aside from obvious functionality is the LHT a joy to ride?
 

title says it. for some unexplainable reason I have good feelings about the LHT and am pondering grabbing a complete and doing some upgrades...brakes etc. It'll be in rotation with my ss on my 40km or so roundtrip commute and be a weekend ride. I ride with a carradice saddle bag and would continue that with the trucker. I also don't plan on touring. i guess i'm saying i don't actually need a touring bike. Yet, i have this feeling it would be a fun bike to ride. and that's what i'm after, a fun bike, something i can ride fast, but really enjoy as a ride. can any LHT owners confirm my mystical inkling? If others can compare it to a crosscheck that'd be super too. thanks...

As a proud and happy LHT pilot I can honestly say that it is as good as you suspect, and better. If circumstances forced me to only have one bike for the rest of my life it would be my LHT with no hesitation whatsoever.

Current configuration, after updating to a 10-speed DuraAce groupset and drop bars (not in pic is her Brooks saddle and rack)...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...album/all2.jpg


Previous config...
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...E/lht06077.jpg

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x...E/lht06075.jpg

very nice steed cyclaholic and thanks for the word. your current configuration is where i would go with it too. ten speed not triple. it just seems like a classic ride, like a working chap's rivendell. Is there any way to putinto words what the ride quality is like?

It's a smooth ride, very comfortable. Its the sort of bike that you connect with and after a while she just disappears beneath you. The handling is as you would expect from a tourer. She'll hold a line with no twitchiness regardless of how much you load her up or even if you tow a trailer. A racing bike she is not; turns are a very deliberate act but once she's established on a line through a turn she'll just ride herself around. The trade off is a bit of reluctance to change lines mid corner, probably thanks to the long chainstays.

I did a 65 mile a day round trip commute for a couple of years back when I didn't have kids. Around 2 hours each way, all on the LHT, all very enjoyable miles. My super stiff aluminum road bike would have killed me after a week on that commute. I also did a 45 mile round trip commute for a short time which included a short cut I discovered - a couple of miles of singletrack next to a creek. The LHT was always rock steady, even in hardtain mountain bike terrain, with loaded panniers.

There are also some other options out there.

http://www.brucegordoncycles.blogspot.com/

I don't really think a touring bike is good at anything other than touring. Heavy, and 'dead' feeling. Of course you can commute on a tourer, but a joy to ride? No. I think what you want is a Pacer.

Mine is okay. It's not my favorite ride, but it's comfortable nonetheless. Kinda like an old Buick. Not really fast, not really quick (handling), but pretty smooth nonetheless.
My favorite ride is my Panasonic. THAT bike is a joy to ride.
-Gene-

I don't really know about the LHT, since I've only test ride it. But you might consider a cross check, too-- I find that it's a nice balance between the LHT and the Pacer-- hauls heavy loads perfectly fine, handling is stable yet responsive. Turns corners or changes lines just fine-- neither dead or twitchy. The cross check would be my one bike to have. I think it's perfect for commuting...a long one at that. Very comfy.

EDIT: I like the car comparison. I'd say the cross check is like one of the newer Subaru Outbacks. It's not a sports car, but it's not a station wagon or minivan either... with a little more utility and zest than a tytpically accord/camry

Bah, this thread is full of heathens. :p

Joy to ride?
 

If I'm riding, it's pretty much a joy to be riding. :) My LHT logged about 1800 mi last year, almost all of them commuting. I have an Al framed Roubaix that is lighter and more nimble, but the LHT is reliable and very comfortable....which makes it a joy to ride. I put on Kool Stop pads and a comfy saddle, but other than that, I just ride it and enjoy the journey.

Roy Curry

LHT owner and I do enjoy it. When people were saying the ride quality is like an old buick they weren't lying. Mine tracks straight and just wants cruise. I have to put effort into trying to go fast. Although it feels a little on the heavy side I don't really notice it until going up hills. Its a very smooth ride. I only test rode a CrossCheck once and liked it. I however felt a touring bike would be ideal for the type of riding I do. Sometimes I want something lighter or something that feels a little zippier, that just means I need to save up for another bike. I agree with another poster that the LHT is a good all around type bike. I can't wait to find out how good of a Touring bike it will be when I get around to it.

thanks for the replies everyone!
obviously it seems personal, and depends on what qualities make a nice ride to indivduals. dead or steady...
the thing is i have been trying to figure out a nice bike for my 40th and want something that i just love and will want to ride.
my ss is that kind of bike, an on-one il pompino. it is perfect. i want a steel geared bike i actually want to ride. not found that love yet. could be cross check is in the sweet spot too...i guess i want something that has a personality not a lack of one...the nice high fronted, high bb popmino has that (personality) in spades.

Absolutely!

not really. I mean for the attributes that make a bike fun I think of nimble, responsive and forgiving. The LHT is heavy and slow handling, it's a cross country bus. The LHT is more of a satisfying ride. All loaded up with gear or groceries, cruising along not stopping for anything. Solid. Gliding through town carrying a ton of stuff.
A Specialized TriCross could be fun, the Surly CrossCheck is just about perfect as an all purpose commuter and road bike for a range of speeds. I can ride the CC without hands more easily than the LHT. It feels more confident for riding a tight circle up and over ramps and slow speed close quarter riding. I think of the CC as the perfect Schwinn Varsity but 12lbs lighter.

Now bells and tires, that's where the fun is. Pick a fun bell and tire. I'm thinking of converting a heavy meditation bell into a bike bell, about 2 1/2" in diameter and 1/8" thick. Riding past a line of stopped cars with the dopper sound of a sustaining bell is fun.


"If others can compare it to a crosscheck that'd be super too. thanks..."
The LHT has a noticably lower bottom bracket. I can comfortably touch the ground with the ball of my foot when stopped at a light and sitting on the seat. With the CC I'm leaning on a pointed toe. This will also be noticable if you're riding through a corner as the LHT with long cranks won't tolerate much of a lean. Riding along with no gear it's easy to steer the CC with hands off by the seat. The LHT bars will flop more from side to side. What can make either bike "fun" for unloaded riding are nice light wheels and tires. I"ve been enjoying riding my old road front wheel with a 35mm Pasela TG. If 50% of my riding was heavy loads and touring I'd get the LHT, if 90% is unloaded I'd get the CC. The CC is a better load carrier than all the bikes I toured on when younger.

I don't own an LHT, but own a bike with similar components to the complete*, similar construction, and that's built for the same purpose (I'm a proud owner of a Jamis Aurora). I love riding it, and have a great time by myself or with other touring bike owners. However, it is not a racing bike and the steel will slow you down, and wear you out if you're trying to keep up with the owners of lighter-weight bikes. Touring bikes are great for settling into a rhythm and keeping it for hours, but the overall speed is simply lower. So it's all in what gives you joy. If a long, steady, smooth ride is your idea of fun, then it likely will be a joy. Few owners of the LHT seem to regret the purchase. But if you ride in large groups, or want to push yourself to do that distance a little faster every week, then probably not so much.

*The major component differences between the bikes that I'm seeing are XT vs Deore on the rear derailleur and hubs, plus the Aurora's brifters vs barcons on the LHT. I'm sure many LHT owners will shortly blast me for suggesting the two are comparable, though.

I haven't done much more than test ride the LHT from LBS I worked at, but it is no thoroughbred -- more like a trusty old cart horse.

Others have mentioned its less-than-optimum steering geometry and I'd concur. It is a bargain though and good bike for the price. I was always happy to sell the bike for touring/commuting.

A LHT owner discusses his bike on this page.

The wheel flop isn't an issue with low riders. That's what I mean by satisfying gliding through town. I'm not sure if there's a bike that can be ridden no hands with a heavy front load but with a heavy lowrider front load it feels fine with normal lean to turn handling and hands on the bars. Looking at the reviewers Surly I see that he's got a big front bag mounted above the front wheel. That would exacerbate wheel flop. Thats what I mean by the LHT feeling like a big tour bus. It's meant to carry the weight and it does it well. Unloaded misses what the design is about.

My riding bud and I both have Truckers. We also have persnickety road bikes for comparison. Our LHTs have 26x1.9 rubber. Awesome control for winters in the dark and/or rain. Very forgiving on unseen potholes, cracks, gravel, etc.

Our mantra is: "Trucka' don't give a $H1T"

It that respect, it is a joy to ride. Gives me the feeling that nothing on the road surface can take me down. If that ain't joy in New Orleans, I am not sure what is.

Attachment 135595I have a 56cm 26in LHT and it is a joy to ride...to me. We all have different opinions.

mine is a 700c 56cm, I'd like try out the 26" one.

If you live near cleveland ohio I'll let you...for a price;)

or if you run across a 700c version try it out and report back! Honestly 26" wheels would be my preference.

Even though I own a LHT it doesn't mean to forego other bikes. I tested the T2 (my 2nd favorite), Aurora (3rd), and 520 (4th) in the touring category. Determine what you think will be a fun ride and that should give you an idea of what type of bike you are looking for. The CC and TriCross were also very nice bikes I got to test ride. If I could do it over again I'd probably buy the LHT again, but I would give more consideration to both the T2 and CC.

I've never understood people's love affairs with these. They're very expensive and heavy to boot. Made with thick gauge 4130 I believe. I guess if you're looking for a new steel bike then this is an option, however, there are lots of much better and cheaper steel frames out there.

Like what? As long as you don't care about lugs, I've really not seen a better frame for less money....that's basically the point of a surly. I also ordered mine at cost though..