Touring - One Badass Mother...

Trucker, that is.

62cm LHT frame, 26" wheels, 1.5" Panaracer Paselas, Open Bar (with Ergon cork grips), v-brakes, full brake and derailleur cable housing (with top-pull front configuration), "tuned" trigger shifters, 180mm Mr. Whirly cranks.

Looks funny, rides great. Very comfortable, super smooth, extremely stable, and surprisingly nimble. This bike rules.

More to come...

Like!!

Awesome bike! Love it.

I have a question about the cork grips. Have you used them before? How well do they do in the rain?

This is my first time trying out the cork grips. They're very comfortable. I've got about 200 miles on the bike, but none in the rain yet. However, I'll be riding everywhere on this bike and I live in the PNW, so I'll soon find out how they do.

Beautiful bike!

Nice build ! Like the guitar pick display cover hehe. I can't wait to get my Open Bar, it looks sweet on yours. :)

What kind of crankset is that? It looks like a pretty small granny. Combined with the 26" wheels, that thing must climb vertical walls!

Nice lookin bike!

try it with 1.75 T-servs

What kind of crankset is that? It looks like a pretty small granny. Combined with the 26" wheels, that thing must climb vertical walls!

As noted in the post, those are 180mm Mr. Whirly cranks. The rings are 48/36/24, which are not as large as I'd like, but I had the set already, so I'll ride those rings until they wear out.

try it with 1.75 T-servs

Why do you say that? I like the 1.5 Paselas plenty.

Why do you say that? I like the 1.5 Paselas plenty.

the 1.5 Paselas are nice tires, but you need big knobby tires for real Badass points

the 1.5 Paselas are nice tires, but you need big knobby tires for real Badass points

I've got some 2.0 Marathon Extremes for when the going gets rough. Around town the Paselas are more than adequate, and are light and supple. I haven't yet decided what tires I'll do heavy touring on, however. I've been thinking Marathon Cross in 1.75. Perhaps the T-Servs?

dat crankset

dat crankset

What about dit?

One Badass Mother...

Shut your mouth!

I've got some 2.0 Marathon Extremes for when the going gets rough. Around town the Paselas are more than adequate, and are light and supple. I haven't yet decided what tires I'll do heavy touring on, however. I've been thinking Marathon Cross in 1.75. Perhaps the T-Servs?

oh hell you've got baddass covered. The 1.5 Paselas are fast, fast, fast. 1.75 T-servs aren't as fast but they are comfy and fast with heavy loads. Bizarre part about the Extremes is they feel just as fast as the T-servs while buzzing along on pavement, at least the one I had on the front with t-serv on the rear.

I think I'd want heavier sidewalls than the T-Servs for heavy touring but for affordable, comfortable fat tire riding they're great. A boot can fix a lot of damage. I don't think it's my fenders but the front tire does pick up a LOT of water when riding in the rain.

Hmmm how did you get rid of the gear display?...I have never seen that before but it does free up a lot of bar real estate

How are you liking the open bar? I was thinking of giving them a try on my lht to make it more dirt road worthy. I'm riding with drops now, and I'm worried that the open bar will shorten the reach too much and be uncomfortable.

The shift indicators can be detached from the LX shifter pods by simply removing two small bolts. The same is not true, however, for all Shimano shifters.

How are you liking the open bar? I was thinking of giving them a try on my lht to make it more dirt road worthy. I'm riding with drops now, and I'm worried that the open bar will shorten the reach too much and be uncomfortable.

I LOVE the Open Bar. It's super comfortable, not only because of the sweep, but also because it has a nice give to it that seems to smooth everything out a bit. I've tried drop bars, flat bars, a bullhorn bar, an H-Bar, as well as other sweep bars, and the Open Bar is my favorite. I believe it is designed to not shorten your reach compared to a flat bar, so you may not have an issue...

I LOVE the Open Bar. It's super comfortable, not only because of the sweep, but also because it has a nice give to it that seems to smooth everything out a bit. I've tried drop bars, flat bars, a bullhorn bar, an H-Bar, as well as other sweep bars, and the Open Bar is my favorite. I believe it is designed to not shorten your reach compared to a flat bar, so you may not have an issue...

Let us know how it works for you on long 10+ mile descents. I had a touring bike with an albatross bar and my wrists would kill me on long descents, griping the bar while braking for long periods was painful.

I LOVE the Open Bar. It's super comfortable, not only because of the sweep, but also because it has a nice give to it that seems to smooth everything out a bit. I've tried drop bars, flat bars, a bullhorn bar, an H-Bar, as well as other sweep bars, and the Open Bar is my favorite. I believe it is designed to not shorten your reach compared to a flat bar, so you may not have an issue...

Thanks, good to know! A shop near me has a new steamroller with the open bar, so I may go give it a test ride to get an idea if I'll like it or not.

Let us know how it works for you on long 10+ mile descents. I had a touring bike with an albatross bar and my wrists would kill me on long descents, griping the bar while braking for long periods was painful.

I actually did a 25-mile gravel descent on an Open Bar in July. Control was far superior to a drop bar and no wrist pain, although I can't say I was braking so much. ;)

I put a front rack on the Trucker and loaded up with gear for a trip this weekend. The bike handled amazingly well under load and was super comfortable to pedal. I was also very happy with the tires which held up to the load quite nicely, did much better than I expected on gravel, and were still smooth and fast.

My wheels, however, did not hold up to the load, and I broke three spokes. I ended up having to hitchhike, which for me meant riding in a car for the first time in three months -- a disappointing concession, but a fun adventure nonetheless.

Needless to say, I need a more suitable wheelset for this bike. I was running some cheap 32h LX/Mavic 221 wheels I had, but it's time now for some quality touring wheels. I'm 200 lbs and will be carrying front and rear panniers on many weekends and a few extended trips. What are my worthy options for 26" touring wheels? I could keep the LX hubs and just get some new rims perhaps, but I'm wondering if I should be moving to 36h anyway, which would require new hubs. Suggestions appreciated.

Lots more pictures from my trip on my blog (link in signature).

I've had really good luck with Sun Rhyno rims laced to shimano xt hubs. Mine have about 10,000 miles on them, 7,000 of which were loaded touring through mostly dirt roads in South America.

Cool build.

If you want good quality touring wheels, you might want to have somebody build them for you. If not, I'm sure you could get some heavy-duty freeride wheels.

Sun Rhynos and XT hubs is pretty much a solid recipe. The only thing better would be Chris King or Phil Wood hubs, and they are $$$$.

Needless to say, I need a more suitable wheelset for this bike. I was running some cheap 32h LX/Mavic 221 wheels I had, but it's time now for some quality touring wheels. I'm 200 lbs and will be carrying front and rear panniers on many weekends and a few extended trips. What are my worthy options for 26" touring wheels? I could keep the LX hubs and just get some new rims perhaps, but I'm wondering if I should be moving to 36h anyway, which would require new hubs. Suggestions appreciated.

Lots more pictures from my trip on my blog (link in signature).

If you aren't building your own wheels keep your old ones for learning to build and get something with a 36spoke rear wheel. Handspun makes good wheels. I'd be inclined to go with Rhyno Lite rims. If it was just the rear wheel only replace it. PeterWhite makes good wheels although I think he used spokes about 2mm too long on my last build.

I've got some 36h XT/XM719 wheels on backorder from Handspun... just waiting.

Nice!

You gotta go function over form on a touring bike, and you did!

I've got some 36h XT/XM719 wheels on backorder from Handspun... just waiting.

Great choice! I ran the same combo (but in 32H) down the Pacific Coast last summer and they held up amazingly! No even a truing was needed.

I see you're from Bellingham, where did you ride?

Enjoy222536

I see you're from Bellingham, where did you ride?

Well, this last trip was to Marblemount, down through Sedro-Woolley and out the Cascade Trail, but I only made it as far as Concrete. Lots of pictures from other local outings on my blog:

Still waiting on my wheels...

Meanwhile, some new kit: SKS P55 fenders and Tubus Cargo and Duo racks. Mmm...

Handspun was backordered for a few weeks, so I only recently received my new wheels. They're well built, and I think they'll be more than sufficient to meet my needs.

I've been experimenting with pedals for commuting, and kept the Ergon flats on for a short tour this weekend. I was trying to pack light and didn't want to bother with an extra pair of size 14s. I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't miss being clipped in except for on the steepest climbs, and I still managed 18.5mph loaded (as pictured).

What's with the RD cable and why?

What's with the RD cable and why?

Full housing. Keeps things clean and smooth.

I'm curious if you've had any ground clearance issues with the long crank arms and 26" wheels, either cornering or on uneven terrain?

Cornering and having the inside pedal down, in general is not a good Idea.
if just ahead of BDC, you can lift the rear wheel up or bend both pedal and crankarm.
as the pedal hits the ground, and motin carries it thru.

I'm curious if you've had any ground clearance issues with the long crank arms and 26" wheels, either cornering or on uneven terrain?

Great question... long crank arms, small wheels, a low bottom bracket, and huge pedals make for minimal clearance. I haven't had any issues with cornering on even terrain, but I'm quite mindful of my pedal position. Just this weekend I rode about two miles of rocky, rooty singletrack, and while I had minimal clearance, I managed alright when I minded my pedals. 90% of the time the low bottom bracket is beneficial, the remaining 10% of the time it just requires some forethought, or the good sense to get off my bike.

I'm curious if you've had any ground clearance issues with the long crank arms and 26" wheels, either cornering or on uneven terrain?

size of tires can change that somewhat, although 180mm cranks and wide pedals would put things closer to the ground. In my 700c LHT with 175mm cranks and 35mm tires I clipped a pedal getting used to the lower bb. In the 26" LHT with 1.75"-2.0" tires the top tube and bb. are higher.