Which bike for a long trip?

If you are planning on going somwhere with bad roads or will carry much gear, AVOID ALU RACKS - they WILL break sooner or later. Buying a decent steel rack - ie Tubus - is a much better investment than Blackburn. There are two big advantages (three with Tubus):
1. Extremely unlikley to break
2. Can be easily fixed by anyone with a welder
3. Tubus will send out a replacement to anywhere in the world free if it breaks...