff in a small backpack.

2) This depends a lot on your market, and what kind of condition the bike is in. Around here (Southern California), $280 would be a decent price for a nice bike in pretty good condition (probably still needs tires + consumables.), or a steal for one of the really desirable vintage touring bikes. (Miytata 1000's seem to go for ~$600-800, and Pro Tours and Trek 720's are all in the $300-500 range.) Keep in mind, this is fair market value -- with some patience and luck, you can almost certainly find any of these bikes priced at 10-50% of these prices. It will just take time, and the willingness to scramble to get there first, as others will try to snap up the great deals too. I've had the best luck with poorly worded ads, with lousy pictures. If you know what you're looking at, you can often tell that a "70's road bike - $25" is actually a Centurion Semi-Pro, or an "Alpine bike- $140" is actually an Eisentraut Limited (both true). The flip side of this, is that you have to watch out for "Rare vintage racing bike - $800", where the seller is trying to unload $50 Campaina or Free Spirit boat anchor.

will the geometry be more upright than my 2011 Giant Defy? I want comfortable long miles . . .

There tend to be a number of people that really like the late 80's Cannondale ST and T model bikes as well.

It really depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to put new parts on it (like say buying a complete groupset from one of the UK sites), you could consider what you buy as just paying for the frame, but then you have to compare the bike you are buying to the prices of buying a new frame/fork (and maybe stem, bars, seatpost, headset, and racks). On the other hand, the condition of any of it but those parts and how well it is tuned are irrelevant.

If you want to use it as is and like 6 speed with bar end shifters, you might be willing to spend a bit more, but might be looking for something where the other parts are in better condition.

I don't have heel touch problems with size 10.5 shoes and largish panniers on 43.5cm chainstays, but I picked panniers that have a sloping forward surface, straps to control the protrusions, and are more vertical than long. Plus I like my pedal cleats farther back on the shoe soles (for comfort reasons), and I like to keep my panniers as far forward as possible for better handling.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Bicycles/.../M/image-M.jpg

BTW, I ride 62-63cm frames. I didn't like the feel of my OS-tubed steel bike (Rivendell Rambouillet) as much as my others when unloaded. But my touring has always been of the "credit card" variety with just two panniers and a rack bag, even for 3-week trips. OTOH, my Klein Performance with large aluminum tubes and very long chainstays, quite similar to some of the Cannondales just mentioned, was a fabulous tourer as well as unloaded bike.

How upright it will be depends on how far the stem is from the saddle, how far you raise the stem, what size stem you use, and what dimensions and shape your handlebars are. Your frame doesn't limit the uprightness much since so many stems and handlebars are available. The height to which you raise your stem is affected by how high the top of the steerer tube is.

Some handlebars have rise, some have drop. Some are swept forwards, and some are swept backwards. Changing handlebars can radically change your riding position.

This seems more like a question of height and reach of the handlebars than anything else. You probably want a Nitto Technomic stem to get the bars way up. If you also want them closer, you can go with a stem that has shorter reach, handlebars that have shorter reach, or a frame with a shorter top tube (or combination of those). Some people feel the handling is compromised with your hands too close to the steerer, so that's why you might consider a shorter top tube (or virtual top tube). You might benefit from investing in a bike fit for this.

As for models, Miyata made some nice tourers more recently through Koga-Miyata, too.

[edit]Sorry, Tom, I'd started my reply and didn't see that you'd already said something very similar.[/edit]

Due to the Sheldon glow, it seems vintage Miyatas are a bit pricey compared to some of their contemporaries. BITD a Trek touring bike would have been considered better and cooler by many if not most people - whether true or not. UV specialissima is ideal if you can find one. It's a great touring machine and much better priced than a Miyata 1000. Personally I would try to go one notch up from a 610, though really once you're loaded up it probably doesn't make much difference. Keep an eye out for other makes too: Bob Jackson, Fuji, Centurion, whatever. Any company's flagship touring machine from that era will be nice. The key to vintage is taking advantage of serendipitous finds...

If you want to run fatter tires than the old standard of 27 x 1 1/4 or 700 x 32, frankly you may be better off just getting a LHT or other modern touring bike. Touring bikes have generally gotten a little heavier and fatter tired since the classic tourer days. Personally I prefer the classic, lighter touring bikes, which is why I have one... :) The choice of tire fatness is going to be based on your projected loaded weight, the expected terrain (ie, how much if any will be on dirt roads), as well as your personal preferences.

650B conversion is another option for getting fat tire on an old bike, but it certainly is not an off the shelf option.

I know I'll only be on paved roads. weight . . . I'm guessing my 250lbs (I like beer, chips, and salsa. don't judge). and 30 ish pounds in the panniers. Also, Will I have much trouble mounting my bontrager rear rack to it?

here is the link to the bike....


minty 1981 MIYATA 610 Six Ten touring road bike 58 cm all original Super clean | eBay