The single biggest difference between commuting (general urban use) and bike touring, is how long you are on the bike for on a single day. In the city you also carry stuff, you ride on some poor roads, there are hills, it gets dark, it rains, you need to warn of your approach, etc. But when you are touring the towns are whatever distance apart that they are and you can't expect to be on the bike for only two hours a day. It might be five, or even six hours in a day. And the next day and the next day.
The implications of riding for longer periods are what differentiate the World Randonneurs. Both comfort and efficiency become big issues and have to be addressed simultaneously. There are trade-offs between the two concepts and these needs to be balanced and managed.
From the comfort angle, you want to be able to change posture or position whilst riding. This gets down to handlebar styles. So called flat-bar-road-bikes and hybrid-bikes don't offer the chance to change position. They do not get ticks for being as comfortable if ridden for several hours. Cruisers, which are really comfortable on short rides, don't get a tick for being efficient. On a longer session, if you are tired you become uncomfortable too. What is fine on a 30 minute ride may get too tiring after several hours.
Another implication of using your bike for touring is that it needs to be tough and long-wearing. This gets quite detailed and we try to cover most of it in the tech discussions. But without even looking at those discussions, you know that when you are commuting and get a puncture for example, if you can't fix it then and there you can still lock up your bike and walk or get a cab etc. But when you are touring you really don't want a single technical problem. If one does arise you want it to be readily fixable, by you. You don't want to find you need some rare, big tool that is not available. You don't want to hear back from the supplier saying "oh, you should have bought the next model up". And it would be nice to have a website you can access to get information that will help you sort it out.
But, if you don't end up becoming an intrepid tourer we think you will still appreciate the complete reliability of these bikes. They mostly get no flats, don't break spokes, and don't need their wheels trued. They come with an integrated luggage and lighting system, and a double butted cr-mo steel frame. They are really made to last.
In summary, we are suggesting that if you say YES to most of the questions above, you should buy a special type of urban bike - one which is also made for long distance touring. Hopefully you will try bike touring. But, if you do not, you will have a bike which is very suitable for everyday use and which will allow you to leave cars, busses, ferries and trains behind.
In our range, you will be choosing between the posture positions of trekking bars and drop bars. If you choose drop bars you will then be choosing between gear levers in the brake levers (STI) and levers in the ends of the drop bars (barend). The three bikes are similar in price ($1,800-2,000) and most equipment is the same on all models. They may seem a little underpriced but that is because it is a locally owned brand, not asking for a royalty.
You will get used to which ever handlebar and shift lever you start with. The initial choice is worth spending a bit of time thinking over. There is no "right"answer. As we said, all bikes are pretty good. Check out our Technical tab for discussion about how we have addressed some of the classic bike design issues. | 
