Touring - How does your Surly LHT climb?

I am new to this so thanks for taking the time to read and hopeuflly respond. I have owned a Surly LHT for a couple months now and have done one 400
mile tour on it. First, I am really impressed at the quality of the
paint, welds and how much thought Surly put into this bike as well as
all of their products. I expected a lot worse due to their paint not
having a warranty. It tracks and turns perfectly and I feel more dialed
in on this bike than I do on my custom road bike. However, I am
disappointed as to how hard it is to climb with. I understand it's a
touring bike w/ longer stays, beefier tubing, etc... but I have done a lot of touring
(mostly on Mt Bikes) and none have never felt this sluggish. One shop thought it might be due to the flattened chain stays but this seems to be common on most production bikes. Has anyone
else noticed this or is it just me? I am not one to get a high end
touring bike mostly because of the abuse it is going to go through so I am staying with it. I am also using Mavic A719s which I know are heavy and probably a factor.
Thanks.
Paul

hi,

I have been commuting with my lht with a719 rims all summer, and it feels prefectly fine climbing.

Thanks for the response. It must be me or probably just looking for a reason to buy another bike.

Could it be that the gears on this bike are not appropriate for climbing? Some touring bicycles use mountain bike gearing, while others do not. Since you have experience touring on a mountain bike, you may have gotten used to ultra-low gears. The solution, in that case, would be to install different gears.

If you want to start a heated debate on this forum, just ask what gears people think are best for touring!

Could it be that the gears on this bike are not appropriate for climbing? Some touring bicycles use mountain bike gearing, while others do not. Since you have experience touring on a mountain bike, you may have gotten used to ultra-low gears. The solution, in that case, would be to install different gears.

If you want to start a heated debate on this forum, just ask what gears people think are best for touring!

Agreed.

I like to know what gears he's using because because it sounds high geared.

I am using 26-36-46 (a Sugino XD) which is pretty much what I have always used. It almost feels like I am riding w/ my brakes lightly on but I am not (at least when I climb). I wonder if it is due to frame flex because if I don't have the front der dead center, the chain rubs on the down stroke. I have done some fairly long tours like across Canada, AK to Seattle and around Australia but again, on Mt. Bikes. My first tour on this LHT was a few weeks ago in Newfoundland and I really noticed the resistance. The tires are 700x35 Paselas which are farily light. Well anyway, this is probably starting to sound like whining but mostly wanted to hear from other LHT riders if they experienced the same thing. I might take it into the shop and have a friend try it out for a second opinion.

Where's your seat fore and aft position? Makes a difference. I'm just as fast up the local 7% grade on my unloaded LHT as I am on my 19lb Waterford. Of course, I'll cruise up it at 11-13mph, and get passed buy guys pushing 20mph, so it must be the bike. :)