IronMac

Hi all,

I'm sort of (depending on finances) looking for a new bike; something that would be great for long-distance all-day cycling (max is around 320 kms a day perhaps) and can also handle self-supported loaded touring (tent and all for about 100 kms a day).

I was originally looking at the Jamis Aurora but it seems more of a light tourer/commuter type of bike according to Turd Ferguson and others on here so I was sort of gravitating to the Surly LHT. I wandered down to The Urbane Cyclist today and they showed off their Urbanite (around 1250) model to me.

I've searched the forum and Stokell and Peterpan really like it...can anyone else give me an opinion? I'm also considering the Trek 520 so, really, in this price range it's looking like a very difficult choice to make. I'm going to go back to Urbane and others to get a test ride in but I don't currently have a touring bike so I am not even sure what is a "right" feel.

Thanks all!

P.S. Urbane is no longer a Surly dealer or at least will no longer sell Surly's LHT...seems that Curbside bikes is now the exclusive dealer for that.

NoReg

Last I saw ( I imagine you saw it too) they still had a few LHT frames in stock, though I haven't been there since Xmas.

I think the Urabanite is a great bike, and it now has a more appropriate front fork since when I bought. It's still a 1" stearer, which is all you need on this kind of bike, and it is all 1.125 main tubes. I'm big and it shouldn't really handle well with my weight, but it runs fine. I'm not a super strong rider, and only do about 150 KMs loaded a day, at best, in favourable conditions. I'm thinking that if you are planing on riding it as a rondo, as well as a loaded touring, then you might want to stay away from the LHT given it's truck like design.

If you were only planing on doing loaded touring, and if you fit the 26" wheels, I would be very supportive of the LHT over the Urbanite for that, though without a side by side ride test it is all just theory.

I'm selling my 58 cm Urbanite frame since I am working on a Rohloff touring custom. Reality wise though, you can do a really good price on the Urbanite, and swap in any components you already have, or swap on stuff like Brooks, without having to run all over the place for sale prices on every component.

fthomas

IronMac

Nice looking bike.

I have an REI Randonee and it has it's faults. Toe interference with the front wheel/fender and the bottle bracket will only take a short one. After I talked to the product manager at REI a couple of years ago they were going to change the bottle bracket mounting lugs further down. Don't know if they did it. That is a couple of things I would look at as well.

Wonder who makes this bike for them?

I keep thinking that I want the Novara Safari with 26" wheels or better yet an Rivendell Atlantis or Bruce Gordon. Only thing standing in my way is money.

IronMac

Thanks Peterpan for the input. If anyone is curious, Urbane is down to ONE Surly LHT frame now (60 cm for $450) so they're going fast.

After swinging my leg over the Urbanites that they have, it turns out that I'm a lot shorter than I had ever imagined because I seem to fit their 47" rather than anything larger!

My biggest concern about the Urbanite is that they do not seem to have a standard spec sheet. What I mean is that the store seems to put on whatever componentry they consider best at that particular point in time for a particular price point. Whereas with, let's say Trek, you know exactly what you're getting for that particular model year. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about componentry and gear ratios to even ask the relevant questions!

fthomas, yes, it's a nice looking bike although I have no idea what the attraction is when it comes to that chromed fork. I'd rather leave it off but that's just my own taste. There will be a new colour for the Urbanite...it turns out that they will come in black later on this year. Yay! One of my two favourite colours.

On that note, it's odd...my fav colours are red and black and my bike clothing, accessories (this includes my water bottle cages and panniers), and current bike are red and black. This year, Urbane, Trek and Surly are all bringing out touring frames/bikes in one of those two colours. So, to my superstitious mind, it's the right time to get a new bike. That and after 18 years with the same one.

NoReg

"My biggest concern about the Urbanite is that they do not seem to have a standard spec sheet."

I can see your concern. I can tell you though that they build them right. Be sure to tell the parts guys what you need, i.e. bombproof touring wheels. I think the sales staff can try to fit you to a bike, but once you say, "OK I want this bike" They will work to configure it how you want/need it. Just because they have some stuff on it, doesn't mean you have to buy that exact stuff.

"What I mean is that the store seems to put on whatever componentry they consider best at that particular point in time for a particular price point."

That is what everyone does. If you are a big manufacturer you have the problem of choosing from only component makers that can meet your price and volume needs. If you are a little company you get squeezed by other factors.

"Whereas with, let's say Trek, you know exactly what you're getting for that particular model year."

Sure, but that doesn't make it right either, particularly if you have an offbeat need like Rondo, and touring.

"Unfortunately, I don't know enough about componentry and gear ratios to even ask the relevant questions!"

That's a problem, affects you with whose ever stuff you buy. Most of the factory bikes do not get the gearing right; if you are short, you may have trouble getting cranks right. They rarely have good tires, and they rarely have good seats.

When I bought the Urbanite, I upgraded the brakes (with a few jackass choices of my own); I upgraded the seat to a B-17 I got a good swap-in deal, but buying it from Nash might have been cheaper; I specified crank length; I specified LX hubs, they suggested Alex DH22 rims, and so far I'm very happy; I upgraded to slick touring tires; Wide handle bars. The only place I felt a little let down was that in the time available they didn't have a wide enough range cassette, but that was my fault for leaving it till September. I got all those changes for regular price, simply by providing my own pedals (I need custom ones), and my own brakes, and accepting bar ends vs. brifters. I wanted the Bar ends, so dumping the brifters saved me some coin.

On the height thing, I found their frame tall also, I could have done with a fraction more length and a fraction less height. In your size you would get the 26" wheels on the LHT, I like that option. A high BB really isn't an advantage if you are shorter in stature, or tall for that mater. The Urbanite used to have a high BB, but I don't know if that holds for all the sizes, the specs aren't always accurate, and that goes for most manufacturers.

It takes great luck to get a perfect bike out of the stall. A lot of focus goes into the brand, but that is just the frame. Getting all the components right isn't that hard, within reason, I think we have a list around here of the bare minimum, not everyone agrees, but there is some consensus. But even with that you are probably going to have to work out the gear train you want for your kind of riding, all by yourself.

Go to Sheldon's site and learn how to use the gear calculator. work out a combination that is 19-20 inches low end, and work up form there.

For instance this is a 13-34 8 speed, with a 26,36,46 front. results are in gear inches, and you can see you are roughly between 20 and 100, which is a good range for touring. If you fear hills, try an 18 inch gear. Before you buy a particular drive train, enter the sproket sizes for the front, and the gear range in the back. You really don't want anything much higher than this at the low end. If you currently have a bike, run it's numbers, but remember that your intended use maters a lot.


54.3 75.2 96.1
47.1 65.2 83.3
41.6 57.5 73.5
37.2 51.5 65.8
33.6 46.6 59.5
30.7 42.5 54.3
27.2 37.6 48.1
20.8 28.8 36.8

https://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

IronMac

That's a lot of great advice there, Peterpan...thanks! You're right, I'm going to check out Sheldon's site again and see what comes out of there and then see if the bike I have in mind (Urbanite or otherwise) has the componentry required. Hope that I don't get too fussy.