trek2

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...an_turismo.htm

This bike is available through Bikes Direct for $699, and sure looks like a reasonable touring bike. Unless I am missing something as I read the ad, it looks pretty comparable to a Surly LHT. Has anyone ridden one? Is the Surly worth the four or so hundred dollars more?

Thanks for any info.

Cyclebum

Yep. Looks pretty good. They got the gearing right for most ppl. More than can be said for a lot of 'touring' bikes. At that price, I'd say it's a winner. If they got your size. Fit is First.

cyccommute 

It might look good but there is one glaring problem with it. The front fork has no eyelets! Yes, they have 'fixed' the problem by providing another fork with it as can be seen in the quote below
But that is just a glaring mistake to spec a touring bike with a fork that is useless for touring. It even has the mid-fork rack mount. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Other problems, especially when compared to the Surly:

A 1" threaded headset. 1 1/8" would be better and threadless would be best.
Short chainstays
2 water bottle mounts...three would be better
The wheels aren't great. A 135mm hub in an XT like the Surly would be better
The Surly is available in 26" wheel for smaller sizes and larger sizes. A 26" wheel in a larger size frame is stronger
The Surly is available in more sizes.

All of these blemishes pale in comparison to the fork issue, however

bikesdirect_com

It would be a STUPID mistake, IF it were spec'd that way

Factories make errors; they are operated by humans and they just sometimes make an error
Good companies [like the factory that builds this bike] correct they errors

texas2wheel

[admin deleted]

dcrowell

He was comparing it to the Surly LHT because the original poster asked him to.

I've also seen more useful posts from cyccommute than total you've made on bike forums.

As to the original question. Is it worth $600 more? Depends. For light-touring/commuting either is probably fine. The LHT has some better components. If you've got the extra money, buy the Surly. If not, this bike is a reasonable value.

texas2wheel

[admin deleted]

Uosdwis R Dewoh

Not trying to be an ass here, but it sounds like they've recognized the problem and come to a pretty good solution for those purchasing. And, aside from having to switch out the fork, it is spec'd better than many of the mid-range dedicated "touring" bikes available elsewhere. Component wise, a lot in common with the LHT.

If I bought this bike, I would replace the wheelset... but I'd probably do the same for the LHT (Alex rims probably not ideal for a loaded tour). Same for the saddle in both cases. All in all, at $400 less than the LHT, it looks like a pretty solid deal. Again, though, LHTs are backed by thousands of positive testimonials on BF alone... hard to put a price on that.

cyccommute 

And yet, you posted a picture of the bike without fork dropouts for a year and you offer a free fork upgrade because the fork is useless.

texas2wheel

See, now here is a good, fair, unbiased comment!

cyccommute 

He don't know me very well, do he?

I don't own a Surly. I don't want a Surly. My preference, and suggestion, would be for an aluminum Cannondale...which I do own...but those aren't currently in production. Surlys happen to be a well designed product that is a good alternative to a Cannondale. Of production touring bike, I'd rank Cannondale and Surly one and two...in that order...as the best production touring bikes around. There are also a few smaller companies producing touring bikes that match both of these but they are more expensive and less available. A better small production touring bike then the Surly would be a Bruce Gordon BLT but the frame (actually frame, fork, headset, stem and racks...a damned good deal) is about twice the price of a Surly. He does have a BLT with SLX components for $975 which is a better price than the Surly LHT complete and about a 1000 times better than Motobecane.

cyccommute 

So what was I supposed to do? Lie? Tell Trek2 "Oh, the Motobecane is a wonderful bike. It has absolutely no problems and is the finest example of touring bike to be found on earth"? Show me where I was wrong on the Motobecane. It is short, it does have a fork issue, it's not made in as many sizes, etc.

I plug the LHT for the reasons I've listed. My word is good here because I take time to think about what I say and about the stuff I comment on. Sometimes I'm wrong but I learn from my mistakes.

Oh, and I try to follow the Forum guidelines

digger531

$975 is just for the build kit it does not include the frame and headset and fork and racks. That's an additional $750 which still seems like a good deal.
For the BLT (sorry)

texas2wheel

[admin deleted]

digger531

The fork oversight is actually funny. That being said, its a lot of touring bike for the money. Don't know if I would trust the rims going across Timbucktoo but locally why not. Pull the trigger and let us all know how much you love it

skilsaw

How about we change topic to:
"How do you lube your bike?"

Less vitriol there.

aroundoz

Even if I could afford the extra for the Surly, I would probably buy the Gran Tourismo. It's an amazing deal. I have a 29er from Bikesdirect and it was an almost flawless transaction. Almost because the headset was garbage and I had to swap it out but still came out way ahead. The bike was packed to perfection and the derailleurs were also dailed in. It even came with pedal washers. I never bought a bike that came w/ pedal washers before.

I don't agree a 1 1/8" threadless headset is better. I toured about 20k on my old MB1 with a $30 headset and it never ever came loose. 1" threaded has been around forever and just because there are 1 1/8" headsets now doesn't make 1" headsets obsolete.

I do wish it came with 135mm spacing in the rear.

The fork was a big oversight but they did the right thing by correcting it.

They money you save could go into some nice racks etc....

cyccommute 

I see. Being dense.

cyccommute 

Nope. Not what you said at all. You didn't offer any thing to the discussion other than a personal attack filled with all kinds of forum violations...as you continue to do. I could run off to the moderators but I won't because I fight my own battles. Besides you are doing an excellent job of showing what kind of poster...and person...you are.

I haven't run down anybody's bike. Trek2 asked for an opinion and comparison on bikes he would like to purchase. I pointed out the flaws, as I see them. The Motobecane has flaws...some major and some minor. The Surly LHT has a few flaws, too but those flaws are minor ones and I think that that makes the LHT a better bike and a better value.

As for the fork argument being bogus, it isn't. If they had corrected the mistake properly, they would ship it with the new fork installed rather than a band-aid of offering a "+FREE EXTRA Fork with fender eyelets". I understand that people make mistakes. I also understand that good companies try to correct the mistakes. But they should correct the mistake properly. Some people might not have a problem swapping the fork...I wouldn't...but others wouldn't know where to start. If they take it to a shop to get it fixed, it's an extra expense and time. How much depends on the shop.

LeeG

the Motobecane is hell of a deal. No it's not comparable to the LHT. I haven't ridden one. Is the LHT worth $600more? If you have $600 more and it's got what you want. I'm guessing the wheels on the LHT have had more human oversight in their assembly. If you're heavy and thinking of carrying a heavy load the LHT is a better choice. If you get the LHT through a bike shop you'll be getting some service with the purchase. With the BD bikes you need to be your own mechanic and go over it's assembly.

trek2

Thanks for all the info. Sorry to have started a bit of a flame war. I'll keep checking around; I need to replace my pickup-destroyed Trek 520.

DVC45

Can you salvage some of the parts from that 520 and transfer them to a new touring frame? ' might be a better option. That is, if you can do your own wrenching of course. Otherwise, the BD tourer is a good buy.

indyfabz

Mine work just fine, and I rode my original LHT (recently stolen) over paved and unpaved roads in MT, BC and AB with a lot of gear in and on Beckman racks and panniers (not noted for their lightness) and a 215 lb. body. Three or four other shorter trips with lots of gear, hills and some bumpy roads.

The only time the rear wheel needed to be trued is when I had bent my hanger. I kept putting the repair off. Later, I was out training for the western trip mentioned above and, while climbing a very steep hill, decided to see what riding in the lowest gear felt like. Not a smart move with a bent hanger. The RD went straight into the spokes. It was ripped apart and basically blew into numerous pieces. The hanger was twisted like a pretzel. Despite this trauma, the rear wheel was only tweeked slightly.

And, BTW, there was a thread about this bike last year. One poster said he contacted Bikes Direct and claimed it admitted that the fork was accidentally speced without eyelets. Seems to refute its claim above that it was intentionally speced that way.

cyccommute 

You didn't start a flame war. You aren't responsible for others who want to take a thread in that direction.

To get back to your original post, DVC45 has a point. You can pick up a Surly LHT frame for around $500 and transfer parts unless the 520 was squashed beyond recognition. Soma Fabrications makes the Saga for about the same. The real deal is a Nashbar touring bike at $90 for the frame and $50 for the fork. It's aluminum but that's not as big a problem as some would have you believe. It also has a pretty good touring geometry...not a good as the LHT...but it's very much like the Trek 520. It's a lot better than the Motobecane.

If you have enough parts in good shape, the Bruce Gordon is a whale of a deal. The fact that, for $750, it comes with frame, fork, headset, stem and front and rear Bruce Gordon racks makes the bike a better deal than a Surly frame. The front rack alone is $165 while the rear is $190.

digger531

If you have enough parts in good shape, the Bruce Gordon is a whale of a deal. The fact that, for $750, it comes with frame, fork, headset, stem and front and rear Bruce Gordon racks makes the bike a better deal than a Surly frame. The front rack alone is $165 while the rear is $190.[/QUOTE]
This is a no brainer. I just built a bike and am considering changing it to this frame