NOTE: this is a cross-post on the Touring forum

Hello,

Sorry for another LHT vs CC thread, but I would really like to know opinions for my personal situation.

I'm in the process of building a bike for:
- commuting (7miles each way)
- general roaming around b roads and country roads (lots of cobblestone here)
- off road trails (riding mtb rigid since 2008, my favourite rig was a drop bar Singular Swift)
- touring. Planed tours right now are the Camino de Santiago-Via de la Plata (end of the year), Iceland (2015) and UK (2015/2016? I tend to load light when solo, but when touring with my GF I end up carrying some of her kit (not going to change).

I am equipping the bike with a Tubus Cargo rack, cantis, and two sets of tires, a pair of CX 700x35c for road/commuting/paths and another of 700x45c for mtb trails.

Both frames seem to be tough enough, with the Cross Check (to my surprise) even sporting a thicker top tube (.9x.6x.9 vs .8x.5x.8mm).

My considerations:
- I know that the chainstays on the CC are not as short as advertised, they can be extended 1" for stability
- the CC horizontal dropouts are nice since I am quite paranoid about derailleur faillures
- I want to put the handlebars close to level with the saddle. Is that possible on the CC with the tiny HT? I don't want to end with a stupid amount of spacers
- With it's "unstable" geometry and low dropbar position I could assume on paper that the CC would be inferior to the LHT offroad/rough roads?
- I am a big fan of the Rivendell Atlantis and Hunqapillar, promoted as on/off road tourers, but with a 80mm BB drop. The LHT also sports a 78mm drop. Isn't this excessive for offroad trail riding with 175mm cranks?
- With exactly the same parts, would a LHT still be considered that slower than the CC? And that slowness, is it turning, climbing or going straight?

I would like to thank in advance for all the patience and help