I have been looking for something similar, a sturdy touring machine with disc brakes able to cope with some unmade paths.

Have you looked at the Jamis Bosanova? Some good reviews and at a reasonable cost. A bit more sporty than a traditional tourer.

If you want to go more towards touring than sporty/offroad then the Aurora Elite looks a beautiful machine.

Anyone any experience of Jamis? It looks like they are only available via Evans in this country.

Have to say at those prices the Sutra is unbeatable, next up the Kaffenbak

I’ve got a Kona Sutra – yes its heavy,but it doesn’t ride heavy.
It’s great for long distances and more than capable of a bit of off-road riding. It’s a proper touring bike so its built for stability etc, which means the BB is a bit lower, it’s steel so it can be repaired easily, etc.

and loaded up

What about using a 29er as a touring bike? Or doesn’t worth to overload that fancy tubes? 🙂

I’ve alu CX bike, too… but the chainstay is too short and that bike is isn’t for touring, that’s for racing! 🙂 I need a jack-of-all-trades bike which I could ride anywhere (and nowhere) for months.

Sutra then. Just get it done!

Sutra £1000 – good to go with both racks and mudguards straight out of the box – other than swapping saddle for a Brooks I’ve changed nothing on mine since new.

kona explosif

drotos – Member
What about using a 29er as a touring bike? Or doesn’t worth to overload that fancy tubes?

I toured on a Big Kahunna this summer. Only 600 miles and as it’s for flat bars the TT was a bit long, short stem didn’t matter too much with front panniers on.

It’s now my monstercross/cx bike and ROCKS 😡

Not ugly at all – but the handling will always be compromised, unless you go about 2-3 sizes smaller

I haven’t found that but, horses for courses and all that.

I’ve got two Surly’s, a Cross Check and the Monkey and they both handle beautifully.

Surly LHT Disc or perhaps the Ogre if you wanted something a bit more suited to rough trails. Both 700C wheels, disks and decent hauling capacity?

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/disc_trucker

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/ogre

I’d also advise against a Roadrat for touring – great bikes but as a previous poster said, bit too springy for heavy loads.

There are the 29er versions (I’d like drop bars):

Salsa Fargo
Singular Gryphon

Anything else? Why are these 29ers worse than any dedicated touring bike?

I think these frames are lighter than the Kona Sutra or the Genesis Croix de Fer…

Why are these 29ers worse than any dedicated touring bike?

I guess they have the potential to be a bit heavy because of the larger chunkier wheels, but then again I’ve got a Thorn Sherpa in the garage with 26″ wheels and it weighs more than the moon.

That said it will probably outlast the moon…

They should work well but aren’t light.

I’ve checked the frames and these 29ers are lighter… anything else depends on me. 🙂 Or… sg against these frames?

Probably light on paper due to no racks, mudguards etc. Also a lot of 29er will not have suitable rack mounts and with too much tyre clearance a pain to fit proper guards etc.

wot no surly troll?

Singular gryphon will do everything your looking for.

I have used mine with racks,various tyre comb’os and with cross tyres too it is the do everything bike that does everything brilliantly.

ebb is solid and trouble free.

thekingofsweden – What kind of rack have You used with Gryphon?

Salsa Vaya?

Just got one to use as a winter road bike as I don’t like dual pivot rim brakes in wet weather. Only had a couple of rides on it so far but quietly impressed. Handles very nicely, very tidy welding / paint etc, and has full complement of eyelets for guards, front and rear racks and even a pump peg. The rear disc mounts on the chain stay to avoid any problems with it getting in the way of the rack / guard mounts.

Built up with my old Ultegra 6500 groupset, Avid BB7s (road), Thompson stem & post, EA70 drop bars, XT SPDs, Hope hubs with Mavic Open Pros and SKS full guards it weighs in at about 24lbs (which is a bit noticeable compared to my Merlin Extralight with DA at 15lbs!).

Somebody bought my Kona frame from CRC, so I have to find sg lighter, by all appearances. :S 😀