what bits of kit would you fit to make a bike a bit more comfy for touring?

Big Apple tyres 2.1 8)

Butterfly bars

VCLS seatpost?

Aero bars are great for long distance, flat riding – you can take all the weight off your hands. I really want to try a Specialized Cobl-Golbr or Canyon VCLS seatpost at some point too.

Big Apple tyres 2.1

i forgot about that post mate…..i will email you.

just off out Ton so offline

Vondally’s right, get the biggest tyes on there that you can, ideally with wide rims to suit. Nothing adds comfort like high volume, low pressure tyres, makes a bit of a mockery of all this ‘flex-zone’ carbon frame design stuff. After that, good quality bar tape with under-padding layers in the right places. And some carbon or ti posts can help but it’s a minor difference compared to tyres.

i have been running schwalbe marathons, just put 4000th mile on em this week. i run them rock hard, and they seem very harsh.
gonna try the big apples, i reckon i might squeeze em into the disc trucker.
got double bar wrap on jones bars, which are the comfiest part of my set up, but i fancied trying some drops for while…might not be to good a idea.

32mm+ tyres. Brooks saddle (works for me, anyway). Squidgy bar tape (assuming the increased thickness isn’t a problem).

Yeah, Marathons aren’t the most relaxing of rides. Paselas have soft sidewalls so are pretty comfy, although you risk more cuts in the sidewall compared to other tyres.

Use the 15% tyre drop principle to run your tyres softer, so they’ll be both comfortable and fast. You could even try that with the Marathons first if you’re running them rock hard, then buy something more comfortable later if needed.

A Cane Creek Thudbuster is useful if you intend to ride rough roads. Its like having a (very limited) amount of suspension at the rear. I used one on a hard tail doing the Great Divide Trail in the US a few years ago and it worked very well.

https://www.canecreek.com/products/seatposts

But other than that, definitely use the biggest, fattest tires that will fit on your bike. And if its a road bike, put gel inserts under the handlebar tape.

Years ago I wrapped my drops with strips cut from an inner tube, then put the regular bar tape on top. It took out some of the buzz and I think it spread the load on the hands. The bars were more comfortable, of that I’m sure.

Proper hand built wheels by a proper handy wheel builder.

Schwalbe say not to run the Marathins under-inflated. I think because the tread is made of such a hard, ridgid compound and the sidewalls are softer so you get a lot more sidewall distortion which might weaken them.

Depends on how you want to improve comfort mate.

If your position is sorted then yeah, start on these small tweak to improve the harshness of the ride.

Things like:

moustache/sweep handlebars to put your hands in a better position (better= different and may not always be for you. My O-O midge(?) bars were great in the drops but not on the hoods)
Better tape for more padding and better grip size
Larger, softer tyres for comfort
Saddle for a good fit
Flexy seatpost for comfort