Skip to main content

Surly LHT

I am going to digress from photography for a minute.  Last night I picked up my new Surly Long Haul Trucker from Saturday Cycles.  (http://www.saturdaycycles.com/).  This morning was my first day to ride it to work.  Here are a few thoughts.

Mark and Steve and Saturday Cycles were outstanding!  A great couple of guys and a great bike shop.  I got fantastic advice and outstanding service.  They sell the stuff that the rest of the bike shops won't sell.   After talking with Mark last night, it seems that his business model is working well.  Sell great steel framed commuter, touring, mountain, and comfort bikes with all the accessories and only be open on Saturdays (except by appointment).  Who would have thought that would work?  Thanks Mark!

Now on to the bike.  I did the whole thing up in black.  Here are a couple of pictures:



First Impressions: 
  • Very comfortable!  Nice riding and pedaling position. 
  • Most people have never seen a bike like this.  Basically it is half way between a mountain bike and a road bike. I like to think that this bike is to cycling what the KLR650 is to motorcycling.  
  • Plenty of gears.  The XT setup is smooth and works great.  I'm not sure what anyone would use the lowest gear for.  There is plenty of gear at the top end as well. 
  • I had Mark change the handlebars out.  The stock ones were not very ergonomic. Much nicer.
  • The seat is OK.  It is a WTB mountain bike seat.  I think I will swap it out sometime in the future, but for now it will be fine.  They have some Brooks saddles in the store.  A bit pricey, but Mark said they are well worth the money.  Maybe I'll get one for Christmas. :)
  • I added fenders, a rear rack, water bottle cages, panniers, Shimano dual sided pedals (very nice!), and a light set.  Mark gave me a great deal on all the accessories and he installed everything when he built up the bike.  Wow!  Where else would you get that kind of treatment?  I also pulled the pump and my under seat pack for tools/tubes off my mountain bike.
  • Great brakes!  The first time I grabbed a fist full of brake, it surprised me a bit. 
  • Wheels.  They are heavy, but rock solid.  Lots of spokes.  The tires on the bike roll well.  I was worried about the size of the tires, but they provide a smooth and comfortable ride. 
  • The bar end shifters are going to take some getting used to. 
  • I have one nit-picky gripe.  I don't like the routing of the shifter cables.  I may have to change it.
  • This morning after I had it loaded up with my clothes, lunch and work stuff, I picked up the bike.  Yes, it is heavy.  I'm pretty sure I was over 40 pounds loaded up.  However, when you get on and start riding it doesn't seem that heavy.  I rolls nice, tracks well and cruises along at a nice pace.  I did notice the extra weight as I climbed the hill to work this morning.  I look at it this way.  I could spend another thousand dollars trying to drop 10 pounds off my bike, or I could leave the 10 pounds on my bike and drop 10 pounds off my gut.   
Bottom line. After the first ride, it seems like a great bike.  This bike is rock solid.  Well suited for the task of commuting 18+ miles each day. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marking Scriptures in Gospel Library

The other day as I was reading my scriptures and using a few of the available colors to do some highlights when I realized that I wasn't fully utilizing the entire pallet of colors. In the Gospel Library app there are 10 colors available.  Each of these colors can be used in the underline, highlight, or text color mode.  I asked extended family what they do and one of my niece's responded with this color code: Red- doctrine Orange- clarifications or explanations of doctrine Yellow- commandments and specific instructions Purple- promised blessings and how to attain them Grey- power phrases Blue- favorites Dark blue- ones with a deeper meaning (I always attach a note with a dark blue)  Pink- examples of Gods love/charity Brown-specific for our day Green - Not used This "Come, Follow Me" color code seems to be all over Pinterest.  I'm not sure where it came from, but it is based on the 12 colors in a small box of crayons. Here is a color coding

Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?

It is time for the showdown.  Which one is best: Bajio, Cafe Rio, or Costa Vida?  Or is it (as was my opinion) that they are all exactly the same? I decided to do a taste test.  Six people participated.  Three were salad testers and three were burrito testers.  None of the people who participated have any food judging experience although a couple of them have competed in cooking contests and have a couple of first place finishes to their name.   Each couple went to a different restaurant and picked up a Sweet Pork Salad and an Steak Burrito to go.  We ordered each salad with black beans and their creamy green dressing (whatever they happened to call it).  The steak burritos were ordered enchilada style with black beans. Then we all met at a central location and judged each dish on the following: Value Score = Weight (oz)/Cost($) Overall Appeal (visual appeal, aroma, garnish) Recipe (Cooking, ingredient combination, too moist or dry) Taste (Flavor combination, Seasoning, Texture

No, I am not a vegan

Why I'm not a vegan (or a vegetarian for that matter).  After my previous post about the Word of Wisdom , I felt I should write an additional post covering this topic.  First, the word "vegetarian" means nothing.  There are so many levels, tangents, and offshoots of vegetarianism that applying the label to yourself or anyone only causes confusion.   Some vegetarians eat dairy, some don't.  Some eat fish, some don't.  Some eat eggs, some don't.  Some are weekday vegetarians, and some only honor meatless Monday.  And the list goes on and on.  Labeling yourself as a vegetarian is simply a label that brings on a confusing discussion.  So, I don't use it.   I'm not a vegan either.  You see, vegans typically fall into three categories: - They are in it for their own good health - They are doing it to be kind to animals, promote animal rights, avoid animal cruelty, etc.  - They are doing it do save the planet The trouble with many vegans