I have thought about putting something together myself but I would rather get something off the peg. And there's a fairly long wait for even OTP Jackson frames..?
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TBH as tourers have lots of bits and dodas, OTP can save a lot of money. People like Thorn/SJS still let you tweek things to your needs though.
I've seen last year's Kona Jake the Snake for a good price so I'm going to try one out. Anything else like that I should be looking at?
CycloX bikes dont have the chainstay length to move the rear pannier away from your feet though (doable though). The quicker handling and shorter chainstays can make loaded climbing a bit of a PITA.
Well thats a CycloX bike, and doesnt even have mudguard eyelets. My Utility bike is based around a CycloX frame, which has slightly faster/stiffer handling than a typical tourer/audax. Its a decent load carrrier, but I would'nt want to do uber miles on it. I have done 100km, while carrying 8 bed legs and a big bag of metal fittings, which was OK. But far from ideal. (based on this frame)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Graham-Weigh-56cm-Cyclocross-Frame-Matt-Black_W0QQitemZ260545293987QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxq20100130?IMSfp=TL100130136001r5435
The Soma double cross is a frameset that claims to cope with some light touring.
http://somafab.com/doublecross_one.html
the Surly cross check is pretty similar.
http://www.surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check_complete/
CycloX bikes dont have the chainstay length to move the rear pannier away from your feet though (doable though). The quicker handling and shorter chainstays can make loaded climbing a bit of a PITA.