antokelly

So the Surly long haul trucker how good is it .
I'm half thinking of buying the frame and fork but my size only comes in 26in wheels i would much rather ride 700c it's what im used to, besides i would be sticking to smooth tarmac well as smooth as i can find.(i'm in Ireland btw.)

so is it worth looking to buy or should i be looking at some other frameset that doesnt cost the earth to buy.
thanks for looking
anto.

mstateglfr 

Saga Frame Set | SOMA Fabrications $470US

Saga DC Frame Set (Disc/Canti) | SOMA Fabrications $590US

No idea if these are available in Ireland, but they have 700 C wheels for size 54 and larger frames. And the new DC frame can take 650b wheels for size is under 54.

Very good tubing, really well respected frame company, lots of touring features.
Just a suggestion as an alternative to the Long Haul trucker

robow

If you like Surly, a lot of people have toured a lot of miles on the Surly Cross Check which is only available in 700c. Also same can be said of the Soma Double Cross as well. Velo Orange used to carry a few different framesets that were designed for touring, but again, don't know how their shipping policies pertain to the third world

Tourist in MSN

The 700c would more than likely have some toe overlap if it was available in smaller sizes. I had a bit of toe overlap on my 58cm LHT.

There is nothing wrong with touring on 26 inch. I have two Thorn touring bikes, both 26 inch. I use a 40mm wide tire for touring on pavement (or tarmac), I used Schwalbe Marathon (with Greenguard) in 559X40. I also bought a folding Vittoria Randonee Pro in the same size for a spare, but have not used that tire so I can't comment on it. Touring on mixed gravel and pavement, I upsize to a Dureme in 50mm width. And on bad gravel, I go up to 57mm width with the Marathon Extreme. But I do not know what the max size is in the LHT frame, I am citing the tire sizes I use on my Thorns.

The only downside I see in 26 inch tires is if you want a tire that is narrower than 40mm, there is not a lot of selection of skinny tires. But for touring, there is really no need to go skinny anyway.

You ask how good the LHT is? I think I had a defective LHT frame. Actually I know it was defective, the bottom bracket shell had a problem and Surly would not cover it under warranty. I had to have the bottom bracket shell re-threaded, the mechanic had to take a break half way through because he had to cut so much metal out of it that it was wearing him out. Later I talked to a frame builder, she described to me exactly how the welder had screwed up the bottom bracket shell when the frame was welded. The frame also had a bad shimmy that gave me a lot of trouble for 896 miles when I did the Pacific Coast. Unladen, it handled well, but with a load it turned into a wet noodle. I think the tubing was out of specification. The only way I could get rid of the shimmy was to put the frame in the metal recycling bin to be hauled away. So, I finally got rid of the shimmy that way. That said, I know there are a lot of people out there that love their LHT, so I suspect they got lucky while I got a defective one. Mine was from the first year of production, Surly redesigned the frame soon after that, they made very few of the original frame design so that might also be part of why mine was so problematic.

LeeG

If you travel light a CrossCheck would be perfect. The LHT is for carrying the kitchen sink or if you carry a kitchen sink on your person. I had a 700c 56cm LHT and much prefer the 26" version.

mstateglfr 

Forgot another alternative and its from your side of the pond.

Planet X Kaffenback 2 Frameset | Planet X

Its only $175US. That is shockingly cheap. The only odd thing is the chainstays are listed as short. Not too sure if thats accurate as the listed length is similar to what aggressive roadbikes have. Thatd be really odd as it goes against the rest of the bike design and marketing. It has pannier and fender mounts and can fit a 32mm tire with fender...so that chainstay is probably longer than whats labeled.



Surly's LHT is well respected for good reason(s). Its realtively inexpensive for a frame and for a fully built ready out of the box bike. It is solidly built, to the point of being overbuilt for probably at least half of those who own one.

Its not my cup of tea as probably 70% of ones i see have stem stacks which are absurdly long. Designwise, i just couldnt get over that. No idea why they dont just lengthen the head tube a bit and add a few degrees of slope to the top tube in an effort to get the bars high up like so many people want while not requiring 80+mm of spacers.

It has mounting points for tons of different setups. Full racks on front and back, rack in back and backpacking cages up front, etc etc. Really diverse.

Yan 

There's a reason your bike comes with 26" wheels: toe overlap. Why insist on putting putting huge wheels on a small bike? It's disproportionate.

antokelly

thanks guys for the feed back much appreciated.
i'm not a fan of 26 wheels i had the thorn sherpa for a few years fantastic bike but found going up hill was a struggle and i had the thorn audax but it was to big for me.
to be honest i won't be touring the planet anytime soon although i have all the gear to do so lol..so if i can get a fairly good frameset i'll build it up over time .all my gear is lightweight except for tent ,well i did buy the naturehike cloud up 2 man tent few months ago but i don't think i'll ever use it .

i can't afford another Thorn mores the pity so i'll take a look at the frames you guy's recommended thanks agai n.

bradtx

Anto, See if you can purchase a Bianchi Volpe as a frame set. In the US there is also the "Classic" model without disk brakes and a triple rather than a compact double on the complete bikes. Bianchi - Performance bicycles since 1885
@Doug64 can provide some info about his, which has been used as a touring bike. My experience with my daughter's has been more CX and roadie biased...now as a recreational bike for a mother of three built somewhat along the lines of an adventure touring bike.

Brad

antokelly

cheers Brad lovely bike right enough i owned a bianchi road bike one time sweet ride .i'll hunt around see if i can find one .i don't like disc brakes to be honest ,rim or canti is fine on any bike love the Paul canti brakes had them on the Thorn sherpa worked fantastic.
yeah love to own a bianchi tourer good thinking 99.
anto...............

Tourist in MSN

I considered suggesting you watch for a used Sherpa on Ebay since they are more common in your region than mine, but decided to keep my comments specific to the question of LHT. I did not know that you were already familiar with it. And did not know you had used a 26 inch wheel touring bike before.

Not sure why the Sherpa was a problem for you on hills. If it was weight, the LHT is not much lighter than Sherpa. I had identical drivetrains on my Sherpa and LHT, both had lowest gear of 24T chainring and 32T biggest rear sprocket. A little lower gearing would have been nice, but overall I was pretty happy with it. I have done several tours on my Sherpa and found it (and also my Rohloff equipped Nomad Mk II) to be an outstanding touring bike(s).

Why do you dislike 26 inch wheels for touring?

revcp 

with 26 inch. With Schwalbe Big Apples it would be close to a 29" circumference.

antokelly

Well i'm a roadie at heart always rode lightweight bikes 700c wheels .when i bought the Thorn sherpa i decked her out with shimano xt 770 groupset custom wheels from sjs class bike for sure all day comfort, but coming from a roadie background the steering was terrible just felt all wrong hard to explain,if i was cycling with anyone else i had a hard time keeping up if there were on there 700c road bikes i had to pedal twice as fast to keep up :twitchy,im after a compact up front 50x34 11 to 32 on the rear i would only be using rear panniers and barbag size wise probably 50cm i'm 5ft5ins i used to be 6ft but time and hard work wore me down.

Coldhands

I quite like my 26" wheels on my LHT. They feel very solid.

robow

Another excellent suggestion if it can be found.

fietsbob

Even less TCO with a Bike Friday touring bike AND they, themselves, pack down into a Suitcase (trailerable)

to fly without extra bike handling fees .



Bottom line: Touring is what you do ... on a Bike, its Bike touring ride whatever you like and Go Somewhere.





./.

1Mule

Toe overlap may be an issue with a 700c bike in your size. Nothing wrong with 26" wheels on a tourer. I don't have any personal experience with an LHT, but I do own and ride the heck out of a Cross Check and honestly, I don't feel that it would serve as well as a dedicated tourer. I own a Novara Randonee and it's always the Randonee I grab if I'm gonna burden a bike with a significant load. That said, I've had zero issues with my cross check, I wouldn't have any concerns with purchasing another of any model Surly frame or complete bike.

fietsbob

LHT designers should break away from their road bike Mindset and fit a Kickstand mount!

especially now that there are 2 small bolt fitted Rear Chainstay Mounted KS

Maxway that Actually produces the frames does what ever the Importer specifies .

1Mule

I use the Greenfield kickstand, they mount to the rear triangle just forward of the wheel, they work great and come with sleeves to protect frame and paint. But I always remove the kickstand before a tour, using a kickstand with a loaded bike is begging for a bike fall mishap and it's extra weight. I find something to lean my bike on or lay it down non drive side.

antokelly

kick stands disc brakes is a no go area for this old bird.

Doug64

I also had a 26" bias until I put a pair of Mavic 717 rims and 1.25 (32mm) tires on my daughters LHT. The Mavic rims were lightweight and robust enough to handle a pretty good load. Both our daughters have 26" LHT, one rides a 42cm frame and the other a 50cm. They do not seem to be at a disadvantage when riding with them.

Toe overlap is not as big an issue a lot of folks make it out to be. My wife rides a 47cm frame built to accommodate 700 wheels. Even with fenders, it has never been a problem. She has ridden that bike 17,000 miles, and has never even mentioned toe overlap.

The only issue with 26" rims is finding rims with a machined braking surface. It seems that most of them have gone over to disc brakes. The same when trying to find pre-built wheels. However, there are some shops that can build good wheels at a reasonable cost. Universal Cycles in Portland, Oregon is one I've had good experience with.

I'm not sure about the availability of the the Bianchi Volpe as a frameset. Bianchi does not advertise frame sets, but a LBS might be able to order one for you. I have ordered Bianchi forks through our local shop. As Brad said, the Volpe makes a good touring bike.

fietsbob

\
Trek 520 Disc is using the new type KS I first saw coming from https://www.pletscher.ch/index.php/en/

Rear mount 'Comp Zoom' is both light and adjustable in length, and will not interfere with disc brakes
if the frame builder put the right component mounting pieces in.


High speed solves the TCO problem..





./.

antokelly

Nope just don't like either one Bob ,no need for disc brakes on a bike only a fad .as for kick stands u know how i feel about them ,if even i manage to buy another tourer i will make certain i stop in plenty time no matter the conditions and as for falling over not a chance buddy ,

antokelly

nope no luck in locating a bianchi velope frame set ,hard to come by i reckon.
is it velope or veloce ?

bradtx

Spelled Volpe.

Brad