Originally Posted by
Dellphinus
I know this has been discussed at various levels before, but I'm just about to pull the trigger on a custom build, and need some soothing...
...I'm looking at the following as an all around bike. I like to do longer rides, 60-70 miles, and dream of doing a cross country...I do lots of supported rides, some centuries, MS150s, and am planning a 7 day supported ride this fallRide with a rear rack and trunk bag sometimes. Most of the rides around here involve mostly small hills (some steep), and on business trips, I've been doing Skyline drive 20 miles at a time (out and backs, since I'm alone). My current bike weighs 31 lbs unloaded, and has an 8 speed 20-104 GI range on 26x1.5s...
I have three bikes, but the most miles go on the LHT, especially during the winter. I use it for commuting, long distance, touring and fun.
Yesterday I did my century ride for January on it because it was stormy here in Northern California and this is the only bike with fenders. It also has big tires which I needed for some of the washouts I rode through. During the ride I managed to snag onto the back of a fancy carbon road bike who towed me about 10 miles at speeds between 20 and 30 mph...If you can negate the aerodynamics by drafting, the LHT (with big tires, racks, bags, lights, fenders) can really move.
My LHT is a 54 cm so it has 26" wheels. I am using Continental Travel Contacts 26 x 1.75" which are a good all-around tire both on pavement and gravel. My gearing is 46/36/26 with 11-32 on the back...22 to 108 gear-inches. If you want I can email you my build.