Surly Long Haul Trucker

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at Minneapolis

Favorite Ride:
Touring with the family

Bike Setup:
Stock set-up minus saddle plus front and rear pannier racks.

Summary:
Great bike for the price. I road everything I could get my hands on in a similar price range and found now comparison. I've been quite pleased using this bike as a commuter and fully-loaded touring bike.

Strengths:
I loaded the bike with my #250 and gear for a late Minnesota Fall tour. Oh yeah, I even brought a full size steel camp chair. The bike handle me and the other load beautifully. Surly seemed to put money into the components that matter most.

Weaknesses:
Really heavy. The third water bottle mount on the bottom of the down tube will only hold a very short bottle. The stock seat is worthless.

Similar Products Used:
An old Fuji converted to a touring bike and a Trek 950 mountain bike.

Price Paid:  $2700.00 at Chain Reaction Bicyc

Favorite Ride:
Key West, FL to Albuquerque, NM over a period of 6 months

Bike Setup:
Axiom racks, panniers and fenders, Shimano Tiagra drive train, Alexis Adventuer rims, Specialized Elite Armadillo tires, Garmin Oregon 400C GPS, Speedplay Drillum pedals.

Summary:
Tough as a tank. Rode it continuously six months and 3,200 miles from Key West, Florida to Albuquerque, New Mexico in all weathers and terrain. Never failed me and never broke down.

Strengths:
Tough as nails frame. Shimano 27-speed drive train worked flawlessly. Had 100lbs. of gear in 4 panniers plus me (260lbs.) and the bike never so much as popped a spoke.

Weaknesses:
Replaced saddle for a wider gel-padded one.

Price Paid:  $1615.00 at Monkey Wrench Cycles

Model Year:
2006

Bike Setup:
Mavic 719 rims, 36 spokes, Xt hubs
Schwalbe Marathon XR 700 x 40 (no longer produced in 40 width)
Hone crank 22/32/44
Deore cassette 11-34
Platfrom pedals
Brooks b17 campion special

Summary:
Rode this bike on my 14,000+ mile Alaska-to-Argentina bike ride (panambikeride.com) and it is still riding strong. Comfortable and reliable, I loved (and continue to love) this bike.

Strengths:
Strong, simple, cheap, comfortable, and classy....

Weaknesses:
In larger frame sizes 26" wheels not available, which is a drawback for Central/South American touring.

Similar Products Used:
Test ridden Thorn's Touring Bike equipped with the Rohloff Hub, a Rivandale touring frame, other similar Europeon brands of which I can't recall the names---all fine bikes.

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at K&G Bikes Xenia, OH

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
cinci to dayton on little miami trail

Bike Setup:
Brooks B17, Mavic A719 front wheel. Velocity rear wheel. Vittoria Randonee tires. Dura Ace bar-end shifters, IRD cyclocross steel fork, Original Propulsion handlebars. Most components replaced were after crashes. Wheels and seat from the outset because wheels are important. So is what goes on top of the seat.

Summary:
I use my LHT primarily for loaded touring. I've logged about 8K miles on her in 2 years including a solo XC tour.

The bike was brilliant on tour and the only problems I've had have been after wipeouts. I no longer ride the stock fork after a pretty gnarly crash, and after switching, I have a low opinion of the stock fork. I've had two wrecks in which I've damaged the frame, though it's still safe and feels great. I've ridden this bike so hard in those 8k miles, I am pretty impressed with its durability. I would absolutely buy this bike again. However, I upgraded the wheels from the outset to Velocity and wouldn't mind a nicer rear derailleur and crank, too. After plenty of miles and wipeouts, the bike is idiosyncratic, but it feels like the same bike.

I don't think you'll find a better touring bike out there for the money. Is it as nice as a Co-motion Americano or a Rivendell A. Homer Hillson? No. It's a Surly. If I had a spare $3000 for a nicer ride, there's no question I'd be on one. But I don't think anyone makes a better touring-dedicated bike for $1000. I wouldn't spend $1500 for a slightly more expensive touring rig, because the LHT is out of the box ready.

Strengths:
They thought of everything. Comfortable. Reliable. Wow. handles full kit of panniers like a dream. It's very stable and smooth - I can ride for miles without touching the handlebars. Gets lots of attention from the ladies. Good geometry for touring (like I say, they thought of everything) but it's not bad for other stuff too. Commuting is fun and I don't mind showing up to a club ride on it. Excellent bike for the $.

Weaknesses:
Stock fork is heavier than it needs to be. I have a stronger, better one that is also lighter, though it doesn't have rack mounts. (My full touring kit can fit in my rear panniers alone as I was a lightweight backpacker before a bicyclist) You need to get a Brooks saddle. Stock wheels adequate for touring, but not ideal.

Similar Products Used:
Never owned but tested the Bianchi Volpe. Thought it was great, but this one felt beefier and I'm a big guy.

Price Paid:  $1200.00 at Tempe Bicycle - THE

Model Year:
2007

Favorite Ride:
Surly LHT

Bike Setup:
The only mods I had to do for 100 miles up in the mountains was adding a rear rack, paniers, and 2 cages for 2 of the 3 cage pre-drills. The factory gears were more than enough to handle anything the mountains had to throw at me. I can't imagine anything needed for this tank other than maintenance for quite some time. Although it was more than some others that I was looking at for touring, it was the only one that was road ready for commuting and touring.

Summary:
For perspective's sake, I have been commuting to work every day for the past three months. I started with an overstock.com mtn bike. I learned that I loved riding to work, but hated the POS that I chose to do it with (kept breaking). I then bought a KHS Flight 100 fixy. I love my fixy for taking on to the train, but got the bug for touring.

1 trip to my bike shop (Tempe Bicycle), alot of internet research and it was an obvious choice. Nothing was outfitted for EVERYTHING that you need for loads. And of the 4 I rode that day, the LHT BY FAR was the most comfortable. I have become a "steel is king" guy like the old dudes... but now I think they are on to something.

I just came back from a 4 day tour of Prescott, AZ. AZ's high country is not only beautiful, but has challenging rides a plenty! Prescott was very cycle-friendly and the LHT took everything in stride! I was loaded down each morning and free ride at night for dinner. Either way the LHT was as smooth as could be. Even taking downhills at 40+ MPH completely loaded down was smooth. I even got a little frisky one day and took some mild mtn bike trails. The LHT "felt" solid the whole time.

I can't rave enough about this new world I have entered, She's not built for speed, but can hold her own for sure. The added dynamic of the ability to handle anything I could throw in the paniers, makes this the most multi-purpose ride that I have ridden. I mostly ride the LHT to work unless I want to go REALLY fast, then the fixey is my choice.

Strengths:
I was worried about lost speed with the bulky tires. I have found that my ride has not extended in time when I ride the LHT vs. my fixey. Now the added benefit of being able to take light trails is a HUGE bonus.

Weaknesses:
The bar end shifters were quite different for me. I got used to the after a couple days, but still prefer the ease of the break shifters.