bgraham111

https://surlybikes.com/blog/a_digita...ual_surlyville

Pack Rat; Long Haul Trucker; Troll; and Pugsley will not be restocked.

mstateglfr 

The LHT is discontinued, but the DT will continue. Given the trend towards disc brakes for gravel, adventure, and touring bikes- this makes sense. Its not like Surly is exiting the adventure and touring arenas.

With that said, I wonder why the accelerated the decision to discontinue these models, The link said that had covid not happened, they wouldnt have discontinued these so quickly. Perhaps they are looking to increase production volume of higher selling frames and so the low volume frames had to be eliminated? I cant think of another reason besides that.

Koyote

I presume that they had already ceased production, and then COVID drew down their inventory more rapidly than expected.

Rolla

Surly always had a lot of redundancy in their catalog, so a little streamlining is probably a good thing. Ogre, Troll, ECR, Bridge Club, Krampus, and Karate Monkey are all essentially variations on a theme, as are the Pugsley, Wednesday, and Ice Cream Truck. Don't get me wrong, I love Surly and I'm a big proponent of having LOTS of choices, but the casual observer gets a little lost in the differences between a "dirt road expedition bike," an "all-road touring bike," and an "off-road bikepacking bike," especially when switching wheels and tires will essentially turn any of them into one of the others.

Happy Feet

Or perhaps with covid not going away anytime soon, and fewer people touring (buying tour bikes) they've had to pare down the offerings to the few lines that have the best sales. I could see the LHT giving way to the DT given disc trends.

Pop N Wood

Weird. The LHT is a cult classic. Crazy Guy on a Bike posters will be without their icon.

downtube42

+1

So many options, particularly when marketed based on their idea of purpose rather that actual differences, leads to buyer paralysis. Seems like it's a needed change, and will probably deliver cost reductions (to surly), quality improvements, and customer clarity.

unterhausen

My guess it was too much trouble to get more. It's not like they are sitting on stock of anything.

phughes

I will admit I am happy I bought one before they quit making them. I wanted a classic style frame, and the LHT was it. The new Disc Trucker is fantastic, but it isn't what I wanted, or want. I was able to fit my LHT the way bikes used to fit, not a lot of seat post showing, and the bars level or slightly higher than the bars. I bought my frame larger than many do, because I wanted that classic fit. I love the way it rides, handles, and how stable it is.

Time moves on, but I'm glad I have the old style LHT.

zen_

Fortunately there is still an apparently endless supply of 90's steel MTBs on Craigslist waiting to be converted to LHTs.

PDKL45

Shipping is expensive and limited (as compared to 12 months ago) right now, so I'd say that rather than reorder bikes slated for discontinuation, which may have been fine in other times, they decided not to reorder.

indyfabz

Yep.

Pratt

Slightly, or more, OT, but why don't more makers of touring bikes make racks specifically for them? The picture above made me think of it.

PDKL45

Salsa do, for their alternator dropout bikes at least. The Trek 920 and 1120 also have purpose made racks, but I get your point.

Still, the Pack Rat was almost made for its rack, the Surly Demi Porteur rack. I really expected to see a dirty disco rat in the future, an all road/gravel disc randonneur. Still, without true low trail geometry and stated clearance for the now widely available 650x47B tires, like the WTB Horizon, it was never going to flourish as a real competitor to the SOMA Grand Randonneur or be a low cost and available alternative to the Elephant NFE, the latter of which will take the popular 26x2.3 Compass (Rene Herse) Rat Trap Pass tires.

With the questionable choices taken at Surly with regard to the Pack Rat and its geometry, it was never going to escape the Midnight Special's shadow.

indyfabz

Those racks were not made for that bike but work quite well.

Not everyone tours with racks, and those who do would rather have racks that work well with the panniers they want/use.

veganbikes

If I want a rack for touring I want it to be like a Tubus rack, lightweight, durable, reliable, good looking and can handle a proper dynamo light (and steel is nice). If it is custom made AWESOME, if it is Tubus, Awesome and if it is another brand fine by me.

In terms of the OT it kind of sucks to a point but they make so many different but quite similar bikes. We still have the DT and the Cross Check that should satisfy. In terms of the Pack Rat I dig the concept but not as a Surly. When I think Rando bike my mind wanders more to the classic lightweight stuff, the J.P. Weigle, Concurs D' Elegance bike is a perfect example. I just don't think Surly quite fits in that nitch.

Herzlos

Could be that they've had to change the layout of the factory to provide more distance between staff, and thus had to drop the less popular stuff that no longer fits.

Trevtassie

I was wondering when the Troll would go. It's getting hard to find decent wider rims and wider touring tyres in 26".
Pity, when travelling you can stuff a 26" bike in a smaller box than a 29er and sometimes this can save you hundreds on excess or oversize fees.

tcs

...and the associated wheel-swapping trends & thru-axle trends & 142mm OLD trends. The LHT was beginning to reflect 'the way we used to do things'.

banana jam 

No love for the LHT. At 6'2" 235# that bike was a noodle. It was a canti-pre disc job but still. My Black Mountain Cycles does everything right for me and it rides well w/ or w/o packs, which unfortunately the LHT only rode decently when loaded. Just my .02.

mstateglfr 

The LHT has tubing with thicker butting than the MC. Odd that you found it to be a noodle, as thats the opposite of many owners who say its harsh unloaded.

I use my Black Mountain MC for commute/overnights- love it. Wasn't able to use it much this year, unfortunately.

PDKL45

Did anyone else see the supposedly leaked pics of the unreleased Surly Ghost Grappler? Link is to R3dd1t, it's not working, maybe just Google "Surly Ghost Grappler."

It smells like a viral marketing stunt, but it hasn't been very viral. The pics came from a newly established Twitter account with a bit of a strange story, but the geometry of the bike is interesting, as is the reverse mullet wheels it's running (27.5+ in the front with a big ol' 29er wagon wheel out the back). Maybe a slightly cheaper (depending on where you live; Surly is not cheap in many places) alternative to the Salsa Fargo and Cutthroat?

indyfabz

+1. I’m 6’2” around 215 fighting weight. I commute on my LHT and have done plenty of tours, including ones with a lot of weight in the Rockies. I’ve also ridden it loaded off road in hilly/mountainous areas. Never find the bike noodly and think it rides better loaded that unloaded.

TomM

Seems like COVID would be a good opportunity to shift some production back to the US.

PDKL45

Then the same people who make threads about the horrors of production in naughty China will start making threads about the high price of post-COVID bikes.