>>1768589>>1768591>>1768595You're overthinking this, get one of the following and run whatever fucking cassette you want in the back. 8, 9, 10, 11 whatever matches your shifters, or literally any of them if you're going for friction shifting, just pick a cassette with a low gear low enough for you and a chain to match and it will work. Weight doesn't fucking matter if you're building a touring bike and planning to carry lots of shit. Square taper's only advantage is that it's cheaper, there's a reason you only find it on cheap bikes these days
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/tiagra-4700/FC-4703.html>>1768647you get warranty coverage on the brand name stuff, and that matters more a business that's carrying risk by operating a physical bike shop
>>1768664depends on the pump really, but 70-80psi is generally where things start to suck with a hand pump. Putting more pressure than that in a tire means you've fucked up somewhere anyways...
>>1768701only if it has blue decals and you have a blue saddle
>>1768778try them, they're easier to reach and you keep your hands on the bars for stability (important with a heavily laden bike) while you ship. I agree with you that cable run you describe is ugly, but it's easy and in theory it gives smoother shifting since there's simply less housing to add friction, and this also avoids any potential tight bends routing the cable along your bars.