If you had to live on a bike the rest of your life? | Squat the Planet

If you had to live on a bike the rest of your life?

Matt Derrick

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Ok bike nerds, I'm looking at buying a new bike, ideally for bike touring. I want something that is going to last me damn near forever and confortable enough that I can spend days/weeks riding at a decent speed. not interested in mountain bikes, i want a road/hybrid bike. my budget is around 1000, so what are your suggestions?

i've heard of the classics like the surly long haul trucker, but im also curious about the troll i think it's called. I don't know much about that one or why it's different than the other surlys.
 

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My best bike is my 93 Trek 970, 26” rims, but’s it’s heavy, for today’s touring standards
 
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Matt Derrick

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My best bike is my 93 Trek 970, 26” rims, but’s it’s heavy, for today’s touring standards

my last bike had 27" wheels, and i loved it but it was a pain to find wheels/tires for. definitely shooting for 26"/700cc this time around.
 

ByronMc

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Feel the LHR, was copied from the likes of the Trek
 
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The Surly Troll is my dream bike, and what I'm actively trying to save for. I prefer it to the Long Haul Trucker in terms of design and versatility. I think the riding position is more comfortable, at least in my experience with similar styles. I've always preferred straighter bars to drop bars for long haul. As for the price, it's a bit steeper, about 700 more, so that's something to consider perhaps
 

Matt Derrick

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The Surly Troll is my dream bike, and what I'm actively trying to save for. I prefer it to the Long Haul Trucker in terms of design and versatility. I think the riding position is more comfortable, at least in my experience with similar styles. I've always preferred straighter bars to drop bars for long haul.

do you have any experience riding bikes with those bigger off road tires? looks like you'd go slower/be harder to pedal?

also, damn, 1700 on the surly site. *whistles*
 

ByronMc

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my last bike had 27" wheels, and i loved it but it was a pain to find wheels/tires for. definitely shooting for 26"/700cc this time around.
26” is a real easy tire & tube to find, even at Walmart at 3am. Also a good solid 26” rim, is the strongest wheel there is! Will take photos of my Trek in a few, actually riding it today
 
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ByronMc

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do you have any experience riding bikes with those bigger off road tires? looks like you'd go slower/be harder to pedal?

also, damn, 1700 on the surly site. *whistles*
Trek made 800(800,830,850),& 900,(900, 930,950,970,) any of these can be found cheap, with the higher numbers, the better the frame tubes! Then build your bike out for touring, and you’ll go under $1000
 

ByronMc

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Trek made 800(800,830,850),& 900,(900, 930,950,970,) any of these can be found cheap, with the higher numbers, the better the frame tubes! Then build your bike out for touring, and you’ll go under $1000
50628
 
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do you have any experience riding bikes with those bigger off road tires? looks like you'd go slower/be harder to pedal?

also, damn, 1700 on the surly site. *whistles*

I do, it may take a bit of getting used to at first, but in my opinion it's not a major issue. I've come to prefer the feel honestly. What I like about the Troll is that its sort of intermediate in that regard, not as big as some, but big enough for use in most off-road terrains comfortably.
 

Mrcharwe

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If you are staying mostly on road and gravel, I would stick with the LHT or the Surly Crosscheck. The crosscheck is billed as a mix between touring and road frame. The troll is awesome for bumpy dirt roads.
As for tires, I don't think they are really that much slower up until you get around 3"+.
2-2.5" is the sweet spot for go everywhere and ride with comfort.

My favorite anything bike is the big dummy. Its heavy, but you can carry anything including people and other bikes. People still take them on single track. Its the SUV of the bike world.

There are of course other brands that make good bikes but Surly is so popular because of the versatility and their relatively low price points. Salsa Fargo is a good bike but starts around $2k. The salsa Blackbrow mid tail looks good, but it starts at almost $3k. Midtails seems to be an up and coming thing, a middle ground between normal bike length and cargo bike length.
 

Older Than Dirt

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Agree with all @Mrcharwe says, my advice is Surly Cross-Check for sure for that $.

If you can save a bit more and want to go Cadillac Lifetime Model, get it built with a Rohloff. Or if you want to be exotic, get a Thorn from the UK:


I don't have any of these because i can't spend that on a bike. i have a kind of nice folder (custom steel Swift Folder built by designer Peter Reich in Brooklyn, bought dirt cheap off craigslist while looking for my similar stolen bike), and a trashpile/junk-parts box, but very serviceable, '80s Fuji tourer, having given my nice '80s Lotus tourer to my 16 year old son.

But i have done messengering in NYC 1980-2000 (on and off while getting several degrees and being in bands), lots of touring, and many century rides.
 

Older Than Dirt

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There is also the discontinued Traveller's Check, which is a Crosscheck with two couplings that allow you to disassemble the frame and get it in a standard airline-checkable suitcase. Might want to look for a used or unsold one.

The LHT is also a very respectable choice but a bit more $.

Also might want to look at Bike Friday foldable touring bikes.
 
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RobHASboots

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Ok bike nerds, I'm looking at buying a new bike, ideally for bike touring. I want something that is going to last me damn near forever and confortable enough that I can spend days/weeks riding at a decent speed. not interested in mountain bikes, i want a road/hybrid bike. my budget is around 1000, so what are your suggestions?

i've heard of the classics like the surly long haul trucker, but im also curious about the troll i think it's called. I don't know much about that one or why it's different than the other surlys.
Surly tires are heavy.
1000 monetary units will get you a good bicycle (+ a spair intertube, and a portable pump).
Try smaller shops, bike coops, or fuckin Craigslist; never know when you'll find a 'diamond in the rough'.
I've only had Treks. They're awesome, and can take a beating. I think my current one is a 820 antelope hybrid (steel frame).
Always liked aluminum frames (as aluminium has that magical trait of NOT RUSTING) but i remember reading on STP that a steel frame is much easier to repair (weld), should some unfortunate event happen along the road.
 
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Here's my two cents. This is my Salsa Fargo, and I would live with this bike forever. It's my primary vehicle, and I'm on it for at least 100 miles a week. My current commute to work is about 50% road and 50% dirt. I am 100% sold on "plus size" tires, and would never go back to anything under 2.6" with 29" rims, or 2.8" with 27.5" rims. They roll over anything, and absorb the bumps really well. They add weight for sure, but you're not looking for a racing bike, and once you get moving, the centrifugal motion takes over. It's a steel frame, and the drop bars are incredibly comfortable. I also considered the Surly ECR 29+, EXCEPT they still have drop-outs on the front fork. I'm sure they'll change to through-axles eventually. Surly generally has more options for attaching racks and things than Salsa, but they are also generally much heavier. The Fargo used to be very popular for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race, but more people are riding carbon now. Hope this is helpful.
 

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Matt Derrick

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Here's my two cents. This is my Salsa Fargo, and I would live with this bike forever. It's my primary vehicle, and I'm on it for at least 100 miles a week. My current commute to work is about 50% road and 50% dirt. I am 100% sold on "plus size" tires, and would never go back to anything under 2.6" with 29" rims, or 2.8" with 27.5" rims. They roll over anything, and absorb the bumps really well. They add weight for sure, but you're not looking for a racing bike, and once you get moving, the centrifugal motion takes over. It's a steel frame, and the drop bars are incredibly comfortable. I also considered the Surly ECR 29+, EXCEPT they still have drop-outs on the front fork. I'm sure they'll change to through-axles eventually. Surly generally has more options for attaching racks and things than Salsa, but they are also generally much heavier. The Fargo used to be very popular for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race, but more people are riding carbon now. Hope this is helpful.

thannk you for that, i saw a good looking salsa on ebay today for about 1k that looked pretty good. my question for you is how tall are you? not sure if it matters, but 29" rims sounds HUGE, like, i can't imagine riding anything bigger than my last bike that had 27" rims.
 

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