Right now I ride a 2005 Fuji Silhouette on 700x26c wheels. It's a hybrid bike that I have upgraded bits and pieces over the years for light touring and commuting, but the frame is a bit small. Also, the chain-stay is short, and my heels keep hitting the rear panniers.

The Fuji is great for commuting, but not so great for touring. At the end of a 60-80 mile day, my wrists are shot from its aluminum frame and the flatbars. As mentioned, my heels keep hitting the rear panniers. The cost of adding good drop bars, with new, good brakes and shifters is ridiculously prohibitive, compared with the cost of a new bike, or building up a new one, which would get me on a bigger frame.

Therefore, I am looking at three steel bikes/frames that would be used both for touring (~50-100/mi per day) and commuting (hills, ~5-10 mi/day):

- Jamis Aurora Elite
- Velo Orange Rando
- Surly Long Haul Trucker

I'd like to build up a new bike, but I don't know much about frames and the added expense means I want to make sure I make the right decision up-front.

So my question is what your experiences have been with using bikes built from the VO or Surly frames is like, or the pre-built Aurora Elite. If you ride these bikes, what are your experiences like?

My opposition to the Surly is that the size of frame I would get (53cm) only takes 26" wheels. The 26" wheels I have seen on a LHT look tiny, and make it look like a children's bicycle, compared with 700c wheels. I'd prefer to ride on 700c wheels. Otherwise, the price seems okay.

All three bike frames seem to have a long chainstay, to help keep my heels from hitting the bike bags. Are your experiences different? Do your heels hit your bike bags?

Are there other frames you would recommend, that are within the scope shown here? Ideally, the bike I get would work well for both touring and commuting, as mentioned. Thanks for your advice.