edapp

Brad: Thanks for the input. I am aware that for the cross check I would need to make some changes in terms of gearing to have "touring" ratio's. As tarwheel and others have said I would most likely be trying to trade out some of the components (either the crank/bb or the rear cassette/rd) to make it work right.

ocho: what you are saying about the LHT is pretty much aligns with my aversion to this bike. It seems to have a lot of options, but I in what I have read and speculated (i have never ridden the LHT or Cross Check) is that the ride would be bland. I also feel like bland is maybe a good thing as far as touring goes, but when I am not fully loaded down I would prefer to have a bike that is fun to ride around town or able to keep up in a group ride type scenario.
You say there are lots of other options, and I know there are, but what would you suggest that I look at (around the same or lower price range) ?

As I have mentioned before, what I am really looking for is a bike that can fully handle and will be fun to tour on, but also be useful in other riding situations. I think that is why the CC, being a slightly racier geometry, is calling to me.

Thanks!

ploeg

If you're not going to be out for more than a week, and you're not going through the middle of nowhere, you can pare down what you take sufficiently so that everything can go on the back. If you're not hauling bricks, there's no particular need to load balance a few days' food and clothing and lightweight camping gear.

If you're going to be out for more than a week, or if you absolutely can't go without a big load, absolutely use front panniers. And using front panniers will make the bike sluggish (the rack and panniers in themselves will add at least 4 or 5 pounds to your front), but if you're hauling that quantity of gear, it's not something you're going to mind.

LeeG

I've got the CC set up with 34/48 and 13-34 cassette, that gives a 27"-100" range. Using a triple set up as a double and outer ring taken by a chainguard I've set it up with 30/44 and 12-32 cassette or 11-34 cassette giving 25"-100 gears. I'm thinking of going back to that with 28/44 double and 12-28 or 12-32 cassette giving 24" or 27" low gear.

edapp

LeeG: Thank you! this is very helpful... I liked how you said the LHT is for 80% loaded riding and the CC is for 80% unloaded riding. That made it really easy to compare the two and really help the decision making process. I would say I will most likely (other than the 3 month tour, and even on that the BOB will be helping out a lot) be doing about 30% loaded riding. I feel like the CC is the better decision for me here considering I am used to riding fast paced MTB and I spend about half the year training on a triathlon specific bike. I am 165 lbs so the loaded weight shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks a lot for the help everyone, and I guess the next step here is to start rounding up some money and talk to the LBS about ordering/switching parts over.

tarwheel 

Have you looked into other options like the Soma Saga and Bruce Gordon BLT? You could build up both of those frames for prices comparable to a LHT. I've got nothing against Surly's but their geometry is not for everyone (me included).

edapp

Oh, and as far as sizing goes, I am 6'0, with a 34" inseam. I have ridden a 56" road bike but feel that it was on the small side. I have always ridden 19" mtb's that fit fine. Would you say a 56 or 58 would be better? I feel like the 56 would have the bars slightly closer to me, not as stretched out, but the 58 might allow me to run the bars a little higher (although farther away). Thoughts?

LeeG

Unloaded the CC is a tossable bike, the LHT really isn't. The truck part of LHT is well named. Not that you'd be tossing any loaded bike around. At 165lbs you've got a good margin. I'd just get a Sugino 600 triple and let it go at that, I don't think you'd need to switch the bb.

LeeG

58cm

edapp

Once again, thank you! Very helpful.

bradtx

edapp, Ahh, I see the reason for the CC. BTW we're very close size wise and I ride a 58 cm road bike and an 18" mountain bike.

Brad

irwin7638

I think your decision hinges on the handling, if so I'd definitely choose the Cross Check. My 56cm LHT did handle like a bus. I think the CC can handle what you need to carry , but I typically carry less than 30# when I tour and have toured with fewer gears. The CC would be much more fun day to day.

Marc

NoReg

I find a "poor handling" bike is exciting. I like riding the paint line on the side of the road for a better roll, and I like the fact it tracks in tight traffic. I still find I manage to wrestle it around when a big rock appears in my way, or worst case ride out the damage if I plow through it. It isn't what I was used to, but it has it's points.

Terry66

I just went though a similar situation and after much trial and error, I opted to go the build route and went with the Sala Vaya. It certainly makes better dollar sense to buy a complete. I found a nice donor bike for $300 that had 105 shifters and triple crank with Ultegra derailleurs, so I decided to build. I didn't save much going this route, but I got the bike built the way I wanted it.

I originally decided on a LHT but after reading the forums and investigating, I went with the Cross Check. I thought the geometry looked a little aggressive for what I wanted. Actually, I wanted a Vaya, but this was back in January and the Vayas wouldn't be available till early spring. I have a carbon road bike and was looking for a "light touring" bad weather bike that I could use for about anything...riding around with the wife, pulling the grandbaby in the buggy, etc. I figured I would go ahead and order the Cross Check, ride it in the Ohio winter/early spring weather and if I didn't like it, I could sell the frame later. To be honest, I did like the CC, but it wasn't the super relaxed, cruiser, tourer, do everything bike that I had in mind. If I could only have one bike, the CC just might be it. It just wasn't what I was looking for this time around. I finally ordered the Vaya frame and stripped the parts from the CC and while I have less than 100 miles on it, I am REALLY going to like this bike....

NoReg

That makes sense to me. Touring bikes are pretty close to being the all around bike. Particularly if your idea of all around includes going touring. Seems that psychologically people never tire of buying completely inappropriate bikes that call out to who they would like to be rather than what they really are doing. You buy the latter bike and there isn't any ego stroke at all. Boring. But it happens to be the right bike. At what point was a 10 speed racer, an MTB, or these days a cyclocross or fixie, the practical all around, commuting, kid trailer hauling bike. It isn't. It's the bike that supports your daydreams while you are stuck hauling a kid trailer... The cool part is that bikes are such successful technology that any bike is so much better than no bike, so one can get away with this nonsense. It would not be comfortable wearing climbing shoes all day long like Mork in Mork and Mindy, or the hard shell mountaineering boots. So people don't do that for the most part. An MTB may be nonsense in 99% of the applications they have ever been pressed into, but it still works great for them. That doesn't make it the right bike. Unfortunately, while there are lots of bikes for loaded touring the light touring segment is harder to fill off the rack.

neil

This is poor logic. The truck can pull more in the trailer than it can in the box because of limits to axle weight. More axles = less weight per axle.

The truck itself is massively overpowered, so the extra weight on the trailer is within its hauling power. Your bike isn't overpowered, so adding more weight - just because you have more space, plus you've got the trailer weight on top of everything else - will slow you down.

If you're hauling a lot (and I mean a LOT) of weight, the 3rd axle could make a difference in terms of avoiding flat tires and broken axles. But if you're hauling that much stuff, I'd suggest first contemplating whether you need it all.

On the other hand, if you're using a trailer because it's cheaper than a new bike and solves your heel strike problem...by all means, go right ahead.