A "fully loaded" tourer should have:

• braze-ons for fenders, front and rear racks, front low rider rack, at least two (preferably three) bottle cages, pump peg, and possibly even braze ons for storing extra spokes
• long wheelbase to prevent heel strike against panniers bags (and for a smoother ride)
• thicker tubing than racing bikes (to handle the extra weight)
• relaxed geometry
• room for wide tires with fenders
• cantilever brakes for robust stopping power
• strong wheels (either strong double-wall box-section rims or high spoke count)
• wide-range gearing to handle any climbs with a full load

Seconding Bluesdaddy's comment abou Shoguns, Here's a picture of a 1984 Shogun 2000, a representative example of the 1980s Japanese tourers. It has most of the above attributes:

Here is my example of the Schwinn Passage. What Schwinn offered in 1986 in place of the Le Tour Luxe.

A few quick reviews of some popular touring bikes:

https://www.bicycle-touring-guide.com...g-bicycle.html

In looking at the responses to this question it's clear that there are lots of different ideas about what "touring" is.
Cycling loaded with baggage or loaded with a credit card, drop bars, touring bars, fat tire / skinny tire and lots of other factors are assumed.

Taramenel - what do you mean by "Touring"
How many days on the road?
What do you plan on carrying?
What kind of weather will you ride in? (if you are a fair weather rider maybe you don't need fenders)
What kind of roads to you plan on using? Some people ride on paved roads only, others have access to gravel bike paths that cover long distances.
What kind of terrain? Cycling through Florida might be a different setup than cycling through the Rockies.

More information will generate more helpful advice.

Thanks for the rapid replies and the idea's being thrown around. I'm looking for a possible lightly loaded tourer that I can also use unloaded on a day-to-day basis, possibly as a commuter. I have a long commute and also have been thinking about using my bike as a tourer so why not kill two birds with one stone. I won't be carrying a month's supply any time soon but also not doing the credit card type of touring. I'm also looking for something that I can use on and off road. Obviously this would be more tire choice for the tourer?

In the old days I did a bit of touring on my UO8.

Eyelets? We don't need no stinkin' eyelets.

Behold!

1976









1980











1984

Tire choice, yes, but tire choice is often dependent on the frame as well (clearances).

You may want to consider a vintage mtb as well - early ones were basically 26" wheel'ed touring frames. They go well offroad, and if your commute has a lot of start/stop action, 26 wheels have a lower moment of inertia (easier to accelerate from a stop). My personal preference is for the look and class of old tourers, but these vintage mtbs take the cake for low price and versatility.

I think another route to consider is a cyclocross bike...something more on the burly side. Surly Cross-Check, Vassago Fisticuff, Volpe...maybe even a Poprad with a fork change. Compact gearing for moving light-medium loads, tire clearance...they're good all rounders'.

Cycleheimer, you can add Centurion Elite GT to your list. It was a secondary model to the Pro Tour for a few years. There is at least one in the catalog section at the Sheldon Brown site. Here is a link......

Centurion 1984 Catalog

I hate ****ty cell phone pics! =0( Anyways heres my Voyageur almost completed.

Nice! not to derail the thread, but how do you like the Phoenix rack? They seem cheap and classy.

Havn't really used it yet. I plan on attaching a tool bag to it.

I’m always torn about posting pics of bikes that you ‘used’ to own, but this one is ‘special’ to me because it started my re-interest in vintage steel bikes. It was the first steel bike I had owned since I was 16 and my web searching to find out more about it brought me to the C&V Forum. It was a dinghy stored garage bike that I bought at a ridiculous price on a garage sale. Turned out to be an 85’ Expedition. Not a bad find for your first road bike in 30 years.

Dang, that a gorgeous Fuji. The blue one. Swap those bar-ends for DT shifters and that's be just about my ideal road bike. It's too big for me though, so I'll stop drooling.

Some class can be found in vintage MTBs.


Rack has been ordered, went with the Nitto MtCampee for the rear, still not sure what/if should go on the front.
This is an 88 Schwinn Sierra.
I really love the rear U brake for the look/cable routing of the bike, but it's a son of a ***** to deal with, a different year with just canti's front and rear would probably be much easier to work with. Chrome like mine and black chrome variants are really common and the frames tend to be pretty cheap (I picked this up frame/fork/headset for $30).
A triple fits easier than most bikes, since it's built for them. It has double eyelets on the rear for fenders and racks and rack mounts on the seatstays, and there are many nice front racks designed to mount to canti posts, there are however no rack mounts on the front otherwise.
I'm really liking the stem shifters so far (some old Suntour bits) but might switch to bar end depending on how it handles loaded up with 3 bags and a tent.
A 26" tire at 70-80 PSI has incredibly low rolling resistance and if something happens to go wrong on a trip, I think 26" gear is some of the most common around, at least in the US, thanks (I think) to the early 90s boom.
Plus you almost never have to worry about tire clearance. I've got 26"x2.00s jammed under my VO fenders.

Back to the thread in general, there are some hoooot bikes in this thread.
That baby blue shogun is something I would probably get some drool on if I saw it in person.

I am floored. that is great looking (I imagine my Schwinn High Sierra frame might have looked something like that had I not been a fool and sold it...)

I just wanted to chirp in to mention trailers if you are the type that doesn't like panniers. The one wheeled bob style are my favorite so far.

Somewhere on BF or perhaps elsewhere is the idea of Long Distance riding, light touring, and heavy touring. HT of course is rough-sleeping rough-cooking self-sufficiency for more than perhaps 2 weeks at a time. Think 50# of gear? Some will even carry fishing and hunting gear, for back-country survival.

To me, light touring ranges from SAGged week-long tours where you need to carry some reliability stuff (wrenches, lube, tubes, pump, et cetera), rain/cold gear, snacks, and other daily stuff, but your tent or spare clothing are in a truck. No cooksets.

Long Distance is as best defined in the LD forum here. Carrying needs can vary from pockets and a Camelback, to a stuffed Carradice and 9-liter front bag. But it's not usually tent, sleeping bags, and cooksets. Many experienced randos use go-fast bikes built with a little extra room and carrying capacity. I'm always surprised they're not talking about using the Specialized Roubaix.

I hate to get soaked or to drink from water bottles with road cr#p all over them, so I like fenders, even though they're often not required.

Back in the day, the Trek 720 was seen as an excellent heavy tourer. We now see it as too flexible, and heavy tourers want something stouter like a Long Haul Trucker. I did a few weekend tours with sleeping bag, tent, cookware, clothing and other stuff on a Pletscher rack, wiggling on the back of a tubular-equipped early '60s Italian race bike. There are a lot of different approaches that can work.

Haha! Never noticed that!

I was doing some searches for 83-85 Voyageurs and came across this guy's page:
https://sandro.knot.org/blog/bike-sta...touring-bikes/

He also has a nice spreadsheet showing differences of the Voyageurs over the years.

This might be helpful.

I've got a Schwinn High Sierra that I intended to turn into a touring bike for my wife but the top tube is too long, so I have no use for it...

I totally agree with Bianchigirl and others who said it depends on what kind out touring you are planning. I have several of the bikes on the list and mentioned and many would be suitable for credit card touring or supported touring. For loaded touring i like the long chain stays on a Trek 620 and a tubing set made for touring bikes, cantileaver brakes for stopping power and brazeons everwhere. The Bridgestone RBT and the Raleigh Touring 12, 14 or 18 (12 and 14 didn't have a triple but can be changed) will carry basic clothing and supplies for credit card touring but they are not as stable when loaded. They both have cantileavers for stopping power.

I would choose a Raleigh Gran Sport over an International for touring if I were going to buy one. The chain stays are 1/2" longer for a better ride and they are half the price. The centerpull brakes are also very powerful with short enough straddle cables. I would consider one for supported touring with no mountains.

Many bikes like this do not have a triple and if you are carrying a load in hilly country a touring triple will be a blessing. Sometimes there just isn't a gear low enough by the end of a day.

A mountain bike can be converted to a rugged touring bike if the top tube isn't too long for you but get some personal fit advice before going that way.

Most of the true touring bikes aren't made of Reynolds 531 or Columbus SLX or the like because of the expected weight loads and it isn't worth paying a lot to save a pound or two if you are going to be carrying 40# of gear. Whatever you consider make the bike bulletproof with as many spokes are you can get in a wheel, rugged components and compatable parts with everyone else you are touring with for spares. Just one old guy's thoughts

A lot of bikes people have toured on are not ideally suited for touring, but the notion of "ideal" depends on what is meant by "touring." You can tour on a lot of different styles of bike. The OP asked for ideas. I don't think the bikes I mentioned should be excluded.

He didn't ask for "cheapest," or "best suited for heavy touring," or "Japan only."

Braze-ons are nice to have, but not required. They do reduce clutter. We don't know if the OP is a clutter freak or not.

Note to the OP: if you decide your bike requirements include extra-long chainstays, be aware that not all Trek 620s have them. You should research (www.vintage-trek.com) how their geometry changed over the years, if you need long chainstays. Few things are more frustrating than opening the box from Ebay and finding that the frame does not meet your requirements even though it is exactly as advertised by the seller.