Touring Geometry

So I have three different frames, and I'd like one of them set up more or less as a touring bike, for hauling stuff and the occasional camping trip. The lucky frame has been my Shogun 500, and it has done yeoman service, I'm not completely happy with it. In particular, I'd like more tire clearance. With fenders, it fits 700cx35s, but barely.

So what I'm wondering is whether one of the other two frames I have might serve better in the same role. I'm listing the measurements I could make easily with a tape measure in english and (approximate) metric units.

Bike: --------------------- Shogun 500 --------------- Sears Free Spirit --------------- Schwinn Range

Top Tube: -------------- 22" (56cm) ---------------- 23 3/8" (59cm) ----------------- 23 1/2" (60cm)

Brakes: ----------------- Canti ----------------------- Centerpull ----------------------- Canti

Eyelets: ------------ Double Front + Rear -----------Single Front + Rear -------- Double Rear, Single Front

Tubing: ------------ Tange 5 ----------------------- Reynolds 531 -------------- Cr-Mo

Wheelbase: ---- 41 1/2" (105cm) ---------------- 42 3/4" (108cm) -------------- 42 1/4" (107cm)

Chainstay: ------- 17 1/4" (44cm) ----------------- 17 3/4" (45cm) ----------------- 17" (43cm)

BB Height: -------- 11 1/2" (29cm) ----------------- 10" (25cm) ------------------- 11 1/2" (29cm)

Down Tube: ------ 24 1/2" (62cm) ---------------- 22 1/4" (57cm) ------------- 20 3/4" (52cm)

The Shogun fits me O.K. with a 12cm stem, but is almost too tall. It is the only one with double eyelets front and rear, which is nice, since I've been using a front rack (which I could mount on the dropouts, if I needed to). All but the Schwinn are lugged.


Unfortunately, I can't measure the tube angles, but they seem fairly similar. The components will be basically the same, since I'll be moving them from the Shogun, if I do.
I'd appreciate advice from anyone who knows how frame geometry works.
Schwinn Range:
Sears Free Spirit:
Shogun 500:

On paper the middle bike looks the best, is it really a Sears Free Spirit with Reynolds 531? Or am I misreading something?

The long wheelbase and the long rear stays make it a strong contender. Any idea what the head tube and seat tube angles are? Also fork trail can play into it, the center pull brakes aren't my first choice for touring though. If you have large feet the shorter stays can cause issues.

Better yet, post pictures of the three frame sets with clear side shots.

Aaron

Yes, odd though it seems. My father-in-law bought it in the early 70's before deciding bicycle commuting wasn't for him. He told me it cost him over $1,000. It was an odd mix of some quite nice parts (like the cranks, derailleurs, and wheels) and some pretty cheap ones (like the pedals and stem shifters).

I can't measure angles, but have added pictures to the original post (and hopefully made the chart easier to read.

From what little I've heard about geometry, the Free Spirit does look better by the numbers. I'm not sure whether that would translate to practice or not.

When I see a Free Spirit for sale, I just keep walking. Maybe I need to take a closer look next time. The FS looks like the better touring frame, but I generally don't like center-pull brakes either.

I really like the looks of that Free Spirit, never seen one that nice. But if the Shogun is too tall it appears that the Free Spirit is an even larger frame?

Aaron

It's nice, made by Puch, I think. The Free Spirit is smaller than the Shogun. My main concerns with setting it up for touring:
1) The dropouts have only single eyelets: I could manage despite that, but is a single eyelet dropout less heavy duty and more likely to break?
2) Is the tubing thick enough? I do carry a fair amount of weight, sometimes as much as 50 lbs. on the front rack alone. (I'm pretty lightweight myself, if that makes a difference.)
3) The centerpull brakes. I like centerpulls, though, and they're the super long reach dia-compe (which I put on to work with the 700c wheels).
4) And then, whether there is enough clearance. It wouldn't be worse than the Shogun, but I'm not sure it would be better.

Frame Angles are pretty easy to measure with an electronic angle finder.

First, make sure front and rear tires are inflated to the same pressure. Then set up the bike with the wheels on a flat surface (I use a length of square cross-section extruded aluminum).



Next, put the angle finder on the flat surface and zero it (set angle finder for 0° on the flat surface).



Then place the angle finder on the seat tube and the head tube to find the STA and HTA.

I wonder if that color was the only color for the 531 Free Spirit, since the few of them I have seen online, and mine are all that green/gold color.