Originally Posted by
noglider
And as usual, we get hung up on rear derailleurs and cranks.
Do not tour with single-pivot side-pull brakes. They have less leverage than all other designs and require a lot of hand strength. I made this mistake on my big tour in 1981. I survived, but I would have enjoyed brakes with more leverage. These brakes were in style in the early 80's, and some makers put them on touring bikes.
I did a couple of tours in New England on an old school touring bike with long reach single pivot sidepulls. While I agree that dual pivots are better (as are cantis and v-brakes), well made single pivot brakes can work well even with a fully loaded touring bike.