Twang -O- Doom

Seems to be a lot of changes on the new Disk Trucker

Taller Stack
Shorter Chainstays (minus 10mm)
Brifters
Thru Axles

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/disc_trucker

JWK

Just saw it today on the website. You beat me to it. I love the changes, hate the color.

ndrose

Looks interesting for sure. It is a pretty bad color. In past models there have been color options; I wonder if an alternative will be forthcoming.

alan s 

Crap components. Get the frame and build it yourself.

ndrose

Which components in particular? It does look like they’ve downgraded the drivetrain from last year’s model, though the brakes are an improvement.

PDKL45

The Sora and Alivio drivetrain? You'd expect a bit more from a bike costing what it does in the US and you'd definitely expect more of a bike costing what it does in other countries. Surly complete bikes are commonly overpriced in non-US markets; you can usually make a better bike for the same amount of money if you just buy a frameset.

On the current model, the 3x9 Sora and Alivio are somewhat unimaginative, perhaps even dull. Basically everything else on the complete is dull and or unimaginative as well. Cheap Taiwanese OEM stem and seatpost, as well as hubs. Spokes aren't listed, but they're probably the same. The Spyre brakes are kinda cool, but it would be nice to see something along the lines of a dull touring 3x9 bike set up like the complete, offered alongside a cool Sutra Ltd-esque DT, specced like Ultraromance or someone would on a budget. 1x11 Shimano Deore drivetrain, granola bars (Jones loop or Moloko/whatever), hydraulic disc brakes, saddle bag and handlebar bags made in collaboration with a bag company or Surly branded, cool tan wall or slate wall tires, DT Swiss 370 hubs, Champion spokes and 545d 26" & 700C rims etc.

robow

The LHT used to be such a good bang for the buck, but I'm not sure that's the case anymore.

indyfabz

Better take better care of my 2011 vintage model. Not buying that thing.

nomadmax 

According to the video, not true thru axles.

veganbikes

TRP Spyres a fine choice but the drivetrain is crap. If the bike was 1k or less maybe it would make a bit more sense.

seeker333

38% price increase on frameset, $525 increase to 725. Pretty expensive for a Surly frameset.

Now you can put that Shimano 1x12 MTB drivetrain on with thru axle capability.

Increased stack height of ~2cm on a 56cm. Standover height is unchanged on 56cm, so I think the video info (lower standover) is misleading or simply inaccurate. On the 56cm/700c the headtube length increased from 152 to 175mm (so there's your ~2cm stack increase). Reach seems to be unchanged.

Chainstays shortened from 460 to 450mm. The fender and rack mounts have been moved from center of rear dropout to the trailing edge (about 10mm) to maintain heel-to-bag clearance. Looks worse this way IMO. The load is now centered behind the rear axle. Who needs "a more lively feel" on a loaded touring bike?

Fork look is diminished IMO with twice as many leg bosses (total of 8, most folks will continue to use only 2 for lowrider rack).

The brake mounts look kinda ugly too but they may reduce weight slightly.

In typical Surly fashion, color is not great. Now you have to scrape off Surly, Disc Trucker, FFF, ambiguous tubing label AND A MANDOLIN to make it look better, which is less effective with the ugly porcupine fork legs. Spare spoke carrier is fairly useless if you have decent wheels (it's easy to carry spares in seattube). Too bad they didn't delete these on the 2020 revision. I predict a black alternative to Pea Lime Soup within a few months.

Those thru axles seem to have an attached lever arm - this may interfere with rack / fenders and have to be carefully positioned when tightening. Basically a bigger version of the QR skewer which got in the way, which is why I used slow release skewers on my 2012 DT.

ndrose

I think (somebody correct me if I’m wrong) that the downgrade in the drivetrain is a necessary consequence of the switch to brifters. Not sure what I think of that trade off.

speyfitter

It’s not a downgrade in drivetrain - today’s 9 speed alivio is yesterday’s 9 speed Deore.

elcruxio

Hot diggity dog I think Surly just came up with my dream bike. Or frame actually but it'll build into a dream bike.

The frame has all the bells and whistles I've been been looking for in a frame lately now that the switch from my mullet LHT to a fully disc brake bike is getting nearer.

I was somewhat on the fence on thru axles before I tried them. But when I did try them I became an instant convert. So much better than QR and not really that big of a deal in a tourer as catastrophic wheel failures likely also wreck the frame too. So thru axles are a definite bonus.

Increased stack height is a massive yes in my book. My current 62cm lht is a bit on the low side and in size 62 stack is increased by 3cm which is exactly what I've been been looking for. Salsa Fargo on the other hand is already too high with a stack height of almost 700mm.

Tire clearance of 47mm with fenders is about perfect. Now that I've had the chance to try various tire sizes from 32mm to 4.8" I've come to the conclusion that 47mm is pretty much a perfect size for general touring. Wanting a 47mm tire was the reason I was starting to lean towards a 650b frame but those are hard to come by with reasonable stack heights.

Looks for me is a non issue and always has been. My current lht is covered in tourist stickers and looks like an absolute fredmobile anyway. I plan to ugly up the next frame in a similar fashion. More eyelets means more versatility, less screws is my spare parts satchel, more room for jerry rigging an emergency repair, more options for bike packing (with 45mm tires my LHT can do pretty gnarly singletrack).

Shortening the chainstay is the only thing I don't fully endorse but then again the LHT/DT has always been pretty long in the rear when comparing to the competition so I don't really see a detriment. I have size 47(eu) feet and bag clearance has not been an issue with my current lht. I've got room to spare.

Tourist in MSN

It is nice to see someone out there still understands that for touring you want a triple crank when they designed a replacement for an older touring model.

But I had bad luck with a Surly before, so not interested.

When I built up my Lynskey three years ago, everybody was saying I should use a BB7 brake, I went against conventional wisdom and went with Spyre. I see Surly made that change too.

If anybody gets this new disc trucker and is unhappy with the brakes, I thought my Spyre brake was pretty weak so I tried some really cheap resin pads instead of the stock pads that came with it. Much happier with the resin pads. I suspect that pad life is poorer, when I tour I carry a spare set of pads.

Looks like the below-downtube cage mounts are pretty far forward like the older Surly design, so no big bottles down there unless you get an adapter.

Spec sheet says 36 hole rims, but the photos shows 32.

Interesting handlebar shape. That might make it hard to mount some handlebar bags if the bracket clamps are too wide. I am guessing an Ortlieb bar bracket would fit, but that is just a guess on my part. And that bar shape might limit placement of interrupter brake levers if you are so inclined.

djb

Just took a gander, and you know what, I think all in all its a good compromise of stuff.
sora brifters are well made and function like the old 9 spd tiagra ones that I've ridden for 10 years
shorter chain stays, I figure its a good move, especially with the more "gravelly" angle to the bike (tires, handlebars, fork mounting holes) but doesn't take away from it being able to do traditional pannier road touring but more dirt stuff more funly.
and yup, 9 spd triple means alivio crankset, and only sora brifters will work, but they're fine and frankly, brifters are nice as heck to use all you bar end shifting grumpy old bastards (smiley face wink jokey going on there kids)
one of the reasons I like my troll is because it handles nice and sprightly, so the geometry change of the trucker is a real plus.
don't have through axle experience, but can see the advantages---less finicky for inattentive bad eyesight mechanically challenged folks compared to qr and discs.

I figure higher bars and all are going to be a real plus to the vast majority of riders, no doubt about it.

alivio crankset might be heavier than deore 48 36 26, and I didn't see If this is square taper.EDIT NOPE, Its hollowtech

and I think the colour is cool
and the neato mosquito handlebars look cool too

fricken expensive for us canucks though, surlys have been pricey, overpriced frankly, for years. I was lucky to get a used troll after the big price increases about 5 years ago.

PedalingWalrus

Honestly the most logical change should be to drop the word Disc and continue with the iconic LHT. After all, disc brakes are not a novelty anymore and naming your bike Disc Trucker or Eagle shifter or Pinion Nomad is just not cool (btw I own the light blue disc trucker)

robow

Love it or hate it, I am glad that Surly still continues to offer the original non-disc bike and frame at a greatly reduced cost.

Tourist in MSN

With a set of hubs that have worked just fine for decades.

Happy Feet

That's how I feel. I find myself looking at the Surly site quite often as I really like their ideas but the price tag for Canada is steep. The DT is listed at $2350 CAD.

But, I suppose there is a bit of the handyman mechanic at work too. For someone who wanted a proven touring design, right out of the box, you can buy it and ride it without much tinkering.

Not sure about the 1/2 thru axle though. The excuse of not losing the axle on the side of the road is kinda lame. I think I would just go all the way with a real one and have the advantage of being locked in both sides. Either way, not a deal breaker or maker for me.

mplsbiker

When Trek made this same, drivetrain, change to the new 520 there was a huge thread out where without expectation everyone said that going to Sora/Alivio was cheap move on their part and a money grab (They also increased the price). I wonder if the backlash is going to continue as the few remaining true "touring" frames follow suit. Maybe the LHT/DT halo will start to wear off.

djb

I'm sure a big angle is that a lot less people are keen on bar end shifters, and you simply get into issues with brifters, triples and more than 9 speed compatibility
Its that simple

ndrose

Nice catch. I wonder which is correct.

Twang -O- Doom

Well maybe not greatly reduced cost.
They added a color back (g-pa's thermos) to the LHT listings and it's $1550 vs $1350 for last years colors.

::Edited to add:: ahh the green one is also speced out differently... 10 speed vs 9

tcs

Aaaaand they've eliminated the frame's Rohloff anti-rotation bolt hole.