Specialized Crosstrail as a touring bike

[varider]

I bought a Crosstrail last year as a general purpose, casual, rail trail, dirt road, kind of bike.  I ended up doing some touring with it on the C&O Canal/GAP Trail and a 3 day part way around Lake Champlain mostly paved road tour.   It performed well on those rides and was comfortable.  I'd like to do more touring but I'm concerned about it's suitability and even durability for more and longer tours.   I'm considering buying a Surly LHT or Trek 520, but I have reservations because the bikes are expensive and maybe the Crosstrail is good enough.  Any thoughts?

[alfonso]

It performed well on those rides and was comfortable.

It seems to me that that answers your question. You like the bike and you're used to it. Go for it.

Some here are critical of hybrid bikes, saying that they do nothing really well. I think such bikes have their place - the converse is that they do many things reasonably well.

I doubt that there will be a problem with durability. You will need to think carefully about the way you equip the bike (panniers, racks, etc) and exactly what you plan to do on it. Look at its gearing and ask yourself if it will get you up the steepest hill you're likely to encounter. The lowest gear on the rear derailluer is 32 teeth. Discuss with your bike shop whether a lower gear is possible. As someone said here some time ago, no-one on tour ever said that they wished they didn't have such a low bottom gear.

I strongly suggest: do a longer tour on it and see how you go. If you end up comfortable and happy, then it's the bike for you. If not, then it's time to think about a more specific touring bike. Panniers and racks shouldn't be a wasted investment.

[alfonso]

Second thoughts: On looking at the bike again, I realised that it could be difficult to fit a rack to the front forks. Given that, it might be better suited to lighter touring rather than fully-laden touring. It really depends on what sort of touring you have in mind.