Originally Posted by
cyccommute
The Sirrus (plain one), the Sport and Elite Disc have metal forks...with eyelets for front rack. The Elite (nondisc) has a carbon fork with aluminum steerer. Not a good choice for touring.
Noted. I'm pretty sure I've ruled out everything but the Sirrus and Sirrus Sport.
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
The frame would be a good platform to build into a touring bike. As others have pointed out, the upper levels have carbon forks which aren't that good for touring. Other issues are the flat bars, the low end parts on any of the bikes that would be useful as a touring bike, the 32 hole wheels and, in my opinion, the integrated headset. The high end bikes have better components but they also have more carbon parts which make them either less useful or absolutely useless as a vehicle for carrying a touring load.
I was also reviewing the Allez however the extra savings on the Sirrus and the simple addition of some bar ends seemed to outweigh the benefits of the Allez - esp. when considering the upgrades needed to make it tour-ready.
What should I be looking out for when dealing with/fitting the headset and what's the concern with 32 hole wheels?
Originally Posted by
cyccommute
On the upside, they are cheap so you can afford upgrades.
That's part of my reasoning. I can spend a little less on the base and a little more on getting it tour-ready and outfitted.