Originally Posted by jefnvk

That, and like pedals, everyone has something different that they like. Why equip a nice bike with a $100 saddle and a nice pair of pedals and increase the cost, when the majority of purchasers are immediately going to replace them with something else?

As to the saddle thing, it is personal, best you can do is just try a bunch until you find one you like. Don't discount anything because it doesn't hit a certain price point or perceived quality, my favorite came in pretty rough shape on an $85 vintage bike I bought that I decided to give a try instead of just throwing away. I now own a pile of that model for all my bikes, grabbing them off eBay when I can find them for $20-30. Would have never otherwise considered trying one, had it not been sitting in front of me.

All of that said, riding 60-80km a week in preparation for a trip you are riding that three times that distance in a day is probably not enough.