Originally Posted by Shiznaz
I'm also interested in the heel strike issue. I am taking my Soma Doublecross on tour and it has the same chainstay length as the IRO cross and surly cross. I'm wondering whether I will have to buy expensive Tubus racks because they can mount the panniers really far back, or whether I can go with a cheaper, more available rack...
edit: rider-x, are those the 28L arkel mountain bags? What kind of rack?
I mounted a Tubus Fly to my LeMond last year for some geared brevets. Used small panniers and had room for more. I would have cleared my heels without any problems, but to give me a bit more room I made some small aluminum extensions that pushed the rack further back. Took an hour using some hardware store parts.
Tubus Racks are wonderful. I've looked at several and settled on the Fly for my needs.
Personally I'd go XC - I had a dedicated tourer (a Trek 520) that I recently sold as I never really got into it. The CC gives you lots of options for rigging the bike, gears or no, racks, fenders, wide tires. I love mine. Currently running it FG, and I have thought about lite touring on it with my Carradice saddlebag and a handlebar bag.