Originally Posted by sprintcarblue

I found a baseball bat in my closet, so I figure I would take a whack at beating the dead horse.

Anyways, I have been wavering between the Crosscheck and LHT completes for some time now waiting for them to come into stock someday.

I've been reading up on these two bikes as much as possible, and people really tend to prefer one over the other. Stating that "the crosscheck is way more nimble" or "the long haul trucker is like a tank" etc.

Which lead me look into the geometries of the two bikes. Which aside from the chain stays, head tube height and bottom bracket drop are nearly identical.

Even the differences are fairly minimal. The chain stays on the LHT are an inch and a half longer and in a fixed position, where as the cross check is probably adjustable to be pretty close (within an inch of the LHT). On a 58 or 60cm frame seems this seems logical. On bmx bikes. I've ridden older 15inch (rear lenght) dirt jumping frames that are more stable, compared to 13.25 current street machines, while being noticeably different in handling again, it doesn't make the ride much better nor worse. The most noticeable difference is noticed in spinning (360s etc) and manuals (wheelies). But since these bikes are doing neither it seems like a slight difference, almost more of a foot-pannier foot clearance issue?

The bottom bracket height is a large determining factor on the two bikes. "long haul truckers are terrible for off road because of the low bb" "the cross check is very nimble and able to climb over rocks etc with no worry of pedal strike" blah blah blah. ANYWHO, the bottom bracket is ONLY .5 inches lower. Which is pretty insignificant. On my BMX bike it does vary handling slightly (on ramps and such), but a 11.25bb height on a 20 inch compared to a 11.75 is something 99% of people would not notice and being on smaller frames this is more amplified. So is the bottom bracket height REALLY that large of a determining factor?

And lastly the head tube height is taller on the LHT. Which means less spacers, or equal spacers and higher bars. Putting you in a more "comfortable" position.

Now the biggest difference from what I've noticed between the two is the set up. Obviously the LHT always has higher bars, triple cranks, larger tires etc. While the crosscheck has a lower bars, smaller tires, and a double crankset. (also note the fact LHT has extra water bottle braze ons and fork mounts for a front rack and a few other minor differences)

which leads me to wonder, are the impressions of the two bikes when compared based more off of the setup of the bikes, rather than the actual geometries. That a LHT may be more "nimble" with a lower stem/bar ratio and smaller smooth tires and the Crosscheck might be more "comfortable" and "clumsy" "stable" or however you look at it with larger knobbier tires?

Woooo, that was a lot more writing than I had planned. Hopefully some of you have some input to add to my curiosity. Also, if we collect some good input, this could help people decide in the future rather than just personal preference.

Thanks!

Mack