Clark W. Griswold
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,651
Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26
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I had a 26" Disc Trucker, eventually I wanted to go 700c and I wouldn't want to go back aside from wanting to fit wider tires. At the time skinny tires seemed like the right thing but now I have realized wider is so much better so I maxed out my Co-Motion with 700x38s and am generally pretty happy on that.
If I was world touring I probably might consider the ability to run potentially knobbier tires but I think you can probably find tires most anywhere in 700c and if not you may have to order anyway because a 559 ISO tire could be tough (26" MTB)
I would most certainly recommend the Surly Disc Trucker. It is a great bike and QBP brands make some decent stuff having used a bunch of it over the years. Maxway in Taiwan does a good job and sure the bike is not a comparison to my US made Co-Motion it is certainly not a bad bike in the least.
I will say the new Disc Trucker is maybe not my favorite but then again anytime someone changes a touring bike significantly usually looses my vote. The Trek 520 was one of the few Trek bikes I liked and then they went and roooned it with al-you-mini-yum forks. Touring bikes that are good rarely need a change. Maybe a different shade of British racing green or a bottle mount under the top tube but nothing really major.