Does anyone ride a surly long haul trucker? I read the surly cross check thread and thought I'd toss this one out there also. I'm looking to upgrade from my Fuji Silhouette (flat handle "road" bike) to something I can both commute on and take on longer recreational rides and club rides, and am thinking about both the LHT and the CX with a granny gear added. The twist is that about 75% of my riding (commuting and recreational) is done with a trailer with 55 pounds of kids (who are only going to get heavier). The LHT is definitely the more practical choice, as I could more easily add paniers for errands...but will it be as fun a choice as the CX on those days when I manage to ditch the kids?

And does anyone have any experience pulling a trailer on a bike with drop bars? One of the LBSs I've been test-riding the surlys at is really concerned about that combination, the other thinks it's not a big deal.

If by "CX" you mean the Surly Cross Check, the answer is no, the CC is a much more nimble bike, made to handle road, trail and beginner level racing whereas the LHT is a truck, even more tank like, more straight up riding position, higher bars.

I ride a LHT. It is comfortable and smooth. Mine also has the 26" wheels. I only test rode a CC once. I liked it but other factors helped me decide the LHT would be the right bike for me. Either bike would be fine for commuting. Either should be fine for longer recreational rides as well. I felt the CC was a faster bike overall and was quicker handling. Both should accept racks and panniers without problems.

The thing is the LHT is designed to handle loads better where as the CC is more of a jack of all trades in my opinion. If you are pulling a trailer I feel either one would be fine. What problems does the LBS see in hooking up a trailer to either bike? When you do take off the trailer is where your concern should be. Do you want a sports car or SUV so to speak in the garage?

Those LHT's seem to be breeding like rabbits and think that by today's end another one of my friends will have chugged the kool aid.

Part of that probbaly stems from me telling people that it's a pretty good value for the dollar spent and it is hard to screw up when you are building a tank.

You should ride them. I really liked the feel of the LHT. Fun to ride is subjective. One person's nimble, quick, and fun is another person's twitchy and nerve-whracking.

It might be harder for me to put panniers on the CC because I'm short (5'2") and on the smaller CC frames you just start to run out of room. Not impossible, of course, just a little trickier than on a larger frame or the LHT.

I think the LBS's concern is that your handling is affected by a trailer and with dropbars your hands aren't automatically next to the brakes and shifters as they are on something with flat handles. This is also the LBS that will not let me test ride a bike with the kids in the trailer (they did offer to fill my trailer with heavy stuff to simulate kids); the other LBS has no problem with me test riding with the kids. So it could just be inherent conservatism/worrywartness on the first LBS's part.

The problem is that I want a sports car, but probably should get a SUV.

Edited to say, I have ridden them both (without the trailer), and I liked them both a lot. I loved the stability of the LHT and the plush plush ride on the crap streets around here. I loved how the CC could handle the crap streets, though not so plushly, and let you really get going.

If you're used to hauling your kids most of the time, I think the LHT sans kids will seem plenty fast... I pedicab one evening a week, and my hybrid, even loaded down with a couple panniers seems incredibly light, fast, and responsive after a few hours taxiing people around in one of those! Though to continue the automobile metaphor, I think a pedicab is kinda like a dumptruck, so...

As for the trailer question, TONS of tourers have pulled trailers behind their drop bar bikes w/o issues. Not sure why the first LBS seems concerned.

Drop bars would not an any way preclude the use of a trailer -- I don't even know what the hell they could be talking about.

the LHT is a great commuter -- it's what I ride daily and I like it a lot. Touring bikes make excellent commuters.

i have both a LHT and a CC. I commute on both. I've toured on both. If you want to race cx get a CC. if not, flip a coin.

edit: Chainstay length is only about 1.5" different LHT vs. CC. And anyways you can get racks that carry the panniers back further on the bike so that you don't have issues with heelstrike on either bike. https://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/...lywithbags.jpg

I have a 26" LHT and really like it, comfortable and very smooth ride loaded or unloaded. The only thing is if you get a LHT you will have to get 26" wheels. I personally chose the 26" wheels and am very happy with my decision.

Agreed - I don't understand what their concern could be either. I've towed a variety of trailers behind bikes with drop bars - everything from one with three kids aboard to my 18', 90 lb. boat and have never had any issues.

Yeah, I thought it was a little strange, but thought they might have some secret knowledge because they're the professionals and all that. However, when I bought my jogging stroller from them, they were quite surprised that I intended to run in the very low-traffic streets in my neighborhood rather than driving down to the MUP to run, so I am going to conclude that this LBS is just extremely risk-averse. Some people just freak out when there are BABIES!!!!! involved.

Yeah, that's the ONLY reason I bought my LHT.

You could always add cross levers on your LHT. I did and use them a lot while touring or commuting.

I love my LHT. It is a heavy bike when compared to a "normal" road bike, but it is great for commuting, shopping, cruising around, and, of course touring (although I haven't toured on mine yet).

One annoyance with respect to some trailers is that if you have a trailer that clamps onto the chainstay, the stupid spokeholder thing will be in the way. I solved this simply clamping to the seat stay instead, but I wish they hadn't put the spoke holder there. It also makes mounting a kickstand there impossible. Depending on what trailer you have, this may not be a problem.

Another LHT tip: strip all the crappy surly logos and headbadge off of it. The headbadge is probably already not adhered very well, and the logos are truly crappy.

Benefit? People will say:

"Uh, cool bike. What is that.....is that a Surly?"

That's the best compliment I can get . No one knows what the hell it is -- out of sight, out of mind.

So everyone is correct in that both the CC and LHT are great bikes.

However, for the kind of riding you're doing, I feel like the LHT might just be a little bit of overkill. The CC will handle pretty much anything the LHT will do (within the bounds of what you've told us)—panniers, racks, trailers, long rides—but if you're not going to be constantly loading your bike down with gear, the CC is the better "all-arounder."

Just one man's opinion.

I drank the cool-aide........My LHT transports my 250 lb. carc-ass on approx. 25 miles a week of errands! The 38's(closer to 40's) feel real nice and I couldn't help myself with the black lacquer

Towing with the LHT?.... here's my road train:
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The LHT has drop bars now and I still tow the road train fairly regularly with no issues. The only caveat there is that my LHT has crosstop in-line brake levers so I can brake while on the bar tops.

I tried to strip the "Fatties Fit Fine" sticker (the bike fits me very well, thanks, but I don't need Surly to comment on my weight!), and couldn't get it started - I thought it must be under the clearcoat. You were able to strip the logos without damaging the paint?

Black lacquer?...or black liquor?

Yeah, the headbadge basically popped right off with very minimal effort on my part, and the surly logos on the downtube came off simply by "scratching" at them with an old credit card. Goo gone did the rest .

Of course, I have had scratched paint from locking to a communal rack in DC, but I gave up trying to keep it immaculate a long time ago.

flip a coin. If you're a light person I'd be inclined to have some spare light wheels and tires for unloaded riding.

Surly's description of the bike:

"We've offered the Cross Check as a frameset and as a complete bike for years. In fact, The Cross Check was our third frame and first complete bike, and the only model we offered as a complete for years. The frame itself is Surly's own 4130 cromoly steel, and provides a relatively relaxed and forgiving ride. Like all our bikes, the parts package was chosen for its value, durability and purpose. We sell it as a 2x9 speed, but you could add a third ring if you wanted. Or you could make it a single speed. Or a fixie. People use it for commuting, light touring, singletrack riding, hauling kids, just about anything you can do on a bike. It has changed very little over the years because it works very well as it is."

should work fine for what you want.

In regards to your comment about plushness, I should think larger tires on the CC can give you all the plush you could ever want. It has ginormous clearance.