Originally Posted by
elcruxio
Surly did indeed make the old LHT in size 64cm but dropped the size at some point. The old DT was made in size 64cm till the very end before the new DT.
people chose the too low frames because the lht and dt were too long. They would have been too stretched with the larger frame sizes. Surly has had a tendency to make incredibly aggressive frames. For example at some point the straggler was more aggressive (lower and longer) than the specialized venge. I think the old lht/dt used to be the longest touring frame on the market. Anyhoo the LHT is too long for me and I have to use a 70mm spacer stack. Which brings me to the next paragraph.
here's the deal. A higher spacer stack moves the handlebar back. So top tube length or reach aren't the only defining factors. So if you have two frames with equal reach numbers but different stack numbers, the frame with a lower stack will have a shorter effective handlebar reach if you lift the handlebar to the same level as with the higher stack frame. So when the old or new LHT 64cm frame has more reach than the 62cm frame it moves handlebar reach. But the different stack also moves the handlebar reach. It's double trouble so to speak.
What years did they make the 64? I didn't see it in my 2011 catalog, or others I looked at. It is good they are making it again in the new Disc Trucker.
I am aware for the way the LHT fits. It is though, the way old school bikes used for touring fit. As I said, as long as you like the fit on your bike, that is all that matters. I simply take issue with why Surly designed the new Disc Trucker as they did, their reason is they saw a lot of people with ridiculously high spacer stacks. I will repeat that had they wanted their bars that high, they should have bought a larger frame. You can go round and round on this, but you can run a shorter stem without causing issues, and you don't have to go to a 50-70cm stem to get the fit right if you can run the stock stem on the smaller frame. The long top tube was because many tourers like to be a bit stretched out.
Once again, it is simply my preference, and the preference of many, to have the old style frame. That takes nothing away from the new Disc Trucker, it is a nice frame, and was well thought out. I just prefer the old style. They traded the alleged ridiculously high stack of stem spacers for a ridiculously high seat post.
If you look at touring bikes from the 70s and 80s, or rather, bikes used for touring, you will see very little seat post showing, some seats almost down to the top tube. That is what people ran back then, and the way the LHT was designed. Somewhere around here I have old pictures of Ragbrai from the 80s, and that is what you see, very little seat post showing.
I am just sad that there is one less old style frame available for touring, one that worked well, at a great price.