Originally Posted by
ocho
Not quite your blue sky requirements but Civia (part of the QBP fleet of bikes along with Surly and Salsa) offers two tour capable belt drive capable bikes. I think they might be 26" tire capable too but since 26" tires have no sway for me, I never look for that feature. Touring bikes are so different for each of us. I don't think production bikes leave that much to be desired. But my needs are different. Your statement is should say they leave a lot to be desired for "you". I see the LHT with S&S and 26" wheels as a step backwards - I thought the Traveler's Check was better and wish I could have gotten one while possible. I looked into S&S couplers and considered having a bike built with them but for my needs, they really aren't required and wouldn't help me much in my travels. Things could change....
Check with Peter White Cycles and his line of tourers from Tout Terrain. Cheaper than Co-Motion but still pricey but most of what you want is there.
Didn't know Civia was a sister company of Salsa/Surly! I admire their offering belt-drive. Some folks prefer 622 mm wheels over 559. Unfortunately airline restrictions make it hard to squeeze 622 into the 'legal'-sized carrier. Frames with room for fat tires enables one to mount wheels for snowy conditions for instance. A long time ago I read a Bicycling mag article where Fred Delong (IIRC) noted that Eddy Merckx had experimented with smaller wheels (Ridotto "sprint wheels").
I like Peter White but I'm leery of converting flat-bar bikes to drop-bar. I wish there was no need for S & S couplers but airlines no longer provide bike boxes so the alternative is to pay the high surcharge, have the bike boxed at a nearby shop, pay for taxi etc. Baltimore MD sponsored an international pro criterium race for a couple of years back in the day: I read a newspaper article mentioning a German racer who completely disassembled his bike for air travel! I'm guessing he was with a minor team where the racers were responsible for their own equipment. BTW Laurent Fignon rode that race in Baltimore, pretty sure he didn't have to worry about the bike transport problems!