Originally Posted by
edthesped
I'd argue a LHT is overkill for above needs and furthermore would be a dog on the "weekly or twice weekly 30-50 mile local rides"
Having a LHT like bike, Novara Randonee and a Salsa Vaya I can say the Randonee is only ridden when I carry heavy loads, i.e. carrying my gear and lightening the load for the wife and kids. It handles heavy well but isn't much fun otherwise. Right now my riding habits are like yours except my daily commute is your item 2 and I exclusively use a Salsa Vaya for the task as it is far more fun to ride than the Randonee. If I were starting over I would still consider the Vaya but would look at the plethora of other bikes that have come to market in recent times that also fit the bill... Niner RLT 9, Specialized Sequoia, Kona Rove etc.... The "adventure" bikes, in my opinion, are much better all around bikes. They don't quite excel at any one type of riding but are great for multi use riding...
ya I tend to agree with this logic.
I have a 2010 Tricross, a supposed "cross bike" I got in the triple version to use/replace my old tourer. It is one of these "inbetween" bikes that can handle panniers and ride perfectly fine, yet is still fun enough to ride unloaded and I can stay with roadies up to a certain point, and it handles nicely yet isnt as nimble as a pure road bike but still ok.
as this fellow stated, there are lots of bikes like this out there, unfortunately most come with doubles, I personally still find a triple to be the most versatile for all kinds of riding.
as I said before, do a whole bunch of test rides and take notes, but I would definately go for something thats more "fun" to ride, but can still easily handle racks and panniers for the times you want.
My alu frame tricross handled a 40-45lb load (front and rear panniers) rather well, although Im a light guy, which helps, but given that you probably will only have rear panniers on the bike loaded infrequently, many bikes will work well for this--the gearing issue is another topic, and one you'll have to look into (although, be prepared for all store empolyees to tell you that "sure, the gearing is really low on this bike, you'll be able to tour on it Nooooo problemmmm")