There's a flip side to everything. There's less and less of a demand in my area for dedicated touring bikes and more and more people that want to do light ocassional touring on what they already have. Its hard to keep up with everything and some high end items are just kept in stock for comparison purposes to demonstrate that other items may be a better choice for light touring. And just as its unlikely to find a shop where everyone is intimately familiar with how to tear down a front fork - same is true for touring components. New personnel in particular will be most likely to feel that saying 'I don't know' is a sign of incompetence. Best approach is to accept that you're looking for a specialty item and ask the store manager if he has a specialist in that area.
Often the actual installation can make as much of a difference as the actual item and adaptors or specialized hardware is a better alternative than what comes stock. (I prefer hex head for everything myself) So good advice from a variety of angles is important. (sigh) And to complicate your life - Thule has launched a 'Pack and Pedal' line of bicycle luggage using propriotary Freeloader racks that are ...... the same front and back. I really like this stuff and have a hard time keeping up!
