old mtb for heavy-duty touring: recommendations please

That looks alright!

For the U-brake, I had one chainstay mounted and it eventually snaped at the boss join. I think you will be fine as there is a brake booster fitted. BTW the boss position of a U-brake relative to the wheels are not the same as cantis.

I would have reservations about the hub technology, and would favour a Shimano cassette and freehub - something 7 speed like XT M730 or M732 or the slightly lower grade DX version with the steel axle rather than Cro Mo. You could then pack a few sprockets if need be.

STX is not bad kit either., but invest in either Surly steel or Blackspire DH / TA / Middleburn chainrings on it instead.

Agree with you about the thumbies.

Koga has a long history in touring if you check that loaded link I posted koga is a weapon of choice for quite a few

Sounds like an adventure of a lifetime!
Strangely, I linked a couple of video's on the (1998 Bike chat) with some guys doing the Karakoram Highway, and have been trying to identify their bikes. One guy had a Specialized HR pro. A problem one guy had was with his wheels.

I'd just get a Surly Long Haul Trucker.

Edit: or a Surly Troll. You can't go wrong really.

For the U-brake, I had one chainstay mounted and it eventually snaped at the boss join. I think you will be fine as there is a brake booster fitted. BTW the boss position of a U-brake relative to the wheels are not the same as cantis.

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Yes, I don't want to bother welding on canti mounts unless it's really necessary, which it sounds like it isn't.

I would have reservations about the hub technology, and would favour a Shimano cassette and freehub

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I'm sorry I wasn't clear - the hubs are Deore Dx w/ 7 spd freehub. The hubs look in great shape; I plan to keep them & install a modern 7 spd hyperglide freehub so that it's easier to replace casettes. I assume 7 spd is still easier to find in developing countries than 8+.

STX is not bad kit either., but invest in either Surly steel or Blackspire DH / TA / Middleburn chainrings on it instead.

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For sure. In fact the current rings on the STX chainset are cracked and rusted, so although I'm a cheapskate there's no temptation to cut corners here!

Koga has a long history in touring if you check that loaded link I posted koga is a weapon of choice for quite a few

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That's part of the reason I went for this frame. But the modern version of the World Traveller (their top-of-the-line trekking bike) is overpriced & IMO unsuitable for really remote travel: aluminium frame, proprietary headset, hollowtech cranks.

Vintage World Travellers are almost impossible to find, while there's a glut of vintage Terra Runners. Got mine for just 60 euros. Seems like people who bought high-end trekking bikes tend to keep them for life, while high-end mountain bikes are regarded as disposable.

I think you have found a brilliant tool for the job. For the rear hub, you can simply swap the freehub body for a later 7 speed one, done this conversion myself to get the older hubs to take an 11T cassette - otherwise it's 12 minimum.

If you ever need to replace the cassette, remember that 7,8 and 9 speed sprockets are all the same thickness, so provided you keep the spacers it will all fit on 7 speed. I agree with keeping 7: the wheels have less dish and the chain lasts better than the thinner ones.

I bought made a steel mountain bike from a local bike shop in Kashgar in Western China and used it to cross the Karakorum Highway to Pakistan. Can't recall the brand name but it pretty heavy and robust and coped well with all the rutted and sometimes washed out roads. Only thing modified was a change of more quality cantilever brake calipers and the gears were a bit high on some steep climbs up the mountain pass.
Used a 91 Scott Boulder with fully loaded panniers and handled well on other trip with no issues.

Buzzsaw":2pwglkv8 said:

I bought made a steel mountain bike from a local bike shop in Kashgar in Western China and used it to cross the Karakorum Highway to Pakistan. Can't recall the brand name but it pretty heavy and robust and coped well with all the rutted and sometimes washed out roads. Only thing modified was a change of more quality cantilever brake calipers and the gears were a bit high on some steep climbs up the mountain pass.
Used a 91 Scott Boulder with fully loaded panniers and handled well on other trip with no issues.

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WOW!!
A trip I'd love to do, I posted a few video's from some travellers who did the trip on another forum here;

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=226941&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GKuxWOeil0&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEUh6PTP5H8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkYUWDDgiVs&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySmzGVbjyWE

One of the guys was using a Chas Roberts.
http://www.robertscycles.com/

Found this link of photo's from their site on touring bikes;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertscycles/sets/72157623227995179/

How was your trip? When did you go and how long did it take?
Would love to hear about it, or see some photographs

How would I go about sizing an MTB for touring? I'm off to NZ for 2-3 years so I'm going to sell up my whole stable and build a cheap-ish 26" off-roady-tourer-camping bike to take with me (should only be £100 extra baggage, cheaper and easier than buying or building a bike out there).

Currently my roadie bike is 64x57 c-t, and by using a Nitto Technomic stem I've got the hoods above the saddle height, which is really comfortable (I would actually take this bike with me but it can only fit 28c tyres, fine for fast road touring but no good on dirt or gravel tracks).

My Kona Fire Mountain is 16", which is pretty small and needs quite a long seatpost. It works well on technical stuff but it's a bit cramped on longer rides. The bars are quite far below the saddle.

I've seen an early 90s Orange Clockwork, and a similar vintage Rockhopper, both with 20" frames and 22" toptubes (or 56cm). I'd say the TT is probably about right. I'm worried about bar height relative to saddle height, though - the DT's are five inches shorter than on my road bike and the top-tubes are horizontal. I don't think there's a stem tall enough to get the bars up - I don't really know where to go with this.

"... I don't think there's a stem tall enough to get the bars up ...."

Assuming a quill, then VERY long stems are available, including some good quality "Dutch" ones. Have a search and I'm sure you'll find - "practical bike" comes to mind. Usually a couple on ebay.

And velo solo do fancy ones for use with off road drops

http://velosolo.co.uk/shopbar.html