Originally Posted by
corwin1968
There are simply too many options in good tires now to buy a bike with less clearance than 50mm tires and no real reason to ride less than 40mm tires. My opinion is that if might be riding off pavement, I want 50mm tires....at least.
OP, if you are looking for a bike, find a Surly dealer and test ride a Troll, Ogre or Karate Monkey. Any of those would be fantastic for the riding you are describing and you would have maximum versatility in tire width.
Also, Surly Disc Trucker 26"/559mm version fits tires up to 2.1"/53mm wide if one desires a bike w/drop bar. OTOH, Truckers have a
long wheelbase with inherently softer ride so that when surface conditions permit a narrower tire the bumps are still easier to absorb than with some other touring bikes.
Trek 920 looks pretty sweet w/lots of nice features ie alu frame, tire clearance & hydro brakes--not amenable to S&S but that's a fairly minor point. OTOH has some weirdness like (
AFAIK) 28-spoke wheels & 42-tooth big chainring? Trek 720 comes with 28mm tires, not sure max width allowed. Gearing is not ideal either. Also Trek's 720 page has an apparent error: fork is carbon but one pic shows the "low touring mounts" on a steel fork?