Many websites will explain how the tourers have prepared and their opinions on gear. Here, let me advise on a method that may be different than most others. Although a fully loaded bike tour cannot be a tour without a bike, the bike is a means to an end. Sure I'll agree that a bike will be the most important equipment on tour, and it becomes an extension of the rider- bonding with the rider as if with another person. My approach is not to consider the bike first, but rather to carefully consider lightweight durable gear before the bike.
To be completed...