Originally Posted by Thulsadoom

You've got several decent bike shops right there in Syracuse. Syracuse bikes and Advance cyclery are within a half mile each other. If nothing else they could fit you up and tell you what size bike you need. There's nothing wrong with touring on a hybrid, they work just fine. Some of those bikes at Dicks are actually not half bad nowadays. I'd go to a bike shop first and ask all the questions you want. I'd recommend Syracuse Bikes first for questions and bike fit, but not neccessarily to buy from. Before you let one of the salesmen there talk you into one of their bikes you might want to ask here on the forums first. The guys at Advance cyclery can be a little cranky. If you can make it to the Bike Loft they are good people but a relatively small operation.