i have this problem on whether or not to just buy the complete with the bar end shifters or should i build and put a somthing like 105 on it any ideas.. or is there another bike out better for commuting than a lht

It obviously depends on what you want, where you ride, the loads you carry, etc.

That being said, I'm partial to a sturdy and stable bike that accepts wide tires with fenders, and the LHT perfectly fits the bill. Amongst interesting features :

– Room for 700x37 or 40 tires with fenders, which means you could also use it with wider tires on horrible streets, or with studded tires in Winter.
– Gears that are low enough for long steep hills even when loaded, yet high enough for most fast peloton rides (if you need higher than that, you're a racer).
– The bike will be very stable even if you pack 80 lb of groceries on the rear rack.

Now if you prefer a livelier sportier ride, either get something different or equip it with 700x30 tires.

You may want to cruise over to the Touring Forum and do a search too. Tons of LHT threads.

I recently bought a LHT with the Shimano bar end shifters. I never had a bike with bar end shifters before, but I got used to it really quickly. I do notice that I shift less frequent than on other bikes where the shifters are easier to reach.

I inquired about integrated shifters. They would add anywhere from $150-$300. I am glad that I choose the cheaper option.

One thing to note is that the front shifter is friction only, while the rear one cand be index or friction.
Duppie

Friction feels smoother to me on the front than indexing. I don't know why.

My ideal setup would be a barcon for control of the front and brifter for the rear. Unfortunately Shimano STI levers are enormous and may make for an uneven fel when combined with a slimmer aero lever. Campy levers are smaller, so maybe that might be something I'll do on a bike in the future.

'Course, different generations of STI are shaped differently than others.

It's a great commuting bike, mainly because of it's versatility. I have a Lemond Poprad and was ititially looking for a second used frame to build up as a commuter, but then I became aware of the LHT and liked that it would accommodate any future scenario that I might envision for it. As mentioned by others, the LHT accepts a wide variety of tires, plus a rear rack and fenders -- plus a front rack, should I ever need to expand my load carrying capacity.

there are as many opinions about that question as there are posters to this forum...

That said, I've commuted on my LHT nearly a year with great satisfaction with the bike. I bought the frame & had my LBS build it up with barcons, front 50/38 double, 8-spd rear. Spent about $ 1300 on getting it all-weather commute compatible. I had several thousand miles commuting & recreational riding on it until 3 weeks ago. Then I removed the SKS fenders, changed the tires from 700x32 to 700x28, went clipless but kept the rear rack and am now riding the LHT on charity & weekend rides. Use the rear rack to hold my Arkel Tailrider with spare tube, etc. The barcons & my gearing work great but I don't shift nearly as much as my wife on her Specialized Sequoia with brifters.

My commuter is now an old steel MTB with an Xtracycle attachment on it. Since my commute is only 8 miles RT, the Xtracycle works better and is more convenient. The LHT is plenty strong enough to ride our Tx chip seal country roads in comfort & feeling relatively safe when potholes, gravel bars, etc can't be avoided. I'm a Clyde at 6'4", 225 lbs so there is a fair amount of momentum & force to my bike at 15 - 20 mph. There's one subtle quality to the Surly that I like very much: its stability and straight-ahead steering. No tendency to get lodged in a hole or slip sideways in gravelly patches, it just rides on through. This is a quality to be expected in a touring frame but I appreciate it every time I get on the bike. It is not a trick bike to dance around on.

The Surly LHT seems to me to be a great midrange option between off-the-shelf steel touring bikes and the expensive custom frames closer to a couple of grand in price. There are other opinions on this in this forum but that's mine. Whether you buy the complete bike or build it up yourself is a question of mechanical expertise and investment.

how does it compare to the cross check

You'll save money by purchasing the complete LHT, but you'll have to be quick. When the first batch came in they sold out within days.

I've got a 07 LHT in that "commercial grey/blue"... 61 or 62cm...had it built up "specially" for me.....well, guess what? After giving it a fair shake.....several 1-1/2 to 3 hour rides, it definitely doesn't fit me...oh, it has great stability and is quite smooth ... but after raising the bars up with spacers and raising the seat way too high, I've found that the bike too short for me. I am stripping it of all the components and putting the frame and fork on the 'bay....

If they only made one bigger....I could really use a 66cm framed LHT

PM sent.

I was choosing between the LHT and CC for my bike this spring to start commuting on. I decided, based on feedback from my LBS guy that the Cross Check would be a little more fun and "sporty" feeling and that the LHT would be a better choice if I was going on long, long rides.

so did you buy the complete bike or build it

I like bar end shifters alot after buying a used Bridgestone xo-2...but I'm a bit of a retro grouch anyway.

I ended up with a mix between the pre-built bike and some parts my LBS suggested. It came in around $1300 with STI, a triple, and hand-built rims, which seemed like a reasonable premium compared to the ~$900-1000 for the Surly build with bar-cons.

I like the bar-end shifters as well. When I bought my LHT I was a little apprehensive about them - worried about easy they'd be to reach down there on the ends of the drops. It took about 2 minutes to get used to them there, and I liked them immediately. The rear (right) shifter works in an "indexed" mode - that is, it "clicks" from position to position. The front (left) shifter is a pure friction shifter. What I like is that, as you shift the rear derailleur you may get a little "clicking" as the chain angle changes and the chain hits the side of the front derailleur cage. However it's easy to just reach down and give a little "tweak" to the front derailleur to move it just a little and get rid of the clicking.

The selling point for me was the 26" wheels (because I have short legs.) 26 inchers tend to be more robust than 700c at a comparable pricepoint, as road and cyclocross tend to be inordinately expensive because of the weight-weeny factor.

It's a very sweet bike.

Yeah properly indexing a triple chainring front derailer is a royal pain, I find much greater peace of mind not even trying and then just trimming the continuous adjustment as needed.