Surly Disc Trucker v. LHT

[TwoWheeledExplorer]

Anyone really tour on an LHT with full packs?   Is the frame stiff enough for full packs?

We see about a half-dozen fully-loaded LHTs every summer in the park where I work. Front and rear panniers, front bags and a BoB, large rear bags only. We are a nice ride from the end of the commuter rail line. People will ride the train out from the Twin Cities (MN), and then trek the 20 miles to Lake Maria State Park or 12 to Sand Dunes State Forest campgrounds on their bikes.

[staehpj1]

I have seen a lot of LHTs, but I have never seen one with panniers on it.

You must tour where there are few to no other tourists.  Lately it seems that a very substantial portion of the tourists I meet are on a loaded LHT.

[goalie]

Anyone really tour on an LHT with full packs?   Is the frame stiff enough for full packs?

We see about a half-dozen fully-loaded LHTs every summer in the park where I work. Front and rear panniers, front bags and a BoB, large rear bags only. We are a nice ride from the end of the commuter rail line. People will ride the train out from the Twin Cities (MN), and then trek the 20 miles to Lake Maria State Park or 12 to Sand Dunes State Forest campgrounds on their bikes.

You might see me rolling by on my way from Minneapolis to Perham next weekend.    (On a fully loaded LHT that rides just fine under load)

[Joe B]

1/3 of the way through a Triple Cross (sort of) Anacortes-Norfolk-Key West -Boston-San Diego on ....
....wait for it......
...Yup....
A LHT with full front/rear ortliebs

[goalie]

Anyone really tour on an LHT with full packs?   Is the frame stiff enough for full packs?

We see about a half-dozen fully-loaded LHTs every summer in the park where I work. Front and rear panniers, front bags and a BoB, large rear bags only. We are a nice ride from the end of the commuter rail line. People will ride the train out from the Twin Cities (MN), and then trek the 20 miles to Lake Maria State Park or 12 to Sand Dunes State Forest campgrounds on their bikes.

You saw me with a fully-loaded LHT a week ago. 

That storm was epic in a hammock, and the LHT frame was just fine pounding out 91.5 miles the next day to just past Osakis where we camped, all into that 20+ mph wind.

 

[TwoWheeledExplorer]

You saw me with a fully-loaded LHT a week ago. 

That storm was epic in a hammock, and the LHT frame was just fine pounding out 91.5 miles the next day to just past Osakis where we camped, all into that 20+ mph wind.

 

Oh man, yeah, I remember. I told my boss I had put two guys on bikes in site B-5, and he said nobody came up to him with problems in the morning. I patrolled through the park by truck as the storm was ending, but nobody flagged me down. We had a few limbs down at both locations, nothing major, no property damage or injuries.

He also told me, in the future it's okay to put touring cyclists in the lake picnic area, so next time, whether it's you or anyone else, that's what I'll do. At Sand Dunes I would put you in one of the Pineview group sites.

Glad you had a good trip. Hope it was somewhat cooler on Sunday, and that you and your son-in-law got some quality time together.

Ride safe,
Ranger Hans

[goalie]

You saw me with a fully-loaded LHT a week ago. 

That storm was epic in a hammock, and the LHT frame was just fine pounding out 91.5 miles the next day to just past Osakis where we camped, all into that 20+ mph wind.

 

Oh man, yeah, I remember. I told my boss I had put two guys on bikes in site B-5, and he said nobody came up to him with problems in the morning. I patrolled through the park by truck as the storm was ending, but nobody flagged me down. We had a few limbs down at both locations, nothing major, no property damage or injuries.

He also told me, in the future it's okay to put touring cyclists in the lake picnic area, so next time, whether it's you or anyone else, that's what I'll do. At Sand Dunes I would put you in one of the Pineview group sites.

Glad you had a good trip. Hope it was somewhat cooler on Sunday, and that you and your son-in-law got some quality time together.

Ride safe,
Ranger Hans

Actually, that campsite (B5) was perfect.  We had a great evening, and I actually enjoyed the storm, as I made sure there were no dead branches above me when I set up.   I am also trying out a bigger tarp than usual for better rain coverage over the hammock when bike-camping (it's too heavy for backpacking though) and it worked rather well with the storm.  The stock tarp probably would have left me a little wet in that much wind and rain. 

We had a great Sunday doing only 65 miles, with about 40 on dirt/gravel/minimum maintenance roads with almost zero wind.  I'm sure we'll do that trip again, as we've already had people from work ask us about coming along next time.   

Thanks again for the great campsite.  It was beautiful, and we didn't see anyone else all night.

[sspeed]

Anyone really tour on an LHT with full packs?   Is the frame stiff enough for full packs?

Credit card trips don't count.  Supported trips don't count either.

Surly had this on their site:

http://surlybikes.com/info_hole/faqs/what_is_the_cargo_weight_limit_for_the_long_haul_trucker

What is the cargo weight limit for the Long Haul Trucker?

There are too many variables involved for us to supply a straight, hard numbers type answer. Rider weight, rack type, terrain, cargo weight distribution, and more all come into play. Very generally speaking, we feel comfortable with combined rider and cargo weight of up to about 300lbs/136kg. However, if you're 150lbs (68kg) you probably are not going to like the handling of a bike carrying 150lbs of stuff, so be reasonable. The Big Dummy can haul more because it is awesome. And our Trailer can haul about 300lbs give or take.

[speedracerxx]

just my 2 cents I'm 6'6" 285 lbs my last tour was the gap and c&o trail to dc.
I have a disc trucker size 62 cm front and rear racks .my bike loaded for my trip 95
lbs .the bike worked fine the fork did not fail . disc brakes all the way.

[bikeman]

My Cannondale F600 Mtn bike with disc setup with Burley touring trailer had serious overheating brake fade problems on very STEEP and long downhills. Only on very LONG STEEP down hills, gradual USA down hills no problem, overseas unregulated hwy design down hills were a problem. Reminds me to hookup both disc/lever on my Specialized Stumpjumper disc/canti lever wheels, should be bullet proof combination, could be a problem if braking causes some unknown wheel wobble or rim warping. Hmmmmm sounds like a spring project?

[Dr. John]

Looking at pictures of the disc trucker fork, it appears that the left fork should be stiffer than the right fork as one might expect.  I am wondering if any owners of disc truckers have had any problems with a tendency to turn to the right?  If you have a disc trucker are you limited to circular tours or can you do a point-to-point tour?  Perhap if you wanted to do a tour in a counter-clockwise direction you could find a custom frame-builder to design a fork for you for maybe $500 with the disc caliper mounted to the right fork, thus making it easier to turn left (or you could put that $500 into your tour).  I'll have to talk to my mechanical engineering friends about it.  Seriously though, has anyone mounted a Tubus Tara rack to the disc trucker fork and fenders with normal stays?  I have a trucker deluxe, with which I tour and commute 200 miles/week sometimes loaded with 40 lbs. of most likely very unbalanced groceries with no problems other than when I went through snow and didn't realize that ice had accumulated on my rims - slowed down my stopping a bit.  Thought I might switch to a disc up front, but only if it is not too much a hassle.  I don't really see the need for a rear disc brake as I can lock up the rear wheel with a caliper brake just fine.

[DwarvenChef]

4 mo's ago I picked up a DT, upgrading from a Trek 7100... Ya big upgrade :p  I don't have a front rack yet but carry a bit of weight up front daily and have not had trouble with pulling to the right yet.

I stopped driving a year ago for health reasons and really have no intention to going back to the car untill I can't peddle anylonger :p I use a BOB and rear paniers for shopping and all so while I have not put out very long rides, just local overnights, I have clocked 2k miles already. But my area is farking flat land... I'll be moving to Santa Barbara soon and look forward to all my old stomping grounds

I have not seen or played with the LHT yet but I would like to just to feel the difference myself. I went with the DT because I have some long downhill rides planned and after seeing a bike blow out on 154 due to rim fatigue... Ya I just feel better with the disc breaks

[26surlydisc]

Fenders for surly 26" disc with surly racks front & rear?

Anyone know which fenders will fit this bike?

Tried a few different brands ....  will not work.

Thanks for any help out there.

[johnwilldo]

I bought my Surly Disc Trucker in Berkeley where I wintered this year and put on several hundred miles before relocating to northeastern Pennsylvania.  I am still riding it unloaded while I am slowly accumulating racks and panniers.  I have very hilly rides back east and love the disc brakes, but do not find that they are much different from the rim brakes on my Trek 7.2 or my Kestrel Evoke road bike.  The ride on the trucker is springy and enjoyable compared to my other bikes, even with the stock saddle.  I have purchased a Brooks Flyer saddle but have yet to put it on.  I also want to mount fenders but have not decided which are the better choice.  All in all, the Tucker gets five stars out of five for ride and handling.  Thanks to the folks at the Missing Link Bicycle Cooperative in Berkeley for a great fit!  I have about 500 miles on it now and am very pleased.  I have given my Trek to my son and may just sell the Kestrel since the Surly is the only one that I ride since coming back east.

[sspeed]

Seriously though, has anyone mounted a Tubus Tara rack to the disc trucker fork and fenders with normal stays?

Don't know about the Tara, but I had a Tubus Duo on there with big fenders and all was well.  I'm selling the Duo though, my rear bags are so big I can get everything in there.