I'm looking for a new bike for touring (the old ~1994 steel framed LX MTB has pretty much worn out) and am having a hard time making reasonable compromises. I want everything: speed (to keep up with my much fitter friends with serious hardware), suspension (because I've never had it, but enjoy downhill riding, general kerb abuse etc), front pannier mounts, comfortable handlebars (probably drops, though in my very short test ride they felt weird and unpleasant) and of course low gearing.
So, whatever I get will be good for one thing and less good at others. Could anyone offer advice on any of the following choices:
1) Dedicated, new touring bike (eg, LHT, Kona Sutra, Specialized Tricross, Cannondale T800). I tried the latter, and it didn't "wow" me - my first reaction was, that's a lot of money ($2k AUD) for "just a bike". But then, I wasn't flying down a hill with 40kg of gear...
2) Hybrid, probably with remote lockout suspension. I hear lots of comments about them being neither good mtbs nor good road bikes, but what about for touring? Bike shop people seem to be biased against them in general. Also, fitting front panniers will probably be tough.
3) Flatbar road bike. Was the first thing a shop suggested, but now I question the strength of the frame and rims, and since I'm not really a "road bike" sort of person, I find it hard to justify the expense.
4) Resurrect my current bike. It's been through a few short tours already, but almost all the original components are gone, save the selectors and cassettes which are both almost worn out. To get it ready for serious touring, I'd want to improve the handlebars (currently very cheap nasty plastic handles), probably adding bar ends if not drop bars, replace the rear derailler (currently very cheap replacement that I bought in desperation when the original deore LX exploded mid-tour), replace the seat (found in a pile of spare parts), and find some way of attaching a front pannier (no braze-ons). Also, the gearing is already marginal - the granny gear has had a lot of use already with medium loads and not particularly steep hills.
5) Build a cheap touring bike. Eg, there's a recycling place near me that could build one from an old touring frame for ~$500, but I don't know what level of componentry that would be.
I've done a few 3-4 days tours, and would like to do more, plus a few slightly longer ones (7-10). I don't see monthlong tours in my future, but I do see a moderate amount of riding around town (say 100ks/week). The tours I do tend to start out "let's stick to sealed roads" and end up "hey lets go down that dry creek bed".
So I guess ultimately the question I'm asking is, how much more benefit do you get from the dream touring bike, rather than a good general purpose bike with only minor modifications for the task? I'm open to spending $$$ if the benefit is really there. All suggestions and advice very gratefully received.
Steve