Originally Posted by
vegenaise
does anybody have a nwt and has also toured with a surly lht? how besides the obvious fact that you can fold it, how would the ride compare for fully loaded touring? i like the idea of a folding bicycle much more than s&s couplers. except hpm's swift folder. i toured with that for a few days and it was horrible. but i think the swift folder is just crappy in general, and i already know i like the ride of bike friday bikes.
Well, the OP of this quote probably no longer cares, since it was a year ago, but I have both. The BF is fine, but it's no LHT. I'm ALWAYS torn... deal with the difficulty and expense of UPS shipping the LHT both ways, or deal with the compromise of riding 300 miles or more knowing I have a better touring bike gathering dust in my garage.
For me, the NWT is perfectly adequate. It handles well enough, I have a good gearing setup (9sp Ultegra rear, with 54 single chainring and 3-speed SRAM dual-drive hub), and the racks will hold the same setup of stuff I have on my LHT. In fact, the Ultegra STIs on the NWT are better than the Tiagra 9 STIs on the LHT. Seats are the same, pedals the same. In other words, I've set up the NWT to try and capture the feel of the LHT as much as possible. Seat-to-bars measurement, pedal-to-seat are the same on both bikes. Bar height relative to seat is the same on both.
But in the end, the Surly is much more stable, loaded or unloaded. It is my preference for sure all else being equal. But I love throwing that Samsonite suitcase in the cargo hold of an airplane and having it all with me when I arrive. I've had bad experiences with the LHT being damaged, and also I can't afford Delta's unreal bike charges anymore. I haven't flown with a full-size bike since 2006. I either ship the LHT or carry the NWT. I'm taking the NWT to Arizona this Saturday for a short trip.