As far as tires go, you can go as low (narrow) as 26 x 1.50 for touring and still be comfortable. As far as getting this bike, there are too many doubts about it fitting you well. I would skip it and wait until the right deal arrives. If you're planning to tour through exotic foreign destinations, you want to absolutely make sure everything works for you... fitting being the most important! Unless you go fully custom, you should be able to ride the bike before buying. I know L.A. is a tough market to get used touring bikes. A friend of mine spent all of last summer looking for one on craigslist and at the end decided to go new (bought an LHT.) Many here will tell you that the beauty of bicycle touring is that you can use any type of bike. If you fancy touring off-road in exotic places, I can definitely see why you wanna get a MTB. If you'll be carrying panniers, don't forget to make sure the chainstay length will work, too. Heel strike is no fun!