Niles H.

Sounds like you're getting a handle on it. There is a lot of good information in this thread.

Regarding The Windsor Tourist comes with 700c wheels, so I'd have to replace them if I do any off road stuff. : Many people seem to underestimate 700c wheels' abilities off-road. There is a lot you can do, especially with the wider tires. Even with mid-range tires, you can still ride a lot of dirt roads, gravel roads, trails, etc. If the wheels are well built, they should hold up.

That isn't to say that 700c are more desirable than 26" -- just that they aren't as limited as many people think.

Regarding panniers vs trailers: I've tried both, and strongly prefer panniers. The points covered on this thread, here, about this topic, are not comprehensive. You can find some good discussions on some of the world travelers' websites. One example: http://travellingtwo.com/5850

I enjoy flying down long grades. With panniers, I'm golden. The bike only gets more stable with speed (note that stiff racks and frame contribute to this). With trailers, I'm ******. When you hit a series of bumps, at speed, with a trailer, especially in a turn, can you imagine what happens?

Intermodal transportation is much smoother with panniers, in my experience.

Also, would have to disagree strongly with the statement that panniers must be perfectly balanced. I went through a long phase of researching these sorts of aspects of bike touring, when I first got into it, and was convinced of this necessity (of carefully and optimally balancing the panniers) myself at one time. Now, with a lot more personal touring experience, I have no doubt whatsoever that this is a flaming myth, at least for every bike in my stable. Not only do they not have to be perfectly balanced, but there is tremendous flexibility or latitude. This has been my experience, and I keep pushing the rules and testing them, and breaking them, and it just is not necessary at all, for me.

I do recommend good, strong, durable, stable racks -- they are an important part of the foundation for me (the Tubus Locc is the tetraploid gorilla) ***properly mounted*** using medium-strength threadlocker plus nyloc nuts, and ***no*** rinky-dink, cobbled together hardware (zip ties, wire, hose clamps, etc.). Good, strong bolts (grade 8 or grade 10 steel, perhaps even in 6mm -- it's easy to drill and tap for 6mm), properly secured (they will loosen over time with all the vibration otherwise), are the sorts of things to use.

That same principle applies to the rest of the bike as well, and to the gear you carry. Set it up right in the beginning. A good experienced mechanic can go over it with you, and make changes where necessary. An excellent wheel build is especially important. If you stress that you want something that is not going to give you trouble, have failures, etc., someone who knows his stuff can set you up. This is not the sort of thing an inexperienced person is likely to be able to do as well.

This way, you can set it and forget it, and not be plagued by failures (and the interruptions, delays, repairs, strandedness, letdowns, disfunction, inabilities, etc.) while you are out there. It's also a great feeling to be on a touring bike like this -- one that simply won't let you down.