I'm thinking of following @HobbesOnTour advice and sourcing a bike abroad
My boring and dull suggestion would be to go right back to basics and build your bike in your mind and on paper.
You've got a bike, got some touring experience so the process should start there: what you like, what would you change? - therefore what do you want the new one to have, bearing in mind what you have learned and where you intend to go.
In my case I started with material. That was easy - steel.
Then wheels. That was straightforward too. 26 inch for several reasons.
Gearing? I wanted the simplest option to give me the easiest gears.
And so on.
Only when I knew what I wanted did I go investigating what was out there.
It's not a sexy process. It might seem boring but I found it far from it. Frustrating at times too. However, in the long run well made decisions can be very rewarding.
My musings led to a bike that was neither new nor sexy but he's done alright!
I read the ACA article you mentioned. Like a lot of their content it reads like a sales piece rather than impartial advice.
@chriswoody has highlighted an example the complexities of bike components, the difference between theory and practice. These are the kinds of things that are useful to be aware of.
However, (and this goes for lots of things) one person's experience is only useful if you intend using the bike in the same way as they use theirs. Comments on a bike used once or twice a week are less useful to someone contemplating a multi month tour of daily use.
One factor, specific to your use, is plane travel. It's a long time since I read anything on this, but my understanding is that closed systems (brakes and gearing) can have issues with air travel.
In the same vein, I think it's an idea to remember that a bike on tour is subjected to different conditions and treatment than it might receive at home.
If I was in your shoes, I'd also dedicate a little time to my wife and put some energy into convincing her of the need for a commuter and an adventure bike
. It makes the process a bit more streamlined.
Finally, and I'm probably in a minority of one on this, but there's also a "head" element to these things.
No bike is going to be perfect in every situation, on every surface. At home, some people have lots of bikes for different uses. On tour, most of us don't have that luxury. Therefore we have to make the most of what we have and sometimes forgive the bike (and ourselves) for the decisions we have made.
Some of the happiest people I have met on the road have the most unsuitable bikes (according to experts) and some of the most stressed and unhappy people I've met have the best of equipment.
Heresy perhaps on a cycling forum, but the bike is just a tool that lets us do things and go places. Being able to use that tool optimally requires skills too. Best not to neglect them while optimising the equipment.
Good luck!
