SweetLou

We have a customer that comes in the store from time to time. He is a big Electra fan. He also flips bikes. He came into the store yesterday to order another Electra.

I am planning my trip from Cleveland to San Diego and I will be needing a touring bike. Of course, I could order a Surly Long Haul Trucker, but that wouldn't be very C&V or RG of me. So, I had a chat with him. I gave him my card and on the back I listed the bikes I am interested in:
Miyata 610 or 1000
Trek 620 or 720
Univega Specialissima
etc.

I listed my information, size of frame and told him to call if he found anything. He has a lot of bikes sitting in his garage and said that he might have something. Today, he calls me and tells me he has a Miyata 610 and a Trek 720 in my size.

I'm so excited. I will be going out there tomorrow to take a look and hopefully come back with my new bike!

purevl

You should just trade him Electra's for everything he's got

But seriously, I wish I had such a tough choice to make, I'd probably buy them both.

wrk101

The 720 is a winner, pretty much regardless of the year. The 610 was improved over the years, some of the early ones aren't that sweet.

I would also add a higher end Fuji to your list (if these two bikes don't pan out). I have a Fuji Touring Series IV right now (the Series V was their top touring bike), and it is a pretty sweet bike.

redxj

I might be the minority here, but I would still say LHT. I love my vintage Nishiki touring bike, but it isn't up to the rock solid-ness of my LHT. I have been riding my LHT every chance I have gotten in the last few weeks since I bought it a few months ago. It is the most comfortably riding bike I own. After my first commute to work on it, I said it rode like a Cadillac. The nice long wheelbase, steel frame/fork, and big tires just rolled comfortably over the horrible roads.

The LHT is a very proven tourer. I have a friend that just got back from a 5000 mile tour this winter/spring. Except for some flats and completely wearing out a set of tires he had zero problem over the trip.

robatsu

I've got an 85 620, the missus an 85 720. Don't know much about the Miyata, but if you choose the 720, hard to imagine you will ever regret it. Might be true of the Miyata as well, just dunno about those.

SweetLou

Yeah, the earlier 610s had high tensile forks. I do like the Fujis also, what I posted here is not everything that I wrote on the back of my card.

The LHT is a very nice bike, but not for me. The geometry is all wrong for a tourer. Having SLLTS (short legs long torso syndrome) and short in stature, I would need a smaller frame. That comes with the 26" wheels and the steeper seat tube and slacker head tube. Having such a long torso, I like the slacker seat tube of the 620s and 720s, also the older mountain bikes that would fit me.

Road Fan

The Trek 620s were not at all the same from year to year. Get the serial number from the seller, and look it up on www.vintage-trek.com. Same for the 720, but the variations were less than with the 620. I think the seat tube angles remained the same, but the chainstay lengths and (I think) the fork offsets did not.

Plus, I think I've seen raves about the Miyata 1000 here on BF.

rhenning

Beware the 720 isn't a cross/hybrid bike. Trek made tons of them. Roger

Moose

Trek did regurgitate the number 720 on a lower end mtn bike, the Mountain Track series I believe. But the original 720 was their high end road touring bike and I don't think there's a whole lot of those to be had (relatively speaking).

SweetLou

Yeah, I know.

SweetLou

I went and took a look at the bikes. he does have hundreds of bikes laying around. The Miyata was an older model with no braze-ons for racks and a hi-ten fork so I passed on it. The 720 was actually a Miyata 710. It was my size and in very nice condition.

I also passed on it. Last summer, I would have bought it, but since I am planning my next tour and don't really have a touring bike, I am in the market for one and really only a touring bike.

I'll just have to keep an eye out for a touring bike that I want.

Road Fan

disapointment!

rotharpunc

I badly want a touring bike as well. Where are all the decent ones hiding? I need one in about 51-52 seat tube/53-54 top tube.

SweetLou

Exactly. I was so excited about the possibility of having a 720 in my size.

About the same here. I prefer a 53-55 cm top tube and a 49-51 cm very slack seat tube. Most of my bikes have a 53 cm top tube, but I need to put the saddle all the back. Otherwise, with my long torso for my height, my center of gravity is too far forward. With a very slack seat tube, a 56 cm top tube is about perfect.

Bioflamingo

I took my Trek 750 out for a spin this morning for the first time other than down the block and back, and I must admit that it is probably the nicest riding road bike I've ever been on. Well technically it's a hybrid/multi track, but it's got drops and performs like a road bikes, so as far as I'm concerned it is one. And it's light as a feather as well. I've never actually ridden a 720, only seen them, but if they're anything similar riding to a 750, you should definitely get it. I've got a Miyata 610 that I'm building, but it'll just be a spare bike because it doesn't even compare to the Trek.

IceNine

I also have a long torso and long arms, and my 83 Trek 620 fits me better than any other bike I own.

It has a couple of features that make it better suited as a long distance bike rather than a touring bike, at least for me. The Reynolds 531C is a little light for a heavy rider plus heavy load. Cantilever brakes would also make it better for touring.

SweetLou

Yeah, the '83 came with side pulls, the '84 and '85 came with cantilevers. I too would much rather have cantilever brakes for touring.

I've wondered about the 531C for touring. I'm 160 lbs and am thinking it might be ok. I might load up my '87 400 and give it a whirl.

Road Fan

Lou, you might want to look for a small Raleigh Super Course. Mine is a 1973, with 52 cm c-c seat tube, 73 degree angle, 56 cm top tube, 72 deg head angle, wheelbase 105 cm, and 45 cm chainstays. It's a lot more set back than any small Italian bike, which were usually designed for a 74 to 75 degree seat tube angle. The frame was designed with a Brooks saddle in mind, which sets farther forward on a seat post than does a modern saddle.

At the same time, many of the steel Treks had a 73 degree seat tube in the 52 cm size (20.5 inches).