10 pounds is not touring. People tour on fixies and SS bikes as well. Good luck with that. If it works for you, great. YRMV. Studded tires work great on ice roads, much safer too. The 1x10( or 11) is very popular with the mt bike crowd. 26 -38 up front, 42 -11 rear.
Last edited by Leebo; 11-17-14 at 09:40 AM.