It isn't a bad idea to use the MTB. For one thing they're slower than a road bike and so less tempting to ride too fast on your tour. Secondly, they have a lot more trail in the fork and so the handlebar bag and low riders will have less effect on the steering under way.

They also have longer chainstays so that there's more heel clearance than in a cyclocross conversion.

True touring bikes have to be obtained from special sources now like custom builders such as Bruce Gordon or Mercian or Bob Jackson or some REALLY nice makers in France (I think that Alex Singer company is still in business and there was a semi-custom maker in Paris near the Venice Gate that had some beautiful Randonneur specific models). Although they aren't nearly as expensive as you would expect if you're handy with your tools. For instance, a Mercian touring frame and fork start at 375 pounds which is something like $700 for one of the nicest touring frames in the business. https://www.merciancycles.com/frame_king_mercia.asp

True, the top tube on this frame is about an inch longer than on my RB-1. Though I won't know for sure until all the parts arrive and I assemble the bike, I'm pretty sure that with the slacker head angle and the higher, less extended handlebar position with the dirt drop stem, I'll be in a slightly more relaxed position. If not, I may have to look at other handlebar options, like maybe an albatross bar.

BD

A. I think that people with Trek 520s and Cannondale T2000s and T800s might disagree.
B. Yes, they are that expensive but it's all relative.

I'm not knocking the Trek 520 (and 820) and certainly NOT the Cannondale.

But the Mercian is the greatest touring bike in my book. One day when I have another hook in my garage I'll buy one. I'm already storing bikes in the spare bedroom.

Stripped down and waiting for the new parts to arrive...

Camel,

How much are you wanting for that Koga Miyata Gran Tourer?

I paid 300$ plus shipping (coast to coast).

If memmory serves, the front (SKS) fender cracked-and is hence cut short. It's dissasembled (for the most part), and I've never gone through the parts to see if they're up to snuff or not.

Most of the parts are in and the Boeshield T9 inside the frame is dry, so time to start the build. The handlebars I'll be using are currently in use on another bike so I used an extra tandem stoker bar as a mock-up. The dirt drop stem does its job and I can get the bars level with or slightly above seat height. The reach to the bars is about an inch shorter than my road bike. Just what I wanted. The Brooks Champion Flyer looks great. The Sugino XD crank looks nice.
I'll be off on a ride all weekend, so I hope to finish the build early next week.

It's done! Meet Sasquatch. 21" 1990 Giant Rincon frame. Sugino XD300 crank 26-36-46. Shimano GS200 f&r derailleurs and brakes (for now). Nitto Dirt Drop stem. Nitto Randonneur handlebar. "Schwinn Approved" Suntour barcon friction shifters. Cane Creek road brake levers. Brooks Champion Flyer saddle. Sun Rhyno Lite rims with Shimano LX hubs. Ritchey Speedmax 26x2.0 tires. SRAM 8 speed cassette 11-28. SRAM PC-58 chain.

It turned out better than I expected. I took it out for a ride on some fairly easy MTB trails and a short road ride yesterday. It handled both with ease and comfort. I think I'm going to really enjoy this bike!
more photos here: https://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLan...3_841676459203

Blues, that is one sweeeeet looking bike. Looks exactly like what I need for riding the C&O. Wish I was handy with a wrench. hehe

Nice lookin' bike. A riv would'a been sweet but your vision has clearly come though with what looks to be exactly what you were after. Take it down a loggin' road & let's hear how it went!
CPW

Sasquatch is no more. The project was fun and I had fun riding the bike, but it was just a little too big for me and that low-end frame weighed a ton. So I stripped it down and put it back together in original form to sell.
I picked up a '89 Trek 970 fram on eBay and used the cranks, wheels, tires, brake levers, shifters etc. from Sasquatch and built this moustache handlebar all-rounder. This one fits better, weighs less AND HAS LUGS!! I give you...
Snidely Whiplash...

Here is an update on the evolution of this concept. Meet Uncle Duke:

https://www.bikeforums.net/fifty-plus-50/342467-i-bet-not-many-you-have-bike-like.html

I have Bio-Pace rings on two of my bikes and round ones on others. I can't tell a bit of difference. The Bio chainrings pull a continuous amount of chain as they rotate. To put it another way, the derailer cage stays perfectly still as the chainrings are turned. That means there is no difference in leverage between Bio and round rings. It wouldn't make a difference if they were perfectly square. I think ad copy Shimano put out back in the day about the advantages of Bio-Pace was pure BS to open up a new market for their stuff.

so, here's my two cents:

I did a long trek where portions of it were single track mountain biking, most of it was rough dirt roads, and only a small portion was on pavement.

I did it on an old steel touring bike. (early 80s Nishiki Cresta). My friend did the same on a late 70s Fuji road bike. Every other person we saw while on tour was riding a mountain bike.

One thing we found was that the lack of shocks on our bikes led to a lot more damage than I think we would have otherwise gotten. The steel frames held up fine, but I wound up breaking both racks (and i sheared off the bolts on the rear rack) and I tacoed my front wheel twice. Those are things that I think would have been less likely to happen had I been on a mountain bike.

And even though we had the widest tires we could possible fit onto our frames, they weren't nearly wide enough for most of the roads there. We would have traveled much faster and much more safely had we been on mountain bikes.

Get a Bob trailer for trekking off the pavement. It's intended use is bike camping/touring on trails/fireroads/etc. Then use any bike you want to pull it - maybe a mtb bike with room for wider, low pressure tires to handle the road surface.

Moving the load to a third axle means you're rear wheel will last longer and breaking racks is impossible, since you won't have any.

I see this is a little bit after the fact but I can not let a disscussion of off road touring bikes go by without the mention of the Novara Safari. It is getting to be out of season so REI does not have any in stock but it is the only true off road touring bike on the US market that I now of and very reasonaby priced too.

For dirt roads, gravel, etc. I think tire width is what you want to consider. I've done plenty of that sort of riding on a road bike with relatively narrow, high-pressure tires (27 x1 1/4 in the old days and 700 x 28cm now.) It's not a big deal. I've usually done it when my ride involved mostly road but with a section of dirt, or when I was exploring and found a new road heading up into the woods that I wanted to check out.

However, if I was carrying a load, like touring, that would change things. I would still consider it, and it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but I'd want a bigger tire, and I'd probably lower the pressure, from around 100 to 60? 70psi?

My LHT has plenty of room for wide tires. My old Nishiki tourer doesn't have quite as much.

If I knew I was going to be spending significant time on dirt, gravel, rough roads, I'd probably take my old Stumpjumper with 26" wheels, and put some semi-knobbies on it.