garagegirl

I'm in the very first stages of planning a solo tour of China (most likely, possibly Thailand and Vietnam instead) Most likely I'll be staying in hotels or hostels, and not camping. I'm hoping to embark next spring, so I have a while to get myself and my bike prepared. This will be my first tour. I have right now a US made lugged Trek 750 hybrid, that has been my everyday bike since it was new in 1994 (it's been living in the basement since I got my first road bike this year, a second hand Bridgestone 400) I also have an older Univega Gran Turismo, an impulse ebay buy, also living in the basement. Both bikes are double buted cromoly, have front and rear rack mounts, plenty of tire clearance, 700c wheels (the Univega currently has 27, but I would change them), and canti brakes. The Trek has straight bars (which I could swap out) and the Univega has drops. Currently the Trek has 21 speeds and the Univega 15. I haven't even ridden the Univega yet, as it needs some cable work to get it rideable, but its geometry is pretty standard old school touring bike. The Trek's high bottom bracket clearance always made me feel a too far off the ground, and I would prefer a little more inseam clearance, but I'm familiar with it and have logged a lot of miles on it, albeit shorter distances. Both bikes will need a little work and new parts to get them ready to go. So my question is, which bike do I choose to build up? Or should I sell both and get an old mtb (which I want to get eventually anyway, so I can try mountain biking) and build that up? My main concerns are comfort, especially for my lower back, keeping it as cheap as possible, and sturdiness. Thanks!

jittery

if you're confident that youll be able to find tires and tubes in 700c where you're headed, I'd go with the univega myself, having ridden one fixed for a couple years. put 700c wide tires on (mine had clearance for 38c knobbies), get a cheap high rise stem, and gear accordingly. it's a very stout frame so durability shouldn't be an issue, just get good wheels. since you mentioned the BB drop, I'd measure the 2 and compare which has the highest BB as you might, or might not, be surprised. IIRC mine had a pretty high BB for a tourer.

garagegirl

It's good that you mention tire availability, since I'm just in the begining stages of planning this tour I haven't planned my route yet, and don't know what will be available where I'm going. Do you know if 27's or 700's are easier to find in Asia (and China in particular)? This is one of the reasons I'm also considering an mtb, I figure 26's might be the easiest to find. I'm gonna go measure the bb's right now.

It's funny that you ride the Univega as a fixie. That was my original plan for mine, since it's an awesome frame with crap components, until I decided it wasn't quite ideal geometry for my first fixed.
Do you have the gran turismo? How does it feel fixed?

tulip

The Univega Gran Turismo is a great bike (can't remember the components, but they got me through Europe many moons ago, fully loaded). Great impulse buy. I wish I still had mine.

jittery

Id assume 700c tires would be easier to find than 27" tires just because there's alot more 700c tires made currently. the gran turismo makes a decent fixie, makes a better tourer though, imho. makes a nice commuter-single or fixed, just not really a go fast bike. it is/was a great frame for what it is, I wish I still had mine sometimes but I replaced it with a crosscheck that fit better.