Road/touring bike build.

dawnophile

I got hold of a nice '81 mercian touring frame and forks (midnight blue, probably light blue at a later stage), but as a mountain biker new to the world of spindly wheels and awkward handlebars I could do with a hand choosing what to hang off it.

I can't spend a ridiculous amount overall, but I'd rather get it right than have to replace bits a year down the line.
The bike will be for general road rides and a bit of touring.

I was thinking Shimano 105, with a double ring up front. Probably cheap ish (£150) wheels from Mavic or similar. Brooks B-17 in Honey and honey bar tape. That's as far as i've got.

Any suggestions, especially for seatpost/stem/bars? Preferably in silver to go with the colour scheme.

Cheers.

Monty Dog

If you're planning on touring and maybe fitting a bar bag, then suggest you look at SRAM or Campagnolo shifters - the cables don't get in the way of the bag. For a more retro look, go for Campagnolo Centaur Ergos in polished alloy, compact chainset etc. Part of the fun of putting a bike together like this is seeing what comes up on ebay too.

dawnophile

I prefer the look of Campag Centaur, but i've got a feeling it isn't as good value.

Forgive my ignorance, but is a compact chainset one with three, generally smaller rings? I've seen touring bikes with mountain bike gears on, which is a little underpowered for my liking. *'m used to pushing a big gear on my fixie.

bigflangesmallsprocket

Two rings. Generally outer is anything from 46 up to 50, and the inner ring is usually 34 or 36. So you can get a reasonably high gear, and low enough to get up hills without knocking yourself out. It's a compromise chainset for folks who are reasonably fit and and want a bit of speed AND a comfy low gear, without trying to push the biggest gears that racers would only really get the benefit from.

pianoman

For touring you'll be fine with 50 and 34 as your rings, with a 13-29 sprocket on the back.