Trakhak

Man! The wow factor in this thread is way, way off the chart.

merziac

The power and beauty of Merz, Big S despite their faults and plenty of others.

merziac

No experience, plenty of them being used now days. Quite a divergence and I have tried to imagine them on a build but can't get there and not in the budget to try for fun or otherwise anymore.

I agree with not liking riding in the drops, I rarely do and as you can see from my bikes, I go to extremes to ride all the time on the tops/hoods as I cannot stomach any of these bikes without drop bars or oldschool pedals, clips and straps.

abdon 

The thing about drops and touring, even if you rarely use them, is when you are facing 20mph head wind for most of the day and you still have to make it somewhere. At that point you'll love that they are there.

boneshaker78

You’re starting to convince me to roll with drops. I really appreciate the feedback.

merziac

Nitto 177 noodles are a great bar, often hard to find for cheap but have a different ramp profile that is magic for many, it seems a bit counter intuitive but works very well once you get them right.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/nitto-noodle-handlebar

I actually like the look and vibe of randonneur bars but they don't even begin to work for for me mostly.

I know the setup on the Strawberry is jarring to look at but it rides like a dream for me so.......

merziac

Only 6ft .5in but 38in inseam, freakish long legs, always been that way, never had a tall enough bike or long enough pants growing up.

The silver Merz is 66, Basque red Strawberry is 64.5 so I can shrink into it moving forward.

They both ride like a dream, flippin amazing.

boneshaker78

Im similar, but smaller. Long legs, shorter torso and arms. For a long time I was convinced I needed a 62 with a 57 top tube. I’m 6’2” with a 34 inch inseam. This Expedition is a 58 with a 56 top tube and I really felt at home on it for the 10 miles I rode it. I had a 60cm 1983 Bianchi Nuova Racing that was pretty good too, but I think I’ll sell this Miele.

What I don’t understand is how you can ride a saddle in that position. I’ve seen it before and even tried it that way and quickly discovered there was no way I could make it work.

They are beautiful machines and I’m sure they are very graceful riders. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏽

polymorphself 

If the bike is going to be kitted out as a long distance tourer than drops for sure.

merziac

Tx and you're welcome.

I've had it explained to me that some of it is physiology, heredity and plenty more.

I have them that way and the bars way up to keep weight off my wrists.

Those who grew up racing in the drops, especially from a young age developed into that fit and if you stuck with it, it stayed that way, pretty logical to me.

I never raced or rode that hard to be honest, I did however ride 1000's of miles from early on until my mid 20's and never could handle leaning over so here we are.

It rocks your pelvis back and keeps wrists and hand from hurting and going numb, mostly.

polymorphself 

I’ve now come to learn that actually none of the expeditions had double eyelets in front or back, even in 1985. I always just assumed they did and never noticed otherwise. Odd!

boneshaker78

Thought nothing of it until you said something. I just assumed it would have them front and back, a bit of a let down but clearly still functional as is.

albrt 

Brooks saddles work better if the nose is slightly up, although I don't put mine up as far as some of Merziac's.

merziac

Well I didn't put them there, my butt, hands and wrists did.

squarenoise 

That's a crazy good deal, Lucky Ducky! I just picked up a Frameset in my size and planning out my build, which will end up more of a "modern" Randonneur than a Tourer. If your stem length is right for you, I'd also vote going with Nitto Noodles. Those are great bars! I have most of the parts for my build, but need both stem and bars so I'll be trying the V.O. Nouveau Randonneur Handlebar paired with their Quill Stem with Removable Faceplate. Looking forward to seeing how yours comes together.

Piff 

Please report back about those bars, to me they really seem like the perfect dimensions. Just haven't worked up the courage to pony up the money, though I believe it'll probably be worth it

Trakhak

My hybrid (which I use both for shopping and for bad-weather/cold-weather training rides) is set up with fenders, flat bars, and bolted-on aero bars. I find that handlebar arrangement more comfortable and more versatile (and safer in traffic) than drop bars, even though I've been riding bikes with drop bars since the early 1960's. The aero bars make the bike more efficient to ride in headwinds than riding with drop bars, too.

boneshaker78

I understand where you’re coming from and can relate. I have a flat bar setup on my Jamis and I use it for grocery hauling and running errands. The flat bar gives me more control while carrying loads in my Burley Travoy trailer and front basket.

Thats why I think I need to take into account how I’m going to realistically use the Expedition and mount bars that will be most useful to me. I don’t regularly tour and in fact haven’t done one in at least ten years. That doesn’t mean I might not decide to do one in the future and I’d like to setup the Expedition to do both…. haul groceries well and go on a tour if need be. I’m not so sure that a drop bar will be the best option for me considering I’m planning on using the bike as a grocery hauler about 75% of the time. It’s clear that vintage bike fans cringe at the sight of anything other than the appropriate drop bar, but when it comes to a more pragmatic approach I’m more inclined to break tradition and use what is best for my intended purposes.

polymorphself 

Yeah totally functional and can still mount both fenders and racks to the same eyelet as everyone else with Expeditions must be doing. Knowing it's all models would make me sleep easier. If one of the other years had it I might be annoyed that I didn't have that year, but in this case who cares!

boneshaker78

I just looked at the components and pictures and assumed this bike was from 1983, but I just checked the serial number… K575293… which from some chart online leads me to believe it is a 1982. Can anyone confirm?

dedhed

​​​​​​Asian Serial Number Guide

Korina

And don't forget, tours don't have to be weeks long; you can do S24Os and up to a couple of days if you want.

polymorphself 

Maybe frame built in 82 but isn’t 83 the first year they were offered? 1983-1985 is what I thought, but I’m no expert.

Portlandjim

I have shared these photos on Bike Forums in the past, but for those who missed this check it out: https://goo.gl/photos/s9DLMV8WXn5i6y8s6

Dream about nice weather and some high mountain bicycle riding!

Portlandjim

No way is it 1982, I started working for Specialized in 1982. Don't worry about frame numbers, ride it and enjoy! Jim Merz