Originally Posted by
cyber.snow
I thought I was down to two choices...the seemingly king of touring bikes, the Surly Disc Trucker and the much cheaper REI special Safari. So I went out and rode both bikes. The safari felt good but I was really turned off by the fact that the lines to the rear brakes and shifter ran down the top of the center bar and visions of jumping off and getting pinched in the wrong placed danced through my head.
That's a really silly thing to be concerned about. Really.
Some other choices:
- Jamis Aurora Elite
- Kona Sutra
- Raleigh Sojurn
Then frames from Soma.
Finding touring bikes to test ride is a *****, especially with local shops that don't see much sales in this style of bike. It might help to do a fitting at an LBS so you know what dimensions and sizes to be looking at.