Hi, new to the forum so please bear with me. I am in the market for a new bike for general recreational use and light touring. Most of the designated 'touring bikes' seem to come with drop handles which I do not find comfortable and I am looking for something with a flat handle bar.
For background, I have done some longer touring back in the day (parts of Australia, New Zealand and Europe) as well as shorter credit card tours in recent years. I am 50+ and looking to doing more trips as semi retirement approaches but will likely keep the load light ie rear panniers & handlebar bag only. I am 5'8", 130 lbs in case that is a factor.
Besides flat bar handles, some other features I have been looking at are: 3 chain ring for low gearing on hills, longer chainstay for heel clearance on rear panniers; lighter weight since I don't plan on being fully loaded, yet still durable for recreational riding on trails/paths; disk brakes? - I like the idea of them but have no experience with them. Wheels - 700 x 32?
Other components - suggestions? Since I hope to use this bike a lot in the coming years, I am willing to purchase higher quality parts (within reason)
So, is a performance hybrid the way to go? Some of the ones I have been reading about are the Specialized Sirrus models, the Giant Escape, Brodie Energy, Devinci Oslo, Kona Dew & Trek Fx series. Any comments on these brands or other suggestions welcomed.
Thank you