Originally Posted by Michel Gagnon

The Devinci bikes are great bikes, but I don't like their touring bike designs. They use the same frame design for touring, cyclocross and I think hybrid (commuting). So, compared to a touring-specific bike frame, there are some drawbacks and... a few advantages:
– Higher bottom bracket, which means you'll need to step off the saddle to put your feet on the ground.
– Small frame sizes with oblique top tube, which means less room for water bottles, longer seatpost (bad), but also easier to reach the ground (good).
– Shortish chainstays; if you have long feet, watch out.
– Braze-ons for cantilever and disc brakes, and the rear disc brake is attached to the chainstay, so there is little interference with any rack you choose... and you can have the brakes you want. A drawback is that the fork is beefier than it would need to be otherwise.
– Lots of room for wide tires (a good thing).

BTW, such a design is not the best for "traditional" bicycle touring (on asphalt), but it is great for off-the-beaten-track touring. And between their two or three models, it's basically a difference in components.


Marinoni officially has one touring model, the Turismo. However, I find it much more suited for sports touring or randonneuring. For instance, it is fairly short and doesn't have clearance for more than 700x32 with fenders.

Cycles Bertrand is well known in the Ottawa area. Frames are built by Marinoni according to Bertrand's specs and the rest is hand-built by one of the Bertrands. I have heard good news but never saw one.

And in Toronto, Urbane Cyclist has its own house brand. Their tourer is built in Toronto on a frame made in Asia, so you can have it the way you want. Bottom bracket a little bit higher than I'd like, but it is generally a well-designed touring frame.