Touring - The curse of the Long Haul Trucker

I can't afford this ****ing thing, but after looking at it, I'm unsatisfied with all the other touring bikes I have seen! Help! Why are there no budget touring bikes that are really built like a touring bike? I was looking at the Aurora but it has road gearing, not much tire clearance, and brifters. I looked at the Bianchi Volpe and it seemed about the same, Fuji touring wasnt looking too hot either with those wheels. If I could find a cheap used touring bike (hell, even an old mtb big enough for my lanky ass) I would be satisfied with compromise, but I just cannot spend $800-950 on a stock touring bike that I am not even satisfied with... POOP.

Crap, that was me who made this thread. I am on my friend's computer and forgot he was logged in.

Buy an LHT frame for 330 ish on sale (they're around), buy an older used mtb or touring bike in a size no one wants with okay components for 100-200 ish on craigslist, move the components over, sell the frame, and upgrade the components as you're able to. That's my plan.

Touring bikes are a small part of the market and good parts cost money. If you want wheels that won't pop spokes right and left, good hubs ,derailluers that hold up, a strong frame with lots of braise-ons and long wheel base, it's worth the extra cost.

Trek offers a card with 90 days same as cash.

My lbs lowered the cost of the 520 by switching to a mountainbike crankset. Best $1000 I have spent.

I can't afford this ****ing thing, but after looking at it, I'm unsatisfied with all the other touring bikes I have seen!

Sounds like you're already an LHT snob and you don't even own one.

I have a 2006 Novara Randonee and I'm happy with it. Of course I'd like something nicer, fancier, whatever. But I'm not going to be grumpy about it. It's the touring I like. If I have a bike that I can tour on, I'm happy with what I've got. People tour on all kinds of junk. Doesn't have to be a fancy-pantsy LHT to have a good time. It might look better in the corner of the living room...

a frame that is as proletariat as QBP's Long Haul Trucker would hardly be misconstrued as a "fantsy pants' anything, dontchyathink?

it's not a curse, more like a siren song....the whispering voice of the open road, calling....

I can't afford this ****ing thing, but after looking at it, I'm unsatisfied with all the other touring bikes I have seen! Help! Why are there no budget touring bikes that are really built like a touring bike?
I think the rest of your post answered this question. ;) You plan to spend lots of time on the bike, and you're picky about what you want.

Although it seems like bike touring might be picking up a little steam, the vast majority of cyclists are not tourers. And those that are, have very valid reasons to be very selective about their bike's configuration and setup.

You may want to check out Bike Friday, which does a ton of custom travel and touring bikes. Chances are you can get a bike kitted out exactly the way you want it, with the geometry you want, and have it pack into a suitcase for a similar cost as the whole LHT thing....

What size frame do you want, I'll look around Eugene and post anything I find.

I am looking for a 58... but I am not sure if LHTs run big or small, so I could probably ride a 60 too. (I am 6'1" but tend to be comfortable on a small-ish frame.)

And yeah, I know I may have sounded like a snob but I'm not, I swear! I really needed to rant though! I sold my road bike and Im selling my Steamroller, I have no computer, no bed, I share a 1 bedroom apartment; I just want one ****ing nice bike that I can stick with, and take some serious trips on.

Garagegirl, your advice seems to be the best bet for me, I'm just getting impatient with the search.

Check garage sales or thrift stores for old touring bikes. They used to be one of the most popular bike types made and you could easily find one with a frame superior to the Surly. The Miyata 610 I got is nicer than any modern mass production frame I've come across here.

I've got to represent for the Bianchi Volpe. I've put around 10,000 miles on mine and it's still going strong. I'm still using the original brifters, brakes, rear derailer and hubs. Yes the tiagra components might not be the lightest or most expensive out there, but they are built to last. And the frame is totally solid. You can't build a better bike for the money.

The LHT might be a slightly nicer frame, but you'll end up spending more to build a comparable bike, even if you do all of the labor yourself.

If you're gonna talk about the Volpe, then the complete Cross Check should be in the running too. Basically the same components as the Volpe, but you get bar end shifters (which are better than STI, no matter what anyone says), and you can add an LHT fork if you want.

No way! I can't imagine ever going back from STIs

Why don't you do what I did and slowly buy all the parts you need as you find them for an acceptable price. It might take a little longer, but what's the rush? It's much better to buy what you want once, than to buy something you don't really want because you need to have it now, and then latter on realize that you should have gotten the LHT in the first place.