>>1290651>you got any recommendations for a cheap touring bike?1. Don't obsess about gear. Any bike you take on a tour is a touring bike. I toured through 4 countries on a fixie I built from a road bike I got for free. It sucked, but it worked.
2. There's basically 2 types of touring bikes. Road and off-road. If you expect to mainly tour on roads, get a road bike with 35mm+ tires. If you expect to tour in an area with bad roads or no roads, 50mm+ tires are better.
3. You won't look good while touring anyway. So ditch any considerations of style. Riding a bike with granny gear and raised handlebars is a lot more comfy on long stretches unless you want to go fast.
4. You don't want to go fast. If it's your first tour, plan for 30-40 miles a day. Yes, you can ride a lot more. But your tour will be much more enjoyable if you can make your goal without any stress and have a couple of days to actually look at where you are, too. Planning ridiculously low effort tours also gives you the choice to spontaneously do detours.
5. Be in the moment!
