Hi Folks....

I'm thinking of buying a Jamis Aurora Elite http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/bikes/...roraelite.html . Here's my thinking: I will likely do one tour, maybe two in a summer and I want a bike that can handle that as well as a good bike for commuting. I've thought about a LHT, but at 5'7" I'd need to go with 26" wheels and that will not give me the more nimble ride I like when not touring. I understand that even though Jamis calls the Aurora Elite a touring bike, it's not a pure touring bike (short-ish seat stays & would likely have to swap the cranks to tour).

I thought about the regular Aurora, but I'm not happy with the spec, there is too much I'd want to change: Tiagra and Deore drivetrain vs. Ultegra & 105 on the Elite. In neither case do the cranks/chainrings make a whold lot of sense on a touring bike (particularly not if loaded), so that would be a wash, I'd probably change them both.

Is there anything I'm not thinking of witht he Elite that would be a real problem touring? I (think I) can remedy the short chainstay with a OMM Red Rock rear rack http://www.arkel-od.com/racks/redRoc...asp?fl=1&site= . I'll have to look into how difficult it is to swap out the BB & cranks for (say) an XT set. Not sure about compatibility issues, but as long as there are none, I'm sure I can do it myself as I've done all my other maintenance.

What do you think? I know I can't have the best of both worlds, but do you think I can turn an Aurora Elite into a half decent loaded tourer?

Thanks for any advice.