Who here rides a Surly?

[OutsideYourWorld]

Looking to get into the bike touring world. I've always hitchhiked, but on my last trip especially (Europe to Asia), I came across many roads and locations that I wasn't able to reach because walking or hitching just wouldn't work out. Also, cycling is the most practical way of getting from A to B by your own physical power. That's pretty important to me.

Anyhow, something draws me to the Surly long haul trucker. One of the people who has inspired me so far is a Korean girl who has gone everywhere on her LHT. But new is... not cheap.

Now I definitely have the money to get it brand new, but I love... not buying new. I could get one for about $1200 CAD with racks and everything I need besides the panniers, replacement parts, etc in very good condition.
I have seen them for as low as $400 on local auction websites, though I couldn't say what condition they were in.

I know and agree with the idea of paying more initially for a product that will last, but i'm still not completely sold on it. I'm also very new to it all so i'm not jumping in until i've done my research. And this site has the kind of people that I believe are most closely aligned with what I value and want.

So, before I ramble too long, anyone got one/had one? Experiences? Pros/cons?

 

[Matt Derrick]

i'm going to tag @Gypsybones since they told me about some awesome alternatives to the LHT but i can't recall their names off the top of my head.

i'd also like a LHT and that will probably be my next serious touring bike (but im open to other suggestions). i think it would be better to get a complete set up (or at least the frame, derailleurs, crank and rear cassette) than rebuild a frame since having a quality crankset would probably cost a lot on top of buying just the frame.

have you heard of http://tomsbiketrip.com ?

really great website with a ton of tutorials and guides on planning, buying a bike, etc. more info than you could cover in one night for sure. also has a book which is well worth the purchase, but everythings on the blog if you can't afford it.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

Long Haul Truckers are trending right now, so they will be more expensive for their reputation. I think you are on the right track looking for a steel frame if you want to do a lot of loaded down dirt paths. If you can manage to go ultralight with your gear, I could see even an aluminum cyclocross bike being perfect for the job. Check out bikesdirect.com Have you considered motorized bicycles?

 

[Matt Derrick]

Long Haul Truckers are trending right now, so they will be more expensive for their reputation. I think you are on the right track looking for a steel frame if you want to do a lot of loaded down dirt paths. If you can manage to go ultralight with your gear, I could see even an aluminum cyclocross bike being perfect for the job. Check out bikesdirect.com Have you considered motorized bicycles?

not to drag this too far off topic, but do you know any good resources for building/buying motorized bicycles?

 

[OutsideYourWorld]

Thanks for the sites guys, i'll check 'em out.

I haven't thought about motorized bikes, which sounds cool but might make it a prime target for thieves? Which has been one of my bigger thoughts. When seeing more urban areas, or even just resupplying in a store, all your gear would be open for the taking, wouldn't it? I'm used to either taking my rucksack inside and/or storing it with a customer service desk or stashing it in a coffee shop. Keeping a bike with all your gear safe while you adventure around an area sounds like it could be a chore.

I'm keeping an eye on https://www.pinkbike.com/ for a deal at the moment.

 

[Matt Derrick]

one reason i like panniers better than a trailer (i've tried both) is that you can take off the panniers pretty easily and bring them in with you if you really need to. that way it's only your bike that's outside (with a good u-lock) and i worry less about theft.

for quick trips into the store though (like a gas station or convenience store) just making sure you close up your panniers will deter most thieves since you'll be back very quickly.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

not to drag this too far off topic, but do you know any good resources for building/buying motorized bicycles?

motoredbikes.com, staton-inc.com and golden eagle bike engines have most of the best resources

Thanks for the sites guys, i'll check 'em out.

I haven't thought about motorized bikes, which sounds cool but might make it a prime target for thieves? Which has been one of my bigger thoughts. When seeing more urban areas, or even just resupplying in a store, all your gear would be open for the taking, wouldn't it? I'm used to either taking my rucksack inside and/or storing it with a customer service desk or stashing it in a coffee shop. Keeping a bike with all your gear safe while you adventure around an area sounds like it could be a chore.

I'm keeping an eye on https://www.pinkbike.com/ for a deal at the moment.

You could lock the engines onto your bike and lock your bike to something sturdy and its really no extra burden. I have even locked mine to trees in the forest for several days.

 

[OutsideYourWorld]

Tell me what you guys think of this guy:

https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2235052/

I could probably weasel him down a little on the price, and i'd likely sell that secondary handle bar... I imagine I would sell the seat as well.

For panniers i've seen some decent looking less-known stuff on ebay. Brands like rockbros (which I have a set of and they're decent, so might use as front bags) I'd love something like ortlieb panniers but again those look to be asking to be stolen.

Then there's things like this:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/AAWYEAH-Wat...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

nicely priced but i've only found one damn review... So could be cheap Chinese crap.

I've also seen guys on ebay selling converted military packs with attachments to make them into panniers. Cheap Czech rucksacks go for under $10 from many military sites, for example... Would be a cool project.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

That price seems high to me for a 5 year old bike with sora. I think you could get a brand new or new oldstock bike with nicer components and buy all that stuff separately for less than that price. Around here, I saw a clean LHT sit outside at $500+USD for months.

 

[OutsideYourWorld]

Yea? Surprising, around here barebones LHT's are over a grand :/ I thought Vancouver would have a lot more on the local buy and sell.

 

[TheWindAndRain]

I mean I sold my one year old pugsley for $700 and I thought those were worth more

 

[Gypsybones]

Salsa is a good alternative to the LHT, but I suggest you look into a Surly troll for its more MTB set up.

I currently ride a LHT and it has taken me almost 2,000 miles to get used to the geometry of a touring frame. (I'm a road bike/fixed guy)
It is the Lincoln of bikes (Not quite a Cadillac), and handles like one. I suggest the 26 overt the 700 if you want to go international

 

[Gypsybones]

Long Haul Truckers are trending right now, so they will be more expensive for their reputation. I think you are on the right track looking for a steel frame if you want to do a lot of loaded down dirt paths. If you can manage to go ultralight with your gear, I could see even an aluminum cyclocross bike being perfect for the job. Check out bikesdirect.com

http://www.velonews.com/2014/08/news/bike-weight-myth-fast-bikes_339880

Weight isn't that much of a big deal, with steel you have the option of getting a break in the tubing wielded

 

[TheWindAndRain]

True, though you can purchase a lightweight aluminum frame anywhere in America very cheaply if yours breaks. I rode a number of tours on dented specialized aluminum bike. If you are traveling outside "1st world" countries, steel would be the obvious pick though

 

[OutsideYourWorld]

Alright so continuing along with my bike searching, I found what appears to be a reasonably priced Salsa bike. It's 54cm though, so being JUST under 6ft i'm not sure if it would be big enough.

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/bik/d/salsa-disc/6515442191.html

 

[Deleted member 16034]

My bae raves about Crust bikes a lot, but is the first to point out that it is extremely expensive and just the frame. They currently have an old Bridgestone frame with a Crust cargo fork and toured from Austin, TX through San Diego to Seattle with it just fine. Kuba says old, rigid, steel mountain bikes from the 80s and 90s are the best for the price.

 

[unrulywaunder]

The LHT is probably the best option.

Get them used off craiglist in Astoria, OR or San Francisco or Seattle at the end of summer.

Lots of people take off summers to cycle from the Atlantic to the Pacific. When they finish, they often will choose to sell it rather than pay ~$400 to pay to get it boxed up & shipped back home. Many of them spent all their money, and need to sell the bike to buy the plane ticket back home. The bikes will also generally be pretty fucked up (just components that can be fixed/replaced for cheap), so you can easily get a great deal.

I think the most popular cross-country ride is the TransAmerica, which goes from Yorktown, VA to Astoria, OR. Many will split from the TransAm & take the Western Express into San Francisco (I did this once). And the Northern Tier ends in Seattle.

The end of summer is a great time to pick-up a $1k bike for $500.

PS: I recently swapped my full-sized touring bike (Raleigh Sojourn) for a Brompton, which I just rode from Key West to Atlanta. I couldn't be happier, and I plan to take this bike with me to the Middle East & Asia. It literally is a carry-on item that fits in the overhead compartment on an airplane.

 

[OutsideYourWorld]

I ended up going with a Curtlo bike someone was selling locally for pretty cheap. The guy worked at a bike store as well so I trusted the bike to be in good shape. Has S&S couplings in case I want to fly with it, which is pretty nice. Got front and back racks, brooks saddle, a heavy duty drum brake, and a bunch of fancy parts that are apparently really good that I have no knowledge of for $500 CAD.

 

[Antlered]

I have, and very much love a Surly LHT. One thing I always liked about it, was the fact that the stickers on it were easy to peel off. It's a cheap way to make a bike look less appealing to thieves. Shiny sells, and if your bike looks like a $100 Hoofit from SuckCo, most thieves will just mosey on by. "It ain't worth stealing, if it ain't worth selling." Besides. Stickers don't make a bike ride any different.
There are other bikes out there that are basically clones. Levelish toptubes, headtube angles between 70 and 73 degrees, chainstays in the 450-510 mm range for heel clearance on the rear pannier. Braze-ons in a dozen configurations all touting optimal placement for touring. Best idea in my opinion, is to go to shops and try them out. Ride them for a while, sit on them. See where the levers, knobs, switches, buttons and such are. If something bugs you in the store, it will probably cause you to be committed after the third week on dusty back roads.
Further things that I personally like about my bike. Tough powdercoat, in a single, simple glossy blue. Easy to touch up to prevent rust. Steel frame rated for "Big guy with a lot of junk." The ability to fit wider gravel tires that are about 42 mm. Much nicer ride than 28 mm. You won't win races on it. But that's not why you ride one. The rims that came on it were 36 spoke, double wall, eyeletted rims. A very solid choice for loaded touring. Over 3,000 miles in, and they are still as true as when it came out of the box. That includes curbs, potholes, some light trail, and the wonderful Idaho roads. (That look like the surface of the Moon.) The bar end shifters can be set up for friction shifting. I have always preferred friction shift to indexed. It's easier to trim gears by ear and feel once you get the hang of it. Nothing drives you as crazy as having a shifter that isn't adjusted quite right, and tries to put the chain between cogs. This will result in at best a steady chk-chk-chk-chk of a chain trying to hop up or down a cog. At worst, you can have the chain snag a tooth on the cog and bend it, or part the chain. Bummer.
And now for the things I don't like about it. Well, it's heavy, but I knew that when I bought it. I've changed a bunch of things on it that didn't fit me right. First was the saddle. The one it came with was terrible. Get a different one. Second, because the roads out here are just wonderful I bought a Thudbuster, by Cane Creek. It makes a whole universe of difference. Brakes. I got the rimbrake model of LHT, because I don't believe they had the Disc Trucker available at the time. Go disc brakes. Seriously. Rim brakes can be tricky to adjust properly, and they will ALWAYS wear down the walls of your rims. Disc brakes don't wear rims. They also handle the heat of braking down steep hills much better. Cable actuated are my preference here, as it's easier to jerry-rig a cable, than it is to jerry-rig a hydraulic line.
I added fenders, because road spray is gross. I added reflective tape to it, because it's lighter, more durable, and less apt to snag than a regular reflector. Red for the rear, white for the front of the fork, and some amber for the sides of the headtube. Satisfies the requirement for reflectors here in Potatostan. Lights, I went with a 1300 lumen photon cannon for the front, and a 50 lumen red tail gun. I've had people comment that they thought a fire engine was down the road, or that someone got pulled over by the cops. That's a good thing. I added other things to it that I can't think of right now. One thing I have wanted to put on, but never have, is a dynamo hub, and the lights that go with. That way, I never have that nagging worry, "Did I remember to charge my lights yesterday?" But that's an expensive system to end that question. I like the idea of the system that allows you to charge a cell phone, or something while you're pedalling during the day, but then I realized, you could just strap a solar panel to the top of a pannier and have more power for charging with no drag on the wheel. Your call on that. I think I'd go solar, as I can charge while sitting at a park or beach or somewhere too. Beyond that, I don't know what else to say. It's a bike that's stick 'n rock simple. Throw a dart at a map, pack some stuff, spin some cranks, and sooner or later you'll arrive.
Keep the shiny side up,
Antlered

 

[Dunedrifter]

I totally agree about removing stickers; leaving them on is just begging theives to go after your bike. I’m contemplating removing the head badge too, maybe I’ll modify it to pin on my jacket. What about “uglying” it up?