I understand the sentiment that just about any bike that you might travel on can be a "touring bike" in one sense of the word, and I agree with it. I may finally be building up a bike using a "touring frame" in the next month or two, but I would have just as gladly toured/overnighted/bike camped using my current hybrid frame.

That being said, I have a bookmark on my computer for all bike listings on the local CL page that contain the word touring. Today, I saw this:

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...953437562.html

<SNIP>Huffy Santa Fe Cruiser . Ladies 26 inch . Beautiful - $80

Excellent condition. No visible tire wear.

Comfortable, touring / beach bike. </SNIP>

This is NOT a touring bike. Why do so many people post bikes like this and refer to them in some way as a "touring bike"? I just don't get it.

I think a lot of people think of touring as in "touring around the neighborhood."

perhaps to a person not of the bicycle lifestyle persuasion...
I could see a "loss in translation" occurring

a touring bike?
perhaps as if it were the type of bike a tourist would ride down the boardwalk, or promenade

to the cycling affectionado obviously a touring bike is what you'd ride on Tour
for lack of simile
touring bikes are to bicycles what a Continental is to automobiles
Continentals are vastly known as an automobile manufacturer, not the type of auto-car which was differentiated from sedans, and cabriolets by its obvious spare wheel(s) typically mounted either on the trunk and/or along its running boards near the front of the vehicle...

simply put, a majority of people just don't realize the differences

exactly, like an "walking tour of art galleries"

You forgot the most important part of the ad:

The bike looks great on the front of your RV.

I've noticed that traditional touring bikes differ depending on the country they originate from such as the French touring bike from the English tourers. The Italian touring bike from the American. Rando vs. fully loaded or expedition vs. credit card. It's kind of a culture shock to find out my English racer wasn't really a racing bike at all. Or all racing bikes are 10 speeds. To the non-bike people touring is just a bicycle related word, check out the descriptions on eBay sometime.

Writer Dervla Murphy wrote on her trip 'from Ireland to India' that the bike was simplified to a one speed for reliability.

You're really going to worry about what some dude lists on Craigslist...?

What - you don't go shopping for a touring bike at Kmart?

EKW, It's DC craigslist. So many flippers trying to peddle yard sale junk it's getting impossible anymore to find good deals. I like all the road bikes labeled as Tri bikes. Not to mention the guy in Alexandria still trying to foist off that 2008 Fuji Professional as new for twice the price as what it sold for.

You should see the insanity on the Miami / S Florida craiglist. The more savvy sellers are proficient at using the buzzword du jour, and you don't know it's a Huffy until you click on the link.

Then there are the freaky ones - there was an ad a few months ago for an "ultralight folding bike" that featured this photo:



It's actually a pretty nice Strida, but where do I find an autoclave that it will fit in?

It's a Huffy. Why would you expect the owner to know anything about bicycles?

Do a search on eBay for "touring bike." Very few of the items that come up will be actual touring bikes. To many people, a touring bike is just another name for a 10-speed or bike with gears.

You have road bikes and mountain bikes. If it is not one of those it must be a touring bike.

Wow, tourist elitism!

Any ride on any bike can be a tour...which is why anyone who isn't a racer is (was) often called a tourist.
Don't hate, deal with it with adjectives like loaded, unsupported, multi-day, etc.