many moons ago i did a few audax rides, and quite enjoyed them. even managed a 180 miler event.
so i am fancying trying a few more.
i have a surly disc trucker, it weighs a absolute ton. it is very nice for pottering about on whilst touring, but hard work to ride quickly on.
so thinking of buying something a bit sportier. or should i just change to tyres to something a bit quicker.

Talk to Spa Cycles in Harrogate, audax and touring is their thing, and they have an interesting range of their own brand bikes

I’ve done the majority of my Audax rides on an arkose. It’ll be faster than the Trucker and still have room for mudguards and decent sized slicks. I used 32c, more recent arkose will take bigger or you can go 640b X 47c.

What tyres have you got at the moment? A Trucker is a perfectly fine Audax bike. Stick something fast-rolling on there and you’ll be fine provided you haven’t persuaded yourself that you won’t be.

got some 40 something c schwalbe marathons on. proper tough and dead feeling.
i have some 32c vittoria tyres which are a lot lighter.

Gp5000 tyres in 32

Possibly with a better wheelset

Big n daft +1

Yeah, so tyres are going to make a fair difference. The 5000s are a good call, or if you want something that’ll cope better with mixed surfaces then I’ve come to love Sport Contact IIs: fast and supple enough on tarmac that I don’t pine for my GP4000s, and surprisingly capable off-road.

How about a Boardman ASR 8.8?
Steel frame, takes up 32mm tyres, already comes with mudguards. Ideal for audax’s.
I’ve done couple of 150 mile rides on mine. Wheels are a little heavy though.

Very tall friend of mine bought a lovely ti Audax/ tourer from spa cycles last yr. worth a visit/ call.

I have a 2012 charge filter cx bike, rolls well and is perfectly capable of doing bigger miles.
I have a surly karate monkey, which is actually lighter.
I don’t think weight is a big issue on a longer run tbh, I’d be more worried about riding position/comfort.
And tyres, something that would be considered wide for a road bike, but useless for an mtb, like gp5000 in 32 width, they should roll beautifully.
And possibly wheels, if your current rims are too wide for 32s.
If i had to choose between my two, that would be a tough choice tbh.

my trucker is very comfy to be honest. gonna try some 32c tyres on it for a long ride.
wheels are weighty, custom built by Spa. but i am weighty too.

Mavic cxp33s with wide GP5000 tyres with 32 spokes and your favourite hubs. These are the rims of choice in the US for “Clydesdales”. Nice and stiff wheels with beautiful rolling tyres. Old school but you you will get no trouble.

As for frame, something from Spa Cycles or a used Thorn Audax of EBay? You want good clearance for guards and big tyres for comfort. Nothing too slack, 72 degree head tube so riding doesn’t feel sluggish. I like titanium but decent steel will ride the same but be a water bottle heavier.

Edit. Not mine but I would…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fairlight-Secan-Gravel-frame-Forks-58-Tall-853-steel-audax-bikepacking/264590644991?hash=item3d9ad4d6ff:g:ookAAOSwgFpeIIs6

You want good clearance for guards and big tyres for comfort. Nothing too slack, 72 degree head tube so riding doesn’t feel sluggish. I like titanium but decent steel will ride the same but be a water bottle heavier.

You’ve just precisely described the Disc Trucker 😉

You’ve just precisely described the Disc Trucker 😉

Or karate monkey tbh.

Add a carbon fork :-p

Soma do some interesting looking “long distance” road bikes in big unit sizes.

Or a Sonder Santiago

If you’re comfortable why change it, biggest issue with long rides is discomfort causing fatigue. Faster / lighter tyres would be my first change. Vittoria Voyager Hypers are fast rolling and available in 38 and 42 and usually cheap too.

If the ride is harsh and you currently have a steel fork then maybe look at carbon….