Touring - New LHT build

Just finished this weekend and wanted to share. After waiting 6 weeks, I was finally able to lay hands on a LHT. Gene over at Spicer Cycles gave me an excellent deal on the frame and nearly all the components. Heres the list--

1 Frame--Surly LHT 60 cm blue
2 Crank--sugino 26\36\46 XD300 170mm
3 BB--shimano UN53 113mm sq. taper
4 FD-shimano LX M571 1 1/8 bottom pull
5 RD-shimao LX M580 SGS
6 Cassette-sram pg-950 11-34T
7 Seatpost-salsa shaft
8 Seat-Brooks B17 champion (green/copper)
9 Headset-FSA orbit XLII
10 Fenders-SKS P45 black
11 Front/rear brake-shimano BR-R550 Cantis
12 Front/rear rack-Jandd extreme/expedition
13 Chain-KMC Z9000
14 Handlebar-Nitto classic 45cm
15 Shifters-shimano barcons
16 Brake handles-shimano 105 sti
17 Pedals-speedplay x-5

Yes, I know---the green seat doesnt go very well with the blue paint job. The seat looked darker on the Brooks website. The copper rails look great though.

All parts went together with no help (i.e. large hammer) and took all day sat and till noon today. The frame was treated 3 times--once per day for 3 days with amsoil heavy duty protect. Probably over kill, but good peace of mind. This was done while I waited for the rest of the components to arrive from Spicer.
Rode a 25 mile loop today--rain and all as a test fit. A few handlebar and seat adjustments and it was smooth sailing. Very comfortable and stable. The fit is excellent . My other bike is a Giant OCR tourer that didnt fit quite well (compact frame) and was'nt nearly as good a fit. Its now my beater bike.
I removed the front rack so I could fiddle with the canti--never had one before. The last pic shows a small bit of my BoB. The wheels and tires are mismatched (they're beater wheels I keep around) A new Velocity wheelset is on the way.
Im REALLY going to put some miles on this one! :D

Great job! It’s beautiful. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting the 60 cm LHT frame and swapping out the components from my Jamis Aurora (with the addition of a threadless headset and stem). I’m just under 6’4” with a 34” inseam, how tall are you and how is the stand over clearance on the frame?

Just finished this weekend and wanted to share. After waiting 6 weeks, I was finally able to lay hands on a LHT. Gene over at Spicer Cycles gave me an excellent deal on the frame and nearly all the components. Heres the list--

Wonderful job! I love it. Another LHT hits the road!

Great job! It’s beautiful. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting the 60 cm LHT frame and swapping out the components from my Jamis Aurora (with the addition of a threadless headset and stem). I’m just under 6’4” with a 34” inseam, how tall are you and how is the stand over clearance on the frame?

Do yourself a favor and get a 62cm frame. I am 6'4" with a 34" inseam and I ride a 62cm LHT. The fit is good. If they made a 63 or 64cm frame I would buy it, but as it is, the 62cm frame is working good.

Here is a shot of my bike.
http://static.flickr.com/19/104478036_53a9003797_m.jpg

Nicely done! Yes.....another LHT hits the road.....:)
Just curious.....why did you choose road pedals for your LHT?

Dave- that is a sweet build. Nice pick on your parts. I can spot a Gene Spicer package job anywhere! Just wondering: how come you have STI brifters with bar end shifters? I like the green saddle with the blue bike. It looks good. It is nice to see a brooks in another shade other than honey brown.

Hawkgrove--Im 6'1" I have about 3/4 of an inch standover height--my inseam is 34.5.

The Fixer--I have bad knees and the speedplays have a lot of float, and the road shoes are comfy for me. On a trip I have easy access to sandles when I have to get off the bike. Love velcro straps on the shoes.

metal cowboy--the sti's are temporary-I forgot I needed different brake handles for the cantis--my other set is long pull for v brakes. Im starting to like the green color on the blue frame more and more.

Everyone--thanks for the comments. Im really excited about this bike. I believe I choose fairly decent components and all seems to be in sync. Was very suprised the chainline was perfect--no rubs and all combinations work. This is the first bike I've had the ability to use all the gear combos. The gear inches are 20 and 100--perfect for me. Gonna go to eagle creek park this weekend and hopefully dust some roadies! :D

Appologies to the 56k people! :eek:

I forgot I needed different brake handles for the cantis--my other set is long pull for v brakes.

Actually, I run 287-V levers with standard old cantis on my LHT. Slightly less mechanical advantage but the lever action feels nice and firm due to the rapid cable pull rate of these V-brake levers. And my brakes are effective. You can somewhat compensate this leverage of your levers by using longer straddle cables on the cantis.

Actually, I run 287-V levers with standard old cantis on my LHT. Slightly less mechanical advantage but the lever action feels nice and firm due to the rapid cable pull rate of these V-brake levers. And my brakes are effective. You can somewhat compensate this leverage of your levers by using longer straddle cables on the cantis.

Hmmmm. I'll give it a try. Others have said there would be too much pull and that the pads would have to be set real close to the rim to work. I am not familiar with cantis and appreciate any advice. I have a set of 287-V's from my other bike. Dang--I just wrapped the bars too!

Hmmmm. I'll give it a try. Others have said there would be too much pull and that the pads would have to be set real close to the rim to work.Actually, the pads can be set further apart from the rim when V-levers are used with ordinary cantis.

The only reason I'm using V brake levers is because that's all I had laying around at the time I built up my LHT and I personally have no problem braking with this setup. However, it does require a little more finger power to apply the brakes. I know using standard brake levers will be a bit more effective and easy on your hands and if and when I come across a set of standard levers, I might switch them.

Thanks Fixer, Ill swap out the levers this weekend.

Am I the only one that really likes the blue better than the green? (I like the green too, but I REALLY like the blue).

Very nice bike!

I told Gene at Spicer to get me the frame in any color he could get. Was secretly hoping for the pea green, but the blue is pretty awesome, so Im happy.

Do yourself a favor and get a 62cm frame. I am 6'4" with a 34" inseam and I ride a 62cm LHT. The fit is good. If they made a 63 or 64cm frame I would buy it, but as it is, the 62cm frame is working good.

Here is a shot of my bike.
http://static.flickr.com/19/104478036_53a9003797_m.jpg

I was wondering: I'm around 6'1", and my inseam is around 34" as well, but I sat on a few Bianchis (Veloce and San Jose, respectively) and I found myself comfortable with a 58cm frame with the San Jose and a 59 with the Veloce. The Standover on the 60cm San Jose is 34", while the 58cm is 32.8"; Veloce's 59cm was 31.7 while the 63cm is around 33".

My Point: I do like a slightly smaller stand over height (I'm a mountain biker at heart), which is why I prefered the smaller sizes in he Veloce and the San Jose. However on a Long Haul Trucker, the standover heights with the 58 and 60 cm versions are well below the 60 cm San Jose, which put the top tube pretty close to deez nuts.

My Question: Seeing as how I'm mostly leg (i.e. I'm not 6'4", I'm 6'2"!), and since you have a built LHT in front of you, would it be better to get a larger frame, at the expense of standover height? I can understand that I'll be in the saddle more often than standing over the top tube, but it's still a concern. Thanks!

Well, the folks over at rivendell recomend a bigger frame than your used to.. I asked Gene at Spicer to get either a 60 or 62cm because I fall in between the 2 sizes. Not real scientific, Im sorry to say. I remeasured the stand over and its .6 inches (3/5in). Im satisfied with the 60cm. The difference in stand over between the 60 and 62 is only 17.6mm according to the surly site. Thats using a ruffy tuffy 700x28. All things considered, go for the 62 and be happy.

Your new bike looks fantastic. I would be jealous if mine didn't look even better! :p They are almost twins.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jws92804/detail_hires?.dir=732c&.dnm=6fe2scd.jpg

Your new bike looks fantastic. I would be jealous if mine didn't look even better! :p They are almost twins.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jws92804/detail_hires?.dir=732c&.dnm=6fe2scd.jpg


I see you went with the silver fenders--looks good! I havent seen any other blue frames with that combo. Kinda wish I'd of gone all silver instead of black (I have very little in the way of color coordination). If I may ask--what brand of racks and bottle cages are those? They look great!

I see you went with the silver fenders--looks good! I havent seen any other blue frames with that combo. Kinda wish I'd of gone all silver instead of black (I have very little in the way of color coordination). If I may ask--what brand of racks and bottle cages are those? They look great!
The rear rack is a Blackburn EX-1, simple and durable. The front rack is Nashbar house brand, cheap but seems sturdy enough. Both racks got moved from my hybrid that I was commuting on. The bottle cages are Novara, got them from REI with my dividend. Lots of places sell that same kind of cage.

After I picked Sugino XD300 cranks I decided to do everything silver except the racks and handlebars. I had a black seatpost taken from another bike and got a black Salsa stem because it was cheap. I stripped the anodizing off them with lye and aluminum polish.

wsexson-

you cannot mount that front rack in that manner, there will be too much flex and the bolts will either loosen or snap at the mid-blade eyelet.

You will need to mount that rack with the U-bolts supplied, or use another rack that is designed for mid-blade eyelets. My favorite is the Blackburn lowrider, which yours is a copy of, but the blackburn has no front hoop and has struts to BOTH sides of the leg on each leg.

Just an FYI, but this comes from some "*****, the rack fell off" type experience.

wsexson-

you cannot mount that front rack in that manner, there will be too much flex and the bolts will either loosen or snap at the mid-blade eyelet.
[...]
voltimbe, can you elaborate? I don't see a mounting problem, in fact the Nashbar rack looks absolutely identical in all respects to my Blackburn (except my Blackburn is silver :) ) And that's the way I've got my Blackburn mounted.

wsesxon's pic is a jpeg, so maybe there's not enough resolution to see what's the issue....

-- Mark

you cannot mount that front rack in that manner, there will be too much flex and the bolts will either loosen or snap at the mid-blade eyelet.
Thanks for the info. It should be fine for my commuting cargo. I used blue loctite on the bolts and I will keep my eye on them to make sure they are not loosening. I had planned to get something better like a Tubus or something before taking any fully loaded trips on it.

I take it that your Blackburn low riders look something like the attached photo?

erm, why do you have brifters and bar end shifters?

voltimbe, can you elaborate? I don't see a mounting problem [...] that's the way I've got my Blackburn mounted.

I take it that your Blackburn low riders look something like the attached photo?
Ahhh, I see. Blackburn's lowrider design has changed, I never even knew.

There's nothing wrong with the way wsesxon has mounted his lowrider, that's the design, and proven for thousands of miles.... The new Blackburn design might be more stable and certainly less dorky looking, but the old hoop design keeps the rack from flexing.

-- Mark

Ahhh, I see. Blackburn's lowrider design has changed, I never even knew.
It looks to me like those are two different models. Possibly FL-1 with the hoop and CL-1 without.

erm, why do you have brifters and bar end shifters?

The 105 brifters were temporary--I didnt know I could use my 287-V's with the canti's. Thats been solved and they work just fine with longer straddle wires. I'll update with a new 100% finished photo this weekend. Snow melted off today (finally) and every chance I get Im going riding after work each day.

Ah no, both racks are from the same vintage.... One is designed to mount on forks without mid-blade eyelets using U-bolts (the one Wsexon has), and the other is for mid-blade.

I mount about 30 of these a year for the touring company I work for, on bikes going out for month-long tours.

There will be too much stress on such a small bolt at the mid-blade, mostly twisting stress. I did it the way you did for two years before I saw too many breakages and called Blackburn to ask why. That is what they told me. The one you have is not intended to be up against the fork, it needs to be spaced away with the 3-nut and U-bolt system provided, or the sheet metal that comprises the mounting will not take the localized stress. Thus, the reason the dual-strut one has bolts directly through the bars.

Very nice looking bike. I was just wondering why you did not use the 105 sti shifters.

edit: nevermind should have read the entire thread. Still agreat job.

I was wondering: I'm around 6'1", and my inseam is around 34" as well, but I sat on a few Bianchis (Veloce and San Jose, respectively) and I found myself comfortable with a 58cm frame with the San Jose and a 59 with the Veloce. The Standover on the 60cm San Jose is 34", while the 58cm is 32.8"; Veloce's 59cm was 31.7 while the 63cm is around 33".

My Point: I do like a slightly smaller stand over height (I'm a mountain biker at heart), which is why I prefered the smaller sizes in he Veloce and the San Jose. However on a Long Haul Trucker, the standover heights with the 58 and 60 cm versions are well below the 60 cm San Jose, which put the top tube pretty close to deez nuts.

My Question: Seeing as how I'm mostly leg (i.e. I'm not 6'4", I'm 6'2"!), and since you have a built LHT in front of you, would it be better to get a larger frame, at the expense of standover height? I can understand that I'll be in the saddle more often than standing over the top tube, but it's still a concern. Thanks!

What's your true inseam / pubic bone height. Check Rivendell's site for how to measure. I'm 6'1 and change with a 91cm pbh, wear 34" inseam jeans. I was debating the 60/62 thing also, and went with the 62. So far I don't regret it. Have about a fistful of seatpost, and the bars are even with the saddle, surprisingly it's comfortable to use the drops. Amazing how that works. :) I feel all cramped on my 59cm Paramount now.
If you look at pictures of GiantDave's bike, while it's a nice ride, IMHO he should've done a 62cm. Notice how much seatpost he has, and how long the stem is, and that it's angled up to get the bars where he wants them.
With a 62cm there will be less seatpost showing, and the stem could be shorter and level. I'm willing to bet he can stand over it and pick both wheels off the ground at least 2". Go with the 62, you won't regret it.