BigCurly

I am interested in getting into Randonneuring and I just happen to be shopping for a new bike.

I also want to use this new bike to commute and go on some multi-day tours. I know the LHT will work for commuting and touring, but as I have no experience with riding brevets I was wondering if any of you would think about completing a brevet on a LHT?

Many thanks.

bobbycorno

Well, there are folks who use 'em, but the LHT has a rep for being a bit heavy and sluggish compared to "real" rando or road bikes. 'Twouldn't be my first choice, but...

SP
Bend, OR

Homeyba

Wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list either. Actually, it wouldn't even be on my list... Could you use one though? Sure no problem. I've seen just about everything on brevets at one time or another.

unterhausen

It really depends on how serious you are about touring. If your commitment to touring is serious, then you probably want to live with a compromise on brevets. If you kinda, sorta want to go touring someday maybe, I'd recommend a sportier bike. A traditional randonneuse will be fine for credit card touring or ultralight touring.

redxj

Even a weight weenie build of a LHT is going to be a heavy bike. I own a LHT and without racks is well over 30 lbs (62cm). My brevet bikes are 26 and 28 lbs with fenders, racks and even lights. A number of steel cross bikes could make very good brevet and commuter bikes and still be able to handle a multiday tour.

chewybrian 

I use mine for brevets, and I've seen a couple others out there on rides. I chose it for exactly the reasons you list. For the money, if you want a bike that can also be a commuter and take you on tour, it's tough to beat. The frame and components are oriented to carrying weight while being rugged and dependable, so it is ideal for commuting and heavily loaded touring, and clydes like me.

As a brevet bike, the extra five pounds might cost you a part of one mph. It's not critical to finishing, but can make you work a bit harder if you want to ride with a fast group, or if you take on rides with a lot of climbing. I've done rides up to 1000k on the LHT, and I don't feel it held me back in any meaningful way. But, I'm just out there to finish and have fun, not looking to 'win' the ride.

Barrettscv 

^^This.

I enjoy hilly climbs and the routes I travel for events always seem to include the steepest hills in the area. I switched from a heavier bike to a lighter & stiffer road bike last year. I found a small improvement in speed with reduced effort on the flat sections with the lighter road bike. However, it was in the hills that the lighter & stiffer bike really made a difference. The amount of additional energy required to climb 10,000 ft with a bike that is 5 to 10 lbs heavier than a typical road bike is substantial.

If your rides are totally flat, weight is of small consequence. If you’re climbing, a few pounds will really be felt.

There may be a false economy when it comes to buying one bike for all kinds of riding. Cycling enthusiasts end up with the right tool for the job and buying below your needs will be corrected by another bike purchase later.

seenloitering

I was in the same place a couple years ago and I went for a CX meets touring bike. I'm happy with the choice for a few reasons.

1) I'm poorish and one bike is cheaper than two.
2) I'm 6'5", so the extra weight on hills (Barrettscv speaks the truth about it being a serious issue) isn't that big a deal for me - the bike is only about 32lbs with full rando rigging.
3) I never really tour for longer than a week, and I don't go anywhere particularly exotic. So, while fully loaded, it's a light fully loaded.

BigCurly

Sounds like a pretty similar situation to me. Which bike did you end up with? I've also seriously considered the Surly Cross Check (I want a steel bike).

Thanks for all the advice, it makes this a lot easier.

lonesomesteve

Funny you should mention the Cross Check, I was just about to recommend it. In my neck of the woods you can't swing a dead cat without hitting three of four people commuting on a Cross Check. Same thing on brevets, any brevet around here with more than 20 people is likely to have one or more Cross Checks. I rode one myself through two SR series and the Cascade 1200.

Loaded touring would probably be where the Cross Check is weakest, but I know of at least a couple people who have done extended tours on Cross Checks.

seenloitering

I got one of these.

It's billed as a touring bike, but it's more or less a CX bike with granny gears.

The Impossipede

Count me as one of them. I have the Traveler's Check (Cross Check w/ S&S couplers), and a friend and I rode the entirety of the ACA's Atlantic Coast route this past summer. Now, for me, self-supported loaded touring means about 35 pounds of gear, which I felt was close to the most I'd be happy with on a Check w/ only a rear rack. But perhaps dividing the luggage front and rear would push that number higher.

All that said, I do intend to ride some randos on the same bike I toured on, just with a bigger crank. If I didn't have the 700c wheels, I probably wouldn't be as eager.

bbunk

I got one of those also for the same reason. I want to be able to do some touring and ride brevets. I haven't had the bike long enough to do either but it seems like it will work our great.

thebulls

Seems like the issue isn't just the weight of the bike, but also its responsiveness. A touring bike that is designed to handle 100-pound loads has to have thicker-walled tubing, so the frame is just not going to flex nicely under load. So take two randonneurs with identical total weight of bicycle plus luggage, one on a touring bike and the other on a "randonneur" bike (e.g. Velo Orange Randonneur or Boulder Bicycles Randonneur). I bet that the cyclist on the randonneur bike will make it to the top of the mountain faster, and feel less beat up at the top. It's true that randonneurs can ride any bike and finish events. But it's sure more fun to ride a responsive bike than one that feels dead and that beats up your legs.

Nick

bobbycorno

Yep. Wholeheartedly so. After 5 years rando'ing, pretty much a different bike every year, I think I've found a keeper: an '84 Trek 610. 531cs tubing, sport touring geometry, converted to 650b, and a "rando a la Francaise" build. I've had a soft spot for this particular model Trek since back in '84 when I was working for a Trek dealer in Seattle. And for once, memory is accurate. It's fast, smooth, and handles like a dream. The Kogswell P/R whose place it takes had the comfort and handling down pat, but it's just too heavy and sluggish. Made me feel like I was working too hard. So even if weight isn't "that important", the feel of the bike is (at least for me), and, getting back to the OP's question, that's exactly where the LHT would be most lacking. Well, that and "front-load" (aka low-trail) steering geometry thing.

SP
Bend, OR

tacomee

I'd just buy that Surly and ride it! (the Crosscheck or LHT). Both these bikes offer really great value. The parts alone are worth the $1200 you pay for a complete bike. Bike shops sometimes buy Surly bikes to take off all the parts to sell on a *custom* build rando style bike, than hang the frame in the window to sell to somebody else. Remember, you can always get a lighter/better frame next season!

Absenth

I have a Long Haul Trucker. I got it thinking I needed the extra long frame to fit a 15" laptop, change of clothes, and shoes for daily commuting without heel strikes. I also figured the longer, touring specific geometry would make pulling my daughter in the trailer behind me easier/safer due to the canti brakes with the giant pads, and long wheel base. In retrospect I should have held out for the Cyclocross bike I was looking at originally.

Ultimately i don't regret buying the Trucker. It's a comfortable bike to ride over long distances. It's got gearing that makes rides like "The Hilly Hundred" not completely terrible for a novice cyclist like myself, and it does make hauling lots of stuff from home to work and back pretty easy.

I now find myself looking for a much faster and more responsive bike to go along side the Trucker. It sounds like if I settle on something like the Masi CX Special, there's a good chance I'll find myself not riding the Trucker much anymore in which case I guess I'll sell it lesson learned. I also didn't know what kind of cycling I wanted to do when I purchased my Surly. I've decided that This is EXACTLY what I want to do. I've signed up to ride 100 miles each day in the BikeMS150 Best Dam Bike ride in Wisconsin. As well as signing up to ride RAIN (Ride Across Indiana) which is a 160mile one day ride. No big deal for pros like yourselves, but I'm terrified of both upcoming events.

Homeyba

You'll do fine! Just remember, it's only a bike ride! Before you know it, you'll be an ol pro yourself.

thebulls

I just bought that exact-same model last November (as a frame on EBay for $170) and currently have it built as 700C but will be converting to 650B as soon as the wheel components arrive. Main reason I went for this model is: Geometry is almost identical to the current VO Randonneur (rake is 1mm shorter) and it has good tubing. Plus, suitable for 650B conversion. What sort of brakes are you running with the 650B? I'm guessing that I will go with DiaCompe 750's (right now I have DiaCompe 610's--I like the feel and simplicity of centerpulls).

phatfree

I say ride what is comfortable to you. I rando with a Pake C'Mute, which is basically a CC analog, and I love the bike. It is by no means the fastest bike and I am not going to win the RUSA King of the Mountains Jersey, wouldn't that be sweet, but dam it is comfortable to me. Also, realize that more important than the bike is the rider! I have ridden with people who at first sight you would think Lantern Rouge, but then that same rider pounds you into submission with their relentless pace! The bike is such a small factor if we are only concerned with the overall speed of the ride. The individual rider's fitness and overall goals for the ride will trump frame choice on any day.

garagegirl

I'm not a randonneur (yet) just a century rider, but I would be miserable on an LHT. If I were in your position, I would be looking at road oriented sport tourers.

Like thebulls said, slowness isn't about the weight, it's about the geometry and the handling. An LHT frame weighs roughly the same as my Salsa Casseroll, but the handling is dramatically different. Both bikes with similar build kits and tires will travel at the same speed. But the piggish handling of the LHT would wear me out. I like quick, nippy bikes, and the Casseroll is as stable as I want to go, unless I was loaded down with gear. Personally I would rather choose a more nimble bike and tour with a bare minimum of gear.

However, some people love touring style handling, and would rather be on an unloaded LHT than a road bike. A fair amount of my friends actually, but I think this is mainly because they don't have their handlebars high enough on their roadbikes

And some people ride anything without complaint, and are happy to ride their full sus mtb everywhere.

You have to find out what sort of handling you prefer, and then go with that.

Also keep in mind that handling changes depending on how well the bike fits you, and that some bikes have subtle geometry changes across the line of sizes making a small bike handle one way for a small rider, and a large bike handle slightly differently for a large rider. This is really nit picky though.

The most important thing above all else is that the bike fits you. A minor annoyance on a 30 mile ride can lead to cramps or numbness or injury on longer rides.

Road Fan

Very cool! I did my handful of metrics last year on a Woodrup, which I've since sold. This year I'm setting up my bought-new 1984 Trek 610 for distance riding. I haven't been able to get the fork de-raked, so I'm gettning a new one made - I'll have trail of about 40 degrees when done. I was going to get a Boxdog Pelican, Boulder, or a custom. The reason I've decided against those is that the 610 geometry is nearly identical to that of the Pelican, except for the low-trail fork, and just a few millimeters less drop. I can test the concept for the relatively small cost of a fork.

Bobby/SP, what's your build? I'm going with 700 x 32 tires and a Selle AnAtomica saddle. Gearing is not yet so clear, but the parts on hand are a 13-32 7-speed rear end and either a compact or a triple. Got some steep grades planned, at least for Michigan, so I think I need gears down near 22 inches or so. So far my derailleurs will be vintage Huret Duopar front and rear - I've had great luck with them on the 610, and several other bikes. There may a 13-29 Campy 9 or 10 speed in the future, we'll have to see!

If I was looking for a suitable Trek now, I'd get a 600 or any 6xx from 1983. In that year they provided a fork with 55 mm rake, that would be somewhat better with a front load. An all-531 710 might sound like a good idea, but it's geometry is significantly different.

Several local dealers are trying to sell me an LHT, saying "isn't that just touring?" but the lack of heavy load capability makes it a much different bike. With either the Trek or the Woodrup, I've been ahead of that game for a while.

Haku

I would keep this in mind, Randonneuring is considered fast touring, the bike listed is not fast.

Catrin

I have a LHT, and I dearly love my cushy tank. She is just that, cushy for all-day-long rides when it doesn't matter how long it takes to get there - especially when there are lots of steep hills to ride. The bike does great on gravel with the right tires, and while I will never do fully-loaded touring, I am very glad to have the bike. I will do lighter touring, and love to just ramble across the countryside with no particular place to go

I am waiting delivery on a much lighter custom Gunnar that is based on their cross geometry and when my legs are healed and conditioned enough from the multitude of over-use injuries of last fall to ride centuries and longer THAT will be my century and brevet bike. My LHT weighs 35 pounds and is my only bike currently. My Gunnar will only weigh about 20-22 pounds. I won't know how to act on a bike that light And THAT is with a triple and gearing as deep as my LHT!

aceofspaids

my rando trucker............i like it just fine for long rides.