EKW in DC

I'm about to build up a Surly LHT (waiting for the already ordered frame and fork to arrive at the LBS) and I hope to finally do a couple weekend/long trips this spring and summer. I'm with those who use their touring bike for everything, or perhaps more properly stated, have a bike that also gets used for touring on top of lots of other use. The hybrid I currently ride will serve as a donor bike for the LHT build; there's no N+1 for me. My LHT will be my daily commuter, my grocery getter, my weekend fun rider, and my touring bike all in one. IOW, it will see action at least 5 days a week and go at least ~3,500 miles a year, plus whatever touring miles I manage to put on it, too.

xyzzy834

My touring bike is pretty much dedicated to touring. I ride it a bit more when I'm getting ready for a trip to make sure everything is working well. It would be fine for other tasks, but I have other bikes that work better for those.

My lightweight, sporty bike is more fun to ride when I'm out for exercise.

My 20-year old Trek steel frame road bike with a rack and grocery bag panniers is my "go to the store" or commuting bike (if I commuted). It rides great with some hand-me-down parts from my other bikes, but it isn't worth a fraction of the cost of my tourer or sporty bike. It's the only bike I'm comfortable locking up and leaving my sight for longer periods of time. It's also the only bike I'm comfortable locking the rear triangle into a trainer for the winter, so it gets lots of "miles" without going anywhere.

The mountain bike is best suited for off-road stuff.

The vintage bike is in a state of partial restoration. It'll always be more of a "having" bike than a "riding" bike.

I'm on the lookout for the right tandem for yet another need.

Bike collecting is a chronic disease. There's no known cure.

tarwheel 

My touring bike is my regular commuter, so it gets ridden more often than any of my bikes. In my opinion, riding a bike often keeps it in better repair because I maintain it -- keep the tires filled and replaced as needed, clean and oil the chain, replace the cables once a year, etc.

cyclist2000

Very true. Things that are kept running, keep running.
Thats why I ride all my bikes yearly and always keep them maintained.

pdlamb

I ride a touring bike as a commuter almost daily. Things wear, but so what? A bike has a fair number of consumables, things that are likely to need replacement as part of a maintenance routine. If you're up to 1,000 miles now, I'd keep riding it. Check the chain for wear with a ruler every month or so, replace as needed. You'll probably wear out a rear tire (or two) on a long tour, so you might want to replace that before your leave. Change the bar tape whenever it starts to fall apart, or when you want new tape, whichever comes first.

Oh, and put some Kool-stop Salmon brake pads on ASAP. Those will last for a long time, and will not trap grit that can abrade your rims.

Carbonfiberboy 

Our racing limo (also known as a CoMo Speedster)? You bet we ride it frequently. Why wouldn't we? It's light, it fits us, it's fun. Highly recommended that your touring bike fit these words, so you'd love riding it every day, whether commuting, going on group rides, or just having fun.

Of course, this is easy for us to say, since we have a team weight of "only" 305 lbs. Our bike can easily handle 450 lbs. Clydesdales have a disadvantage here, since they will need a specialized heavy-duty touring bike, probably different from their every day sport bike.

gamecock

Rivendell's Sam Hillborne is the only workable bike that lives here. I sold my Trek, and there are a number of pieces and parts in the basement if anyone cares to make an offer. I'm sixty, one's enough, of a lot of things.

DVC45

My Trek 520 is my regular "go to" bike.

<------ had never toured (yet).

Enthusiast

My touring bike can do anything. Of course I ride it often.

Kip

I've used my Trek 520 for touring the past nine summers as well as recreational rides and daily commutes. I have an older road bike but prefer the 520 for its comfort and reliability. My chain is kept cleaned and replaced as it gets worn but periodically I have to replace chainrings, cassette, derailleur wheels, cables and brakes. At just under 50,000 miles on the bike I am preparing for a major overhaul which includes the items mentioned, bottom bracket and headset. In a sense, my goal is to wear the bike out.

BigBlueToe

When I only had one road bike (my old tourer) I rode it all the time. It was a great all-rounder. I'd take the front rack off unless I was touring, but that was it.

When I bought my LHT it was my only road bike, so I rode it all the time. I rode it on two centuries.

Then I bought an Allez. Now I mostly ride my LHT on tours (and love it!) I'll start riding it a month or two before a tour to get used to bar-end shifters. I occasionally ride it "into town" when I'm going to buy something that will only fit in panniers.

neil

My Aurora is my daily use bike (at least during the summer) first, and a tourer second. Touring bikes are probably amongst the most practical all-purpose designs out there, so I imagine that even if I owned more bikes, this would be my general use bike.

sehsuan

for a moment i'd thought your bike was literally, taken aback by the roads in texas...

i only have one mountain bike, it's my do-it-all. that means it gets to be my primary transport when i'm visiting some customers staying near my home, some eateries within a 3km radius of my home, leisure riding and offroading. now i'm having a puzzle how NOT to lose the thomson round-clamp within the stem when i have to take off the stem, because i have the ortlieb handlebar bag mount across the stem/handlebar. urgh.