Derekn wrote:Many thanks slowster for the very informative reply. It is much appreciated. I don't know why I made the comment to Ikenbikeit about preferring steel! I must have been overwhelmed by all the replies
I will certainly give some thought to Dacite 1 and "converting" my old MF along the lines you have suggested
I converted a Raleigh MTB for touring, cromo frame, not sure if it was 80s or 90 spec. It cost me in the region of £200 to convert. New wheels from Rose (when the exchange rate was better than now). New 8 speed groupset, bottom bracket, gear and brake cables (fleabay). New seat post, butterfly bars and tyres. I already had pannier racks , Brooks saddle and all the camping gear - it was simply an Interesting little project.
Here it is at Cologne on a long European Tour.
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And it looks very nice ossie
I was just working out how old my MF is....... I know for sure it was bought before 1984 so at least 45 years old.
I, like many others,toured for many years on converted no suspension MTBs (Saracen and GT). Tens of thou kms. Choose your components well and you should have a fine durable bike.
One thing I would recommend is to check out or get checked out your old frame. 45 years is a long time and rust or cracks could easily have developed, especially if it is well used and maybe a bit mistreated.
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....... my excuse is........it was 11.22pm when I posted 