Touring - newish LHT scored on CL

So I picked this up yesterday off of Craigslist. Very low mile. How'd I do? :)

http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040373/846602246_traMj-L.jpg
http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040394/846598927_UuMPn-XL.jpg
http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040395/846599737_SVJbC-L.jpg
http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040393/846599285_zu7R7-L.jpg
http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040397/846600335_79Kdm-X2.jpg
http://trentg.smugmug.com/Other/LHT/P1040398/846600189_3Cd5C-XL.jpg


:D

You didnt say what you paid so little hard to say how you did. Looks good. I would shorten up the straddle cables some on the brakes if it were mine. Looks like more roadie oriented gearing, not touring, but you can change that if needed. Nice quality stuff though.:thumb:

Though it's setup as a road bike and not a tourer, it looks great! It has decent components but as ddex said, once we know what you pay for it, we can tell you whether it was worth it.

It looks perfect. If you paid much less than, say, $900, you did great. I wouldn't want to take it touring, though, as it is. I'd want a triple in front. Those wheels look like the ones I've got on my "fast bike". If so, I'd want something stronger for touring. However, for an around-town bike or commuter, your's looks great, especially if you got it for a good price.

How much? Do tell.

I hate being nosey, sorry.

Gotta love the open pro wheels, saddle, handlebars and frame color. It is a bit odd to have a heavy work horse geared as road double but the crank might be a compact and with those shifters and rear derailleur he would only need to replace the crank and FD for much lower gearing.

Very nice, how much ?

8 and a half bills. I don't know much about touring or bicycles for that matter but I had my eye on a crosscheck or LHT for a little while. Going to use it to supplement my SS/FG for my daily commute and errand running. It sure rides different than my aluminum frame-carbon fork bike. I thought this hardware was nice but I guess since its not bomb proof and geared for touring some in here may not like it.

Nice bike.

Should make a great commuter and fill the need you just mentioned. Enjoy the new ride.

Thanks for the comments folks. Are these wheels/hubs/spokes not as durable as a stock build from Surly?

Nice bike for sure if you like the bike and it rides nice to you.Then don't worry to much what people think here it is the web so you will get all kinds of opt.Enjoy your new ride.

I've heard that mavic open pros are pretty incredible wheels. I think that you got much better components than it would have come with. It sounds perfect for your uses. It IS bomb proof. It just lacks super low gears for touring that you won't need anyway.

Score ! I just built up my cross check for 500 and boy am I jealous ;)

edit: close inspection of your crank tells me that you are most likely running a compact. This gives you the low gears that a triple would.

Truely awesome. Enjoy the crap out of that bike you lucky sob

Thanks Epicus07. Just put on my Shimano 520's last night. Feels great to be connected to the LHT. I've almost crashed hard a few times up to now from bottoming the pedals. This thing doesn't have near the clearance that my SS/FG does.

I'm guessing that by "bottoming the pedals" you mean hitting them on the ground during a turn? The LHT has a lower bottom bracket to make the bike more stable while carrying a load.
Since you have a SS/FG background i feel compelled to teach you something.

Some turns you can pedal through, some you can't. For high speed turns or turns that require you to lay the bike down a bit, here is what you need to do.

Put your outside foot all the way down and put some weight on it. so if you are turning right you would put your left foot all the way down. This brings your right pedal all the way up preventing pedal strike and more importantly it
"pushes your bike into the ground" giving you much better control and stability.

That is an odd mix of components, but nonetheless $850 is a really good deal. Enjoy.

Thanks Epicus07. Just put on my Shimano 520's last night. Feels great to be connected to the LHT. I've almost crashed hard a few times up to now from bottoming the pedals. This thing doesn't have near the clearance that my SS/FG does.

the wheels are durable training wheels and depending on your weight and load light touring wheels. If you're over 175lbs and want to carry 25lbs on the rear wheel it would be worth getting a heavier rear wheel instead of finding out what it takes to knock those out. I experienced the same clipping of pedals in a turn when I got my LHT, the combination of wide pedals, long cranks and low bb announced itself sooner than on other bikes. You got a good bike, for kicks and giggles try out some light fat tires and go crashing through bad roads.

Thanks. I knew this already just have to remain conscious of what bike I'm on and stop peddling through turns.


I'm guessing that by "bottoming the pedals" you mean hitting them on the ground during a turn? The LHT has a lower bottom bracket to make the bike more stable while carrying a load.
Since you have a SS/FG background i feel compelled to teach you something.

Some turns you can pedal through, some you can't. For high speed turns or turns that require you to lay the bike down a bit, here is what you need to do.

Put your outside foot all the way down and put some weight on it. so if you are turning right you would put your left foot all the way down. This brings your right pedal all the way up preventing pedal strike and more importantly it
"pushes your bike into the ground" giving you much better control and stability.

Thanks for the wheel durability info. I weigh 165 and might max it out with 25 lbs over the back so I may look for a tougher wheel at some point. Am I looking for a 36 spoke in that case? I've done a fair bit of putting it through our crap roads filled with holes the last few days and it handles great.


the wheels are durable training wheels and depending on your weight and load light touring wheels. If you're over 175lbs and want to carry 25lbs on the rear wheel it would be worth getting a heavier rear wheel instead of finding out what it takes to knock those out. I experienced the same clipping of pedals in a turn when I got my LHT, the combination of wide pedals, long cranks and low bb announced itself sooner than on other bikes. You got a good bike, for kicks and giggles try out some light fat tires and go crashing through bad roads.

32 spokes should be able to carry 25lbs on the rear wheel, no? i know 220lbs+ guys who ride 20- and 24-spoke rear wheels with no problems (on pavement, granted).

are there different forces placed on a rear wheel when you've got a rear rack?

anyway, that's an amazing price for that bike. the r700 crank is quite nice - basically da7800 rings on ultegra crank arms. that crank will last forever!

I weigh about 200lbs and carried about 30 lbs on lower spoke wheels without needing to true them. i would be very surprised if it couldn't handle your weight. I sincerely doubt you need a heavier wheel unless you plan to ride across the country.