I would stick with the crosscheck. The Atlantis is a nice bike, for sure. However, for the price you can get yourself a custom made frame. Drool at the touring bikes located here www.vanillabicycles.com $1500 for a production frame (even if it is lugged and very nice looking) is too much imo. $1500 could built you one hell of a Surly long-haul trucker with all top quality parts. By the time you build up an atlantis, you will be way over the $2000 mark. For that price you can get a fully decked (tubus racks, pump, etc) out Koga Miyata World Traveler.