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Surly Announced Disc option for LHT. what do you think?

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Surly Announced Disc option for LHT. what do you think?

Old 09-15-11, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Thor29
Do you have any actual experience with Avid BB7 road disc brakes? They are easier to adjust than V brakes (and magnitudes easier than cantilevers) and it's much quicker to change out the pads. There's really nothing all that complicated about them. They use the same cables as rim brakes. I'm not sure what you mean by "rebuild". If you're just talking about changing pads and cables, then it will take about the same amount of money and tools although there are more cheap options for rim brake pads.
+1 to all of this. I don't care if folks use disc brakes or not, but anyone who's actually worked on Avid BB7 mechanical discs knows they're easy to adjust, super easy to change the pads, and no more difficult to change out a cable than a rim brake.
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Old 09-15-11, 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by sstorkel
All of the powder coat places in my area have a $150 minimum! And they charge extra for special-order colors
Bummer. Last time I had it done it was $70, including blasting. Olympic Powder Coating in Orange County, Ca.
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Old 09-15-11, 11:24 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker333
This is not true in my experience. It was very difficult to remove decals from a 2006 LHT, without damaging the underlying powdercoat. I removed all 8 decals, and not a single one peeled right off. They came off in numerous small pieces, only after a lot of scrapping with a plastic-edged tool, or my fingernails. Metal edges are too hard, they will gouge the soft powdercoat. The decals were largely impervious to gasoline, paint thinner, adhesive remover, and acetone. I had to scrape and buff those suckers off, and it took hours. I have removed decals from other bikes - some came off easily, others not at all. The decals on my Litespeed dissolved in seconds with a few wipes of acetone on a cloth. The Surly was a real chore.
I base the comment on a Steamroller I had a few years back. The stickers peeled right off leaving just a bit of residue, which was easily removed with Goof-Off. Whole thing took less than 30 minutes. Either I was lucky or you weren't.
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Old 09-17-11, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker333
This is not true in my experience. It was very difficult to remove decals from a 2006 LHT, without damaging the underlying powdercoat. I removed all 8 decals, and not a single one peeled right off. They came off in numerous small pieces, only after a lot of scrapping with a plastic-edged tool, or my fingernails. Metal edges are too hard, they will gouge the soft powdercoat. The decals were largely impervious to gasoline, paint thinner, adhesive remover, and acetone. I had to scrape and buff those suckers off, and it took hours. I have removed decals from other bikes - some came off easily, others not at all. The decals on my Litespeed dissolved in seconds with a few wipes of acetone on a cloth. The Surly was a real chore.

Originally Posted by Six jours
I base the comment on a Steamroller I had a few years back. The stickers peeled right off leaving just a bit of residue, which was easily removed with Goof-Off. Whole thing took less than 30 minutes. Either I was lucky or you weren't.
I work at a car dealership for years, we had to take off other dealers stickers off trade-ins all the time. It almost always helped to use a little heat. We had a nice heat gun, but a decent blow drier should work. Also if you are trying to get the stickers off 3months after buying it, after it's sat in the sun for days. It will be harder to get off. Everything Surly is heavy duty.
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Old 09-17-11, 12:52 PM
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Hi. I'm cycling from Alaska to Argentina with Avid mechanical disc breaks and after 27 months, I can say they've worked great. I figured before I hit the mountains I was probably on my breaks for not more than a minute or two total per day; in the Andes some of the descents last for hours and proper breaks are incredibly important. I traveled with someone whose rim breaks wore through the rim (an LHT incidentally), as well as with a couple who had hydraulic disc breaks, which boil and start to fail on long descents. I personally won't tour on anything other than mechanical discs... (I also use Rhyno Lite rims for strength, and Phil Wood hubs for field-serviceability).

Paul (https://www.panamericantour.net)
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Old 09-17-11, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker333
more

I really like that green.

Is that just the same LHT fork but with a disk mount? It looks to me like it has a sharper angle (and thicker 'biceps' on the arms) rather than a curve but I can't really tell.

I have one bike with mechanical discs and they are really simple to work with but there is a wet weather squeal that I cannot stop and it makes it unpleasant to ride on less than sunny days.
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Old 09-17-11, 03:53 PM
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I think it's the same fork used by the LHT, with a disc tab and housing guide added.

You can get another look at it here, posts #54 & 59:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post13228680

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post13230520

The color may appear a darker green in outside lighting. Fluorescent lighting usually makes everything look a little blue.

Last edited by seeker333; 09-17-11 at 03:59 PM.
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Old 09-17-11, 04:30 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker333
I think it's the same fork used by the LHT, with a disc tab and housing guide added.

You can get another look at it here, posts #54 & 59:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post13228680



https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post13230520

The color may appear a darker green in outside lighting. Fluorescent lighting usually makes everything look a little blue.
Hmm if that is the case, I wonder how difficult it might be to upgrade the front brake system on older LHTs? Dics compatable fork with aftermarket mech disc brake.
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Old 09-17-11, 05:09 PM
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There's nothing difficult about it. You could do it now with any LHT. You need a disc fork, road-pull Avid BB7 brake and a disc front wheel, about $150-250.

The trick is finding a fork with approximately the same axle-to-crown length, and rake. For 26" wheel LHT, there's not a cheap one out there that fits exactly right (376mm atc). For 700c, there are a few forks @ ~395mm that will work and they're not too pricey.

If you wait for the dLHT, they'll probably sell these from QBP dealers in black for ~$100-120, for 26 and 700.
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Old 09-17-11, 05:36 PM
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The other option is to put it on the front fork that came with the bike. You can either put it on a hanger, or braze it to the fork. There can be issues about the strength of the fork, but not too likely on an lht/touring fork.
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Old 09-17-11, 06:54 PM
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Originally Posted by qmsdc15
That puts the LHT on my "next bike short list". Without discs, not interested.
The rear brake placement won't work with my Bikes@Work trailer. I guess that will help with sales of Surly's trailers, but this bike is off my "next bike short list".

Surlys are very popular bikes among enthusiasts. I imagine the ugly paint and ugly decals are designed to suppress the burgeoning demand, allowing them to maintain a high quality control for those who aren't concerned with such things.
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Old 09-17-11, 07:33 PM
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"I imagine the ugly paint and ugly decals are designed to suppress the burgeoning demand,"

Fiendishly clever marketing, not intention to suppress demand.
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Old 09-17-11, 07:47 PM
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I love the comfort of my LHT and I've been thinking of commuting/tourer with Alfine 11 and discs so this is good news. Same different bike. It would've been nice if they left the canti brake posts.

A slightly off-topic question: Can you put a front wheel with disc on a non-disc fork and leave the rotor on?
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Old 09-17-11, 07:58 PM
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Yup, certainly any fork that is touring related. You could even run the brakes on a bracket. It's just a pie shaped piece that clamps with the wheel, mounts the brake, and tethers to the fork.
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Old 09-17-11, 08:04 PM
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Originally Posted by MassiveD
"I imagine the ugly paint and ugly decals are designed to suppress the burgeoning demand,"

Fiendishly clever marketing, not intention to suppress demand.
Haha, yeah, I see it now. Thanks for the insight.
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Old 09-17-11, 08:06 PM
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"I agree, it is. But I'm glad to see the new disc-compatible fork has a lugged crown..."

Well sorta. I like the Surly fork. BUt really it isn't a lugged bike, the welded crowns are probably better, and more in keeping with the rest of the bike, but people don't feel that way I guess.
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Old 09-17-11, 08:25 PM
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Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
I really like that green.

Is that just the same LHT fork but with a disk mount? It looks to me like it has a sharper angle (and thicker 'biceps' on the arms) rather than a curve but I can't really tell.

I have one bike with mechanical discs and they are really simple to work with but there is a wet weather squeal that I cannot stop and it makes it unpleasant to ride on less than sunny days.
If you have BB7s, Avid's organic pads are much quieter than the stock pads.
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Old 09-17-11, 08:40 PM
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Originally Posted by Erick L
I love the comfort of my LHT and I've been thinking of commuting/tourer with Alfine 11 and discs so this is good news. Same different bike. It would've been nice if they left the canti brake posts.

A slightly off-topic question: Can you put a front wheel with disc on a non-disc fork and leave the rotor on?
i disagree my old commuter was a cx fork with disc tabs and I hated that it had the stupid canti studs there. eventually i put the small nashbar front rack on it that attached to the canti studs so it looked better
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Old 09-17-11, 09:11 PM
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Originally Posted by MassiveD
"I agree, it is. But I'm glad to see the new disc-compatible fork has a lugged crown..."

Well sorta. I like the Surly fork. BUt really it isn't a lugged bike, the welded crowns are probably better, and more in keeping with the rest of the bike, but people don't feel that way I guess.
I recognize my quote, but all you gotta do is use "reply with quote" to identify the person you're responding to.

Of course it's not a lugged bike, but IMO a lugged crown fork looks a lot better whether the frame is lugged or not. It's one of the things I've always liked about the Trucker; the lugged crown is a nice, traditional touch. I'm glad they stuck with a lugged crown on the new disc-compatible model....... Wait, I already said that.
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Old 09-17-11, 09:16 PM
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It's just one of those oddities one can't seem to get rid of. It gives the bike more of an english touring bike look, because a unicrown would really stand out, but at the cost of anachronism. But you have to please the customer.
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Old 09-17-11, 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by MassiveD
It's just one of those oddities one can't seem to get rid of. It gives the bike more of an english touring bike look, because a unicrown would really stand out, but at the cost of anachronism. But you have to please the customer.
I think we'll just have to agree to disagree about a few things and call it a day.
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Old 09-18-11, 02:41 AM
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Why disagree. I agree you like them, I do to. All I am saying is they are an affectation on a tig welded bike, I would have thought that was hard/unecesarry to disagree with. It does seem to be pushing things on a bike that has discs and those very functional rear drops, but I don't insist on that point. They make about 7 bikes with discs, and the LHT is the only one that isn't unicrown.
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Old 09-18-11, 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by MassiveD
Why disagree. I agree you like them, I do to. All I am saying is they are an affectation on a tig welded bike, I would have thought that was hard/unecesarry to disagree with. It does seem to be pushing things on a bike that has discs and those very functional rear drops, but I don't insist on that point. They make about 7 bikes with discs, and the LHT is the only one that isn't unicrown.
Oh, there's plenty to disagree about; it's BikeForums! For one, you said the lugged crown fork "gives the bike more of an English touring bike look," and I nearly laughed out loud. I sell a lot of LHT's, and believe me, an LHT resembling an English touring bike has never entered my mind. Maybe I should use that as a sales pitch: "if you squint really hard, you might mistake this for an old, classic, English touring bike. Just look at that lugged crown fork, it takes us back to yesteryear......"

And you still won't use the "reply with quote" button to converse!!!

Oh, there's plenty to disagree about!
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Old 09-18-11, 08:31 AM
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I recently rode my LHT with cantos down "the longest downhill in the world." Thats from the final pass in Tibet at about 5,300 meters down to the Kathmandu valley in Nepal which sits around 600 meters. On the longest downhill in the world I had zero problems with my brakes, rims, or tires. Does this pretty much end the discussion? Here is a link, although I don't directly comment on the bikes breaking performance because there was nothing to talk about: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...id=190294&v=G9
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Old 09-18-11, 09:25 AM
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Originally Posted by zeppinger
I recently rode my LHT with cantos down "the longest downhill in the world." Thats from the final pass in Tibet at about 5,300 meters down to the Kathmandu valley in Nepal which sits around 600 meters. On the longest downhill in the world I had zero problems with my brakes, rims, or tires. Does this pretty much end the discussion? Here is a link, although I don't directly comment on the bikes breaking performance because there was nothing to talk about: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/p...id=190294&v=G9
Kudos for your epic journey. I'm thinking the discussion was previously a dead issue. Good valid points made by all.

Last edited by Gus Riley; 09-18-11 at 10:04 AM.
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