Bicycle Mechanics - Surley LHT brakes / shifters / bars

I am interested in a LHT but prefer a more upright riding position and dont like the standard set up on the bike.
I am currently using trekking bars / grip shifters & mtb brake levers.

How difficult would it be to make the changes to trekking bars / grip shifters & mtb brake levers?

If possible, would it be better to have the shop make the changes, or do it myself?

Ed

There are many threads on this over in the Google groups Surly LHT Forums.

http://groups.google.com/group/surlylht/topics

I can't say definitively how hard it is because I am still waiting on my Paul Canti Levers to get here.

It doesn't sound that hard to me. Although I plan to use Paul Thumbies, rather than twist shifters.

The one question I still have open is whether I am going to need to replace my brake cables when I replace the brake levers.

You can always buy the frame and build it yourself with the components you want. That way, you will not be wasting money and components from the standard build. The frame is $430 at Jenson, and the build with trekking bars grip shifters would have to much less than the cost of the complete bike ($1,100). Plus, you will learn a lot about the bike and maintaining the bike by building it yourself. Good luck.

It's easy to do yourself- I've changed my LHT from drop bar with canti, to drop bar with v-brakes (and v levers), to flat bar with v-brakes and bar ends, and now something like a "noah's ark" flat bar with v-brakes and downtube shifters.

It takes time and lots of brake and shift cable, but it certainly isn't difficult to do! You could tackle it yourself with some tools and space.

Thanks all