Surly test ride thoughts

Well I've had my Surly LHT for 3 months now and while I'd still say its early days with regard to any longevity comments to be made I think its about time I said something regarding how it rides.

Straight from the build with very little riding beforehand I took the bike touring in the Scottish Highlands, a bit of a trial by fire really but the LHT really surpassed itself. Loaded with approx 18kg including the weight of the panniers themselves it feels super stable both at speed and doing slower manouvers including steep climbing. A real revelation compared to the converted MTB I'd been using before. Also as part of my initial impressions was how comfortable this bike is. I'm still unsure whether this is down to the frame geometry, the steel tubing or the 1.6" wide schwalbe marathon supreme tyres, they probably all contributed. The high bar position with compact drop bars helps too, allowing a multitude of hand positions none of which causing any back pain from having to crouch too low.

It was no slouch either, certainly it doesn't accelerate quickly when loaded and even unloaded when compared to a road race machine as its about 3kg heavier in weight but once up to speed its easy to keep there and definitely feels less wearing due to the ride characteristics.

Tested on road and off it on hard packed landrover tracks it coped admirably abeit slower offroad compared to an MTB with suspension, again I'm impressed with how the bike handles and how balanced it is, allowing you to concentrate on forward traction without having to frantically keep your balance.

The same balance and composure came to the fore again when on huge climbs, the Bealach na Ba climbed with ease thanks to the 22/32/44T chainset and 11-34T cassette. Also great at descending easily feeling in control at speeds over 45mph.

All in all for commuting, load carrying and general local riding this is my bike of choice. My road race bike being used less and less. Yes its not as fast but no more than 10% slower and that comfort certainly counts for a lot more.

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Dreams

One of my life long dreams has been to do some cycle touring, yes I've done a few off road mountain bike tours but I'm talking about steel frames, drop handlebars, long and low centre of gravity road machines with panniers and racks for load lugging. Fully loaded touring it needed to be. 

The time had come, translated as the bank account was looking healthy, for me to buy such a bike.

Options were plentiful, off the peg well established steeds like the Dawes Galaxy or also getting rave reviews were the Ridgeback Panorama or even more niche brands such as Pearson. But there were compromises to be had as my pockets weren't 'that' deep I'd set my budget at £1000 thinking I should be able to get something half decent, surely? But this ruled out many options, for starters most touring specific framesets were this price without even wheels or components, even the Ridgeback Panorama to pricey and only the base Galaxy available. There was one bike which kept cropping up in forums posts, a bike not seen much on these shores but very popular in the U.S. The Surly Long Haul Trucker.

The Surly Long Haul Trucker is available in a few guises, off the shelf at around my price point but still this came with components I wasn't keen on, bar end shifters for example but also available as a frame set for a reasonable £330 if you shop around on-line. Now Surly is a brand l was already familiar with, my commuter bike, a converted MTB, had been running with some rigid Surly forks on for some time now. They're a brand of no nonsense practicality, longevity and top build quality. It was sounding like this might be the bike I was looking for, ideally suited for touring but would double up as my commuter and shopper.

On-line shopping list of components made, I reckon the full bike could be made for under £900, in this time of austerity it wasn't a place for local bike shop loyalty or sentimentality and at any rate I did try a Surly stockist but after a shop visit the impression was they didn't want to sell me a bike, but more of that later.

Gangly

This bike choice wasn't without its concerns, popular opinion said the bike was heavy but still a great ride and very reliable. Some of the pictures of this bike just looked plain wierd, like a gangly geeky school kid. Tall frame with loads of head tube spacers and wheels which looked tiny, maybe better suited to the circus?

Frameset

Touring bike frame geometry and sizing were unknown to me, I had in the stable 2 MTB's and a road bike but touring bikes were different, the LHT more so than some. Tall head tube, long seat tubes, long chain stays and according to some a relatively short top tube. Tall head tubes means more upright riding position for comfort but with drop bars for a more aero position if up against a head wind. Long chain stays at 46cm and low bottom bracket thus making a long seat tube, means stability when it comes to load carrying. The long chain stays bring two qualities, since the rear wheel is further back this means any weight on the rear pannier rack should be in front of the rear axle so no matter how much weight you put on it this won't make the front wheel light as the weight is between both wheel axles thus spreading the load between the two. This front end lightening was a trait my converted MTB exhibited, somewhat frightening when carrying the weekly shopping. The long chain stays also offers plenty of heal clearance for those panniers.

The Surly LHT frame is made from double butted 4130 cro-mo steel. Not the most exotic material. From what I can gather probably equivalent to Reynolds 520 more commonly found in the UK. Essentially pretty standard quality steel frame building material and certainly a step above the cheap and nasty high tensile steel found at the supermarkets. 4130 Cro-mo isn't light either but the double butted profiling meaning the tubes are thinner in the centres and thicker at the ends ensures the frame is strong where needed and saves weight where it's not. This profiling also means the frame feels nicer to ride as the frame has a little give in the right places. The frame weight at 3.3kg is comparable with other touring frames such as the Galaxy so not an issue unless you're expecting something similar to a road race bike.

Back to sizing..
The Surly web site has detailed geometry err.. details .The LHT comes in sizes every 2cm apart starting at 46cm right up to 64cm so there should be something for everyone depending on your inside leg measurement. The frames are available for 26" wheels and the 56cm+ sizes also available for 700c wheels. The reasoning being that with the smaller frames to keep the same stable geometry there would be a risk of toe overlap with larger 700c wheels.  This is where your foot comes into contact with the front wheel when pedalling round a corner. So the smaller frames are 26" wheel only.

Comparing measurements with my other bikes helped me get into the right ball park, 54/56/58cm looked where I needed to be. I was also keen to get the 700c wheels, mainly because I thought the bike looked better, but also because in the UK there's a wider range of tyres suitable for touring and 700c wheels would give a smoother ride, rolling over bumps better. I located the nearest stockist for Surly bikes and after a telephone conversation discussing what I wanted it was decided a shop visit was in order to measure up. I took along my road bike and was told this was a 54cm frame although slightly different to the Long Haul trucker as previously mentioned geometry differences. The shop didn't have a 'trucker' in stock to sit on but a mock up of a similar touring frame concluded that a 54cm frame was required, this meant 700c wheels were out and it would have to be 26" wheels at this size. The shop owner agreed that the 26" frames could look a bit odd and would rather not sell me something I might not be keen on, perhaps not the best salesman, but honest I guess. At this point my dreams were slightly in tatters, what to do?
More internet searching, pondering over LHT pictures showed the smaller 26" frames looked OK and in proportion and only the larger ones exhibiting gangliness. The 54cm just about being the limit in my eyes, so I took the gamble. Really it should just be about the ride handling but no-one wants an ugly steed do they?

The build
The finer sizing would wait until the frame arrived maybe if it was no good I could always return it. I ordered the 'smoggy pearl' colour, like battleship grey but in a pearlescent finish. Understated, individual and not likely to stand out and shout steal me I hope. Out of the box the quality lived up to expectations, tidy welds, good paint finish. Surly have a different attitude though when it comes to decals. They aren't lacquered over so are susceptible to damage or as Surly put it easy to remove if unwanted. I can see where they are coming from decals saying "fatties fit fine" meaning wide tyres up to 2" can be fitted to the frame aren't what I want. A gentle scrape with plastic credit card as advised by Surly soon makes things more minimalistic.

outside the box?

My garage and exisiting bikes provided me with seatposts and stems to try out for size. I stuck in a standard 1" layback seatpost and a 100cm stem with 5 degree rise with a few spacers and some MTB wheels.

 I was instantly surprised how glove like the fit was, it was an instant hit, a keeper for certain. So a similar seatpost was ordered  the same length stem with a bit more rise at 17 degrees in order to reduce the number of those ugly headtube spacers!
Time to get the rest of that component list purchased.
For the drivetrain, dependable and good value Shimano Deore rear mech, with hollowtech II cranks & external bottom bracket nowadays. 26/36/48 teeth triple chainrings and MTB 11-34T cassette, plenty of gears for pulling that extra weight up steep hills and still a good top end. Coupling this all together a Sram P951 chain, just because I like the easy split capability of the power-link. Shifting at the front end would be taken care of by Shimano Sora 9spd in 2013. Gone are the thumb levers on the brake shifter combo as are the higher up their range . To take care of stopping duties I again I chose shimano cantilevers, CX-50's. These were mounted on some widely well rated FSA Vero compact drop bars. Shimano pedals M324's were taken off my commuter along with a charge spoon cro-mo railed saddle and SKS cromoplastic mudguards.

test ride time

Not looking too bad though I don't think, in my opinion even better in reality. The photo still makes the wheels looks a little small but this isn't the case up close and personal.

Time for a test ride, to sort out those drop bar angles, the stem hasn't arrived yet, no bar tape yet  until I get the riding position sorted and I still have my old wheels and tyres borrowed from my MTB commuter.

Initial riding is good, relaxed geometry for that all day comfort and relatively high handlebars compared to a standard road race bike. I aimed for the top of the bars to be the same height as the saddle to get a fairly upright position but still having the drops available should I need to get my profile lower in a headwind. After short testing and when the rest of my parts arrived a few adjustments were made. Due to the higher rise stem the bars were levelled from what is seen in the photo and the brake levers moved up around the bars a little but that was about it, everything sorted soem comfy gel cork bar tape applied.
In the wheel department I didn't want to go crazy with overbuilding things such seems the way with many touring bike builds I've read about. Although the Long Haul Trucker is quite capable over carrying massive loads my touring weight is likely to be around 15kg and I'm a bit of a lightweight myself. With this in mind I could choose some relatively light wheels so the bike would still be lively and a joy to ride when commuting. Mavic 317's laced to Shimano XT hubs with DT swiss competition double butted spokes, tyres in a similar vane Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's, lighter than the regular marathon's, better rolling but still with some puncture protection. Only time will tell if this thinking is wise.



Video

I have may first attempt at a bit of film making, I recently bought a GoPro Hero 2 camera for taking video footage "hands free" while cycling, climbing or any or my other outdoor pursuits, shame it didn't arrive for the trip to Scotland, but I took it on one of my regular Thursday night bike rides for a try out footage can be seen on youtube on the below link.

Thursday night ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caGY41d_lGA

It gets bit grainy as time goes on due to low light conditions, I've tried to compensate by increasing the brightness during editing which helps a little but only a certain amount of brightness adjustment can be used before loss of picture quality is experienced.

More camera trials to follow at some point, as soon as it stops raining !

Loch Etive Easter 2012

The start for this route was at Glencoe which has many accommodation options. The Red Squirrels campsite was our choice which was adequate, a little basic but clean and pleasant enough. The gents facilities were brand new but the fact they were housed in a portacabin type unit meant they were a little cramped and although I couldn't comment on the ladies facilities they were an older unit so I doubt better. As I said adequate but I wouldn't be taking the family for a summer holiday anytime soon, maybe it was the weather conditions t the time which were somewhat damp on arrival. This site does have the facilities for open fires though, if that's to your liking, however I'm not sure the Scottish weather favours sitting round the camp fire in the evening, although in summer could keep the midges at bay. Other options are a SYHA an independent hostel, various B&B's a couple of miles away in Glencoe village itself or rooms at the Clachaig Inn, a fine pub boasting several real ales and somewhat more single malts (250 was the boast) and frequented by many outdoors types in the "boots bar" however lacking a bit of local influence and charm for my liking.

Weapon of choice for the bike ride was my Cotic Soul and lightweight camping kit, along with provisions for 3 days, but more about these elsewhere.

Day 1 would take the A82 out of Glencoe east as a warm up then onto the West Highland Way at the first option as an off road taster, providing you can dodge the oncoming long distance walker traffic. This takes you past the Kingshouse Hotel an alternative starting point then following the WHW across the A82 toward the Glen Coe ski centre which offers a brief climb before the long and fast decent on the old military road toward Bridge of Orchy but taking a right turn beforehand at the Victoria bridge to head west down Glen Kinglass.

Welcoming the relief after leaving the bone jarring military road the estate road into Glen Kinglass is easy going at first and noticeably quieter now off the well trodden path of the West Highland Way. This is where the adventure really starts and there's even a warning sign to tell you you're heading into remote countryside.

Due to the melting snow the going was wet and after about a mile we came to a fork where we opted for the double track through Clashgour farm rather than the submerged footpath, a good choice at the time but note you are advised to dismount and walk for 400m through the farm. The next challenge is a stile over an 8ft deer fence a bit of a bog trot followed by a river ford, which is rideable but approach with caution depending on river levels.

The next river crossing is serviced by a rather smart suspension footbridge before the undulating track begins to flow again round the south of Loch Dochard. Its worth noting that after an interesting stone slab pavement section another river crossings required. This suspension bridge is in poor repair and it might be worth wading across if you unsure about the bridge.

After this crossing the landrover estate track returns and along with it a little more speed and fun. The road services Glenkinglass lodge however this is no indication you're near a built up area as we cycled for what seemed like forever at least another 10km, on good track though, to where the glen meets Loch Etive. A quick look around and we pitched tents for the night, feeling like we'd done plenty for one day.

Day 2 began with calm air and blue skies, Loch Etive mill pond still, the mirror finish only broken by a boat carrying a load from the forestry logging operation to the north. A look across the Loch showed where we planned to spend the 2nd night out with another long day ahead to get there, although most of this day would be on tarmac.

There was an option of more off road to the south of Loch Nant, but due to time constraints we opted for cycle route 78 along the minor roads, traffic free and easy riding with still good views. Then a detour into Oban for a bite to eat before heading out on the old road north adjacent to the railway to cross the Loch mouth at Connel and make our way back along the northern Loch Etive shore back into the wilderness.

As the skies blackened and the rain started, we left the tarmac only stopping to fill up with water at one of the burns, quickly setting off again we nearly missed Cadderlie bothy which we intended to take at look at. A quick U turn we noticed smoke coming out of the chimney and after opening the door we were met with greetings of I'll get a brew on shall I? The wood fire already on the go, after sitting down briefly it was hard to leave, were staying the night.

The chap already resident at Cadderlie bothy, Jay, had been staying there a few nights, breaking himself in for the year. He told us he was trying to get to know his country and spent the month March to November roaming the highlands living off the land. So much for our wee adventure this man was doing it pretty much full time, choosing to exist outside of our society as we know it. Obviously a man without commitments like us, living the dream ? Probably not.

Still the Bothy was a fine one, tidy and well kept, 3 rooms in total, 2 with fire places, the middle set up with a bunk bed which we took. All particularly nicely wood cladded, even a book shelf on the wall and cupboard standing in as the larder, although the usual bothy furniture was a bit unforgiving after a couple of days in the saddle.
Day 3 began at first light, the sun rising above the mountains the other side of Loch Etive in the clear blue sky, breakfast was had, bikes loaded for the final days riding and bothy floor swept to do our bit in keeping with the Bothy code. A little uncertainty lay ahead, the map denoted the path as single track for some 6 miles, usually a sign of much walking ahead. A chat with a couple of locals along the way had confirmed as much with talk of "ooh no you won't cycle that". But we were used to it, many Scottish cycling epics come with sections of bog trotting with progress only able by foot. Then once clear of the singletrack long the loch side we were then onto quite a long stretch on the minor road out of Glen Etive before reaching the main road through Glen Coe.

Progress was good along the double track which entered the forest and after what seemed not very far at a clearing the gravel surfacing finished and the path became a little more overgrown. We were expecting it to disappear altogether and the walking to start however we were pleasantly surprised as the track only narrowed a little and became a fantastic ribbon like stretch of near singletrack bliss, always undulating as it dipped across dry burn gullies some of the uphills a struggle with one or two ending as a quick push but all in all probably the best bit of riding for the whole trip. Maybe the locals were just trying to ward us off to keep this track to themselves.

Finally the path reached the forest edge and there started the sodden grass and inevitable bog land we were expecting however this was for a mere 400m which after getting down to the loch shore line could be easily avoided and the shoreline provided the ideal stopping point for a snack before carrying on. Back on the bikes, past the logging operation and mobile landing jetty, we were back on tarmac following the gentle uphill gradient winding our way up the glen following the river which was the popular playground for kayakers but this signalled the end of this years epic as all that followed once on the A82 was the long fast tarmac downhill out of the wilderness and back to civilisation. Still at least they served good beer!

The Soul

The Start

After the annual Easter highland mountain bike adventure the idea was put in my head to make a record of this and for similar trips so the blog is born to share some of my thoughts, experiences and views.

The name comes from my very first trip to the highlands where I woke in the small hours to remember my spd equiped cycling shoes were still at home some 350 miles away. An early morning dash 60 mile each way ensued to the nearest cycle shop where the problem was rectified with an unscheduled purchase. What followed was a trip which gave me an experience of a lifetime.