Cycling UK Forum

You can get Surly LHTs in the UK - I got mine at Cycle Heaven in York. They did a free bike fitting to make sure I was getting the right size and made some very nice custom adjustments, such as re-mounting the bar-end shifters further up the drop handlebars (which I'd swapped for Salsa Cowbells for ergonomic reasons) by means of some Paul Thumbies... but that's another story.

I've never ridden a Thorn, so I'm not much use on your original question, but I think the LHT's a much prettier, classic-looking frame and it hauls weight as if it weren't there. I read in a lot of places that the bike 'comes into its own' when its fully loaded, and didn't know what they meant til I tried it: it's almost like it springs into life, as if by loading up the panniers you've given the bike a reason for its existence. I'm planning to ride to Indonesia on mine and I'm very confident I have the right bike for the job.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess I'll stick with the Surly - don't like the sound of the flex in the loaded Vaya frame, superb though it was unladen. And thanks for the thoughts on disk/ rim brakes. Maybe one day I'll try out rim brakes for riding in Europe, but don't think they're ideal for the far-flung reaches of Asia.

I guess I'll just have to wait for the Surly: the delay is with Surly themselves not my bike shop (Cycle Heaven, York), who've been great, provided me with a valuation for the insurance company when my old bike got nicked, and spent an hour with me spec-ing up my new bike. Wouldn't want to take my custom elsewhere.

I'm sick of waiting for my Surly LHT to turn up (I've been waiting 3 months now) and starting to rethink my choice of tourer. Feeling duty-bound to buy through my local bike shop, a Thorn is out of the question.

I was wondering whether anyone out there has tried using a Salsa Vaya/ Vaya Travel for long distance, heavy-load touring? The Vaya is described as a 'light' tourer, but I wondered whether it might cope with a big trip (i.e. UK to Indonesia). I rode one unladen and it was DREAMY. And has anyone tried the Vaya Travel? Does that coupling to dismantle the frame make a difference to the feel? I find it hard to imagine it wouldn't...

Whilst I suspect it could handle the load, the main drawback of the Vaya seems to be they only offer disk brake models, and no brazeons for v-brakes. I'm worried that if I get a wheel badly bent or stolen somewhere remote, the Tibetan Plateau or somewhere, I'll be stuck without brakes. Also, my boyfriend says they're a pain the neck to adjust perfectly without squeaks, and there's little tolerance for the disk to be anything other than perfectly true. I don't much fancy cycling to Indonesia squeaking all the way...

Incidentally, I know about the review comparing the two: http://pathlesspedaled.com/2012/12/sals ... surly-lht/ but since they're not riding fully-laden it's not quite the info I'm looking for.

Cheers,

Ginevra

I just found a big selection of tracksuit trousers and shorts with a diamond-shaped seam over the crotch area (instead of a cross) at TK Max. Have bought a pair and am hoping they will be ideal for touring, but untested as yet...

Hi,

Planning a trip from UK to Indonesia and wondering what tent to get. We've whittled it down to the cultishly popular Nallo 3GT or the Mountain Equipment Dragonfly 3XT, which looks like it might bear up a bit better in a breeze with its crossed poles but still has the spacious porch and is a couple of hundred cheaper. We've borrowed a different Mountain Equipment tent last year and found the quality excellent (although apparently you have to tape the seams yourself), but all the hardcore cycle tourers seem to rant endlessly about the benefits of the Hilleberg.

Does anyone with experience of either of these tents care to advise?