Originally Posted by
sstorkel
The biggest problem with the Windsor Tourist is the component selection... The first thing I'd do if I bought one for cross-country touring is toss the crank and replace it with one that had lower gearing. Either a 26/38/48 trekking crank or a 22/32/44 mountain bike crank. I'd also be tempted to rebuild the wheels with better hubs. And spokes. And rims. And tires. Some have suggested the Oryx brake calipers need better brake pads (ex: KoolStop). The saddle looks like a nightmare. You could easily spend another $200+ making the bike more cross-country worthy.
At that point, you're getting pretty close to the price of the LHT, Novara Safari, Jamis Aurora, etc. all of which seem like better choices than the box-stock Windsor Tourist.
Yeah lots of good choices and no one clear winner.
We took off on the TA with our Windsors completely stock except for the crank and found them adequate. I have done a few ~1000 mile tours since then and am still satisfied. I would factor in the cost of lower gearing when deciding, but I consider the rest of the bike fine.
That said, I would either go over the wheels for spoke tension or have someone do it. I would also keep an eye on it when on tour.