Surly Long Haul Trucker

[pete75]

Fitting STIs and V brakes demonstrate the pair are incompatible

Ah but some folk are so focused on drop bars they say exactly that.
Flat bar STIs and V brakes work perfectly well together

Flat bars on a tourer ???? Heresy, Sir, heresy.

[jk49]

Ha, fair call. probably more than 200g a tyre,which is a good weight gain.

[531colin]

The forks come with a mudguard/rack fitment option. They are cheap (about £50 delivered) so it's a worthwhile experiment to do disc/lightweight up front and it should shave 1.5lbs off the weight of the bike. I'll let you know how I get on after 3000 miles....

if the crown height is +25mm or so (as I fear it is) then the steering geometry will likely be completely different. If so, the seat angle will also change, of course. I'd suggest riding the bike with each fork in to see how the steering feels before committing to ride 3000 miles on the bike.

cheers

26" wheel LHT head angle already varies between 70 and 71.5 degrees depending on frame size, so I guess we could worry about what the steering is before he changes it as well as what it will become afterwards.

Or we could conclude its all a waste of time.

[53x13]

The forks can only be ordered via the factory website in China. They make 170 variations on the standard carbon frame, and over a dozen disc specific frames. I've measured the head angle of my LHT and the current crown height and sent those details to them to see how close they can get. THEY actually suggested to me I send them the original LHT fork and they would copy it in carbon but they needed a minimum order of 10 units, for a prototype. This might be a business opportunity for someone, down the line. If the fork I get fails to meet expectations (and I've no reason to believe it will) then for £50 I'll simply recycle it on another bike.

I'm probably looking at the Paselas now, and a clip on style (to the saddle) medium sized saddlebag. Braking, still unsure, rear rack unsure, and headset/stem/bars unsure.

Thanks so much for your input!

[Bez]

My 50cm DT weighs 17kg.

Blimey. My 62cm DT is under 14kg with dyno, lights, guards and rear rack and no real attempt to make it lightweight. Have you accidentally dropped some rocks down the seat tube?

[meic]

People weigh them with different states of ride readiness and different quality scales.

Just weighed mine at 16.7kg, that drops to 14.6kg without the panniers and their ready to ride contents.
No dynamo, no front rack.

[ThePinkOne]

I have a 50cm Disc Trucker that I built up from frame & forks last summer. It is my commuting bike, so built mainly for reliability, but also I wanted a nice ride and to use as many UK-made bits as possible. I did everything on it apart from pressing in the headset (I don't have the tools). The frame was excellent out of the box- no facing or thread cleaning needed.

So, being a bit of a heretic, I have flat bars, a MTB drivetrain (Shimano XT medium cage, 2 x 10), Hope BB, headset and stem, wheels are "Hope hoops" with Hope hubs/XC rims and Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tyres. Brakes I used BB7 with the Avid levers and 160mm rotors. I also have Hope flattie pedals (please don't try convert me to clipless ). SKS mudguards and a Tubus Logo rear rack finished it off, along with a hitch for a Carry Freedom trailer (useful for lugging 10kg bags of catfood.... ).

I have no idea how much it weighs, but as I am not light myself, I am not worried about the odd kilo or two. It's light enough for me to carry upstairs into my office when I get to work and with the decent wheelset it feels lively enough when riding; being honest about my physique, that's all I need to worry about as far as bike weight goes . What the Disc Trucker is though, is a stable, comfortable bike that takes pretty much everything that gets chucked at it, including very potholed roads. In spite of foul winter weather (bad enough I resorted to lubing my chain with railway-bearing grease at one point), maintenance needs have been minimal. It just keeps going.

In short- the Disc Trucker (and no doubt the LHT) is a great, reliable, "honest" bike that just yomps along steadily for mile after mile; but it's no lightweight. "Trucker" sums it up; you really don't notice the weight once you get rolling, and the stability of the frame helps a lot when you need to climb hills in a low gear. It's not until I have a loaded trailer on the back that I really notice the load and find myself needing a cog or two down on a hill.

Not trying to criticise, but is shaving 1.5 lb off the bike really that important? And if weight is important to you, much as I love my Trucker, I would suggest looking for a more lightweight-orientated frame-set and building it up accordingly.

TPO

[53x13]

Okay so the build has started. Hoping to get a rolling version by end of next week when the carbon disc forks are here and I can try out the geo and ride position. My overall plan is for a lightweight version of the LHT which should be more manageable in off road situations and European cities. I'm looking to save 5kg (11lbs) on the stock bike with pannier racks. Won't be using mudguards or dynamo lighting as it's a predominantly summer/warm country tourer.