Crank and BB tools are generally pretty cheap. Depending on what your LBS charges, they might pay for themselves in 1-2 uses...

Thanks... I'll keep that in mind. I don't currently have any plans to use it more than once, but if I keep buying bikes to flip them on Craigslist I might be able to justify the purchase.

So, anybody have any opinion regarding the wheel? Is a 7 speed worth touring on just to keep the cost ridiculously low, or should I bite the bullet and pay for some spendy wheels?

All other things being equal, more gears is better. However if you can get a 7-speed setup for a lot less, then go for that. It's important thing is to ensure that the hub is a quality peice, not junk. It's also important to get a low enough low gear and a high enough high gear. Close spacing between each gear is not as important for touring as it is for road racers so 7 is fine, just choose your cassette (or freewheel) and rings wisely.

Goo luck & happy touring

"Goo luck" means "Good Luck"

Sorry

So... if I were to buy this rear wheel... what are the chances I'd find a thread-on 7 speed setup that would work with my MTB triple that I'm pulling off the old mountain bike, and is designed for 8-9 speed? Is it going to be a problem getting those to play nicely together or not?

Well Jensonusa has a 7-speed freewheel with 13-28 cogs. Not sure what chainrings you have but if they're typical 22-32-42 or 44 MTB triple rings then a 22 front/28 rear low gear should be OK for climbing. A 42 front /13 rear may be a little on the low side but might be fine for you - depends on whether you're the kind who pushes or coasts down hills.

The freewheel will work fine with a 8-9 speed crank so long as you use a chain designed for 7-speeds. If you want indexed shifting then you'll need left and right shifters that are specific to 7 and 9-speed gears. However if friction is ok then almost any shifters will do.

Say, what's the spacing of this wheel? I think the nashbar frame is 132.5mm so either a 130 or 135mm will work.

Ad didn't say... I'm gonna go look at it tomorrow to see if I can measure it without owning any calipers...

Any advice on that front would be great...

Update after going to the bike shop yesterday:

I got the cranks (black) moved over from the MTB. I bought a seat collar (black). I'm having them order me some small sized v-brakes (black). I'm ordering the Tektro long-pull levers (black) myself. This bike is starting to look sharp! I'm liking the whole black on green thing... and I'm going to go with a lighter green/brown for the handlebar tape and possibly the bottle cages or some other accessory...(if I can find any in that color... otherwise black). I'd go for brown/green sidewalls, but I haven't seen any in the colors I'm thinking of, and even if I did, I don't think those are going to come in a "ride this bike across the continent" tire.

But, I digress... I'm going to need some black wheels! I've found one set on eBay, but the hubs I'm not so sure about:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Other than that, I'm not finding much... all of Sheldon's wheels are silver.

If any of you has or knows where I can get a set of 36 spoke black wheels in the sub $300 range, please let me know. Thanks. :)

EDIT:

Here's the color palette I was thinking of trying to find handlebar tape/bottle cages/etc in:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=142582

Also, Brooks makes a (VERY dark) green saddle with brass rivets:
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...:referralID=NA

If I went with that, I could make the bottle cages brass, but then I don't know what I'd do about the handlebar tape.

Any ideas?

Depending on tire size desired these might be worth a look;

http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com...d&productId=27

I have bought two sets of wheels [not these] from BWW without issue.

19mm rims are pretty narrow for touring purposes. BikeIsland and BikesDirect are the same company. Both are known for cheap prices, not the quality of their products. I, personally, wouldn't want to tour on 19mm wheels with unknown spokes and hubs.

For almost the same price, you could buy a set of Mavic A319-based wheels from Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. They're hand-built, by guys who know what they're doing, with name-brand hubs and spokes. Rims, spoke, nipple, and hub colors are fully customizable, though you'll pay a bit more for fancy-colored parts.

For a little more cash, they'll also build you wheels based on the TN719 rim, which is quite a bit lighter and slightly wider than the A319.

I'm assuming you mean Harris Cyclery? Sheldon, RIP, isn't making wheels these days...

I built my frame up with lots of black. Honestly, I think it looks better with silver/chrome. Leather bar tape and a Brooks saddle complete the picture nicely...

The second pair of Mavics are disc-specific- stay away.

Yes, I meant Harris Cyclery... which I will always think of as "Sheldon's Stuff" no matter how long he's been gone. :)

Also, about the leather bartape and brooks saddle... the more I read about 'em the more nervous I get about moisture... I'm going to be riding whatever I get in all kinds of weather, and abusing the living hell out of it... is it going to be more trouble than it's worth to keep the leather looking nice? In the case of the saddle, if I have to ride 75 miles in the rain during my TA, is it going to sag and therefore give up the one advantage that brooks saddles have... extreme comfort?

TonyS,

What headset did you wind up using?

I haven't yet... was deciding whether to dump some money into the headset:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...e+Headset.aspx

Or save it to get a matching Brooks saddle and handlebar tape (or better racks, or better wheels, etc, etc), and get this one instead:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...3+Headset.aspx

I bought the S-3 but I'm cheap :D

Good... That's the one I was leaning towards. ;)

I bought the same one! As far as I'm concerned, a headset is a headset. Even a cheap one will last forever, unless you're storing your bike at the bottom of a pond...

Ok, I'm going to sound stupid here... but my trek is a threaded headset, so I'm not real sure how the whole thing works...

The fork was shipped to me with the steering tube uncut. And unpainted. So it's a fugly aluminum oxide matte silver sorta thing.

And I don't know how the headset and steer tube go together on a threadless headset... am I going to have to have that steer tube painted to match, or... how does that all work?

OK...I was going to go with an S-2 or S-3 But got a deal on a Ritchey Pro Logic V-2 for ~ $13 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

The Steerer tube usually gets covered by the headset, cable stop, spacers, and stem. Instead of a large nut threaded on to the steerer tube, a threadless headset is held together by clamps on the stem (sometimes cable stop) and a star nut that is inserted into the top of the tube.
If you leave it uncut you can do some artistic things with different colored spacers. I left my first build uncut, as I like to have the bars higher.
I've seen some people who use the cable stop clamp to hold the headset tight and just leave the tube bare except for the stem clamp.
I like the spacers, though.

Does that come with the bearings and star nut??

It comes with the bearings for sure....didn't see the star nut in the pic, but doesn't matter as I have some laying around the parts box if it isn't.

caged or loose? The S-3 has some kind of cartridge.