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@d^_^b
Hi Henrik -
I've been looking at this in depth over the last few months - have just ditched my job, rented the house out, and about to take off on a ride from London to NZ. Why the fuck not eh?
26" wheels - don't bother unless you're outside Europe or North America and even then, it's not a huge drama by all accounts - just take spares. Schrader is better than Presta, and Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Evolutions are the current tyres of choice.
Steel's good if you think there's a likelihood you'll need to weld a crack but like Yoav says, pretty much anything's fine. My missus has crossed Europe twice on a Trek 7.3. I did it on a steel cyclocross (Gary Fisher Lane, just flogged it).
FWIW we've both stumped up for Surly LHTs but if you've feeling minted, go for a Thorn with a Rolhoff on it.
Spa Cycles (no relation, just a very happy customer) are very competitively priced for most touring stuff and offer a pretty good range of bikes at reasonable prices.