Cafe

2k touring bike to take to work? Are you kidding me? Carbon cross bike with 700x28c slicks...get a huge rear seat bag and your done.

twodownzero

It's your first post, so I hate to ask, but do you own a carbon bike? I do, and after years and thousands of miles of owning a carbon bike that won't fit 28mm tires, I am more than happy to have a bike that, while it might be heavy, is durable, more aero than the so-called "commuter" bikes, and is tough and fast at the same time. My frame will probably be in tomorrow.

I'm still on the fence about wheels. Handbuilts are hard on the budget but they offer so many benefits!

Cafe

Well the disc trucker is awesome and is a good choice. But its definitely not light. I like disc brakes but they are heavy and unnecessary especially for what you plan to do.

That bike will feel slow, sluggish and heavy compared to your light carbon bike...but the LHT was made to be tough, rugged and carry a heavy load. Totally the opposite of a fast light tourer that various people pointed out.

twodownzero

I asked if you had a carbon bike, and you didn't answer. It sounds like you're one of those people who counts grams and thinks weight is important. Don't worry; you're not alone. People like that are the reason that every road bike, even the cheap entry level ones, have no tire clearance. It would take a few more grams to make the fork wider or the chainstays just a smidge longer.

My bike will be the same weight, or lighter, than the so-called commuter bikes that companies like Trek make. The riding position will be much more aero than them as well. Yes, it could have been 5 pounds lighter if I traded off some things that I didn't want to trade off. But I can become 5 pounds lighter by taking a dump before I ride and if I use lighter wheels and other rotating components, the important rotating weight will be kept to a minimum.

Cafe

If you want to sell people on an LHT being light and fast...you can't be helped. Its a boat anchor frame especially the one with the disc option. But it's the perfect utility bike for long expeditions, and would make for a really nice commuter. That's what it was designed to do. People don't race on LHTs for good reason. You've never owned a touring bike before I gather. I've owned a couple. They are heavy, feel sluggish, but are rugged and can handle a big load.

You already had a couple of LHT owners tell you they wouldn't use it for every day riding...but you are not listening for some reason.

twodownzero

Again, you are drawing comparisons that I do not wish to draw. A "road" bike, which used to be called what they really are--a "racing" bicycle--is not a point of comparison. I have been commuting on my road bike. It is light, aggressive, and fast--probably 19 pounds with the heavy wheelset that I commute on. If a road bike is the point of reference, yes, a touring bike is a tank. But to me, that is not a meaningful comparison because a road bike lacks the durability and practicality that bikes designed for commuting have.

30 pounds is not at all heavy for a commuter bike. My point of comparison is my hybrid bike that I have since sold, which was over 40 pounds. It was also far more upright than any drop bar bike. I used it to visit all over DC when I was there in 2012 and put hundreds of miles on it up and down the hills in the District.

If the point of reference is a road bike, any touring bike is a heavy, fat, slow tank. I reject that as it is a meaningless analogy. The point of reference can't be a road bike because road bikes are not acceptable options for commuting unless one is willing to deal with the durability issues, which my experience has shown to me that I'm not.

Cafe

Why would you compare it to some bike over 40 pounds. You are spending 2k. If you go with a good drivetrain with that wheel set you were talking about...you are probably well over 2k. I can find a lot of cross bikes much lighter than 30 pounds with stock wheels for much less than 2k I imagine.

twodownzero

Name one with 26" wheels and disc brakes and I'll buy it instead.

Cafe

I can't. Dismissing 700c wheels for toe overlap which only occurs when taking sharp turns at very slow speeds...say 5mph is strange to me.

Regardless you will have a very nice LHT when all is said and done.

twodownzero

Well I guess that pretty much narrows it down.

Probably because you actually fit on a 700c bike and don't have to make compromises to fit. I don't, and when there exists a totally viable option, I am going to take it.

Cars use wheels with rims that vary in size between ~12 and ~20 inches. An appropriately sized wheel exists for each size of car. Why wouldn't the same logic apply to a bicycle? It does, and of course it does.

I picked up my frameset today and I would estimate that it weighs about 5 pounds. I was shocked that it was nowhere near the tank that I expected. This is going to be an awesome bike.

Cafe

It's an awesome frame no matter what you do with it. As long as your happy with it that is what matters in the end. I would love to build up an LHT down the road as well. Maybe I'm just jealous you got one and I don't. Have fun building it up would love to see a pic when it is finished.

treebound 

I'm looking forward to seeing a pic of your bike once you've got it built up and to hear your impressions of how it rides once you've got 100 miles on it.

I've been researching cross, gravel, and touring bikes myself. The LHT is on the list as well as the Surly Straggler, an All City model, a KHS bike, a Soma model, and a Salsa model ( the notepad with details is out in the car, sorry for not having all the details ). Some of the ones I'm looking at will fit 42mm tires, one maybe a 45, all on my list will fit at least a 36/38 size, all which makes a 26" wheel size secondary to me. I'm a bit taller than you (the OP, posting with the phone browser so quoting is funny) so my needs are different, but this thread and discussion is helping me in my search.

Good luck and success on your LHT build, I hope it turns out to be everything that you want it to be. Looking forward to the pics and report.

Craptacular8

Definitely looking forward to seeing your finished bike, and hearing the specs. Though i am the same height, and would require a 26" tire in a LHT, my other possibles are 700's. That said, my LBS that sells LHT insisted the finished bike weighs about 38 pounds. If it doesn't have to, I definitely want it back on my short list. Thanks.

twodownzero

I find that very hard to believe. The frame and fork is maybe 3 pounds heavier than a high-end carbon frame and fork. I suspect that with light wheels and even with a touring drivetrain, one could build a LHT in the mid 20s. Your LBS is on crack. I was shocked at how light my frame is.

Doug64

We'll see when you get done. My 58 cm, 700c, non-disc LHT with racks and fenders weighs 28.5 lbs. I built it up keeping weight in mind. My daughter's 50 cm LHT with 26" lightweight wheels and similar components weighs close to that. The disc brakes heavier wheelset/tires, and dynamo hub you are proposing will add additional weight. If you are planning on using a Brooks saddle and Schwalbe tires, add another pound or two

You have the frame; why don't you just weight it and have a real number? I'm sure there are weights for carbon frames out there. That is how they market them, unlike touring frame makers who are a little hesitant to state the frame weights.

However, you'd have to add ballast to get it up to 38 lbs.

Good luck on your build, and enjoy your new ride

BigAura

Also for reference my LHT (54cm, w/ S&S couplers) frame & fork weigh in at 8lbs. My current build with rear rack, heavy wheels, b-17 saddle, is 30lbs. Earlier I built it up with basicly the same plus fenders, front rack, and sprung b-67 and it was 32 lbs.

nun

Many carbon framed bikes now take large tires.....at least 28s......and CX bikes have always had room for big tires. The main drawback to using a carbon frame is the lack of places to mount a rack, and using P-Clamps should be avoided, but with the numerous rackless baggage systems now available CX and endurance carbon framed bikes are definitely something to consider for touring.

twodownzero

28mm is a large tire? Is it rude that I find such a comment laughable?

nun

At least 28mm......a CF CX or adventure bike is a great all rounder IMHO.

Doug64

It all depends on your frame of reference. After commuting for 8 years on 23 mm tires and a lot of lightly loaded touring on 25 mm tires, I did consider 28 mm tires large. If you reference everything off your hybrid, then almost anything is light and fast.

I rode across the U.S. fully loaded on 28 mm tires ( I took the 32 mm tires off) , and on a cross bike. Some of us consider 32 mm a wide tire. My cross bike will take 35 mm tires with fenders, and IMO they are too large

twodownzero

When I compare it to the kind of riding I use my road bike for, I might even consider a 25mm tire "wide," but for commuting, anything under probably 35mm, I consider light/fast.

I sold my hybrid and I'm glad it is gone, although it did serve me well for getting around campus when I was in school and around DC to visit the monuments and such. This bike is going to be so much faster lighter that anything will be a gift compared to that tank!

djb

Re commuting, I commute on both 28s and 1.5 and even 2 inch tires. Diff sort of rides, diff sort of bikes, but I do agree that the 1.5 37mm? tires do allow you to go fast over rough stuff that would rattle the hell out of 28s. That said, I always notice a real speed diff between the two bikes, which like I said, is a factor of various t things.

BigAura

For me, the thinner the tire, the more I need to concentrate, especially on rough-road or off-road. I rather relax when touring, and extra 10 mins a day means nothing. I'd never consider loaded touring with anything less than 32mm, UNLESS I knew all the roads I was to travel on, were perfectly lovely.

mdilthey

Just finished this build. Soma Double Cross Disc, for light touring and endurance riding. 28c tires, nice light steel frame, comfy geometry.



Check out the full details here: Max, The Cyclist — New Horse

bikemig 

I'm a big fan of my soma doublecross which I use as my basic all rounder bike.