NormanF

A touring bike is designed to be stable and to steer predictably. It will never go as fast as a road bike but will get you and the stuff you're hauling from point A to point B in comfort.

prathmann

I don't believe it. Compared to a typical road bike the touring bike will generally leave you a little more upright for improved comfort at the expense of aerodynamics. It'll also usually have significantly wider tires run at lower pressure which again leads to more comfort at the cost of a little speed.

But I've never found that adding extra load to a bike improves the comfort. Nor has anyone on a tour offered to carry any of my stuff so they could enjoy a more comfortable ride.

garethzbarker

The mountain bike I was riding had the same tires on it. I really think it had a lot to do with the position I was in. I'll have to get on one again. P.S. Anyone else think it's funny how loaded touring bikes sound? With the panniers on bumps the bike sounded like a golf cart behind me.

Seb71

Nycycle

I just rode a LHT for the first time last week, compared to my Aluminum Tourer it is a DREAM, but then again, my old bike is the stiffest frame in the world, so anything feels good to me. I did find it comparable to other road bikes, and it had no racks or anything, it was bare bones.
So I ordered one, after looking at Specialized, Trek and Kona,,,and my buddies old Schwinns(Steel).

If, I were not a CLYDESDALE, I would have looked closer at the others,

LeeG

I first tried them out on a custom sport touring bike that I had. I weigh 210 now, 50lbs more than when I had the bike made, and the size is perfect for comfort but speed on the road was surprising. My heart and lungs don't move my weight as fast as when I was younger but I'm still capable of sprinting up to 25mph for short stretches and those tires were perfectly suited to it and for 15mph cruising.

Bubba Zanetti

I took advantage of the wide stays featured on my LHT by installing 50mm wide Marathon Supremes. Made all the difference in comfort, loaded or unloaded.

lis

I own a 46cm LHT bike. I've toured long-distance with it, but also use it for day rides and weekends where I am not that heavily loaded, and even commutes with it empty.

The first time I rode it unloaded (which was also the first time I ever rode it, full stop), I found it to be quite twitchy in the front. Hard to explain, but basically far more likely to move left and right. This bike WANTS to be loaded, especially in the front - if you do get one, get a front rack and small front panniers for commute and day rides. It's where it wants most of the weight, or at least that's how I read my bike. This means it took a little getting used to (a few hours of riding it perhaps), but now I love it and wouldn't ride anything else, even for commuting or day rides. And of course, when loaded, it feels amazing. I've toured with many friends who don't have dedicated touring bikes, and the main difference is that I can trust my bike when loaded, at full speed, down a hill, with rain. It just is incredibly reliable. You can get away with a lot of different bikes for touring but they just will not be as stable. And that's something you can benefit from on day rides, carrying a picnic, an extra sweater, extra water etc...

I do have trouble keeping up with the trendy road bikers but I'm not entirely sure I can blame that on the bike only And hey, as far as I'm concerned, the world is best viewed at 12 mph

indyfabz

I just changed out of my work clothes, laced up my riding shoes and am about to hop on my LHT for the short ride home. When the GF gets home we are going to ride around the river and then our for mussels. It's just as comfortable when loaded down with lots of weight.

Luego!

Nycycle

I got my new one far enough together that I could ride it just today.
I know my weight makes a difference, I am 230 LBS, and my first ride on this bike in my size was the finest bicycle ride I have ever been on.
Thats with out fender, rack or bag, not even a bottle cage. I am almost scared to load it.

irc

My Long Haul Trucker is more comfortable loaded. Slower yes, but the ride is more supple on bad surfaces than when unloaded. It stands to reason that a frame and fork which has been designed to be stiff reduce excessive flex with big loads will give a harsh ride on bad surfaces unloaded.

My last tourer, a Dawes Galaxy had the opposite problem. It handled great unloaded or with a light load but suffered from dodgy handling. Comparing them side by side the LHT had slightly bigger diameter tubes.
when fully loaded.

NoGaBiker

Now that's an unusual feature!

garethzbarker

I started this thread quite a while back. I ended up getting a LHT from my wife and wanted to share my experience. Mine is a 50cm. I rode it around unloaded all week and it felt very comfortable on the stock 1.5' tires. Today I road it to the grocery store and loaded the hell out of it. Personally, I felt a definite difference. It didn't feel any more comfortable on smooth road but when I rode on nasty potholes or the cobblestone sidewalks we have here it felt waaaaay smoother loaded. I also think it handled a bit more relaxed loaded as well. In short, Unloaded the bike feels great and handles fine, actually excellent compared to a lot of bikes I've ridden but I think loaded it did in fact feel better. It makes sense, the bike is built for it. It's practically begging you to add weight to it. Does that mean I'm going to throw 30lbs on the bike every time I ride it? no But it is interesting for sure.

On a personal note, I simply love this bike. When I was shopping for my first road bike I remember someone on this forum trying to steer me in the direction of a touring bike for their utility and I think they were right. A touring bike is good for almost every normal person wanting a bike. I'm taking it out for a group ride tomorrow.

Gus Riley

My experience is just the opposite. My priority for comfort is toward my touring bike first, and my road bike second. My LHT seems to be as comfortable loaded as it is unloaded. It does seem very stable loaded, maybe more stable than when empty, so that might lead me to think it is more comfy when weight is on it...but this is probably attributed to me being a bit surprised by how stable it is with a full load aboard.

My road bike is comfy too, but not as comfortable as my LHT. This I can say is due to the more aggressive geometry of my road bike. But it is far more aero efficient, and much faster than my LHT (loaded or unloaded). So there is a trade off for both bikes. Apples and oranges of a sort.

iforgotmename

Enjoy the bike

LeeG

garethzbarker, there's a huge selection of tires you can put on that bike. I've got a 56cm 26" wheeled LHT and normally ride on 1.75 Panaracer T-Serv. It's worth having some fat street tires around for those times you're really loaded down and are pretty much committed to a particular line.

vik 

The comfort with supple tires inflated properly for your load or lack of load will be excellent. If it's not comfortable you've either got too much pressure in the tires or tires that are too narrow - or both.

Daddy Wags

It only makes sense that a FULL touring bike, designed to carry and handle well with substantial loads, will not be as forgiving a ride as a LIGHT touring bike. The exception might be if you are a Clyde, like me, who sits 235 lbs or more on the bike, it will ride better than for a flyweight rider.
There is that wonderful class of bike that sits (kind of obscurely) between the full touring bike and the regular road bike......and that is the light touring bike that is more responsive than a touring bike, climbs better, and is more fun to ride. The light touring bike also has a more comfortable geometry and more upright riding posture than the pure road bike. Salsa Casseroll, Jamis Bosanova, Soma ES and other such designs would fit that underappreciated category of light tourer.

garethzbarker

Thanks LeeG. I have some barely worn Schwalbe marathons 1.75 on my MTB that I'll probably move on to this bike. I really like those tires. Those should plush it out nicely. Today the group ride lasted all day and towards the end of the day I was a little beat up from the Korean country roads vs the 1.5s.

vik 

Two things:

1. tires are your bike's interface with the road. Proper tire selection and pressure results in a comfortable ride. The frame stiffness of two steel frames is not going to matter from a comfort perspective if they are running the same tires/pressures for a given rider.
2. the LHT is not an uber stiff touring bike. I had a Thorn Nomad S&S which was a very stiff touring bike [my LHT is noodly by comparison] and even on that bike it was comfortable to ride unloaded with smart tire choice and appropriate pressure.

LeeG

Vik, it would be interesting to get your opinion on a 26" wheeled LHT versus 700C

Daddy Wags

Good point, Vik, the size of tires, the kind of tires ,and the air in the tires, are major factors in ride and handling characteristics of a bike....sometimes overlooked when we over analyze frame geometry and construction materials.

DropBarFan

Same thing with my Novara Randonee, I was surprised that with no added luggage the ride was a bit twitchy & hard to ride no-hands..it does pretty well loaded but not great, downhill mountain rides with a full touring load were dicey with the crosswinds.

vik 

I've never owned or even test ridden a 26" LHT. I'd like to, but that hasn't come to pass. From a comfort perspective I don't think it would matter if you choose appropriate tires and inflate them to the correct pressure for the weight on each wheel:

https://thelazyrando.wordpress.com/20...res-and-setup/

The handling between the a 700c and 26" LHT will be different and affected by:

- geometry of frame/fork
- pneumatic trail of tire
- rotational inertia of tire
- cargo

The smaller 26" wheel and lighter tire [assuming same width as 700c] will provide for quicker steering. You can and probably would want to use a wider tire on the 26" version which would stabilize the steering. My 26" touring bikes all use 50mm rubber and my 700c LHT uses 35mm rubber.

You can build very strong 700c wheels so although 26" wheels will be a bit stronger all other things being equal it's not that 700c wheels are a problem as long as they are built appropriately for your needs.

I think the biggest reason to use a 26" wheeled LHT is simply the wider availability of 26" wheels/rims/tires. I like how my 700c LHT rolls and handles so I won't be getting rid of it, but if you gave me a 26" LHT of the same size I'd ride it happily.

LeeG

the reason I asked was that I assume your Thorn was a 26" wheeled bike. I had a 700C LHT and there's some spring in the bike that isn't as apparent in the 26" version and I wonder how much of that is the wheels given the tubing is the same. I'm guessing the Thorn has larger diameter tubes and the shorter wheelbase/chainstays makes for a more solid bike.