Thought I would give my take on building up an LHT from scratch. I should be picking mine up from the local shop by this Friday, so pictures then : D I'm bouncing off the walls already.
I wanted to build up a touring bike but I will be using it as a commuter at first. I had the bike shop build it up because as mentioned above it can be frustrating building a bike in a studio with carpet, no stand and no tools. I got the frame for my birthday and decided to sink money that would go to a parking pass into the bike. All in all I came out around $1600 but I also had a few parts, and keep in mind that includes labor which will be around 200 for the wheel build and bike build.
I started looking for parts around 2 or 3 weeks ago, so not quite the process that Jim has had. I have a deadline of August 1st so that I don't have to buy a parking pass, but I also have been thinking about a build for quite some time and it just came to pass that my brother got me the frame and I went crazy to get everything together in a few weeks.
As Jim mentioned everybody has different opinions on each part, but that's what makes building a bike so much fun. You get EXACTLY what you want out of it. You pay a premium for this, especially if you don't build it yourself, but I know when I see this bike I'm going to fall over backwards with love.
Pics soon (hopefully) to come : )
Looks gorgeous Jim
Part Brand
Frame Surly LHT 52 cm (black)
levers tektro RL520
cantilevers tektro CR720
Shifters rivendell "silver" downtube
front derailleur xt
rear derailleur xt
cranks xt
bottom braket xt
chainrings xt
cogs xt
chain 9 speed
pedals & clips MKS GR9 with toe clips
rims Alex Adventurer
spokes dt swiss double butted
nipples dt swiss brass
hubs Velocity CB atb non-disk 36 rear, 32 front
Tires Continental Sport Contact Tire - 26 x 1.6
headset chris king
stem Easton Stem ($2)
handlebars Dimension Flattop Shallow Reach Road Bar
tape Specialized Roubaix (pink)
Mirror Cateye BM-300G Road
bottle cages alloy
frame saver
chainstay protector Bike tube and gorilla tape
Seatpost Kris Holm unicycle ($12)
saddle Brooks Team Pro