mainstreetexile 

I've been riding a vintage mtb set up with drop bars lately, and I've really been enjoying the 26" wheels a lot more than I thought I would.

I'm interested in upgrading my frame, but I'm having a hard time finding larger frames with road/touring geometry that use 26" wheels. There seem to be a lot of framebuilders that use 26" wheels for the smallest size, but move to 700c pretty quickly. By large frames, I mean at least around 56-58cm.

Here's what I've found, does anyone have any additional recommendations?

Surly Long Haul Trucker
Novara Safari
Handsome XOXO (53,56,60cm, XO-1 clone)
Rivendell Atlantis (up to 56cm)
Roberts Rough Stuff
Bruce Gordon Rock-N-Road Tour-EX
Comotion Pangea
Thorn Sherpa
Rodriguez UTB
Koga Miyata World Traveller (aluminum)

fietsbob

guess i'll help acidfast .. Peter white imports Tout Terrain from Germany.

Thorn, Is coming from SJS in Britian , they ship world wide .

Co Motion in Eugene will build one in what eversize you need ..

Not sold in the US,* Koga Miyata in NL is another builder

Their 26" world tour is in the Signature program, now. a frame and parts to order, menu,
then shipped to your Koga Dealer..
[flying with panniers and getting the bike , when you get there, for US buyers]

Generally, Hire Custom builds. and their command is your wish..

* update: Koga website says just 1, in MD.

PDX Reborn

If you have that kind of cash to spend on a new touring rig, talk to Co Motion first. I like my LHT but its definitely not an Americano. I agree with Fietsbob on going custom. Makes sense, you will have a bicycle built to your specs which could only enhance any long distance journey.
Also, I love the idea of a custom build with many paint options to choose from. Truly makes it yours in the spirited sense, imo

LeeG

I have a 56cm 26" wheel LHT set up as my heavy load carrier/utility bike. I could spend 3X-4X more for a custom frame but I'm satisfied.

robow

I've got the same exact frame built up and truthfully, not sure how you would improve upon it for loaded touring other than having one custom built to your own sizing specs and only that would be beneficial if you were oddly proportioned. Now the cosmetics might be improved but that's very subjective. Otherwise differences would be pretty subtle.

Chris Pringle

The off-the-shelf framesets mentioned above are all great. I think one should consider going custom if one wants two or more of the following special features: specific frame/fork geometry, S&S couplers, disc brakes, Rohloff iGH, personal aesthetics (special paint scheme, lugs, etc.)

Here is my 26" wheel touring bike (58cm) from Rodriguez in Seattle, WA...

Tourist in MSN

I was very lucky to get a used Thorn Sherpa in my size from someone that had bought the wrong size frame. Although it was used, I was happy to pay maybe 20 percent more (with shipping) than the cost of a new LHT frame and fork. Thorns are not regularly sold in USA, but they will ship to here if you want to pay a fortune.

I also have a 700c LHT. But I consider my Thorn to be my gravel road bike, the LHT is my pavement bike.

antokelly

i also ride the thorn sherpa took me quiet a while to get used to it coming from riding road bike all my life, but now it's my go to bike practally all the time, really great touring bike solid as a tank rides like a dream.if i had the bucks (i Don't i would go custom rohloff hub son dynamo oh lots of more goodies.

mainstreetexile 

Thanks for the suggestions everybody, I've updated the list in my first post for posterity. That Rodriguez is a beauty.

I guess I should have specified that I'm mainly interested in a steel frame that will work for occasional touring but also be light enough to work well as a general all-rounder since I'd like to also use it for a lot of road and light trail riding that is not touring. Ideally, I'm looking for a "one bike to rule them all" sort of scenario, although possibly with a couple different wheelsets to swap out if necessary.

The 26" LHT really does seem like an amazing value for the price. For the more expensive frames, if I'm paying much over 1k, I would be interested in seeing lugs or fillet brazing. I'm often surprised to see tig welding on really nice custom/semi-custom frames in the $1000-2000+ range, but maybe it's more of a weightsaving/functional thing vs aesthetics?

I also contacted Mercian and they said that they do 26"/559 wheeled frames but they only have clearance for 26x1-1.5" tires.

Chris Pringle

1. Most touring bikes (especially 26" wheel ones) work great for off-road purposes. By nature, they have to be since they are made to be taken virtually anywhere in the world. Look for tire clearance specs with and without fenders. My Rodriguez, for example, was designed to clear 2.1" tires w/ fenders and 2.4" w/o fenders. Currently I use 1.75" tires that work really well as all-rounder: Schwalbe Marathon Racer. Also do pay attention to the wheelset. I went with Mavic XM819 rims laced to Chris King hubs and double-butted spokes. This combo along with disc brakes can easily handle any off-road terrain (wet or dry), but it does make the bike pretty heavy. I like your idea of having two different wheelsets, if you can.

2. For a custom frameset with lugs or fillet brazing, the going rate nowadays starts around $2,200 and goes up quickly from there. My understanding is that TIG welding is durable, light and allows the builder to easily play with the geometry (angles) of the frame compared to lugs. TIG welding really plays well with "fitment", which is at the top of most people's list these days. Notice that the final result should also look smooth if the craftsman has a good reputation. Fillet brazing is an art into itself and not too many builders are trained on the technique. I wanted to have lugs or fillet brazing, but given my budget, features were more important in the end than how the frame was put together. I found other "smart" ways to play around with the overall aesthetics.

BTW, thank you for the compliment on my bike!

antokelly

Chris Pringle meant to say your bike is the dogs

fantastic looking bike and well put together.love it.

fietsbob

Suspension corrected un suspension fork on most hardtails will Do fine.

though a Custom Build is great. get it made with a ring lock mount so It cannot be rolled away.

My Koga WTR came with one, added a Chain to lock it onto stuff.

LeeG

I had a custom made 26" sport tour road bike made up 20yrs ago. Drop bars, shorter than a LHT, 531 main triangle and fork with beefy rear triangle. Made for 1.75 tires. Very nice riding bike but couldn't take a heavy load as the LHT. No doubt if I had specified better load carrying it would have been built differently. What I'm trying to say is that you can get a do-it-all bike but if you want it to be able to haul like a truck it'll feel like a truck unloaded. The 26" wheel LHT is a nice handling truck that you can put strong mid weight wheels on with light supple 1.5" tires that weigh 400g and enjoy fast riding on pavement or 750g truck tires for worst surfaces and heavy loads.

mainstreetexile 

This sounds very much like what I'm looking for. Could you post some pictures and more info about it? Who was the framebuilder?

LeeG

No pics, I sold it. Ed Litton is the builder, brazed tubes. Very nice handing sport tour bike but it needed bigger top tube and down tube for heavier loads, had a bad shimmy with with 30lbs on the rear but I'm 40lbs heavier than when it was made so that might be part of it. Not good in the dirt, it was a road bike with fat tires.

Medic Zero

I haven't looked at this years Novarra Safari, but my girlfriend picked up the 2011 model a year and a half ago. It seems a little on the heavy side (even for a tourer), part of that might be that it came with disc hubs and disc tabs on the frame, but no disc brakes (I've seen previous years versions that came with discs). It also came in an awful turd brown color. It did come with a trekking bar if that suits you (it didn't us). It also came with a grip shifter which she hated and I've had bad luck with a grip shifter falling apart on me in the past. So one of the first things I did was get her new bars and shifters. The rear rack is also disc specific and looks a little funny with its wide stance on a bike that doesn't have v-brakes. I'm looking to get rid of that one and replace it with something a little better at some point.

This all may be moot, the 2013 model may be specc'd better, like I said, I haven't looked, despite being in REI the other day for a few things.

seat_boy

I'm not sure why, but lately I've been a bit obsessed with the idea of a 26" utility/commuting/touring bike. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know, search Craigslist for a 15 year old mountain bike. But, those are rare in my size, and it's satisfying to my tinker self to get a frame a build it up.

I really like the looks of the Thorn Raven Sport Tour, but it's a) expensive, and b) Rohloff only. Which is MUCH more expensive.

fietsbob

Thorn makes derailleur touring bike frames too , sherpa [no raven terminology, no EBB]

Chris Pringle

Looked into Thorn when I was shopping around for a frameset just over a year ago. You're right... their framesets are either Rohloff or derailleur only. They won't offer their Rohloff bikes with a derailleur hanger which is a real shame, IMO. It seems to me they would increase business if their frames offered the ability to mount either a derailleur or IGH. Potential customers have made this request in the Thorn forum. Not everyone's ready to invest in a new Rohloff when going through the expense of new a frameset, components and touring accessories at the same time. It also makes sense as a back-up if the IGH breaks down (which does happen!), one doesn't have to stop the trip for weeks.

The custom Rod UTB shown above is fully designed for both derailleur or Rohloff IGH. Possibly one of the very few bikes in the market designed that way. It comes with an integrated EBB. If you look closely, you'll notice that the frame is even ready for a belt drive system should I ever fancy one. So far, I'm very happy using a derailleur, but it's great to know I can upgrade later into a chain or belt Rohloff (or Shimano if theirs improves.)

fietsbob

I have a chain Tensioner on my R'off equipped Bike [Friday] * its not the end of the world if its not an EBB.\Sliding dropout.

* (part of their travel bike, fold to pack in a suitcase scheme, hinge behind the BB)

Rohloff's chain tensioner is Quite nice, uses Tacx sealed bearing Pulleys.

rusheleven

Surly Troll
26"
Steel
IGH Capable
Disc Canti V Brake Capable
Rack Capable
https://www.whileoutriding.com/bikes/...-the-dirt-road
https://boundsouth.org/gear/