>>364759>I have no idea what your on about1) bike touring is /out/ as well
2) In spite of the name, "trekking" bikes aren't particularly good touring bikes. They're just the European version of what Americans call hybrids and comfort bikes. OP's picture for example has the bars way too high for efficient riding (not just bad aerodynamics; sitting too upright doesn't let you use your leg muscles properly, and it gets less comfortable the longer you ride). Having that handlebar bag way up there is really going to mess with the steering if you put any weight in it. Also crappy pedals and (probably) cheap shocks that'll only cause problems in the middle of nowhere. The chain guard is silly but probably harmless, I'd keep it until it broke. The butterfly bars themselves aren't too bad though, if you set them up differently. I'd pick them over flat or riser bars, but I'd still prefer drops.
> Firstly thats a American bike with Canadian made panniers. Right. It's an example of an American style expedition touring bike with Canadian expedition panniers. Fewer North Americans may ride bikes than Europeans, but those who do tend to ride more, and the distances between things are further, so IMO they generally make better bikes for long distance touring (and also commuting further than the nearest train station).
>Euro tourers almost never use drop bars..That doesn't make it the right way to do it. It's probably because Europe is crowded and everything is close and they're only riding 50km to the next hostel, whereas touring bikes are for riding 100 miles in a headwind to your next campsite. Also probably because of the influence of Dutch style "city" bikes (which apart from the German lighting I also don't particularly like).
The old French campeur bikes were pretty neat too, but these days AFAIK most of the companies actually selling them are American, and they're an expensive niche market.
