And then stick some bar ends on to the trekking bars.

Cool, thanks.

The wheels are just fine but the rear hub really makes me nervous and besides, I am beginning to think about disc brakes so a whole new wheelset is most likely the purchase I will make after the handle-bars.

With positive histories from other posters on the rear dropouts, I think you are fine there (unless someone comes up with a definitive issue).

But as far as disc brakes, you are in for some expense, unless your friend is going to do some fabricating on the frame and fork to allow the use of discs. If your friend doesn't customize for you, you will need a new fork, and an adapter for the rear triangle. Since your rear triangle is fairly unique, I don't know if an adapter would work right, but this is not based on real information, just thoughts.

Then there is the cost of the brakes. :)

Your description of the hub makes me wonder if all it needs is to be disassembled, repacked and properly adjusted.

What about the rear hub makes you nervous? Are the races pitted or something? Are there cracks at the spoke holes? Is there some other visible damage? Does it have fewer spokes than you consider necessary? If none of the above then it is probably fine.

I advise forgetting the disks. Most touring bikes (even expensive ones) don't use disks. If you are on a budget adding them makes no sense at all IMO. I would even go so far as to say, when bike shopping, if a touring bike had them it would be a strike against it for me.

Some folks like them, but I doubt most of them would go to the expense of adding them to an existing bike that wasn't designed for them. Doubly true if cost meant anything to them and if it didn't why not buy a dedicated touring bike?

yes you are right there really is no point in going through all of that trouble, unless i was going to be riding through mudslides

Well I am glad I mentioned the discs, I was expecting negative feedback but just wanted to learn more about peoples opinions of discs. I will take my bike into my shop and get the wheels fixed up and let them show me how to replace spokes. From what you described they are just fine; no rust, corrosion, cracks, pits, or anything, it all just feels loose which just means it has taken a bit of a beating and needs a tune up. This advice saved me from an unneccessary expense so thanks again.

There is still a chance that the races or cones are pitted, but hopefully not.

I have a lot of terminology to learn here that I didn't realize because I just kind of always figured out parts of the bike without learning the names. Races, cones?

Races and cones, the parts of the bearings in the hub that the balls ride in and on. The bearing is adjusted by tightening or loosening the cones and tightening the locknut that locks it in place. Check out the Park Tool link below for info on servicing/rebuilding a hub. it also shows a picture of a pitted cone.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

wheels, bars, tires, etc. etc. Be careful or you'll end up spending more than what a new bike would cost. Upgrading a bike tends to have a real snowball effect.

Oh yea ok, I am familiar with the part, I am going to work on my bike in a moment and I will let you know how it goes.

Yea I need to keep it minimalistic but I still want to be safe. I will have to find a balance between the two.

Ok so it is obvious that I will be needing new wheels or at least a new rear hub because I found out that there is a total bearing missing which caused a piece in the hub to crack and I don't know what other issues it has because of this. It does not ride well and sounds bad so that is that, new wheelset coming up. My friends mother is actually going to pay for a list of parts I will need if I email her the payment form. So I think there is hope for me out there after all.

Bummer. Is the broken part actually part of the hub or is it something that might be replaced? If in doubt, pictures would help.

This place has pretty good deals on wheels.

http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com...d&productId=24
http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com...d&productId=17

If you have a decent frame (you do now!) stick with it rather than worrying about what the "perfect" bike would be. Those droputs look weird, but anyhoo.

Have a look at the tubus logo rack for some ideas - the panniers mount lower than the top of the rack so (1) they are a little lower and more stable, (2) you can put things on the top of the rack without interfering with the pannier mounts, (3) the panniers can be mounted further back to avoid heel strike.
Peterpan has made a nice rack and might be able to give you advice on welding/brazing tubing. I'm curious to know if JB weld (metal epoxy) would be good enough for constructing racks.

You are on a budget and you need to fix the wheels so save money elsewhere - eg. if the handlebars are comfortable, keep them instead of changing to trekking bars (but do consider bar ends).

Good wheels are important. If, like you said, the bike shop is looking out for parts for you, get them to have a look at your bike and also see what parts they have and what good 2nd hand wheels they have. It might even be worth finding another bike and swapping parts/wheels onto the better frame.

Re tyres, the ones on it look like they still have tread. Cheng shin is pretty budget, fine for the price, but again you might want to see how it rides with the tyres you've got. If it is too slow then change to slicks, about 1.5" wide or maybe a bit less, should help quite a bit. Ritchey Tom Slicks are pretty good value for a slick touring tyre, they last pretty well too (but don't have any better puncture resistance than the bargain basement tyres). Panaracer also makes good tyres at a good cost. Schwalbe and Continental are considered the premium brands for touring tyres.

Speak to the bike shop about the hubs, bottom bracket and headset. These areas wear out and might need servicing or replacing.

Re derailleurs and shifters and rear cogs - stick with the same overall system eg. if 7-speed don't change to 8 or 9, too much to replace so it will end up expensive.

Alright here goes:

- It is a 7 speed so a 7 speed it will stay, the cogs could use a good cleaning but nothing more than cosmetic issues there
- Yes the dropouts are a little odd but they help the geometry of the bike to my advantage so whatever (plus I think we can use these two nice holes above each dropout; maybe we could attatch reinforcements to the pannier racks? they may be needed once I put the derailleur back on but I dunno, I will post a thread with a picture to get answers tomorrow).
- I checked out the low profile ideas for racks and they look good, we might even start on them this weekend.
- I don't know about JB but no worries because my friends parents have a welding machine in their garage and all the tubing and wiring needed for a cool set of panniers.
- Bike shope first thing tomorrow, I have loved these forums but I think it is time to take her in to the people who can actually feel the bike.
- I HATE THE TIRES ON IT NOW... I have been so use to smooth rides on cruisers, road bikes and bmx bikes. Although I enjoy a nice muddy ride as much as the next guy, I am not using this bike for all that. I picked out a good set of tires for a good price on nashbar so I will order those soon.
- I am looking to true my tires on my own but I have no spoke wrench or know how so I will get right on that.
- So the other bike before this (a Frankenstein of a bike I creatively dubbed "Franky") was pretty low class in regards to a very cheaply made heavy old frame rolling on original late 70's BB and a ghetto rigged fork replacement with a very untrue front rim. It got me around though because I updated the rear rim (SS) and put a new seat post, fork, handlebars, brake, tires/tubes, and a new seat. So I put my seat on and the handlebars and I really enjoy keeping my big bullhorns because I stay in my comfort zone by not changing handlebars.
- The bar ends will go on the tips of the bullhorn bars going inward to give me a farther horizontal reach and basically serve as the same thing as touring bars.
- Thank you for your help

I'd also add a "no" to the disc brakes. Not that they aren't good (have them myself) but for the costs involved, it's just not worth it -particularly since your frame doesn't have disc tabs. You would be better investing in a quality set of brakes, salmon koolstop pads, new cables and quality brake levers -all of which would come to probably around the cost of one disc brake.

While I believe the performance of discs is better overall, for the costs involved and based on the fact that a set of good quality well adjusted brakes is more than adequate, forget the disc idea and save a bundle of money.

Yea I gave up on the disc idea a while back but thanks anyway.

i have this same bike (or very similiar-in blue circa 1989) and i toured with it in Greece and the San Juan Islands. no problems. i still ride it mtn biking when i'm visiting home (i leave it at my parent's house).
if i were to tour on it again i'd probably update a few things and maybe get some touring bars.

If the rims are okay, you could always rebuild the wheels around a new hub, if you want to save a few bucks. Although it's easy to find machine built wheels on the interwebs that would run you around the same price as rebuilding a wheelset, once you factor in labor and all that.