Originally Posted by MixedRider

When I am touring, I think of it more of "90% of the time it is not the correct gear, but that 10% makes it all worth it!"

I also agree with @mdilthey points.

Plus, it is best to become familiar with what you can and can't do on a singlespeed prior to touring on a singlespeed.

Originally Posted by Zoroman

Must chime in. I have spent most of my adult life riding geared bikes. Recently I plunged into the single speed world. I love it. Did I mention I love it? No really. I love it. The more I ride the more I love it. It so reminds me of being a kid again and all we had were single geared bikes. But beyond that I as an adult and life long ROADY love the experience of a single speed. I am doing a 44 teeth front and 16 teeth rear and it is great for me! I have a 22 tooth on the flip side of my rear hub for climbing hills. I am riding the hell out of this bike and as someone else posted it would be very wise for you to RIDE for a while before you think of long distance touring. Try a few different gear ratio set ups. If I was pressed into picking a gear ratio for touring with my current single speed (a single speed that has a flip flop hub with TWO free wheels on a Wabi Sub 15 wheelset. One thing I would do is "train" with my bike loaded up and just drive around my area experimenting with different sprocket sizes and gear ratios and climbing some hills before I settled. I have read many long distance tourers go with 38 front with an 18 rear. If you have a flip-flop rear hub you could out a 22 on the other side of the rear hub for those hill climbs.