cs1

I can't comment on the brakes but Shimano barcon shifters are hardly bottom of the line.

fietsbob

the whole batch is all painted the same color, which changes each year..

Dakota82

Is the Surly Long Haul Trucker fast? Does the beefy frame slow it down?

I ask because I road 60 miles on my room mate's old model Raleigh Road Bike and it went really fast. I assume it goes fast because the frame is thin and narrow.

cyclist2000

A bike is only as fast as the engine can push it. A thin and narrow frame has very little to do with it. The gearing could have been all wrong or it wasn't maintained properly and just has a lot of drive train resistance.

Did you ride the Raleigh then ride a top of the line road bike to compare?

But I wouldm't say the the LHT is fast, its not setup that way, it has mountain gearing, wide tires and weighs a bunch. My Jamis touring bike fells sluggish compared to any of my road bikes.

Loose Chain

I like bar end shifters, I have always like them and intend to continue purchasing bicycles with them and installing them on those that do not have them. I don't seem to have a problem with DT shifters either. Maybe I can rub my tummy and chew gum at the same time or something. Love my Cross Check probably for all the reasons most of you don't. It is just a great all around bicycle, can do anything I want it to do from off road to a century to a long commute to a tour, it just works and it is not supposed to be stiff as a chunk of rock, that is exactly part of the reason the bike works so well. I will soon upgrade several components on mine and use those parts on another bike I am putting together.



The "shop" guy would probably find this bike whippy also but I regularly pound the local road weenies without mercy with it and most of them are younger than the Pinarello by several years and half mine, whippy my aXX:



LC

ClemY

Last year I was in the market for a touring type bike. I looked at the Long Haul Trucker and the Salsa Vaya. I got the Vaya frame and built it up myself. For me, I made the right decision. You may feel differently.

Dakota82

Well, I first rode my new Aluminum frame Raleigh Hybrid, and it is a pain to ride. The seat hurts and I can not go fast on it. I mean, I have to put in much more effort and energy to propell myself.

The room mate's old steel road bike Raleigh is a different story. I do not have to put as much effort to go fast and maintain a top speed. I can coast so easily with it. I wish I could test ride both bikes to experience the difference.

Oh well, next summer I will test ride the Cross Check and the Long Haul Trucker. That is probably the only thing that will help answer the question for me.

Loose Chain

I have ridden the LHT and I chose the CC. The reason is simple, in my size the LHT is only available in 26 inch wheels and that is simply not something I want. I don't mind that wheel size in my mtb of course and I guess I could deal with it but I tend to ride tires in the 20mm to 35mm range. The CC felt more like my other bikes, it felt quick but stable and solid. It has a fairly aggressive seating position and it just felt right, a little more upright than my other road bikes but not upright like a hybrid, not even close. I left the steering stem long so that I can raise the bars for touring or lower them where I usually ride it to get a pure road bike feel. No, it is not a carbon fiber race bike and it is not even in the same league as my Pinarello steelie but the Pinarello is tiring to ride, it demands attention much like a woman and if it don't get it, well, poor me.

I think the LHT and the CC have such different personalities that if you at all know what you want, riding one should settle you out as to which to buy. One thing, I ride a 56cm road bike frame, in the CC I ride a 54cm (as measured by Surly a 54, as I measure, it is a 56). The top tube is the more critcal fit measurement IMO and the CC (and LHT) are long in the TT compared to my other (more traditional) road bikes.

LC

Dakota82

When it comes to purchasing the right size for you, how can you go about selecting the right size? Do bicycle shops tend to have various sizes of the same bicycle?

I figure that one rule of thumb is standing over the bike and try lifting the frame, if you can pick the bike off the ground, it isn't too tall, that's for sure.

though, I do not want to get a bike that is too small because the frame looks funnier I think, depending on the size.

I am 5'9" tall. What size might be best for me?

FrenchFit 

That isn't the worst way to pick a frame size, but it's in the running. I think you need to find a kowledgeable friend or a LBS guy you can really trust, and get skooled on fit and function. FYI - not everyone thinks the LHT is a cool bike, just saying.

Loose Chain

Unfortunately bicycle manufacturers do not measure their bikes the same way as I alluded to in my previous post. I prefer, as do many performance back ground riders, the smaller end of my fit range. If you are an average proportioned 5-9 then I suspect you could ride a CC in a 52cm as a good fit. I am not quite 5-11 and average proportions (and shrinking) and I like my CC in the 54cm.

Frankly, I measure frame size based on effective top tube length center to center, my Cross Check measures a long 56cm top tube even though Surly calls it a 54cm frame. All of my bikes have an average 56cm top tube center to center regardless of the stand over BS or seat tube length.

Here is another thing, the larger the frame within your fit range, the lower the saddle will be in relation to the bars, the smaller frame will have a higher saddle in relation to the bars. A long frame can stretch you out, at some point it gets too long and you have to start using little bitty short stems to make up, then I would say the frame is too big.

Dakota82

Thank you for helping me out with dimensions. I looked up what "top tube" is and stand over height; that helps me start getting a concept of the differences of dimensions a bike has and more of an idea of what I am looking for.

One of these days I think I am gonna go to school to learn more about bicycles. I heard there is some job that bicycle mechanics, was it, that make a decent living. For now, I think I will just go volunteer at my local shop in town.

TurbineBlade

As long as they are all 18+ and consent to it, I guess you're good to go.

Cyclaholic

My LHT...

When I first built her from a bare frame:


Added racks, fenders, and Brooks saddle:


The aerobars got a lot of use during the years that I did a 60 mile r/t commute 5 days a week, most of those miles were on an uninterrupted freeway shoulder where I would get aero and zone out for a couple of hours without stopping:


and she's by far the best prime mover I've ever used for hauling my various trailers:


These days she's sporting some nice upgrades. The rear rack and Brooks saddle went back on shortly after this pic:

Loose Chain

Get a life, they are whatever age they are, since there are several dozen of them, I suspect some are 18 and some are 36 and a few might be 56, what is your point? That we all need a carbon fiber bike to have fun?

If you want to invest in a nice bicycle then you should probably pay for a fit unless you know somebody who knows how to sorta do a fit (like me--I used to work at a bike shop years ago and I stayed at the Holiday In last night, ). Understand that you have a fit range and that within that range you have to decide what characteristics you prefer.

Warning, many modern bicycles have sloped top tubes, you cannot use the stand over test with them and expect to even get close on fit. That is where getting a pro with a good reputation is helpful.

LC

Trueblood

Well, it isn't their choice of colors.

Paul01

OP: Are you planning a heavily loaded, self-contained long tour or do you want a faster, lighter road bike with skinny tires and braze ons for a rear rack? The LHT is, more or less, a very heavy one trick pony.

Dakota82

Hello everyone~!

Well, over a week ago I went into a neat bicycle shop and the guy in the shop offered me an opportunity to test ride the Surly LHT. I blushed as he handed over to me the bike from the shelf, as I felt unworthy.

The bike felt just right for me! There was nothing wrong with the frame being a bit beefy than others. Afterwards, I did get this feeling that the Bike is a bit "whippy", in that, the frame does not feel like this solid brick when you ride it. The guy mentioned that Surly does not recommend attaching Center V kick stands because it can crack the frame; when I picked up the bike it felt pretty light as though it might be hallow inside. I think there is something about the frame that makes it "whippy".

I definitely will give the Cross Check a shot before making a determination.

Thanks to everyone for recommending me go test ride before I ride. It answered a lot of questions I had been having. Though, I can't admit that now I have this new question; just what is it about a bicycle that makes it run better than others? I mean, I have this brand new Raleigh aluminum frame comfort bike, and it is a lot more tiring to ride that my room mate's rode bike. Every time I ride his bike, I discharge much less energy and reap way more propulsion that my hybrid. It definitely requires a lot less effort to ride and go fast. I think I will start a new thread about this soon.

Well, for now, I am saving up and can't wait to get the LHT!

onbike 1939

Forget the "whippy" nonsense with regard to the LHT. For thirty-five years I've toured and I've owned a custom built Mercian Vincitori, a Thorn Raven and various other classic bikes and have used them for cycle-camping for up to 3000 miles at a time. I've also built up a couple of LHT's and can confirm that these frames are robust, fairly heavy and are very stable when used with heavy loads. They don't use expensive tubing of course, so no 531 or 631 or whatever, but the bike does do the job of a touring machine. What is outstanding and what hasn't been mentioned is the frame design. Touring bikes traditionally evolved from the standard frame design of road bikes and so tourists were saddled with long top tubes, short head tubes which meant that elongated stems were needed. Surly it seems to me, designed from scratch a touring frame. Relaxed angles making for comfort and stability, a good amount of trail so no twitchy steering, long chain stays and a long head tube which met tourists' preference for bars level with the saddle. They got it right and as a result seasoned tourists made it their touring bike of choice.

bradtx

Dakota82, The twitchey feeling may've been simply a steering stem shorter than you're accustomed to. There's just nothing twitchy about the LHT's design and construction. I'm not surprised about the no stand recommendation, less than proper installation and too much torque can crack a chainstay on any bike. BTW, all of the tubes are hollow on every bike I know of, corrections welcomed.

You may just simply be more comfortable on your roomie's bike, making it more efficient.

Brad

dae91n

Sensible bikes for sensible folks

Pop N Wood

Man, 10 year old thread back from the dead

But what the heck. Truckers are nice bikes, very reasonably priced. They have a bit of a cult followingwell used bikes can be pricey. On the other hand it isn't hard to find a couple year old so model some one bought with good intentions that never materialized.

The trucker was a bit of a victim of it's own success. People were so sold on the original design that Surly stopped updating things. Last year it got semi through axles and brifter causing some people to go nuts.

In all honesty I think I would rather get a Fuji disc tourer or one of the Kona options. Gravel bikes make pretty good touring rigs as well. Similar geometries but often with more high end components. The hard cores want bar end shifter because they think a shifter might one day break in outer Mongolia. Give me brifters any day, I'll just replace them before they break.

dae91n

Agreed! I've been tempted to try out a Kona Rove or Sutra, but feel guilty about purchasing another bike. Someday...

Rolla

Not to further extend the life of a zombie thread, but one thing that made the the LHT special was that it had several features that world-wide bike tourers wanted, like 26" wheels, rim brakes, and a place on the chainstay to store extra spokes. If you broke down in Timbuktu, you stood a fighting chance of finding parts. Good luck finding a hydraulic bleed kit or 11-speed brifters in Mali!