Help me accesorize my Surly LHT

[dwboca]

Thanks everyone.  I will be ordering my LHT in November and meanwhile looking for good used racks and panniers if anyone has any they want to part with.  Otherwise, I'll get new.

dave

[dwboca]

OK.  I started.

First purchase:  Brooks Flyer saddle.  Now I need to get the bike to go under it! ETA late November.

I plan to give my list to my LBS:  Surly LHT, Surly Nice Racks, Ortlieb Panniers (Bike Packer Plus for rear and  Front Roller Plus), probably pedals with cages - haven't talked myself into clipless yet because I love wearing my regular running shoes when I ride.

I figure my LBS may be able to offer a discount on a package, if not, I will buy panniers from Randonnee Shop and racks from Amazon, bike from LBS.

dave, wannabee LHT owner and operator

[dwboca]

Ordered a 2013 LHT 56cm 26 inch wheels in Smoggy Silver (called Smoggy Pearl on their website).  Photo of new color on their facebook page and it looks pretty cool.  Price went up 75 dollars I think - my LBS charged $50 more than their 2012 quote.  Oh well.

Also got Brooks Flyer saddle, Surly Racks front and rear in silver, SKS P55 fenders, also silver, Orlieb pannier set - front and back packer plus series with handlebar bag with map case - all yellow except handle bar bag is red just for some diversification.

MKS Silvan Prime Touring pedals - decided against clipless since I ride platforms with toe clips on my road bike now and I like it.

All set.   Just waiting for deliveries.  My tour isn't until March 2014 but now I have something to play with in the mean time and do 2 and 3-day touring.

[dwboca]

Well, I took delivery of my new 2013 Surly LHT - in smoggy Silver/Pearl.  I love the new color.  As you can see, I've already changed the seat to a Brooks Flyer.  Installed MKS Prime Sylvan platform pedals.  I have the Surly Racks and SKS fenders waiting at home to install.  The Ortlieb packer plus style for front and back and handlebar bag will be on order shortly.  Bottle cages and bottles will come from LBS this weekend.

[DaveB]

Be prepared to futz with your brakes.  The pads that came with mine were terrible.  I found some Shimano pads that helped and I played with the geometry of the straddle cable.  I'm looking at new cantilever brakes (Tektro cr720) before my next tour.

+1  Assuming the OEM brakes are Tektros, the included pads are pretty bad.  Shimano's are better but the class act for any type of rim brake are Kool Stop Salmon pads and well worth the minor expense to add them.

Also, typically cantilever brakes are squeal-prone and there is little you can do to prevent it.  Even if the pads are aligned and toed in properly they can be noisy.  I had Shimano cantis on a Surly Cross Check and after fighting the noise unsuccessfully, I went to the extreme measure of replacing them with Avid SD-7 "V-brakes" and the matching long pull brake levers.  They were noticably more powerful but still noisy even with the Kool Stop pads. 

What finally quieted them down was replacing the long canti/V-brake pad holders and pads with Kool Stop's Dura Type (Shimano compatible) road pad holders and pads.   The shorter, more rigid pads were enough to fix the noise problem at no decrease in brake power or performance.

[dwboca]

I have everything attached except the fenders - I was watching the UF game and got distracted.  I cut one of the stays too short - arghhh!  Oh well, I may opt not to do fenders or when/if I get replacement stays, I will install all stays and fender mounts to bike, then mark the stays, then cut.  The instructions for putting on the fenders is lacking - nothing like experience (that I now have) to re-do it right!

[Pat Lamb]

I think the last time I bought fenders the instructions did call for cutting stays after installing the fenders, but I can see how the instruction minimalists might leave that part out.

One think I took too long to learn is to take a file and round the stays off after you cut them.  If you use either linemans pliers or a Dremel, you'll end up with either a nice sharp edge like a medical needle, or something that's shaped like a paper punch for skin.  They're both startlingly effective.    5-10 minutes with a bastard file, just going around the edges and over the top, will save your legs.

[dwboca]

Thanks for the advice on the fenders.  I tend to not read instructions in detail but I did go over these and I believe it had me put on the plastic tabs that cover the stays first so then you had to cut the stays in order to get the fender to fit on the bike.  I would re-write the instructions to install, then cut, then disassemble and put on the plastic cap assemblies, then insert the stays.  I tend to be anal but I always have issues with instructions that aren't perfectly clear (at least to me).

I have the instructions (SKS P55 fenders) in my hand: the first thing it says is "Insert endcap (1) into fixed bridge, pass the stay (3) through the hole in bolt (2) and push into the endcap (1) tighten with nut (4) as shown in pic.A."  So, with the endcap in place, you cannot adjust the stays!  The last part of the instructions say "The protruding stay can either be cut off or fitted with an endcap."  By virtue that they were placed in the endcaps during the very first part of the instructions, they do not protrude but then you can't find the correct adjustment so I just eye-balled them and cut.  As I was cutting I was wondering why the stay on one side was a lot different than the stay on the other side.  Ahhhh, my first clue that something was amiss!

Still thinking of not installing fenders but more posts are for than against so I will probably do it later...

[dwboca]

Fenders installed - easy once you've screwed it up once   Here is what my bike looks now, fully loaded.  Thanks everyone for their advice.  Now I will start bike touring Florida for the next 15 months and then do my Souther Tier route end of March, 2014.

[jrswenberger]

Fenders installed - easy once you've screwed it up once   Here is what my bike looks now, fully loaded.  Thanks everyone for their advice.  Now I will start bike touring Florida for the next 15 months and then do my Souther Tier route end of March, 2014.

love that color

[Billrector]

I went down to my local REI today and they had a 58 LHT (just my size) with 700 wheels on sale for less than $950 in blue.  I was looking at getting a Co-motion Americano Co-pilot, but that would have run me almost $5k.  Based on all the good reviews of the LHT, I decided to take the plunge.  While I'd love to own the Co-motion, I was afraid I would always worry about the Americano getting stolen while on tour.  Also, as I'm new to touring, I figured I could do my upcoming spring tour and then evaluate the bike situation when I finish.  I'm now looking forward to accessorizing my new bike!

[Pat Lamb]

Good idea, start with the LHT, do a tour, see if you want a different bike, repeat as necessary.  It may be all you want, and it's a reasonable cost/benefit rig to find out what you want different (if anything).