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anyone put flat hndle bars on a surly LHT and used it as a MTB?
how did it handle
pics if poss
cheers
Sorry can't help, but was looking at the 26" version in the LBS window and wondered what it'd be like with MTB tyres.
So I guess I'm registering my interest too 😀
Was hoping to see pics of a 'tracker' here - LHT is a tour/road bike just like the ones kids used to put flat bars and go off-road tracking before MTBs were around. It'll be fine / twitchy / like a flat-bar CX bike mainly )
Well I have literally just finished putting new CX tyres on my disc trucker a few minutes ago in anticipation of my participation in the citicross race in Halifax in a couple of week's time. Drop barred and it's staying that way, will hopefully get a test ride on gentle single track and farm tracks this weekend before going off for a week's holiday. Will report back in terms of liveliness and feel.
Some thoughts on it here:
interesting..... i want a versatile bike (MTB/Touring), so maybe the LHT isn't the one.... ogre?
26" version here;
http://joecruz.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/surly-long-haul-trucker/
"With riser bars it rides like a late 80?s mountain bike."
BB is pretty low on the LHT
Vaya 2 with Apex and BB5's is £1600!
That's a £500 rise since it was introduced, and is frankly taking the piss.
You could build a nice Bob Jackson or Ellis Briggs handmade Reynolds framed tourer for that.
Spa cycles do their lovely and very well reviewed Titanium tourers for much less.
Edinburgh Bike Coop do theirs for nearly a third of the price, with Reynolds tubes & Discs too.
The price of a Disc Trucker is on the eyebrow raising side of bloody cheeky, but the price of the Vaya really is an insult.
Look at the spec of the Pinnacle Arkose 3 or the Boardman CX bikes and you will see exactly how much profit is being made here.
And no one will convince me a Taiwanese steel frame is £600 more expensive than a Taiwanese alloy one.
Good points. I’ve not tried those others, or any other things like it for that matter - except for a selection of old Peugeots!
I like my trucker though!
Price - yes, quite a lot now, but mine (2008-9ish, frame/forks only) seems nicely put together and thought out and with tough paint.
People say that it's a heavy frame and so on bla bla but with that kind of utility, do-it-all bike you’re going to have things like a rack bolted on a lot of the time anyway... So it’s not a big deal overall at all.
I find it stable and comfortable off road, surprisingly so on roots and rocks. Maybe it’s the (effectively 29er) wheels, low BB, and fairly long wheelbase. The forks - curved - are very comfortable. I wonder if the disc ones would be as comfortable though?
Having said that it’s an explorer rather than a racer or a hooligan. With the TT for drops and the lowish BB you need to get cranks in the right place. But you probably make that mistake only once 🙂
Have not tried it with flat bars, haven’t really felt the need. Would probably be fine with a slightly longer stem. It’s an option though. Drops on a MTB on the other hand...
As I say, I like mine a lot and can’t really imagine replacing it.
My older non disc lht is my most used bike through the winter
And the Finnish is very tougher than anything else I've had inc some
High end stuff
The price of everything is going up
No flat bars but my LHT was fine with 700x42 touring tyres over the Corrieyairick Pass. Obviously slower over the washed out sections compared to an MTB with big knobblys but the actual handling was fine and steering stable on gravel. Any issues were tyre issues IMO. I think a 26" LHT with MTB tyres would handle fine assuming allowance made for low BB etc.
One word: hybrid.
If you want a bike to go off road and tour on road an mtb frame is the way to go - so you can get wide enough tyres on for the latter.
I've toured mtb frames, works well, nice and stiff and plenty of 1.25 tyres around.
If you want a bike to go off road and tour on road an mtb frame is the way to go - so you can get wide enough tyres on for the latter.
Surly claim the 26" Trucker takes a 2.1 tyre with mudguards. How wide do you need?
A tourer should have longer chainstays for heel clearance with panniers and a lower BB which makes getting the feet down easier - which is nice with a loaded bike. An rigid MTB works for touring , I own one, but it has flaws for road touring.
A little bird told me that there's going to be a LHT racing at Hit The North and it's going to be FAST!!!!