Originally Posted by
Symox
All the touring bikes I've seen are steel so I assumed there was something about carbon that wasn't desirable
Don't know about that. Maybe it's an assumption about cracking or something. CF is incredibly strong. If you do something to it that would damage CF it probably would have damaged steel or AL also. Adding 20lbs to your bike is no big deal. Most bikes are designed to carry riders up to 250lbs+. Or maybe it's that most CF frames are designed on the aggressive side and steel bikes tend to be more relaxed. There should be no issues touring with a CF bike if it's comfortable for you.