heaphq

So! I am deciding which touring bike to make my new ride.
I am looking for something with discs and these two are available to me in the spring.

https://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/steel-road/sojourn-12/

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/disc_trucker

So the disc trucker will be about 1/3 more expensive with the deal I have going, but my question is, is the Raleigh a good enough deal with all of the extra goodies?

Both the 50cm Disc trucker and the "53"cm raleigh appear to be about the same size.

so which one would you pick and why? what parts would you ditch? is there another bike i am not considering?

FunkyStickman

The Raleigh comes with fenders and racks? Looks as good, has a Brooks saddle... with that being said, the Surly is a very good bike too, but the Disk version is kind of new, not many people have reviewed it yet. I think the Raliegh is a little prettier (and I own a LHT). Can't really go wrong with either one, they both have long chainstays, all the rack mounts, etc. Off the shelf parts are fine for the most part.

himespau 

That raleigh looks pretty nice and is different than the lht that so many people seem to have, so I'd go with that. How much do they run?

heaphq

the sojourn retails for about 1200 dollars.
however i just got off the phone with raleigh and they come with a cut steertube = dealbreaker!
sojourn has level 2 shimano parts
disc trucker has level 4/5 shimano parts
why they would send out a touring bike with a cut steertube is beyond me...

pasopia

The spec on the Surly is better in my opinion, other than the saddle. The crankset is geared too high on the Raleigh for loaded touring. I don't know why everyone but Surly always does this with their touring bikes.

In your size the Surly will have 26" wheels, which to me is an advantage. You can run bigger tires than the 700c version. I've had both versions and I like how the 26" wheels ride more, it feels a bit more nimble. Also, if you tour outside of the US and Europe it's really difficult to find 700c tires and wheel parts. The 26" size is ubiquitous around the world.

I have a non disc trucker, it's a great bike. I'm replacing it with the disc frame when it comes out.

LeeG

no way of knowing without riding. The Raleigh is a heck of a value but there's nothing special about the Brooks saddle or rear rack. I'd replace the saddle. The cut steerer isn't a big negative, lots of stem choices to put the bars where I would want them. The biggest difference is whether 26" or 700c is important as that decision has been made for you, no 700c LHT in your size.

The Raleigh crankset provides much bigger gears than will ever be useful for a heavy touring bike. They could be low enough but i don't see the need in carrying around big gears when they have no useful function. With the 50tooth chainring the top two gears are 104 and 124", you'll never need them and the 39t middle ring provides the same useful cruising gears as the big ring and two bigger cogs on the cassette. You aren't likely to double shift to get the next closest gear so you're left with lots of 15% jumps with the largest between the 11 and 13t cog 18%. To my sense the big ring is pretty useless for touring. Sure it's useful for unloaded riding but when your average speed is 10-15mph that 104"-124" gear is a wasted gear sitting on the cassette.
The Surly gives you a better option with 24-26 inner ring so that if you want very low gears you can have them but also if a 24" gear is low enough you could get a very tight cassette if maximizing your motors output is important.
But wheel size and ride is still the deciding issue.

Here it is, 12-32 9spd with 12,13,14 for the three highest gears. If you have a 700c bike put on a 44t big chain ring and if it's a 26" bike put on a 46 or 48t chainring.

https://store.interlocracing.com/9rococa.html

fietsbob

I've never left a bike as is after I got it. You don't either .

jdswitters

no front fork braze on for the Raleigh.

gorshkov

I own a 2009 Sojourn, and have done 4 short tours, and a whole lot of commuting on it. I haven't ever used an LHT, so the only thing I can compare it to is an old Rockhopper that I rebuilt as a touring/commuting bike in 2005 (the Raleigh replaced it). Anyway, here's my take on the Raleigh:

I've generally been pleased with it (no serious problems), but there have been a number of minor annoyances. Most of these are personal preference, so may or may not apply to you. If you have been touring long enough to know exactly what you want in a bike, that will help. Otherwise, you're going to have to make a lot of changes to whatever bike you get to make it fit your needs.

The best part of the Sojourn is that it rides really well, and handles rough surfaces better than any other non-suspended bike I've tried, and better than a lot of hardtail MTB's. It comes with a lot of extras, and isn't real expensive. If you happen to like the extras it comes with, that's great. If you don't like those extras and would replace them anyway, then its not such a good deal. The rear rack appears to be a rebranded Tubus Cargo, which is a nice thing to have.

Some things I have changed:
(1) New wheels. The OEM wheels on the 2009 model had 32 spokes and hubs from a manufacturer no one had heard of, so I built a new set on Mavic rims and LX hubs. This wasn't actually a huge issue for me, since I like to keep a spare wheelset on hand just in case. The 2012 model has a better spec on the wheels.

(2) Gearing. As others have said, the gearing is too high, though not egregiously so. Because the front shifter is friction, I was able to replace the small chainring (30t) with a 24t without compromising shifting.

(3) Shifters. I have a tendency to bash the bar-ends on things when I lean the bike. This is exacerbated by the really wide handlebars (not clear if the 2012 model still has those), so I moved the shifters to the downtube when I replaced the handlebar tape.

Some other things I may change in the future, but aren't enough of a problem for me to spend money on at this point:
(1) Brakes. BB-7's would be nice (2009 came with BB-5's) but what I really want is for someone to make a road-style hydraulic lever (sigh...)

(2) Handlebars. The super-wide drops really aren't that useful and can make it difficult to get through some tights spaces.

P.S. jdswitters, you said that there aren't fork braze-ons. That certainly isn't true of the 2009 model (I have a Tubus Tara on it), and I'd be very surprised if it is true of the 2012. Can you tell us where you got that information?

mulveyr 

I've done almost all the same changes on my 2009 Sojourn. ;-)

I'm curious about your shifter change - did you go to standard DT levers? Or actually move the barcons? If so, how did you mount the barcons? I'm thinking of doing the same thing.

aroundoz

The cut steerer would also make me favor the LHT. Surly is probably the only manufacturer that sells their frames with uncut steerers which is a real bonus. Shops might not like it because it's easier for them to install a high angled stem than it is to cut a steerer tube.

I don't know for certain but would guess the Sojourn doesn't have the tire clearance the LHT provides as well.

seeker333

Sojourns are really heavy, even after accounting for the fenders, rack and saddle. They weigh 34 lbs - this has been reported several times now from different reviewers/owners. My LHT (my heaviest bike) with the same rack+fenders configuration weighs 27 lbs.

The frame itself is apparently how they add this extra weight. Raleigh claims butted tubing, but I think its inexpensive (and heavy) straight gauge. That huge DT alone in SG instead of butted would add a couple pounds.

As the OP has discovered, the Sojourn is sold with the steerer cut and 30mm of spacers, so any handlebar raise must come from a stem replacement. The wheels are cheap and 32h. The rest of the components are OK but nothing special. It's not much better than a Motobecane GT from BD (and in some ways worse), buts costs ~$500 more.

I'd pick the Moto GT over the RS, and use the savings for racks, bags and other necessities. I like disc brakes but not $500 worth.

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...an_turismo.htm

tcs

Wanna recount 'em and get back to us?

bobdell

I reached the same conclusion by looking at the picture in the link. There is no braze-on in the picture.

mulveyr 

While it's possible that it's just a bad render, with the other changes from the earlier production years, I wouldn't be surprised if they removed them.

Something I mentioned in another Sojourn thread is that if you look at the pic, there's no apparent braze-ons for the bottle cage that was on the upper side of the DT - they seem to be running a cable there now. ( Which would prompt me to ask WHY )

Plus, they've cheapened up the brakes, etc.

So it may be that they're adjusting the Sojourn to be more of a light/mid-level touring bike, and not the full-on heavy tourer of previous years. Which is kind of sad - we have both a 2009 Sojourn and a 2010 LHT in my house ( Me and my wife ride the same size frames ), and the Sojourn is definitely a much more comfy ride, especially when very loaded.

gorshkov

I just moved the bar-cons. The frame has downtube shifter bosses with cable guides bolted to them. If you remove the cable guides, you can simply remove the shifter from the bit that attaches to the handlebar, and put it on the bosses. No additional parts needed.

mulveyr 

Ah, excellent. I'm considering doing that because I'd like to use a bar-end mirror, as well as making it easier to get the bike into a standard Amtrak bike box. With the dirt-drop bars, they're just a wee bit too tightly squeezed in for my comfort.

Thanks!