jerrduford

So I've recently sold my cheapo Fat Bike (Gravity Bullseye Monster) which was intended to be my winter workhorse but I decided it was overkill for what I'll be seeing on my rides which are going to likely end up being 99% pavement (Western Michigan winter pavement).

I sold it for a good price so that there was no loss and it gets it out of my way temporarily, but I'm going to want another bike for winter.
The wife and I both currently ride 2013/2015 Carbon Synapses and love them, but they can't take any real loading or tires/finders above 25C. This is why I really want a new bike so that I can plow on through the winter.

Surly has really caught my eye. I'd love for my winter bike to be a multi-use machine. Having the option to hit gravel with it, pack it up for camping (NOT extreme or technical offroading by any means), or just do my daily commutes. I'm not car-free so I have the luxury of 'riding when I feel like it'.

I'm currently leaning towards the LHT - I love the 'Brilliant Blue' disc trucker, but that's just cosmetic. All of these pictures of the things that people have done with the LHT (hauling... literally everything including the kitchen sink) along with drop bars, mounts for everything, a stable ride, and tires up to 38C as far as I can tell, really add up to a lot of value and functionality for me.

That being said.. I realize I could do this with many other, cheaper bikes, but I really *want* that Shiny new functional steel bike. Has anyone ever been in a similar mindset?

TLDR

I want a Surly Bike (LHT, CC, Troll, Ogre, Pacer, Straggler) that I can use for (In this order of priority):
-Winter Riding/Commuting
-Hauling a decent amount of gear
-Potential weekend tours
-Potential Camping (primarily taking pavement to woods or state grounds)
-Drop bars are preferred over flat

Any suggestions?

revcp 

My $.02? Troll. It's a Swiss Army Knife. You're limited only by your imagination and parts budget. I built one up for my wife as a MUP-logging road-city bike. It was intended for me, but it fit her perfectly. Now I'm building my own for an MTB-tourer-commuter. They are just amazingly versatile frames. Canti or disc, 26" or 700c, wide tires or narrow. Can't beat it.

jerrduford

Thanks for the response! I was expecting much more input because most people with their Surlys love to talk about them.

The troll has caught my eye as well. I was getting shy of the idea of 26" wheels, but I'm thinking now maybe not such a bad idea. Lower center of gravity and a lot more wheel/tire options for winter/offroad/city riding.

Are you running the stock bars on it? How is that style? I'd also consider a trekking bar (the double 'loop' ones).
How much do the complete troll setups start at?

KC8QVO

I ride the Disk Trucker, LHT with disk brakes. The stock tires were 38mm. The vast majority of my riding is on crushed gravel/off road trails. The roads around here are fairly rough also. I ended up putting 42mm tires on it instead, with a bit coarser tread for more off-road use. The bike handles everything I ride pretty well. The bike is the stock complete bike, with the addition of fenders, tires, rack, wider bb, and a quad chain ring adapter for very low gearing (climbing hills loaded). The drop bars are nice.

I am happy with the set up I have - it works well, minus a few tweaks I am in the process of with long-distance ride comfort (if you can consider ride times in the 7-9 hour range as even approaching "comfortable"). That having been said, a Troll would probably offer more versatility. I don't like the bar style the complete bike comes with. A set of drop bars would probably be my choice. As for wheels - the tire size I have for the regular "riding season" is nice, but as winter breaks and the spring thaw hits I am SOL because the tires sink in the trail. It would be nice to have some real wide tires for the flotation.

revcp 

I put trekking bars on my wife's Troll. They're working well for her. I'm not sure of the pricing of the complete bike. I bought a used one and rebuilt it. I'm doing the same withe the one I'm building up for myself.

jerrduford

Thanks! The LHT was a major contender, but I think that was overpowering the decision after I saw some of the things people do with it. The troll might be a better tool for the job, considering.

jerrduford

Glad to hear that - I was thinking trekking bars would be great too with more hand positions and a nice wide position to stretch out. I love drop bars too, but I doubt I'd care about aero on a loaded Troll.

Where in the world are you finding such a good used market for these frames? I'm in Grand Rapids, MI - A pretty big bike city for the state, but searching around I'd have to travel a few hundred miles to buy even a decent cond LHT or CC, much less something less common like a troll/ogre. I think it's like shopping the used market for a Toyota.... People just tend to hang on to their Surly's till retirement!

Velocivixen

Have you ridden a LHT? They have been reviewed, and I agree, as feeling very good when fully loaded, but not very fun to ride when not loaded. I had a Surly Cross Check that I had for 4 years that had all sorts of eyelets for fenders & racks, but I sold it. I test rode a LHT (disc) as well as a Surly Straggler several times as well as some other bikes. I bought the Surly Straggler in the 650b version (I'm 5' 6"). I like the Straggler a lot.

I would also second the vote on a Troll, although haven't actually ridden one. They get good reviews.

revcp 

I live in the Twin Cities. Surly central.

KC8QVO

It isn't so much about aerodynamics for my riding as it is changing positions. My hand positions switch a lot, sometimes by the minute. You can always set the bars higher.

Any way you slice it, Surlys are tough bikes. I'm sure you'll be happy with what ever you end up with.

jerrduford

Thanks - When I said that it was in reference to the trekking bars. These give me many hand positions (and can be configured in quite a few different ways), but aren't going to give quite the aero advantage of true drop bars. I figured I wouldn't miss the extra drop when riding on a Troll, anyways.

I still haven't made up my mind quite yet. A Surly sounds really awesome, but I've also stumbled upon a reallllly nice Fat Bike with a Bluto Suspension Fork, X7/X9 SRAM componentry, 26x4.0 Vee 8 tires brand new, and 80mm rims for shy of 1000... It might not be as efficient as a troll, or as 'Cute' looking (Surly's marketing works so well for those that fit its appeal), but man what a good deal and I could roll over anything...

It seems the MSRP of a Complete 2015 Troll would be upwards of 1,500 before any modifications?

KC8QVO

That doesn't seem to be too bad/out of line. Does it have disk brakes? My Disk Trucker was in the $1600-1700 range, complete stock bike. It was a new model year, at the beginning of the season (worst time to buy... but I needed the bike). A quick search online shows the troll seems to be 1350-1700.

jerrduford

I think maybe I'll check out a few bike shops tomorrow and see if there's the off chance they'll actually have one in stock, and see what pricing might be to order one in. I love the idea of the troll - The customizability and ability to set it up pretty efficiently, but I don't want to overspend on what will be a utility/winter bike either (but definitely not a *beater*)

KC8QVO

Thats what I did when I got my bike very early in 2014. I had to drive a couple hours out to find a shop that had any stock, and 90% of the bikes they had were fat bikes for the winter season. Call around first.

jerrduford

Yeah that's what I'm thinking that I'll see. Although, last I knew, the same shop I got my 'Dales from had a 2015 Cross Check on the wall for ~1300 which included the whole shebang - front and rear racks & panniers, fenders, and possibly some other additions.

GREAT deal but I wasn't crazy about bar end shifters nor the 'Hospital Foam' green, although it's growing on me - I absolutely love the 'Steves Pants' teal of the 2015 Troll, though.

fietsbob

Utility? a Big Dummy..

Singlespeed92

I had an Xtracycle (which is really similar to the Dummy),and second fietsbob on that. Other than Dummies/Xtra's,LOVE my Troll (despite being a 29er guy...the Troll was my first 26"er in years),LOTS of versatility built in,I've (got parts for and...) used mine for everything from a gravel/roadie,technical singletrack beast,rigid or suspended SS with V's and/or discs,racks and panniers for minitouring,framebags and such for offroad bikepacking...it's a do-it-all bike like it's bigger wheeled brother the Ogre. Currently have it set up for multi-surface riding with 3x9 drivetrain,v-brakes,and such,seen here on a road-gravel-bike path-short singletrack session ride from this week...

Doug64

The LHT will do just about anything. We now have 3 of them in our family. Both of our daughters also ride them.

trainsktg

I'm mainly a road cyclist, but I have a Big Dummy that sees a decent amount of utility use. Approx. 800 miles on it in the last year. Self-supported on the 2015 Seattle to Portland ride, bike camping, loading up my Code books to commute to an update class. It's like an LHT but bigger.

Keith

Mr Pink57

I have an Ogre and a Pugsley. Both offer the utility you want, there are a lot of tire/wheel options for a Pugs that can be done to fit whatever you want.

What I will say is the Troll is still probably the best bet. It can take a 26er, 650b, or 29er wheel and still not be crazy out of whack. The only reason I went for the Ogre is because I have a nice set of 29er wheels built up for it and the tires I wanted to use (29x2.35) would not fit the frame, and I got the price of a lifetime on it.

I mainly use it as a commuter all year and do some long distances on it but not too much.

salek

The Surly LHDT is the bicycle that I envisioned to be the replacement for my flagship long ride touring bicycle. I have not ridden one. However, it is still the bicycle that I imagineered for a custom bicycle builder to replace my faithful Grand Touring bicycle. Any time that my ride is required to be beyond about 12 miles, I want the stability and comfort of the long haul bike. Any time that my load was sufficiently heavy, I wanted the long haul bicycle for its stability even if I were only going a few miles. The Surly LHDT is my idea of an ultimate F150/Caddilac/H1 combo. I would be inclined to recommend one though I admit, I have not ridden one.
The Big Dummy is fantastic as an F150 with a load. It is comfortable as a Cadillac. With its 26 inch tires, it can go off road as an H1. But, that *is* as an H1. There are off road places that you need a CJ7 and this is not it. It is too long for real off roading in tight places.
I would consider it a sin to put moosebars on a LHDT. However, that would become a really versatile bicycle based upon the specs.

riska

nice bike son

ColonelSanders

How well do the Troll & Ogre play with a permanent mudguard setup, if you have to change your rear tyre?

From my point of view, I think the LHT is best setup due to the rear drop outs that unbelievably only it has in the Surly range, that are "normal" and take into account you might be taking your rear wheel off every now and then.