Did these touring bikes sell well back in the day? I have been on the lookout for a little while and have never seen one pop up locally.
Yes, there was definitely a heyday for Loaded touring bikes (as opposed to Sport touring models), and in that time period they sold quite well. Let's not forget that the very first Cannondale's made were touring machines to go along with their bags, trailers, & camping gear, which was how the company made all their money up until that time.
Even though Cannondale built touring bicycles through the 2009 model year I would say that the general trend in their percentage of sales began to slip in the late 80's when Americans began winning races on the world stage, turning a lot of riders into racer wannabes, and the sport of mountain biking was coming into it's own. After all, new bicycle buyers only buy one bike, and fitness riding and shredding trails was the thing to do.
So, there were a lot of touring bikes sold, yes, but in general a lot of other types of bicycles of varying degrees of quality were sold as well, and that's what you are seeing reflected in the market place. I think people put up for sale what they don't want, and that's usually junkie cheap bikes. The quality ones grow dusty in the garage or basement, and as time goes by everything gets rarer and rarer for any given period. My issue is that I see great touring bicycles at great prices all the time (the cool ones get posted here), but most are the wrong size, or they are to far away to make it worth my while to go and look.
All I can say is keep looking locally and hope that someone will grant your wish. That's what I'm doing, even though I really don't need
another bike.
