I agree with the above.rareposter wrote: ↑22 Jan 2022, 5:31pm In going on about his 531 forks, i think @jimlews has inadvertently answered some of the OP's original question:
Are touring bikes old fashioned?
Well yes and no - they've largely been ignored by the mainstream bike industry so they've been mostly immune to the fads and fashions and whims of the trade. The fact that the niche has mostly been filled by much smaller manufacturers and individual custom builders means they've stayed largely true to their roots but part of that is because the riders themselves have a very old-fashioned / traditional viewpoint - after all if you've been touring for years on a comfortable 531 steel bike that's carried you trouble free across continents, why would you ever feel the need to buy something newer?
Everything is focussed on comfort and reliability. The mainstream trends of lighter / faster / more aero simply don't apply and the mindset of the touring rider is very different - they want simplicity and reliability so they've never really been interested in buying the latest shiny new must-have or top end kit.
That does also have a downside though because you end up in a bit of a rut of traditionalist thinking and a refusal to consider new things because "we've always done it this way".
I'm not sure about the "inadvertently" bit, though.
As to touring bikes being 'old fashioned' - why that is just one of their many virtues.