I pretty much look for any excuse to talk about my Surly LHT

July 23rd, 2010 Posted by Jessica. Published under Gear + Product Review. 18 Comments.

Part of my hope in starting this blog is that it will be helpful for other women interested in bike touring.  As someone who’s a scant 5’2, one of the hardest parts about preparing for bicycle touring was finding a touring bike that fit comfortably.  Like many women, my arms and legs are disproportionately longer than my torso.  Because bike touring is more often done by men, and men tend to have disproportionately longer torsos than their arms and legs, almost all touring bikes are built with men in mind.   To my knowledge (and PLEASE, feel free to enlighten me if I’m incorrect), the only true women-specific touring bike is the Terry Valkyrie Tour.  With its $3,100 price tag a fair bit over my spending limit, I decided to look at other options.

I had pretty much decided on purchasing a trusty Trek 520, knowing full-well that I would need to upgrade the rack, tires, fenders, and the saddle based on reviews I’d read online, until I emailed the folks at Newton’s legendary Harris Cyclery asking for some professional advice about finding a touring bike for a short female.  One of their sales guys emailed me back within hours and informed me that they had just put a custom-built 42-cm Surly Long Haul Trucker on the floor for $1,172.  It didn’t take much Googling to learn that Surly, while comparatively much younger than Trek, is really starting to make a name for itself in long-distance touring.  I also liked that, unlike the Trek 520, the Surly LHT could come with 26″ tires instead of 700c, which is important if you’re traveling in third-world countries and your tires blow out, since a simple mountain bike tire can be used in an emergency.  And damn it, I wanted the option of traveling anywhere!  In fact, the blog I read that really sealed the deal was called PanAm Bike Ride, written by a dude who biked from Alaska to Argentina on a Surly LHT with no major component problems.

Jessica's Surly Long Haul Trucker, in all its glory

So off I went to Harris Cyclery, ready to try out my new steed.  The upgrades included Schwalbe Marathon touring tires,  an upgraded cassette, a new headset, cyclocross brake levers, pedals, and a Brooks B17 Special (women’s!) touring saddle.  Seeing as the suggested price on Surly’s website without pedals and with the downgrades is $1,095, and a Brooks saddle alone costs well-over $100, I couldn’t let this deal get away.

Jessica's old bike

I’ve  had my LHT for almost eight months now, and the feelings I have toward this bike are very nearly romantic.  Some of the reviews I read online complained about its weight, but compared to my last bike, the LHT is feather-lite.  Don’t get me wrong– even just looking at my last bike, it doesn’t take a genius to see that there was an adjustment period.

Close-up of the cyclocross brake levers

I had never ridden a bike with dropped handlebars (but man, the difference in wind resistance is amazing!), and I was nervous about properly using the friction shifter on the left-hand side.  I adjusted the handlebars so the brake hoods pointed up more, making it easier for me to reach them– which makes a big difference when riding long distances so I have multiple hand positions to choose from.  The cyclocross brake levers (also known as interrupter brakes) have been amazing– anyone looking to get a touring bike, I definitely recommend these!  Being able to brake wherever your hands are is super important, and the cost of parts and labor to get them installed is only about $30 total.

Close-up of the friction shifter

It took a little time and research to learn how to shift properly, but now I’m really glad I have the friction shifter for the front gears.  It’s better for fully-loaded touring because you can adjust the front gears (your 1, 2, and 3 gears on your left-hand side) under the weight of all your stuff to be perfect.  In learning how to shift properly, I found this video from bicycletutor.com to be extremely helpful.

What a beautiful Brooks saddle!

Some people say there’s an adjustment period for “fitting in” to your Brooks saddle.  Mine was super comfortable the day I bought it.  Brooks saddles are great because they mold to the shape of your butt after you’ve ridden them a while.  Adjusting the saddle to the right angle is extremely important, as you’ll quickly realize after going over a pothole if the nose of your saddle is pointed up too high.  I’ve read that most women (myself included) prefer the nose of their saddle to be pointed down more, while men prefer a more level saddle.  The point is that your sitbones should really be the only part of your body that has much contact with the saddle– otherwise soft-tissue nerves can get pinched from the pressure.

After a few months of adjusting the handlebars, saddle, and seatpost to my liking, this bike as been a dream to ride.  I’ve never been one for brand loyalty for anything, but with Surly I make an exception.  This bike is solid.  When I got hit by the car back in March, the folks at Ace Wheel Works who checked out my bike couldn’t even figure out which side of the bike got hit by the car (and were nice enough not to charge me for thoroughly inspecting it!).  Now I want the Surly hip flask and the Jethro Tule or the Singleator Scrap Tool to make my life complete!

“Saw the waves, but not the tide/I couldn’t stay, I don’t know why/A sailor married to the sea/My luck is a lost key/The door is locked from the inside/Don’t wait around, I won’t arrive/Keep a room somewhere for me/I’ll find it on my way back” –Metric, Waves