Touring - touring bike

I presently have a Raliegh Cross bike 2002 C700 .This is a great bike , I don't know the wt. but 2003 states 25 lbs. It sure doesn't feel 25 . My question : I might get a legitimate touring bike . Specialized is at the fore front , I think the top dollar I want to put out is 1 grand. Question is which bike is best?
I plan to do a lot of touring come this spring and presently haven't ruled out the Raliegh .It is comfortable and it is a pleasure to ride. I rode in 33 deg. temps this week and enjoy the thrill every time I am in the saddle.
So how about a few opinions in respect to the choices ? We all have those don't we ? (opinions).
Thanks
:beer:

Try this thread http://bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1694&highlight=touring+bikes+trek+raleigh

I don't have a touring bike, but my friend loves his Trek 520.

That helped ! Thanks for the direction .
I will keep looking and by spring will get it together .
:beer:

Hi caspurr,

I have a Specialized Sirrus A1 that I used for my bike trip in Italy last year.

I love my bike, but if you plan on riding with a lot of gear, it may not be the bike for touring. I really really really love my bike, and it pains me to make the admission, but get a better touring bike than the Specialized.

If you read my posts, you'll see the problems I had with my bike. Since I returned and had my bike fixed, I haven't had any problems. However, I think if I did another tour with that bike, it would not take the weight I would require for a tour. If Specialized has a tour bike that's made for some tougher touring, just ask a lot of questions, and preferably from a store that is not Specialized as well as the store that has the Specialized bikes. Do some investigating before you spend your good money.

Specialized makes some good sturdy bikes. Did I mention that I love my bike? ;-) But I would definitely take about half of what I took on my last trip, and I will definitely spend time testing the bike for several weeks with the weight I plan on taking for my trip to make sure the bike can take the load. I had 30 days to test the bike once I bought it, but I didn't take into consideration that I should load up the bike and see if it were adequate enough to carry everything I had. Of course, most human beings wouldn't have taken what I took for my trip anyway, so you may be ok anyway... I pack too much!

Good luck with your bike choice. Can you let us know what you chose and how it performs? I am still looking for a good sturdy bike for my next bike trip....

Take care,

Koffee

Thanks .
I will give an update . I still haven't ruled out the Raliegh . I do plan to load it up and try a 50 miler to see if it will perform . I enjoy it and for me it seems comfortable so being hard headed and the fact I spent some good bucks on it , it would be a shame not to try it.

:beer: