tcs

American cars yes, vehicles not so much. Many consumers have switched from passenger cars to pickups and SUVs. GM, Ford and Stellantis are all basically light truck manufacturers now. With safety rules barring riding in the bed of pickups, they have gained length with 'crew cabs'. The American pickups of 2023 are noticeably larger than those of ~25 years ago.

Lack of quiet pavement? I'm sorry that's others' experience. Here in Parts Unknown, rural road commissioners have been on a tear the last several decades, paving county and local roads. You can make surprisingly long tours riding mostly paved country lanes.

abdon 

Necessity is the mother of invention. Having to tinker with older bikes can take your skills to the next level. My Trek 720 is a blend of old an new better than anything I could find in the marketplace at a fraction of what a high end touring bike would cost me.

What you do is ride any half suitable bike you can get your hands on. While riding, being mobile, and in no rush, keep scanning for those gems out there. You can quickly browse craigslist and Marketplace by keying on road frames with cantilever studs and a healthy gap between the rear wheel and seat post. Whatever it may be listed as, that's a touring bike right there. For me it also has to be lugged steel but that's just a personal preference.

HelpSingularity 

I stumbled across a '92 Trek 750 Multitrack.
It is a so-called "hybrid".
Double butted chrome-moly f&f, can fit up to 42-622 or so tires, 38s easy with fenders, triple crank, cantilever brakes.
I put drop bars on it, front and rear racks and it is now my deluxe touring bike.
It handles my lard a$$ and a full, self contained load just fine.
So if you haven't already, expand your search to steel (yes, I'm biased ) "hybrid" bikes from the '90s.
Good luck with your search.

tcs

I did that with my 1997 Trek 750. Pretty much a half-price 520 (well, since the conversion parts came out of the big-ol'-box-of-parts-from-under-the-workbench). Loved that bike. It was stolen out of my garage. Anyway, this is a tcs recommended conversion, if you can find an old db steel Trek hybrid (IIRC at the time they were calling these 'cross bikes') with cantilever brakes.

Tourist in MSN

A lot of the SUVs do not impress me. An SUV used to be a Jeep Cherokee or Wagoneer, Ford Bronco, Chevy Suburban or Blazer, International Scout, etc.

Now a lot of the SUVs are basically a station wagon, or in some cases a hatch back. I have an older Volvo XV90, bought it used, I thought it was a station wagon when I was looking at it to buy, but they said it was an SUV. But I used to have a Land Rover D2, if it does not have a low range on the transfer case, I do not consider it to be an SUV.

gna

I just looked on my local Craigslist. One is for sale for $160 by a local flipper. No doubt one could be found even cheaper. Certainly a possibility.

HelpSingularity 

$160 may or may not be excessive. I have no problem paying a premium if the paint/bike is in great condition.
The sting of paying a little extra will be long gone as you continue to ride and gaze upon your 30 year old steed that is still looking sharp.

zandoval 

Recently saw a 5 rider group making their way down the highway on 102°F afternoon. They looked well and were just a few miles out from shelter if needed. Four of the bikes were Ebikes and fully loaded. Three were not pedaling?

I take note that what ever style bike we loose or migrate to will evolve after the Big EMP. Luckily all the bikes I have now are ready for it.

Either way ridding is fun. We will adapt and overcome.

No... The touring bike is here to stay as long as we are allowed to tour... But that's another story...

tcs

Yep, a lot of today's SUVs and Crossovers are just station wagons with a spiffy, more marketable name.

We're over 100 comments in this thread, many debating if today's bike packing, gravel and all-road bikes are just touring bikes with a spiffy, more marketable name.

"Get on your bikes and ride." - Brian May

fishboat

Did the same. Started with a '91 Trek 750 and built a drop bar touring bike for my girlfriend. We've done 5 tours with it, self-contained-camping as well as credit card. She uses a 4-pannier + trunk bag setup. It runs 3x8 Claris and Schwalbe Big Ben tires in 700x38 with fenders. She loves the bike. In the early 90's the 750 and Trek 520 had the same geometry.

mams99

But a quick question. I "sorta" did that with a Hybrid Bianchi Advantage. It works and is comfortable, but I really felt I was missing a front rack option that was EASY to deal with. With cantilever brakes, the options for a front rack were limited and while I got it to work, when I removed the front tire and this the supports of the front rack, things just flopped around, making it difficult to put in the car.... Maybe that's my bigger problem - I use a Honda Fit hatchback to haul my bike when I go for a ride.

Have you found ways to transport your bike without having to undo everything? It's one of the reasons I'm leaning toward a newer bike with more brazons.

Tourist in MSN

You might be able to find a new fork that has the fittings. The fork rake or offset should be about the same on the replacement fork, and the length from the crown headset race to the axle should also be about the same length, otherwise handling could be off with a replacement fork.

I just found this with a google search, it has the data in the internet listing that you would need to compare to your fork.
https://www.jensonusa.com/Surly-Cros...rk-700C-1-18-2

zandoval 

Yep... The pack-able full size touring bike that's friendly to transport... I think we all have been working on that one and it's a worthy quest.

abdon 

Not really. The touring bike has been well defined since before the first golden age of bicycles in the 1890's. The oldest cycling club was the bicycle touring club, established in the 1880s. In 1896, John Foster Fraser and two of his buddies set off from Britain to travel around the world on their bicycles. They covered approximately 19,237 miles in two years and two months, traveling through seventeen countries and three different continents. His stories inspired several generations of Cyclo tourers. In reality what we know as road bikes diverged from the initial touring bike, and mountain bikes were not invented until the late 1970's.

​But for a very long time now cyclo touring has been a niche market compared to the volumes seen by road and dirt bikes. Heck for a while mountain bikes even managed to eclipse road bikes in the late '80s.

Bottom line you can tour on anything, but there are well defined agreed features on what makes a good touring bike

Pratt

Live and learn, thanks for the education!

azbackpackr

I found a surly disc trucker in my size, 46 cm. I wanted a Trek 520 disc. I have looked and looked all over the Internet for a small one, either a complete bike or frame. Size 48 cm. That's the smallest one they made. All the people who glibly say "Oh, just buy something online, or a frame," have not tried to find a small one. There are lots of mediums and larges available in different brands. I have looked on eBay and other places.

I noticed that REI still makes one. I didn't even know that when I bought the Surly. Oh, well. I'm in the process of getting the racks and bags and things.

tcs

1878. 1883 renamed Cyclists' Touring Club. 2016 renamed Cycling UK.

Fun fact: the first (known) bicycle race was held on May 31, 1868, in Paris.