Originally Posted by
khanom
If you are not sure how the Bridgestone would be as a loaded tourer, you should find out first. Also, are you comfortable on it for many hours in the saddle? Does it fit really well? In any case I think the bike is very much worth keeping as your commuting machine regardless.
I always recommend people look at (meaning ride) multiple bikes first and not make a hasty decision.
Could you clarify on how to go about trying the Bridgestone as a loaded tourer? I would like to try it out and have had around 20 pounds in my Carradice (with Bagman QR), but I don't know/think that is the same and being fully loaded for a tour.
The Bridgestone fits extremely well. Perhaps better than any other bike I have had in my stable and even with the el cheapo saddle currently on there. The engine wears out long before it gets uncomfortable. It is the reasoning behind the difficult decision to either put some money into the Bridgestone to take it where I want to go or to head off towards another bike.
I have now tried several bikes (LHT, Crosscheck, Raleigh Clubman, and one I can't remember the name of). All of the bikes have things I like about them, but the LHT and the 520 were the winners. LHT was one of the first I tried out, but is now out of stock just about everywhere....even online.