just curious here as usual.but is there a touring bike that's considered the very best in everything a touring bike should be.

I doubt there will be a best due to so many personal opinions. I see the Surly LHT as a popular touring bike and liked by most, I would say in the disc bike category I would enjoy the Salsa Vaya.

Everything depends on what type of touring you're going to do.

If I could afford it (I probably can) and if I could justify it (I probably can't), this would be it.

https://www.koga.com/uk/bike.asp?coll...102&id=9525419

This one:

https://www.pbase.com/canyonlands/fullyloaded

That would be a custom hand made frame , made to your specifications,
and sizing needs , then fitted with just the parts you prefer.

several frame builders can satisfy that desire.. You got a sky's the limit budget?


One feature a touring bike is better for having is a stiff top tube.
laterally stiff , I Built a frame with 2 side by side top tubes.
I handles with a touring load so much nicer than my 'classic'
specialized expedition, which had an oscillation with every pedal stroke,
because the load on the rear rack worked like a lever.
tail literally can wag the dog.

a laterally ovalized top tube may be a fairly light frame build solution..

ok there all good but there has to be better. the koga has a problem and that's in the the way the head set is made,well not so much a problem but the average cyclist would have problems trying to fix it.
the surly is good from what i see, well it's popular probably because it's cheap enough for the average man /woman to buy.
depends what touring ,well a bike that can handle anything it's come's across .it should climb well/ it should be light with no flex when loaded,and it should be affordable.

Keep it simple No indexing, to go out of whack , part of the DIY fix requirement.

FWIW I have a R'off hub, only need to add a tiny bit of oil in it every once in a while, the complicated parts were taken care of, shifting is just 2 cables
pulling in opposite directions. grip shifter is dead simple .

Co Motion US and Tout Terrain, German,imported, just a couple of the many builders of frames to optimize these hubs, for touring..

also available across the pond , Koga's signature program, bike build menu..

Koga not sold much in the US , somehow I found this one Used, an '04 factory build,

https://www.cyclofiend.com/working/20...clark1008.html

I tour on a Surly LHT and I like it a lot. However, if I could afford one, I'd go for a Co-motion Americano.

It looks like a simple threaded headset which isn't all that hard to work on. It's futzy but not impossible. It wouldn't be my first choice for headset because a threadless is a far superior design.

The Surly is popular because it's well designed and inexpensive. It's also available in a lot of sizes you just don't find in touring bikes. People who are very small can get an inexpensive touring frame while people who are very large can also get a cheap frame. If the bike has any flaws, it's the weight of a steel touring frame, especially for small riders.

i ride as you probable know by now the thorn sherpa,ok it's a great bike and knowing what i know about it ,would i buy it again even with all all the top notch gear i have on it, NO i would not.
it's a solid as a rock loaded or unloaded but it's a dog on climbs, ok i know the pilot is half to blame ,but give me a light weight frame and 700c wheels any day.
there has to be a bike frame out there that has all the fittings for a what makes a good tourer .

The question is unanswerable as asked.

A woman who is 5' tall, weighs 100 lb, and plans on touring only on paved roads will have a different idea about what's best than a guy who is 6'5, weighs, 200 lb, and is going to be riding on hardpack. A person who plans on doing weeklong tours in a developed nation will have different priorities from a person who plans to spend a year riding from Moscow to Beijing.

This little gal talks about her LHT. 5,000 miles, 3 mountain ranges.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lurksmar...08/YXcj03dd-r4

I agree as stated above, an excellent custom build would be the absolute best. Everything else by definition will contain some compromise.

I've seen the Koga up close and it's incredibly built and strong. My Jamis Aurora or the Trek 520 look skinny and weak compared to that bike.

As for the headset, there's a couple doing a trip around the world, developed problems with their headset and could not find anyone to fix it. I don't know where they are located but that headset can be fixed by any bike shop here in my town. I sent an email to Koga on this headset and they said something to the effect that a competent bike shop would be able to fix it. I had a couple of threaded headset fixed over the years and it's not has hard as one would think but experience will make the difference.

There's more to that story and I read they were hoping Koga would give them new bikes after all the promotion or a larger cut for bikes they sold. When this didn't happen, everything went downhill afterward.

This couple did a lot of damage to the Koga brand and the headset "Problem" has become a reality in people's minds more than anything else. I suspect it must have cost Koga thousands in lost sales and it would be in their best interest to resolve this issue.

Yes mine.

OK, ok, I might be a little biased, but I love my touring bike. I suspect other posters might feel the same about their bikes too.....

Seriously, the best touring bike is the one you like and use.

Co-Motion Americano or Pangea, depending on whether you want 700C or 26" wheels. I think these are among the best touring bikes out there, bar none, and I say this having tried a few. Expensive, yes, but you didn't say budget, you said best. Just my opinion, of course...

Neil

+1

The best touring bike is mine (Surley LHT, size 62.) Okay, that's a ridiculous claim, but it's based on the information at hand. I don't think you can really rate a touring bike unless you've taken it on a few tours to judge things like handling, reliability, comfort, features, ride quality, etc.

If I win the lottery, maybe I'll buy a stable of the top-rated tourers and take each of them on 2 or 3 long tours. Maybe then I'll know.

I haven't won yet. What I did was tour for about 18 years on a bike that was okay but quite flawed (a Nashbar "Shimano Equipe" bought mail-order in 1992. It was pink.) I thought about all the features I'd like in my next tourer (especially fixes to the Nashbar's flaws.) I read this forum and others and paid attention. I did research. I decided on the LHT because it seemed to fit my needs at a good price.

It has only pleased me and I have nothing to complain about. Hence, I name it the best touring bike ever.

If I could take your tourer on tour I might change my mind. Of course, I can't go on more than one or two tours a year, and I don't want them spoiled by riding an unsuitable bike, so even if anyone was crazy enough to take me up on my offer, I'd probably decline.

What's your choice as the best tourer ever?

P. S. I really would like to try a Co-Motion Americano, so if anyone has one they'd like to lend - about 62 or XXL - I'd be happy to give it a test. Anyone?

Yes, the one that you're comfortable riding on a tour.

thanks all, you see i don't see why a touring bike should be heavy .if it's built by someone who knows it should ride perfectly on any terrain, it should climb as good as any top notch road bike .
i really don't think an off the peg bike will stand up to the mark be honest do you.
my next touring frame will be custom with tighter angles but no toe overlap issue i'm thinking reynods 853 oversized tubing/ lugged frame . everything else will be left to the frame builder.
and hopefully he will get it wright.

There is no such thing as a bike that is "perfectly on any terrain". It's an impossibility. A bike that excels on pavement will be poor on rough singletrack, and a bike that's awesome on rough singletrack will be less desirable on pavement.

Yep.
I currently have 5 bikes and they all are for different uses. I don't have a touring bike, but am planning to use my cyclocross bike for light/cc touring. My next bike might be a Salsa Fargo Ti for off road touring, so still no traditional touring bike in the future, although I'm sure the Fargo Ti would do just fine on the road with road tires and fully loaded. All bikes, just like all the equipment for touring, come with tradeoffs that must chosen based on the intended use.

A touring bike (any bike) is a compromise. What a custom built bike gives you is a great fit. I'm not sure you can reach all of those objectives even with a custom bike. Some of the may not be attaiable, e.g, stiff oversized tubing vs Light weight, tighter angles vs less toe overlap (I think tighter angles will actually increase overlap), stability vs. agility. Granted, you can look for the optimum combination. My wife has a cutom built Co-Motion, and it is a great bike. Not because it climbs like a homesick angel, or leaps buildings with a single bound, but becuase it fits her like a glove. The workmanship and finish are excellent, and it is a little lighter than a comparable size LHT. However, when fully loaded I doubt if it climbs any better than her old touring bike. Good luck on your quest

The Bruce Gordon RNR seems to have been overlooked in this thread about "Best Touring Bike". Some twenty-two years ago Bruce Gordon through his RNR co-designer Gary Helfrich made a Ti custom version of his RNR for me with an ovalized and oversized down tube. It was and is a functional and beautiful polished metal sculpture to me. I am a clydesdale who likes to tour on and off pavement. This bike still amazes me every time I ride it whether on tour or around town. It handled the Divide Ride in its rigid form with ease except for the deepest sandy portions.

Contrary to the above statements that no one bike can work well in all terrain I would disagree. Two decades later I would only change the maximum tire width beyond the 700x47 current limit with full fenders and increase the rear spacing to fit a nine speed drivetrain. Add the BG RNR to any list about best touring bikes!

at last thank you arctos ,a well made bike will ride any surface that's a fact and do it in comfort,depending on what tour you want to do it's the wheels /tires that will get you through the rough stuff .
the tighter angles will give you a faster bike and a better climber.

please dont get me wrong i appreciate that everyone thinks there bike is as good as they come but i think the bike manufacturers would have you believe you need a tank to carry all the loaded panniers ,you don't.