Originally Posted by Anatolia

Former athlete who has taken his "I don't care about life anymore" knocks, I've put on some pounds over the years. Well, happy to report I've regained that "I do care now" myopia and want to get back into riding hard again. I've got like 60-70-80 pounds I need to lose. Yeah, yeah. Keep the fat jokes to yourself because it wasn't that long ago I was on the other side making them with you. Point is -- I'm still athletic to alter course and can be sickly intense and obsessed when it comes to commitment towards my goal.

So in a nutshell, I'm buying a steel bike and since I enjoy long distance (90-95% pavement) riding and could give a rip about being in a 'racer' position -- a touring bike seems ideal. Right? Well I don't want some tank either so a light or credit card touring bike seems ideal? Sure. Only problem is such marketing gimmicks ten years ago when I bought my last touring elite bike have changed. I'm seeing things like 'Adventure' bike and all sorts of things. But it would seem bikes like (no particular branding order here) Surly, Trek, Salsa, and Kona still come into play. There have been several threads in this forum addressing the pros and cons of each. But I'm giving you the opportunity to pipe in and call me a fat bastard -- wait I just said please don't -- ok I'm giving you the opportunity to call me the skinny challenged or equivalent. Ok, I'm really hoping to get your opinions on the best steel bikes out there that can handle a load (me and my 5-10lb) paneers. I seriously doubt I will ever go beyond the 50 miles out and 50 miles back thing so having things like bar end shifters is not a must since my wife could easily find me (save your wife jokes AND fat jokes please). What probably does matter is the lower end (or granny) gears for some hill climbing this area is notorious for. Again more evidence pointing towards a 'touring' or 'adventure' or 'steel' bike that meets the requirement of handling weight, a sturdy ride, a more upright position, and pannier bags to stuff things in there for good Lord who knows what.

Thoughts? Opinions? Fat bas--- err skinny challenged?