Originally Posted by
dualresponse
I think for light/ credit card touring on relatively flat ground the current crop of gravel/adventure bikes potentially could be great. I think a custom carbon frame built up for a specific task could be great, but most of these bikes seemed to be aimed at checking off as many boxes as possible to appeal to the masses. Cyclocross.. Gravel Riders..adventure riders..light tourers..
There are lots of "gravel" type bikes that look pretty well set up for extended self supported tours in all sorts of terrain. I like the Specialized Diverge as it has decent gearing at 48/32x11/34, room for big tires if you want, and a bit of suspension for some rougher stuff. The frame has mounts for 3 bottles and racks and fenders, although I'd use rackless bags and use lightweight equipment to keep gear and bike combined weight under 40lbs. I'm sure there are lots of other really nice relaxed geometry bikes out there that will make fantastic long distance tourers.