Quote Originally Posted by Owlie View Post
What Veronica says. It depends on what you want to do-touring bikes are designed for carrying loads as well as you, and over distance. If you're not going to be carrying tons of stuff, a regular old road bike (or a cross bike) will be perfectly fine.
This. A lot of people do use cross bikes for pretty much everything - they are a good general all-around bike. Touring bikes also have a different geometry and aren't really made for speed but for all-day-long comfort and loaded riding.

Let us know what the LBS says about your bike. I am pretty susceptible to road buzz but that doesn't sound like what you are experiencing on descents.