Alternatives to Surly Ogre?
 

I'm considering jumping on the offroad touring bandwagon with a new bike that takes fatter tyres. Then I can convert my current Specialized Tricross to lighter duties like commuting, paved midweight cycle tours and day rides.

The Ogre seems pretty appealing: fattish tyres, lots of mounting options on the fork (especially bottle cages/Anything bags). But I'm not a steel fetishist, so I wonder if there's something equivalent in aluminum somewhere? The must-haves are 700c, able to run 35mm to 2.5", rigid fork with rack and cage mounts. Still undecided about disks vs cantis etc.

Also, and maybe unanswerable, but I just noticed that the Surly Ogre has a maximum tyre width of 2.5" (64mm), while the Troll takes up to 2.7" (69mm). Is there a reason for this difference?

The Santos Travelmaster 2.9 has an aluminum frame but steel forks, by the look of it. Definitely an up-market alternative but from the reports I have seen they make really solid bikes.

Santos - Custombuilt bicycles - Travelmaster 2.9

Trek 920? its their 29er touring rig. 920 - Trek Bicycle

High end: Koga Miyata Traveler ($3000+)
Less high end: Cannondale Synapse, Giant OCR, REI Novara Strada, not sure if any can take wide tires

Oh wow, that just looks so...mean. I love it. :) Any idea what the maximum tyre clearance is?

by reading the website you would have learned the standard tire is 2 inches wide, as supplied new on the bike.

Salsa Fargo:

http://salsacycles.com/files/bikes/F...v_1440x960.jpg

If that matters to you, the Ogre will even run tires a little bigger than 2.5, like some guys who installed 29+ rubber.
Will also run 27.5+ tires easily

Tire diameter + drive line + drivetrain (FD) limitation + how much you can bend chainstays and they don't end up weak and ugly. It's simply harder to fit big tires into a bicycle that is essentially the same size.

For the same reasons, a LHT in 26 will accommodate 2.1" (53mm) tires with fenders, whereas LHT in 700c limited to 42mm with fenders.

The Salsa Fargo, which I own and love, is a steel frame. To me, that is a benefit, but the op is looking for an aluminum framed alternative.

Steve, check out the threads from a few weeks ago about the trek 920, seems like a nest bike, although the cost appears to be high in my opinion, and bar ends might be a deal breaker for some people.

Yeah, thanks. I'm not super sensitive to price, but some of the options further up the thread were a bit ridiculous, like the Santos Travelmaster at like 4000 euros. I'm definitely not a fan of bar ends - I've been really happy with STI, and I'd be fine with MTB shifters, but having to move hand positions to change gears is a turn-off.

You might be surprised to find out how quickly this becomes second nature. Maybe it depends on how stable you feel on a bike though, i.e. riding with one hand or no hands. After seeing a relatively long thread over in the road biking subforum with someone seeking advice about how to move their hands from the hoods to the drops, I realized that not everyone is comfortable shifting their hands around.

Re barends, ya I know what you mean. I've never owned one, but have ridden a friends 520 trek a bit and having had ridden downtube bikes for years, I adapted really quickly. That said, I really like sti and my other bike is a MTB with trigger shifters, which I really like also. Not having to move your hands to shift in rough stuff, and with lots of riding i do in city traffic, makes me leery of barends. I guess ultimately I'd have to live with a bar end bike for a while to see if I'd be OK with it.

Hey, ps, did you ever replace the shifter on the tricross of did flushing the heck out of it help, I don't remember the outcome

Yeah, maybe. I actually ride no-hands a lot, but I still think it would be frustrating being stuck in a gear on rough terrain.

Oh, hey :) Eventually bit the bullet and had them replaced with Sora. New handlebars at the same time. I was about to do the Mawson Trail (partial write up here) and didn't want a big disaster.

On that trip I had a 48mm front tyre which got me thinking about fatter tyres. Sadly I can only fit about a 38mm rear.

I'd like to address the no hands subject for just a second. (since you brought it up) I ride a DT and noticed that when empty I can "no hands it" easily. However when I try it loaded, you can forget it. I not complaining or anything, just thought it was interesting how much differently the bike handles when it's loaded. (and that's with a tubus low rider front rack)

That's interesting. I have a Disc Trucker too, and I find it to be incredibly easy to ride with no hands loaded or unloaded. Tubus something in the back and Duo on the front. It's definitely easier to no-hands at lower speed unloaded, but there's so much momentum to it loaded that I love riding no hands coasting down a road. Great way to stretch the back out on a long tour. I wonder if it's a size difference? I'm on a 56cm DT with 700c wheels. This is certainly dragging the OP off track though. Apologies.

check out the Kona Big Rove

I ride a steel bike, a Thorn Nomad. On handling, I find that with my handlebar bag mounted I can easily ride no-hands. Without the bag, the bike is a lot more skittish.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...psmq0zlvq2.jpg

Jim, I've always thought that those drivetrain cover thingees are the smartest thing. Imagine how much longer life everything lasts not having gunk on it. Would absolutely be on my list if I were ever to go that route.

Like @seeker333 said, 29er tires are really large. If you look at the area behind the seat tube, you can see the difference.

http://surlybikes.com//uploads/bikes...sv_930x390.jpg
http://surlybikes.com//uploads/bikes..._930x390px.jpg

The troll uses 26" tires. I have a Karate Monkey, but he ogre has more mounts. Can you even run cantis on an ogre?

Ah...that makes sense. I was thinking of sideways clearance only.

Yep:

>Ogre comes with our suspension-corrected (80mm) fork with threaded mounts for fenders and a rack. It will run cantilever or disc brakes so you can choose a system that best suits your stopping needs. Both fork and frame allow the use of a fender, disc brake, and rack at the same time.