Originally Posted by
sdimattia
Nice, I have a 42cm Surly Pack Rat but I've heard great things about the LHT!
My weight and height would probably help . . . I'm 5'1", 120lbs. Probably will be carrying no more than 30lbs of gear at most. I'm thinking (and hoping) it'll be closer to 10-20lbs. I definitely do not want to weigh the bike down too much and seriously skewer the bike weight to person weight ratio more than usual.
You mentioned lightweight backpacking gear. My base weight for backpacking is about 9 pounds. I weight 220. I crossed the USA with 15 pounds of gear riding on carbon rims, 20H front and 28H rear. I have 50K miles on those wheels and have never turned a spoke on them. At 120 pounds and 20 pounds of gear, you can ride anything to be honest. Ride what is most comfortable is my opinion