Touring bicycles are designed with a view to being loaded up with panniers, bar bag etc, in order to carry luggage required for a unsupported tour, this doesn’t mean to say that is their only use, it may be that the extra clearance afforded by the touring bike may be useful for mud clearance, or it may be that the extra versatility of the touring bike may give more options in the future and if the performance element of the bike is less important and the comfort and tyre clearance more important then may be the Touring style bike is the better option.
Typically a touring cycle would have clearances as large as possible, with cantilever brakes to allow this, longer wheelbase to avoid interference with the panniers and every conceivable braze-on, mudguard eyes, carrier eyes front and rear, three sets of bottle bosses, we generally fit gear lever bosses on the the down tube which are generally converted to cable stops, this is to give the options open as much as possible if problems arise away from the availability of items we consider to be the norm in the UK.
A touring bicycle in a nutshell is a comfortable and reliable bicycle, which is not concerned with performance as a race bike would be.
View Hewitt Rohloff touring bikes
View Hewitt Cheviot suggested specifications
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