LeeG

Here's a solid frame for people with big feet, 50cm, 19 11/16" chainstays and 45 3/4" wheelbase.
I'd pick this over a 700c LHT. It's a sleeper

https://2009.feltracing.com/09-catalo...-8-deluxe.aspx

robow

It would do a lovely job for most all individuals and their touring needs.

jeffpoulin

That's the key, I think. Outdoor/camping stores selling bikes to people who like to take their bikes on camping trips. Many people who go to these stores are already in the target market for touring bikes. Bike shops, OTOH, are mainly into high-adrenaline cycling: racing and mountain biking. They also offer a few hybrids for beginners. It's no wonder that touring is so foreign to them. Of course, some bike shops are excellent when it comes to stocking touring gear, but these are the exception, not the rule. If you want to find touring stuff, go to a camping store and take a look around.

reed523

I would argue that touring bikes are making their way back to the mainstream. However, they are doing it carefully disguised as "gravel bikes" or "adventure bikes". On a related note, I leave my Salsa Fargo with well worn Brooks around the LBS sometimes as a test rider. Apparently I have a generic butt because not only has it helped sell a few Fargos, the lines are starting to form for folks to get their Brooks

unterhausen

small market bike shops are hit or miss. They stock what sells or they go out of business. Having a lot of dead stock is not a good way to run a business, and touring cyclists are few in number and really hard to predict. I am lucky to live in a town where everyone has to climb hills, so it wouldn't be hard to outfit a touring bike around here. One dealer stocks LHT's and other bikes that are at least somewhat suitable for touring.

cyccommute 

I stand corrected. It appears that REI has seen the light. Last year's models were had 17" stays.

Medic Zero

Are you refering to the Randonee? Because they sell the Novarra Safari as well. My girlfriends Safari came with 26" wheels, braze-ons everywhere, a rear rack, and trekking bars. IIRC the chainstays are plenty long and REI billed this as their proper tourer. Is this not offered anymore? She hated the trekking bars and grip shifters so we ended up replacing those, but the 2011 Safari seems like an okay tourer. It does seem heavy to me though, and I'm used to riding pretty heavy bikes.

Medic Zero

I realized I didn't respond to the OP's original question. I've had similar experiences. A few years ago when I was first getting back into cycling after a several year hiatus, I went to what is probably Seattle's best known bike shop, partly because it wasn't too far from me, but partly because I assumed with their reputation they'd do me right. They screwed up my bike three times in a row and I won't go back to them now. If the third time wasn't to have them fix what they screwed up the second time at their expense I wouldn't have even gone back for a third time.

The very young fellow who helped me one of the times seemed to already be stoned when the store opened in the morning and spent time doing things like adjusting my bar ends to where he thought they should be instead of doing what I asked!

I feel very lucky that I found another shop that treats me with respect and is always kind and patient and willing to do what I want and are less than a mile from my home. They don't carry touring items, but the senior wrench knows his stuff, and the other ones are open minded and willing to learn.

Sixty Fiver

Touring bicycles might compose 1% of the market... but commuters are really growing in numbers and what works for commuting is very often exactly what you need for touring.

In many cases commuting is akin to urban touring.

handsthatcatch

Sometimes I forget how spoiled I am to live in Portland. I can go to River City Bicycles, test ride a 64cm Long Haul Trucker they have in stock, go to City Bikes Co-op and buy some nice used pannier bags, then head over to Velo Cult for a pint of local IPA, watch a band play and pick up some Velo Orange hammered fenders, all while following the extensive bike paths set up on the roads. This is why I am poor

irwin7638

A few years ago, I stopped into a very successful LBS between business appointments. I was looking at touring bikes, I told the owner what I was thinking of and he immediately told me "You will have to buy a custom, because nobody makes touring bikes anymore!" I was a little shocked since he was a Trek dealer with a Surly logo on the door, but I listened as he explained that I would want titanium because "when you are touring you are liable to get the bike scratched, we wouldn't want the paint scratched." His sell job,to a vulnerable looking guy in a business suit, finished with an offer to get the ball rolling with a $2K deposit after a proper fitting. I ordered an LHT from a different dealer.

Marc

robow

Marc, couldn't agree more and would have purchased elsewhere as well. Though I be one, I hate to be taken for the village idiot.

vins0010

Reading through this thread makes me realize that I hadn't really thought about it, you just didn't go to bike stores for touring bikes. The idea of saying "I want a touring bike" then test riding a few at a given local LBS is just something I wouldn't consider. In my area, we have quite a few LBSs that are oriented more towards commuters and recreational bikes than just racers, and a few will have a Surly LHT or maybe REI and their line... or salsas and what not. However, when I decided to put my touring bike together, I didn't even think about the LBS...just putzed around here, learned about gearing, differences b/w panniers and trailers, thought about my tent...then considered bikes direct vs. picking up an 80s Trek 520 (picked the latter) and modified accordingly. It was part of the process, but, to think, being able to just go to an LBS and getting a good touring bike without having to learn about any of that stuff...well, that just sounds crazy foreign.

tarwheel 

We have probably a dozen or more bike shops in my metro area, and I don't think I've ever seen a touring bike for sale in one of them. (Unless you count REI, which sells bikes but isn't really a LBS.) However, there are shops that will gladly order or help you build a touring bike -- which is the approach I took. I ordered a Bob Jackson touring from direct from England, and then got my LBS to build it up. I supplied some of the parts I had on hand, and ordered other parts through the shop.

You can't blame shops for not stocking touring bikes because it's not very popular. Most cyclists either putz around the neighborhoods on hybrids or mountain bikes, or are weekend warriors who participate in group rides. I rarely ever see loaded tourers on the roads. Although touring bikes are also good for commuting, very few cyclists bike commute around here either. We have one bike shop that is catering to urban cyclists, commuter and bike path riders and it wouldn't surprise me to see a touring bike in there. I brought my Bob Jackson to that shop for some service and they loved it and said people kept asking them about it. Perhaps that will prompt them to test the waters.

goldfinch

Minneapolis/St. Paul has touring bikes on the floor at a number of bike shops. Often in multiple sizes. Of course, it is home to Surly.

Doohickie

I live near the largest Brooks dealer in Texas, so I don't have that problem. When Brooks notified the shop of that fact, the owner asked, "Oh? Who did we eek out?" The Brooks guy said they didn't eek out anyone; they had 5 times the volume of the next closest shop. It's really a pretty good shop. They sell a lot of QBP brands- All-City, Surly, Salsa, Civia, etc., and try to keep at least a few built up examples in stock. And they don't begrudge the fact that I ride a ~20-year-old Nishiki hybrid; it's all cool with them.

And they're not the only shop in the area that stocks the QBP bike brands.

We're pretty lucky, actually, in the bike shops we've got locally.

Doohickie

Precisely.

Randolfo

I see road bikes all over here in the Louisville Area. I saw a couple of tandems. I keep looking for another soul on a touring bike.

donalson

a few years ago I spent a week in Bergen Norway and was amazed at how many bikes where around and just how practical the bikes where... they average 89" of precipitation a year (about 300 days a year as I recall them saying) (compare that to the 37" Portland averages)... it was late nov or early Dec and they had already seen snow so many of the bikes had studded tires, they ALL had fenders and racks and everyone had rain gear to ride in... most of the bikes where 700c hybrid type bikes... I never had a chance to stop at any of the many bike shops in the area but I thought it was neat that the word they use was "sykkel"

seems to me a "touring bike" is as you say... a perfect commuter... aka its a practical bike

Sixty Fiver

When I am building up commuter bicycles my goal is to build such a bike that it will be able to handle all kinds of conditions, carry a good amount of gear, and be able to handle what could be 30-40 km a day of riding for 365 days a year which is more miles than many touring bicycles see.

We do of course build touring bikes that might see 5000 or more continuous kilometres of riding in a single stretch and many have been ridden around the world or across the continent in both east to west and north to south routes so those too have to be tough as nails.

phughes

I'm lucky I guess. My LBS has a selection of fenders in stock. Mirrors in stock. Ortleib and other bags in stock. I did have to order my LHT but that was a couple of years ago. They have plenty of bikes in stock that have attachment points. I am very happy to have them just a few miles from my house.

tarwheel 

Commuting is akin to touring in many respects. I commuted on a touring bike for a while but found that it was overkill for my purposes. I can carry all of my commuting gear in a Carradice bag, so it wasn't worth the extra weight and stiffness of a touring bike for daily riding. I now commute most days on a sport touring bike, but occasionally ride my touring or cross bikes to work. My commute route is very hilly, so the relative lightness of a sport tourer is appreciated. A sport touring bike is also very suitable for light touring or supported trips. I am surprised that sport touring bikes aren't that prevalent because they are fully capable of riding in fast group rides as well as light tours, commutes and even trails.

Rob_E

All-Star Bikes, corner of Ridge and Wade, had, I believe, carried Surly's, including the LHT, on the sales floor, and possibly still do. Although oddly enough, when I was in the market for a LHT, I went to All-Star in North Raleigh, and they would only bring a Surly into the shop if I paid in advance. It wasn't until later that I saw them at the other All Star. There is a newer shop downtown, Oak City Cycling Project (which sounds like the shop you referenced). I don't recall it being touring oriented, but I do find that they have a much better selection of general utility items. A couple of times after researching and ordering an item on-line because I "knew" the local shops wouldn't carry it in stock, I've later found the same item on their sales floor.

I bought a hybrid from REI for commuting. It was my first purchase of a new bike, and it was not the right bike for me, as I was to find. But it did seem like the REI folks found it odd when, in addition to a bike, I also picked up fenders and a rack, and asked that they be put on the bike when it arrived. They carried both the fenders and the rack, but seemed a little confused that I would want those items put on the bike I was expressly buying for commuting.

I really like the REI folks, but they have more than just bikes to worry about, and you may get a staff person whose area(s) of expertise are elsewhere. I also really like the All Star folks, but it's clear that they make their money from road, mountain, and leisure bikes. Touring and general utility riding does not seem to be there focus.

tarwheel 

I haven't been in All-Star Bikes for a while, but it doesn't surprise me that their Wade Ave store would carry a touring bike. They are closer to downtown and probably have more commuter/urban cyclists among their customers. In fact, one of their mechanics (or former one) had a Bob Jackson touring bike, which piqued my interest in BJ's since it was such a pretty bike. I ended up ordering a BJ World Tour direct from England, but I had it built up by another shop.

FrenchFit 

Out here in the 'burbs I know of no LBS that sells touring bikes or gear (except REI), they are all chasing the roadie, MTB or newbie bike consumer. Maybe one line of urban ss/fg. My heart goes out to them, I think they have a tough time of selling with enough margin to stay in business, pay the inflated retail space rent, compete with the chains like Performance and Mikes...and even the local Walmart.

That said, Rivendell is a short ride away; you can drop some serious cash at their warehouse store if you can find it...and walk away with something made out of steel, leather, waxed canvas or seersucker.

Touring folks are a pretty resourceful bunch, and I think that starts with how they acquire their bikes and bike knowledge.