etherhuffer 

I have a tourer set up with low trail, and front load. two panniers in front, small trunk in back. The low trail makes steering easier when loaded. I have gone both front loaded and rear loaded, prefer front loading. It really dampens vibration from the road or trail and helps the hands out a lot.
Go to Velo Orange and look at the little steering stabilizer they sell for 10 bucks. Best cheap part ever for a tourer. When the loaded front tries to come around on you while you are loading or taking a wizz, the spring stops it.

John McBurney

phughes

Out of curiosity, how was your LHT set up? What size was it, and did it have 26 inch rims or 700? Also curious as to your height/PBH vs the frame size. I could have gone with a 54 or 56, but chose the 56. The result of course is not as much seat post showing, and the no big stack of spacers to get the bars level with the seat. I also went with 26 inch wheels. No matter how I pack it, I cannot induce a shimmy, at any speed. There are so many factors that can go into it though, and the overall setup definitely makes a difference.
Cheers

Tourist in MSN

Wow. It was over two years ago that I wrote that (pasted here):
It was a first year of production LHT, size 58, 700c. In the first several years all LHT were sold as frame & fork only, no complete bikes at that time. I am about 6' 1", weighed about 180. Not sure what PBH is.

The bottom bracket shell was defective when I received it, but Surly refused to cover it under warranty. I had to pay a bike shop to re-thread the bottom bracket shell. I put the frame in a metal recycling bin after stripping all the parts off of it. I eventually put most of those parts on a Velo Orange Pass Hunter frame, the older version Pass Hunter with canti brake posts. That bike handles great.

After I wrote that text above, I met a frame builder at a campground while I was on a bike tour. I described my problems with the LHT to her, she asked a lot of questions about the bottom bracket shell, she then explained exactly how the welder that built the frame had their heat settings all wrong and warped the bottom bracket shell. I have a small buzz box in the garage, I have done some stick welding but I clearly am not a skilled welder. Thus some of what she described went over my head, but some of it I grasped. She explained that probably caused the shimmy because it was likely a very badly weakened frame. An interesting point was that she also had never heard of Surly honoring a warranty claim, she said that after I told her that Surly denied my warranty claim.

***

My comment on the Salsa Anything cage or the Blackburn equivalent, I have since bought a couple used Salsa cages but I am afraid to use them as they are the first generation ones that have a known breakage problem. After learning of that, I bought some of the Blackburn cages, but have not gotten around to trying them out yet, only bought them this past winter. The Blackburn cages and the dry bags are much lighter than a front rack and front panniers, but that option would have maybe half of the volume capacity of the front panniers so not sure when I will get around to trying them. The next trip I am thinking about I would need full size panniers.

phughes

Ha! I see I was tricked into replying to a newly resurrected Zombie Thread. Thanks for the reply. I see now that your issue was most likely not necessarily the LHT frame itself, but a problem with your specific frame. I do believe they have gotten better from what I have seen. No one I have known with them have had stability issues, not that there aren't some people who do. Anything is possible. I was just curious since mine is rock steady even when descending with a badly loaded load at 40-45MPH. By badly loaded, I will add this image. Thanks again for the response, and sorry they didn't help you with your problem They definitely should have.

Tourist in MSN

With a load like that you should have had all kinds of problems.

phughes

True, but it actually handled the load well. The only real issues were at a stop. I had to climb a long hill in the Ozarks with that load, using the granny gear and spinning at about 4mph, and the downhill was around 35-40mph that day. It did shockingly well, no shimmy at speed, and low speed was no problem. Usually though, I was loaded with two Ortleib Back Rollers.

alan s 

seeker333

@phughes - that looks like a bike rigged to test for shimmy

I recall/understand your negative experience with LHT; I don't question it or your solution at all. But, for the record, Surly does honor some warranty claims, even on the LHT. I had a 2006 LHT in red - certain batches of this particular production had defective powder coat - it would literally rub right off when wiping down the frame, from a wet rag/paper towel. I experienced this on a red fork I bought to match my red frameset (previous owner had cut the steerer too short for my use). While my original frameset was fine, the replacement fork had the bad powder coat. I called Surly and they warrantied the fork, as it was a known defect, and sent me a brand new fork, free of charge.

More recently I called QBP HQ (probably a cubicle 20" away from the Surly CSR's cube I had spoken to in MN). Several Quality inner tubes I had purchased were defective - 3 or 4 tubes I tried successively leaked at the valve stem, right out of the box. QBP warrantied all my tubes (6 IIRC) with this call, no proof or documentation required. This was possibly a known issue for the QBP CSR to whom I complained. All the replacement tubes worked fine.

Granted this reads like I'm a shill, my point is QBP/Surly are good guys who will usually do the right thing WRT defective product.

I'd normally not hijack a thread, but this one is two years old, and the "low trail" fad seems to have run it's course, overshadowed by 27.5/TAs/flat mount disc brakes/etc... and other more profitable developments.

phughes

True, and thankfully the bike passed the test.

JaccoW

Putting some more life into his zombie thread, Pelago has a low trail disc brake compatible front fork that is available in a 44 and a 54mm trail version (63/53mm rake).

That is on their Stavanger outback model.
My girlfriend just bought the commuter model which we plan on taking on a short tour this summer.

John McBurney