GT Nomad 2006 Ltd.
 

I'm considering this bike as the bike I will be using to make my Boston to Portland trip...what does everyone think?

http://www.gtbikes.com/pavement/cata...usa&brand=pave

It does have a suspension fork, but it also has lockout. It's either a toss up between this or making my own out of various parts (I work at a bike shop so the price difference wouldn't really be an affect). I also think that I could manage to fit some panniers etc. plus fenders and a trailer onto the frame. It seems very sturdy.

My only concern is flat bars vs. drop bars. What's the general feeling about touring on flat bars as opposed to drop bars? I'm all still very up in the air about this so I'm pretty open to what people have to say.

I have a 2006 Nomad (not the Ltd.) and am very pleased. For a long tour I would probably drop down to a 35 0r 38 mm tire rather than the OEM 42. Since the great majority of people are going to ride the drop bars on the flats anyway, you will be just as well off with the straight bars. They have a pretty good range of adjustability.