 |
| As on 11th November 2018 after initial set up |
After dilly dallying with the idea for months, today I finally pulled the trigger on a Surly LHT. After long discussions with various representatives from the store, I chose size 52 with 26 inch wheels. It's in colour silver grey. That's the only colour they have in my size. I would have loved the Khaki. But the silver is okay too.
The seller is Happy Earth of Bangalore. They are the India importers for Surly. Currently they are offering a 15 per cent discount on the regular price. It cost me a total of Rs 1.06 lakh.
A dream is born. I will one day go out with the bike to tour at least India, if not the world. I just hope it fits me well.
In case they should delete all this information from their website at some future date, let me copy the complete list of bike parts from the Surly website for posterity
As I realised, although Surly is an American company, most of its parts are sourced from Taiwan. Some parts are American and Japanese Shimano also has a strong presence.
Why I Bought The LHT
When I bought my first digital SLR, I was advised by a photographer friend of mine not to go for it but rather choose from one of the various compact cameras available in the market. I told him, "a camera must look like a camera and not a toy". The same logic applied to buying a bicycle. The cycle must look like a cycle. While I grew up on normal traditional Indian bicycles (with originally English design of the pre-world war), I always wanted a racing cycle. Possibly my father sowed those seeds of ambition in me. So I went for the Merida.
When I bought the Merida I wasn't too well aware of bicycle geometry and its impact on riding. I just wanted a bicycle that the Tour de France riders ride - or at least something that looked like one of those. So in came the road bike. It was my first bicycle with a dropped handlebar. I wasn't too comfortable riding it at first but soon got the hang of it and loved it.
But I soon realised that it is too aggressive a style of riding which cannot be sustained for long journeys.
I learnt that there is a type of cycle called touring cycles, that people use for long distance relaxed riding, often with big loads - which is my idea of a cycle ride. I remembered the old advertising slogan of Royal Enfield - why ride just a bike, when you can ride a legend. So, I went for the Surly Long Haul Trucker, which enjoys a cult status in the world of global cycle touring. I must confess here - if I had the money, I would've bought the Koga Miyata with Rohloff hub gear. But I cannot afford it. So, let that remain a secret dream till one day I land in Amsterdam with loads and loads of money and buy it. As of now it starts from euro 3400. So about Rs 2.38 lakh in Amsterdam. :-) Perhaps the model with my Rohloff gear will cost Rs 3 lakhs. So let's talk about something else please, like how pleasant the weather is in Calcutta this November.
Complete bike spec subject to change
Frameset
Sizes
26˝ wheel 42, 46, 50–62cm; 700c wheel 56–62cm
Frame
Surly Long Haul Trucker,, 100% Surly 4130 CroMoly steel. Main triangle double-butted. TIG-welded
Fork
Surly Long Haul Trucker, 4130 CroMoly, lugged and brazed. Proprietary sloping crown with threaded eyelets, tapered and butted curved blades with mid-blade rack eyelets, dual dropout eyelets
Seatpost clamp
Surly Stainless, 30.0mm (Surly stainless included)
Drivetrain
Crankset
Andel RSC6, 26/36/48t. Square taper interface. Silver
Bottom Bracket
Shimano UN-55, Square taper interface. 68 x 118mm
Front Derailleur
Shimano Deore T611-3, Silver
Rear Derailleur
Shimano XT-T780-L SGS, Black
Cog or Cassette
Shimano HG-50-10, 11–36t
Chain
KMC X10, Nickle plated
Components
Headset
Cane Creek 40, 1-1/8˝ threadless. Black
Brake
Tektro M730, silver
Brake Levers
Tektro RL520
Shifters
Microshift BS-M10 10-speed shifter, friction/index adjustable; Black
Stem
Kalloy AS-009, 26.0mm bar clamp. Aluminum. 4-bolt face. Silver
Handlebar
PMT, 26.0mm. Silver
Saddle
WTB Volt
Seatpost
Kalloy SP-368 non-offset [42-50cm]; Kalloy SP-248D offset [52-62cm], 27.2mm. 300mm. Silver
Extras
Kickstand Plate
Wheels
Hubs
Shimano LX T670. 36h, Silver
Rims (26")
Alex Adventurer 2 36h, black
Rims (700c)
Alex Adventurer 2 36h, black
Tires (26˝) 42–62cm
Continental Tour Ride, 26x1.75"
Tires (700c)
Continental Contact, 700c x 37mm
Frame Size
|
Stem Length
|
Stem Angle
|
Handlebar Width
|
Crank Length
|
42cm
|
75.0
|
35.0
|
400.0
|
165.0
|
46cm
|
75.0
|
35.0
|
400.0
|
165.0
|
50cm
|
75.0
|
35.0
|
400.0
|
170.0
|
52cm
|
90.0
|
17.0
|
420.0
|
170.0
|
54cm
|
100.0
|
17.0
|
420.0
|
170.0
|
56cm
|
100.0
|
17.0
|
440.0
|
175.0
|
58cm
|
110.0
|
17.0
|
440.0
|
175.0
|
60cm
|
120.0
|
17.0
|
460.0
|
175.0
|
62cm
|
120.0
|
17.0
|
460.0
|
175.0
The Geometry
|
26-inch Geometry
Switch to inches
| 42cm | 46cm | 50cm | 52cm | 54cm | 56cm | 58cm | 60cm | 62cm | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat Tube Length (Center-Top) | 420.0 | 460.0 | 500.0 | 520.0 | 540.0 | 560.0 | 580.0 | 600.0 | 620.0 | |
| Top Tube Length (Center-Center) | 492.7 | 508.4 | 525.4 | 535.0 | 549.7 | 564.5 | 580.3 | 594.8 | 603.8 | |
| Effective Top Tube Length (Center-Center) | 505.0 | 515.0 | 530.0 | 540.0 | 555.0 | 570.0 | 586.0 | 600.0 | 610.0 | |
| Head Tube Angle | 70.0˚ | 70.0˚ | 71.0˚ | 71.0˚ | 71.0˚ | 71.0˚ | 71.0˚ | 71.5˚ | 71.5˚ | |
| Seat Tube Angle | 75.0˚ | 74.5˚ | 74.0˚ | 73.5˚ | 73.0˚ | 73.0˚ | 72.5˚ | 72.5˚ | 72.0˚ | |
| BB Drop | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | 47.0 | |
| Chainstay Length | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | 460.0 | |
| Wheelbase | 1036.6 | 1042.7 | 1046.8 | 1053.1 | 1064.0 | 1079.8 | 1091.2 | 1100.4 | 1105.1 | |
| Standover Height | 702.1 | 723.2 | 756.1 | 774.5 | 792.4 | 811.9 | 829.7 | 847.9 | 866.6 | |
| Head Tube Length | 110.7 | 116.7 | 144.0 | 163.0 | 182.0 | 203.0 | 222.0 | 238.0 | 259.0 | |
| Fork Length | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | 376.0 | |
| Fork Offset | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | 45.0 | |
| Stack | 497.2 | 502.9 | 532.3 | 550.3 | 568.3 | 588.1 | 606.1 | 623.3 | 643.2 | |
| Reach | 367.2 | 371.3 | 374.5 | 374.6 | 379.4 | 388.3 | 393.5 | 402.5 | 400.5 |
All dimensions are preliminary and subject to change
* Standover is measured from the top of the TT, at the center, with a tire measuring approximately Ø628 or 690mm
No comments:
Post a Comment