Surly LHT Kickstand Issues
 

A good way to avoid the problems of mounting a kickstand on a LHT is to use a Clickstand. I made my own for a fraction of the cost by using 1/4" collapsible fiberglass tent poles. It's very strong and lightweight. It's easy to mount on the bike seat tube once collapsed. The only other addition needed is something to lock up the front wheel to prevent the loaded/unloaded bike from moving. I use a Bikebrake which is a silcone band which mounts on your left grip to lock up the front wheel. A cycling buddy of mine uses a strip of old inner tube to do the same thing.

You can mount a conventional kickstand to a Surly LHT or Disc Trucker, and any short length of string/twine/cord will serve as front brake lever lock:

https://www.bikeforums.net/20590700-post3.html

Seeker, the problem with a traditional side mounted kickstand is weight of the loaded bike. I used a 2 legged one for quite some time before switching to my version of the Click-stand which works much better. Their explanation is that the chainstays are much too thin to handle a sidemounted kickstand. I figure they built the bike so must have some idea as to what will and will not work. I underetand they have a special plate for mounting a kickstand. The Click-stand which I described is easy to deal with and can be used on any kind of touring bike (loaded/unloaded). The Bikebrake is an easy to use and convenient silicone band which just slips on your handlebar grip ready to engage your front brake. However, as you say you can also use just about anything to lock up the front wheel.

Nut Surly dont recommend it and may void warranty
 

kickstands_on_long_haul_truckers

Are you too lazy to click a provided link?

https://surlybikes.com/parts/small_p...ickstand_plate

Wrong link
 

https://surlybikes.com/info_hole/spe..._haul_truckers

Read this carefully. They don't recommend it.

Thoughts?
 

As an aside, does anyone else think their posts makes Surly sound like complete unprofessional idiots?
Starting a post to customers with "Well for f*ck's sake. " and " Cripes. It doesn't pay to try."

https://surlybikes.com/info_hole/spe..._haul_truckers

Let me ask a simple question. What do you hope to gain by adding a side mounted kickstand on a LHT? This type of stand will surely fail to keep the fully loaded bike upright when you park it.. I had problems with stability on my loaded LHT using a Pletscher 2 legged center stand which is why I switched to the Click-Stand type. Now I can park my loaded bike just about anywhere without having to worry about it toppling over..

The link you attached predated Surly beginning to sell kickstand adapters by at least five years, which was indicated in the link in post #2 from a different thread (you read carefully). Obviously using a Surly kickstand adapter according to instructions will not void the warranty. If you have further questions, I suggest you go to the source, derby@surlybikes.com, and share their answer on the forum.

I don't use a kickstand, so my opinion about what type of kickstand to use is none, or perhaps a Clickstand-like device.

The purpose of post #2 was simply to share the fact that despite Surly's widely-read-and-argued earlier stated anti-kickstand position, they now sell an adapter to facilitate mounting of a kickstand, a fact not evident to many people aware of their earlier position. The OP left me with the impression that you were unaware of the existence of this kickstand adapter.

From archive.org's "wayback machine":

2009.11.24 - original "kickstands are bad for LHT" blog

and >7 years later:

2017.05.22 - first appearance of kickstand adapter

"Once again you have wasted perfectly good minutes of your life you could have spent riding your bicycle. Hopefully in the future common sense will prevail, you will approach things thoughtfully, and there will be no need for us to write such things or for you to read them."

Salsa , another brand name owned by QBP,
Surly's Importing, Distribution Company ..

Has their bikes with center kickstand plates,
Marrakesh the touring bike from them.


...

Surly's original blog on LHT+kickstand focused on the issue of users damaging their frame by using excessive clamping force when installing or adjusting a chainstay mounted kickstand. The kickstand adapter introduced years later prevents this from happening, or as stated in the description, "The plates consist of two halves that, when clamped on your frame in conjunction with a kickstand, protect your chainstays from hamfisting by sandwiching the frame between the plates." Surly didn't warn against using a chainstay-mounted-kickstand in 2009 because of the bike's gear load, they opposed it because a number of LHT owners tried unsuccessfully to warranty self-inflicted frame damage as a product defect.

I am glad you are happy with your kickstand. This is one of the more contentious topics on Bike Forums, right up there with threadless headsets, disc brakes, chain maintenance/lube, tensioned-leather saddles, etc.