Hello,

I am going touring in SW Ireland on March 22nd with my father. Last minute planning! I have already invested in Ortlieb panniers and considering what to do now. I have a Canondale Cyclocross Disc 2. I was wondering would it be a good idea to use this bike for the touring trip? In fact if I do invest in this bike it will be used long term for commuting and future tours too. The alternative is to use an 'old' Raleigh sports bike (10 speed). This has some connections for fitting a rack and may be easier to fit a rack to versus the Canondale. I would prefer to invest in the Canondale however.

Does anybody have any opinions on this? For instance, is this bike suitable for touring (e.g. frame strength)? Are there any racks which people could recommend? Would the bike be damaged through carrying extra weight? If anybody has any insight to assist my decision making, I would be most grateful.

Joey.