On May 28, 10:43 am, SMS wrote:
Maury Markowitz wrote:
Ok, the picture is getting much clearer now.

I visited Urbane and they have a Jamis set up for touring. Low-end
grouppo, but pretty much everything I'm looking for -- drop handles
with STI, standard sized steel tubing that could be cut for break-
down, and a nice head-up geometry. I'll live with the calipers for
now, although I've never been a fan of them. The only real concern was
the front crankset, which was 53-something-30ish. I'd definitely want
to take that down a step, perhaps with the Sugino crank. All this for
$1100, which seems like a steal.

The other option they had was a Richey frameset with built-in
breakdown points. It came with a carbon disk-read front fork, and a
little less wheelbase (which I like). The frame was $1000 though, so
it would likely run me 2k for the full buildout. I'll be trolling
craigs and e-bay and see if anything turns up though.

Two other options.

The Dahon Tournado uses the Ritchey frame. It's $2000, but think about
how much it'll cost for S&S couplers on a standard steel frame touring
frame (I expect that it's at least $350). See
"http://www.dahon.com/us/tournado.htm".

The Panasonic touring frame breaks down, and is available for $795. See
"http://www.yellowjersey.org/posd7.html" Beautiful lugged frame, and
threaded headset.

That Panasonic looks gorgeous, and with the racks, headset and fenders
included, it's a steal - IF you're a man under, say, 5'7". Biggest
one they make is a 53, with a 54.5cm top tube They wouldn't even be
particularly good for many women, since the TTs are so long,
considerably longer than the seat tubes. If you're vaguely shaped like
a typical Japanese man, though....wow, great bike!

Another option is the Surly Traveler's Check, which is their Cross-
Check frame with S&S couplers installed at the factory. And the
"Blurple" color is gorgeous. Almost as nice as the Karate Monkey's
"Hüsker Blü."