Originally Posted by
brad3104
I guess by entry level i mean the price. Im not looking to spend $2k on a bike. And since i like simple things im not going to be adding lots of extra stuff to it or modifying it. I was leaning towards the safari because the handle bars seems like they provide a good amount of positions. And of course I can test ride it easily. And well the sticker price for a full bike with a rack at $850 doesnt seem too bad.
Folks will fret and fuss over each and every component on their bikes, but when it comes right down to it
any dedicated touring bike is quite adequate and the impact of bike or component selection on the total touring experience will be extremely minimal IMO. The only exceptions will be if you don't have low enough gearing for the terrain or if the fit and setup are not right.
Some folks are really into the bike itself, and if they are happy with that it is fine, but... Touring does not need to have much to do with the specifics of the bike itself. A tour on a $600 bike and one on a $6000 one are just not that much different.
Off the original topic, but...
How much you carry will have a much bigger impact. I find that the less I carry the better the experience is, at least to a point. For me the I am guessing that I will find the sweet spot at between 20 and 25 pounds of gear. I am working toward that, my last tour I carried 30 pounds and there are still quite a few items I would not miss or that could be replaced with lighter ones without breaking the bank.