Originally Posted by staehpj1

I have seen quite a few who were doing just fine on them. Some on coast to coast and other long tours with real mountains. Some even were carrying heavier loads and didn't have a really big cluster on the back. I'd consider a road double or compact double with a wide range cluster on the rear and a very light load. If I toured in flatter terrain I'd even consider regular road bike gearing, but since I tend to tour in the mountains and am in my mid 60s I do tend to need fairly low gears where it gets steep at all.