134k

I'm in the market for my very first touring bike and have been looking at complete bikes. I came across this PNW company but have had no luck finding any reviews on this bike. Does anyone have any experience or comments about this build?
https://www.traitorcycles.com/2015/B...FFF37DF52189C6

NormanF

Looks good. Nearly same sizing as my GT Eightball. Can take 35 c with fenders, 40 c without. I suspect you could probably put on 42 c as long you don't have aggressive thread or tall knobs.

For a touring bike, it seems well spec'ced.

veganbikes

It looks like a mid range (though maybe lower) touring bike. Nothing that special. I would go with a tried and true Surly Disc Trucker or Trek 520. You can probably get DT for around the same price and it will have nicer components in certain areas or similar components in other areas.

The front cranks are road racing triples rather than a good touring triple (gearing too high) and I think an 11-30 might be just a tad low, for those cranks I would go 11-34.

The brakes are lower end Promax, instead of a tried and true Avid BB7s. Though it looks like they use a decent amount of cheaper Taiwanese stuff on the bike rather than more tried and true stuff. The 26.6 seatpost diameter is really odd as 27.2 seems generally more of a common size these days and on a touring bike either common or highly reliable is the best way to go. Also no third bottle cage mount that I can see, which is no bueno in my book.

Plus I dislike any touring bike that comes with a high end saddle or really any bike unless you are buying something more custom or the bike is super high end. Usually a fancy saddle is used to kind of hide or make up for cheap parts elsewhere and as a BUY ME item. It is flashy when it should really be all about the drivetrain and wheels. Saddle is something most people are going to want to pick on their own.

If I were them I would just basically clone the Disc Trucker. There is a reason why so many people have DTs or LHTs and not just because Surly is an unstoppable marketing machine hellbent on world domination and beer, but because they are good bikes for the price. They are nicely spec'd but not over the top so normal people can afford them and designed by people who actually tour and do all sort of crazy stuff with their bikes.

Comparing the Surly Pacer with the Traitor Cycles Ruben bike it is basically the same price but the Surly has much nicer parts on it. The only major difference aside from parts is that the Traitor has disc brakes which is nice but not for that price and those components.

TL : DR:
Get a tried and true Disc Trucker that is going to have nicer parts and is well loved and reviewed. Skip this "Traitor Cycles".

134k

Thank you greatly. I had my suspicions on the components as well, even convincing myself that I could swap those parts with some other parts I had laying around. But alas, I'm paying for a complete bike, and not a new renovation. This will be one to cross off.

veganbikes

Generally it is cheaper to buy a nicer complete gruppo because companies that are large enough generally will get an OEM discount or at least can get it wholesale. Most folks unless they work at a shop are going to pay retail or close to it for parts or try and scrounge around on the internets.

I will say this building up a bike with what you want on it is a great way to go and is what I am currently doing with my new touring bike after doing some upgrades here and there on the old DT. It is really a lot of fun to try and figure out everything I need and what would be the better deal or make most sense. However as stated above it can be more expensive.