I think Marqueemoon hit the ride expectations about right. And based on that, while there are people who choose the
PR 90% for touring, and those who choose the LHT 90% for comuting... The real intended service is that the LHT is a tourer, and the
PR is more a city bike.
The
PR frame pakage is a lot more exciting. I would want to just buy it for the fun value, it might be a little pretty for the beater role. There are people who prefer the kind of ride the
PR offers for touring too. In fact a lot of the bikes that are now being superceeded had the tighter rear ends, and so forth.
Unfortunately the
PR front end choices seem to empower hay bale carrying and not the evolution of a modern tourer. From what I recall it ends up with standard geometry given that the head tube can't be angled to retain touring trail. That isn't a point against, but it isn't a point up either. I hope I remeber that point correctly I find getitng around the K site a changing experience.
If it was my choice I would decide first which use is the higher priority. I would tend to favour touring because even if I was riding every day, comutes tend not to be too heroic. One figures out the drill, gets the skills required to do the same route over and over again. There is a big difference between what is required to remain comfortable for an hour or two day by day, and 10 hours day by day.
My choice would in part be driven by the wheel choice. I think the 26 has the edge, but a person might prefer a 700. Depending on the frame size I would seek out the one that would allow me to run my wheel choice and then assess from that point. I wouldn't tour on a 650b, unless there is a decent folding tire, and most of my touring was fairly civilized. I would check whether the tire cost was greater with 650b, for a comuter, though I don't know that would sway me either way.
Finally while I love the
PR package, I don't really get the whole I want a grocery delivery bike vibe. I wish it had been possible to take all that genius and push out a pure touring bike.