djb

it really will come down to what sort of touring you are actually going to do, and then accepting that you can't get a really sporty bike that also will work well doing certain types of touring competently. You can find pretty good imbetweens, my cross bike is a good example, but there are always going to be some compromises of weight, gearing, how the frame works with heavier loads, and then you also get into the cost issue of much much lighter touring equipment (tents, sleeping bags etc) and figuring out what works for you comfort wise, ie how lightweight you can go for a given range of expected temperatures and weather.

there's no real magic bike that will be great for all things, but you just have to figure out what areas you want a bike to work well.