Originally Posted by tacomee
Fuji touring bikes seem really out of favor with buyers right now. That's too bad, becuase Fuji has the same steel frame as the Surly bikes and over 70 years of history building touring bikes. Fuji touring bikes have made every possible trip you could think of-- they are really the old school touring bikes. (BTW, Fuji hasn't made huge changes to their touring bikes in 25 years-- they have made some upgrades, but it is roughly the same frame and gearing)
I recently priced an LHT at a bike shop. The shop's price on the QBP book's recommended build was ~$1100 and they said they would sell it for over $1600.
By contrast the Fuji touring MSRP is $910 with Tiagra brifters, and additional Tektro brake levers, so you can probably buy it for a little less than that. You could buy the Fuji, change out the chainring to a little lower gearing, put a set of Continental or Schwalbe tires on it, and have a really good big name touring bike. Fuji is a great brand which, as you say, is currently not in vogue.