Originally Posted by
LittleBigMan
Thanks for the fantastic replies. Ok, now the finer points: my budget is $600, I need to mount a rack and panniers without heel strike, I prefer touring bike comfort and gearing.
All the suggestions have been welcome. Any ideas in this area?
With your budget, I'd be trying to find a closeout special somewhere. Or possibly something of sort of "vintage". When I was searching for a geared road bike, they start at like 700, with a derailleurs that needed more attention than a Hummer with a one gallon gas tank.
I ended up getting an older steel Peugot. Next thing I know, I'm off doing more and more organized charity rides. From there I fell into the black hole of upgrading. CF fork, new campy groupo, Fulcrum wheelset, etc, etc. It sees the commute every so often, my main steed now is my 07 Schwinn Madison.
I'm saying good luck. And beware, the temptation to upgrade parts is very powerful.