I have two Surlys - a Crosscheck and a Steamroller. Both are great bikes. I think the Karate Monkey would make a pretty decent touring bike although if you plan to ride mostly on the road, the Crosscheck is a better option. I considered the Monkey, but I prefer to have a dedicated mountain bike and didn't really want mountain bike geometry for my main road bike. (I have a Voodoo Dambala 29er as my mountain bike). My Crosscheck is up to be three bikes in one: cyclocross, touring, or road, depending on which wheel/tire combo I have on it. It can pretty much do anything including single track mountain biking. Still, if you only want to own one bike for every purpose and you want to have the option of running discs and big tires, the Karate Monkey would definitely be the one.