Velocivixen

I've got a Surly Cross Check - nice bike & looks "somewhat" vintage, but a good platform for experimentation. I just bought a 1990 Trek 930 and it has 135 rear dropouts as well as Canti bosses. That might work, but 26" wheels.

himespau 

May not be the cheapest, but, had I known of them, I wouldn't have had to drop the $60 for some nutted Tektro R559s, so it would have saved some cash in the long run had I known of them when doing 27" to 700c conversion. Will have to keep them in mind for next time.

yipyipyip

Kuwahara Pacer from early 90s comes to mind.

chapel

I'd love to find a Kuwahara Pacer.
Great looking bikes

Hey, this guy has a Pacer with a Midge
A trip down memory lane Kuwahara Pacer | Cycles Bespoke

DIMcyclist

There are a few bikes out there that match up... As mentioned, Surly CrossCheck; the Soma Doublecross; the Miyata Quick Cross (almost identical to the Soma, albeit lugged, w/ a 1" threaded steerer)... All City's Nature Boy & Macho Man are pretty slick items... The New Albion Privateer also comes to mind.

Edit: +1 for Trek's 'Multitrack' bikes, the 720, 730, & 750. These are excellent do-it-all frames.

lotekmod

I've recently become a fan of fat tire touring bikes and recently converted a Trek 750 to a drop bar. It works and fits well, but aesthetically it doesn't do much for me. As much as I love vintage bikes, I am seriously considering stripping the 750 and buying the Handsome Devil frame. It checks all of my boxes for wide tires and braze-ons, comes in a nice classic blue and is reasonably priced I feel. In fact the complete bike for $999 shipped (with free fenders!!) is a steal, though I'd convert it to a 2x8 with a drop bar.

https://handsomecycles.com/product/devil-fram

chapel

I really love my new stem and would love to continue on with the 1" threaded quill stem. Of course I would give it up for the exact right bike, but not sure I'll find that in a threadless design.
I do really like the All City, but the LBS that sells it in my town is terrible and I'd never do business with them ever again

DIMcyclist

Then you might want to take a closer look at the Miyata & newer Koga-Miyatas. The Quick Cross' geometry was almost identical to the current Soma Doublecross (I'm sure there's some kind of Merry Sales/ IRD connection there). On a bad day, you might pay as much as $500 for one in good shape. I wouldn't be surprised if Koga still makes a similar frame.

You might also want to check out Handsome & Waterford/Gunnar... also the Bianchi Lupo. Come to think of it, the LeMond Propad had a 1" threaded steerer for the first couple of years they made it, back in the late '90s; not sure if it always had disc brakes though; it might also be something to look into.

As for All City, I'm personally curious about the Mister Pink, but the sloping TT is sort of a non-starter for me when coupled with internal cable routing (moisture issues? Portland rain..? Hmmm....). Otherwise I think it's sharp-looking frame with some exceptional features.

oddjob2

60cm Surly Cross Check

You are tall, so a 60-62 cm frame should be about right.

A different animal, but I second the recommendation to consider a mtb drop bar conversion.

I have a Schwinn Super Le Tour in your size, with Canti bosses. Needs a repaint and a headbadge.

chapel

well, ideally I'd like a touring bike. Eventually get some panniers so I can go gravel with stuff.

fettsvenska 

I would have to agree with previous advice to check out the Cross Check and also the Long Haul Trucker. I have a LHT and love it. It quickly became my go to bike for most everything. I'm riding 40mm tires which is great for gravel but also roll well on the pavement. The LHT is also designed to fit the bags, racks, etc.

chapel

I wish I liked the Surly bikes more... they just don't do it for me.

oddjob2

2013 Novara Randonee Touring Bike -- XL

The Randonee is a nicely equipped modern touring bike.

Can't see brakes on this bargain
Schwinn Sport Tourer with Original Parts

yipyipyip

Have you seen the new color?
Cross-Check It?s What?s For Dinner | Blog | Surly Bikes

chapel

meh,
when did bikes stop being super colorful and not so mono?

what happened to two tone, pattern/graphics and paint splatter effects?

Also, there's something about an unlugged frame that just looks so boring.

fender1

Only the fork is lugged. Uses a 1" stem.

Save Up to 60% Off Touring Bikes | Commuting | Commuter Bikes | Motobecane Bikes - Gran Turismo for touring the country there is nothing better

yipyipyip

I agree, although the orange CC looks rad in my opinion.
As far as I know, there is no mass produced lugged or fillet-brazed cyclocross-style frame available today. Personally, I'm just glad there are still steel frames with horizontal top tubes at all, which in my opionion technically constitutes most of "C&V".

So the options are
1) TIG-welded Surly/Soma/All-City/etc
2) C&V with frame from 1950-1995
3) Custom.

Would LOVE somebody to disagree with examples!

oddjob2

While my knowledge is limited, I can't think of touring bikes with paint schemes that would be considered trendy. Tourers have been relatively unaffected by Miami Vice or Jackson Pollack inspired paint or graphic schemes as racers, sports tourers, and mtbs have.

fettsvenska 

I certainly can't blame you for wanting lugs. I like them myself. So unless you are willing to fork over the big bucks for something like a Rivendell or something similar, you will probably have to settle for something a little older. I believe that most of the practical options have already been listed.

The 700C wheel options are...
Miyata 610/615/1000 (from the mid 80s, early 80s 610s didn't have cantilever bosses)
Bridgestone RB-T (early 90s)
Trek 520/620/720 (older models through late 80s)
Trek 720/730/750 (these are hybrids but can be converted to drop bars)

26 inch wheel options would include any lugged mountain bike frame. I personally like the Trek 900/930/950/970 series of mountain bikes from the early 90s. Another options that you have with these is to put 650b wheels on a mountain bike. I did this w/ a Trek 930 and it has worked out pretty well for me.

1991 Trek 930 w/ Drop Bars and 650B wheels by FatSwede, on Flickr

RobbieTunes 

I can't wait for February.

gomango 

It's a great choice Robbie.

I could easily see that Wraith with my Revelate bags. A guy could fit decent rubber on that Wraith for commuting and then toss on the business tires for weekend adventures.

yipyipyip

Looks great, but not competitive price-wise with the real mass produced frames. Also has a sloping top tube.

RobE30

Uhh, I'm pretty sure the "real mass produced" you're referring to are not made in the USA

nfmisso

Regarding Trek.

Early 520/620/720: the '83 620 did not have cantis, the '84 and later did. There is a really nice looking (and $$$$) 720 on SF Bay Area CL now. I have an '83 620 frame for a planned build.

1993 was the last year of the lugged 930/950/970/990 MTBs. All are double butted cr-mo. The 9xx series have plenty of room for 45-584 or 42-590 tires with fenders. You may need something like these to move the canti posts: Brake Post Extensions Elevn Technologies https://www.danscomp.com/products-PA..._Extender.html

Tektro CR720 brakes have longer pad adjustment range than most.

1993 was also the last year of the lugged 750/790 hybrids, both are double butted cr-mo. The later 700/720/730 are not double butted, not sure if they were ever lugged.

There was one year in mid '80s when the 850 was lugged, db 531.

yipyipyip

Where the frame is produced has nothing to do with it. The difference is between buying a Surly for 500 bucks flat, or putting down 460 bucks in advance to get on a waiting list to get a Wraith 6 months later for a total of 1350 bucks.

Note that I'm not endorsing Surly or denouncing Wraith. Just trying to clarify my point.