Surly LHT or Cross Check?

[AaronR]

Hi all,

Put this in here as it is a bit more touring than general bike

Looking at a new bike that has to be capable of a bit of everything, but predominantly road/cycle track commuting and in about 12-18 months time average 37 miles a day (round trip)

I prefer steel frame, rim brakes, must be able to take pannier frames front and rear - I've always had straight bars up to now, and as most off the peg bikes aimed at what I'm looking to do come with drop bars it must be capable of having straight bars retrofitted without affecting riding position if I can't get on with drops

On paper the Surly Cross Check ticks all the boxes with the exception of the external BB and the odd cable routing from the bar end shifters

The LHT ticks every box (once the canti brakes get swapped for decent V brakes), has a triple up front on a proper BB, but...... I am looking at a 54cm frame, which limits me to 26" wheels, and for a wider choice of tyres (bike has to do everything) but predominantly on road would prefer 700c

Anyone close to Southampton got an LHT 54cm/26" I could sit on? And for comparison if there is a 56cm/700c locally that would be great!

Hoping to buy the Surly frame and find a decent 700c hybrid/road bike to use as a donor rather than paying off the peg prices, and saving a few pennies on building from scratch

Anyone local with a bike I can sit on to try for size and fit would love to hear from you, or any other bike suggestions?

Ta

[PH]

Not that far from you (Swanage,50 miles?) is Charlie the Bikemonger. Who already offers a flat bar build in either model if that's what you prefer, or would build either up to your spec, so any differences in brakes, shifters or BBs can be ignored. They also stock several other bikes that look like they'd tick your boxes.
I've bought from them a couple of times via Ebay, always decent service, never anything big and not often enough to recommend, though they get good reviews on this forum and elsewhere quite often.
http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/sur ... 2103-p.asp

[Heltor Chasca]

+1 for Surly LHT and Charlie. (I have a DT and Charlie put together most of my Big Dummy)

Edit: I commuted 22 miles a day for 5 years. Discs HUGELY reduced the time I spent cleaning and maintaining my bike. Brake pad rubber is Satan's dust.

[simonhill]

I will have a 56, 26 wheel LHT frame and forks for sale in April.

Long story. It was my mate's bike. He got killed in Oz (on his Galaxy) and I inherited his Surly. Frame and build too big for me and I haven't used it so I am swapping the parts on to a new 54 frame. I currently ride a 54 and am very happy with it

It's about 4 years old virtually unused and in almost perfect condition. Black. £275.

I bought my new 54 frame late last year. I think you might have difficulty getting a new one at the moment. I was told the frames bound for the UK were stuck in a container on a ship belonging to the Korean shipping company that went bust. Not sure what the current situation is but I see Spa have limited availability.

No photos as I am on tour in Sri Lanka at the moment (on my Surly 54, of course) and the 56 is in my lounge.

Let me know if you are seriously interested, if not I intend to pre offer it to forum members at the end of Feb. If no one is interested, I will advertise in April once it is stripped.

[bohrsatom]

When I was thinking of getting a Surly for touring I was put off the Cross Check because of the shorter chainstay length and the semi-horizontal rear dropouts. I think the bike comes with some adjuster screws for use with derailleur gears but it all sounded a bit too much faff for me. I was also unsure about the LHT as whilst it's great for touring I was worried it wouldn't be much fun for commuting and day rides which is 95% of what I do.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, in the end I asked Spa Cycles to build me up a version of their steel tourer with flat bars and tbh I couldn't be happier. With proper V brakes and some customisation it still cost less than the stock LHT, and IMO is a better spec bike too.

[AaronR]

Thanks all - thought I'd ask on here in the vain hope that there would be a few examples locally that I could sit on, already been in touch with Charlie to see if they could supply a Cross Check with a triple crank on a proper square taper BB (which they can)

Thanks for the frame offer simonhill, but until I've had a chance to sit on one I think 56cm might be a smidge too tall, I'll get back to you ASAP once I've tried some bikes for size

Guess a day trip to Swanage os on the cards

[chris3vic]

I was in the same dilemma as you - in the end I went for the disk trucker simply because I thought it would be a better "touring" option.

What I found is that I really should have gone for the cross check, as most of my rides were unladen and to/from work. I found the trucker to be really hard work for that. Slow, heavy, not very nice on the road.

However, get some luggage on there and it will take you quite comfortably to the ends of the earth and back. It is an absolute steed, but unless you're doing some serious touring on it my opinion is to get the Cross Check. It's a much better "One Bike" in my opinion.

[simonhill]

No worries, no hurry Aaron.

I should have said it will have headset fitted. Also some other bits that I may not want but not absolutely sure of at the moment, eg seatpost, stem and uplift flat bars, all chrom-ish finish.

[Gattonero]

...
Looking at a new bike that has to be capable of a bit of everything, but predominantly road/cycle track commuting and in about 12-18 months time average 37 miles a day (round trip)

I prefer steel frame, rim brakes, must be able to take pannier frames front and rear - I've always had straight bars up to now, and as most off the peg bikes aimed at what I'm looking to do come with drop bars it must be capable of having straight bars retrofitted without affecting riding position if I can't get on with drops
....
Anyone local with a bike I can sit on to try for size and fit would love to hear from you, or any other bike suggestions?

Ta

I don't think you can compare the two bikes, they are quite different especially in geometry!
The Cross Check has almost 5cm less of head tube and wheelbase. Let alone the weight.

If you want a "touring" bike then the LHT is good, but if you want something nippy that you can use on the commute and for an happy daily ride, you'll have to go for the Cross Check.
The LHT makes sense only if has got bags on

[teamonster]

I've a 54cm Surly LHT, sadly up in London so a bit far for you to try. I'm 5'8" with a 31" inseam (I think) and it fits nicely. Its' a lovely bike, but very well built and hence not light ! I can see why people trust them on long tours, sure it would be fine on commuting just don't expect to break any speed records !

[AaronR]

That's two nays for the LHT unless I'm toting luggage.. narrows down the choice from the Surly range quite nicely!

Anything else I should consider in the same vein?

[Psamathe]

(Sorry, a bit off-topic) but there have been several comments about the LHT/Disc Trucker being a "bit heavy" and not so nimble and "slow" for day/commuting and I don't fully understand (my lack of experience of different bikes).

When I purchased my Croix de Fer and was considering an LHT/DT as well and I read lots of similar comments but the weight (as far as I could find from the internet) was not a lot different. I love my Croix de Fer which to me is great for a couple of hours riding around local lanes but when I'm ready for longer laden touring I will have to decide what to do about the gearing and a better suited bike (already with suitable gearing) might be a cost effective option.

So, when people talk about "heavy" are they referring to the weight or rather to the geometry and steering and how nimble the bike feels (i.e. the number of Kg is not what is being discussed).

Thanks (and apologies for being a bit off-topic).

Ian

[PH]

So, when people talk about "heavy" are they referring to the weight or rather to the geometry and steering and how nimble the bike feels (i.e. the number of Kg is not what is being discussed).

I can't imagine there's much difference in frame weight, there rarely is in steel frames unless you go for something pretty exotic. More likely to be counted in grams than kilos. If they're built up to be ideal for their intended purpose there may well be a fair bit of difference in the bikes.
For example - I have a Hewitt Cheviot Tourer and SOMA ES Audax type of bike. There's well under half a kilo of difference between the frames, nearly three kilo as they're currently built up. If I swapped components around there would still be differences, but not enough to warrant keeping both.
So when people talk about being heavy, either it's the build, or the feel. The build you can deal with easily enough if you're specing a bike from new, though it's often a compromise between weight/durability/price.
The rest is feel - I'm not even going to go there. It's too personal, too many variables, I've worked out what I like, but it might not suite someone else.

Comparing Surlys, here what they say themselves (My bold) I think it's probably a good start.

Should I get the Cross-check, Long Haul Trucker, or Pacer?
Think about it this way: Pacer - club rider, backpack commuter, gravel racer. The Pacer does not have as many braze-ons for mounting racks and bags as the others, plus the geometry is not designed with fully-loaded touring in mind, so while it will handle long distances well with lower weight cargo, heavier loads will affect it's handling and your heels are more likely to hit rear panniers on this model.
Cross Check - light duty tourer, pannier commuter, and versatility for practically any build you dream up. Versatile as all get out, but somewhere between touring and "road" geometry.
Long Haul Trucker- cross country tourer, heavy duty commuter, practically begs you to bring the kitchen sink. All the bells and whistles. Low BB and long stays make it good for racks and bags but not as good for technical off-road trails.
Sure, there's a lot of cross-over between them in what they CAN do - they all make excellent commuters for example. They simply excel a bit more in one area or the other than the next.

[horizon]

I started this thread a long time ago:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=89729

There should at first sight be so much overlap between these three bikes that a choice would be easy. But on further digging, it doesn't appear so straightforward. I too wanted a light tourer: the LHT was too "heavy", an Audax too "light". So the Cross Check looked like the Goldilocks choice. But as the OP is finding, it doesn't quite work in the way you want it to. There are probably other bikes out there but I was tending towards the Thorn Club Tour and Spa Steel Tourer as being a bit to toward the lighter end of things so maybe the perfect choice.

[simonhill]

The OP does say in his first post

"I prefer steel frame, rim brakes, must be able to take pannier frames front and rear"

That rather smacks of reasonably heavy duty tourer, unless you are filling your panniers with air.