Originally Posted by
ze_zaskar
With horizontal dropouts if you have any serious problem with the transmission (busted derailleur, shifter, etc) you can convert to singlespeed and keep going. And the difference in difficulty to remove/install the wheel is nearlly null.
It's not impossible to convert a vertical dropout to a single speed for emergency use. And while you may fine the difference in removal and installation of the rear wheel on a bike with rear facing horizontal dropouts to be nearly null, that feeling isn't shared by everyone. I find them to be a massive pain in the derriere. They certainly aren't worth the very, very, very rare occasions that you might need that feature. I've been mountain biking for 30+ years and never had to convert a bike to a single speed.
As for bikes that are comparable to the Troll, pick just about any mountain bike. Maybe not the highest end mountain bikes but something along the lines of a Trek 4700, a Jamis Trail X3, Jamis Durango Comp, or, if you got the pockets for it, a Moots YBB.
seeker333 is correct in that mountain bikes tend to have longer front ends than touring bikes. The top tube length on my mountain bikes is longer than even my road bike. They are made that way to balance the weight of the rider over the center of the bike for traction rather than over the front wheel...like road bikes...for handling.