I have a different opinion. I have toured, along with my wife, me on a modded Raleigh Twenty, she on a Yeah (rebranded Dahon Helios). You wouldn't get many people that would regard these bikes as suitable for touring, yet we were just fine on our 1200km 3-week tour of Tasmania (see sig for link to photo album). As long as the bike has suitable gearing, mudguards and racks and panniers can be fitted without heel strike, I think just about any bike is good. So I think the DT is good for that, especially the internal hub version.