Well, I'm not 18 stone and my camping gear is very light, but occasionally I put a fair bit of power into a bicycle. The robust nature of the xTc surprised me. Thorn's advertisements don't really convey the solidity of this machine - mainly because they really want their bicycles to last you a life time.
If you are going to be doing large mileages on very poor surfaces in remote places with heavy gear, you need a proper expedition bike, but the xTc is undoubtedly rough stuff capable and likely to perform better than a heavier machine if, like me, the off-road stuff is less than 10% of your tour.
My day rides from home avoid main roads and that means hilly lanes with lumpy surfaces. The xTc is outstanding for such riding.
