[LEL17] Bike advice please

[canuckystan]

I'm building a long distance commuter bike - Surly Disc Trucker with cyo dynamo, handbuilt lightweight tubeless wheels, schwalbe g-one tubeless tires, indexed downtube 10 spd shifting, etc.  I'm thinking of using this bike for LEL vs. my Miyata 1000 brevet bike that has heavy original touring wheels, 6 spd freewheel, friction shifting, no dynamo lighting.  Upgrading the Miyata for one event doesn't seem smart (and I like the original components). 

Am I nuts to ride LEL on the disc trucker as described?

[caerau]

Sounds positively modest compared to what some round these parts will be riding.

[jon.pavelin]

I have just built a kinesis gf ti disc if you want a guide of whether you're being excessive or not.

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[mr ben]

How long is your commute? 

[caerau]

Well from the forum name, I guess Canadian commutes can get longer thanis traditional  in the UK 

[canuckystan]

50km daily commute.

[igauk]

Run what ya brung! But the Surly sounds like a sensible choice.

[dim]

I'm new to cycling and my 1st bike was a Surly LHT with 26 inch wheels

The intention was to customise the Surly with racks, panniers, mudguards, dynamo lights etc so as to do long Audax rides and LeJog

I used the Surly for several months (mainly for commuting 35-45km/day) and soon realized that it was way too heavy and slow ..... Very comfortable and I would class it as more of a touring type bike to go camping with etc. I had a Gilles Berthoud Aravis sadlle and Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tyres fitted

I sold the Surly for a small profit, and am currently using a Specialized S-Works transition with fully Campagnolo Chorus groupset as my daily commuter and for longer rides. I also own a Giant TCR which I use on occasional Sunday rides.

I'm seriously considering adding a dynamo hub and lights to my S-Works with a handlebar bag and saddle bag and using that for Audax .... it fits me like a glove, super comfy for long rides and it's quick (approx 5km/hr+ faster than the Surly on flats using the same effort, and a lot faster on hills and headwind)



I briefly owned a Koga Miyata RoadChamp for a few weeks but the frame was a bit too big for me ..... That would make a superb bike for Audax as it weighed just under 8kg, could accomdate mudguards and wider tyres





 

[Oscar's dad]

I have a 700c Disc Trucker and I love it.   Yes, it is a heavy bike but it doesn't ride like one.  I have two sets of wheels, one for heavy duty touring with beefy tyres and a lighter wheelset (lighter rims, fewer spokes, lighter tyres) for ordinary riding.  Swapping between wheelsets makes a huge difference, it's like having two bikes.

I haven't ridden LEL or PBP but have done 100+ mile days on the bike, sometimes fully loaded and see no reason why you shouldn't use your Disc Trucker on LEL.  On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

[P Walsh]

I have a 700c Disc Trucker and I love it.   Yes, it is a heavy bike but it doesn't ride like one.  I have two sets of wheels, one for heavy duty touring with beefy tyres and a lighter wheelset (lighter rims, fewer spokes, lighter tyres) for ordinary riding.  Swapping between wheelsets makes a huge difference, it's like having two bikes.

I haven't ridden LEL or PBP but have done 100+ mile days on the bike, sometimes fully loaded and see no reason why you shouldn't use your Disc Trucker on LEL.  On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

I've no specific knowledge of either bike but so long as the wheels used are not heavy, a frame that is a bit heavy should not be a significant disadvantage.

[Oscar's dad]

I have a 700c Disc Trucker and I love it.   Yes, it is a heavy bike but it doesn't ride like one.  I have two sets of wheels, one for heavy duty touring with beefy tyres and a lighter wheelset (lighter rims, fewer spokes, lighter tyres) for ordinary riding.  Swapping between wheelsets makes a huge difference, it's like having two bikes.

I haven't ridden LEL or PBP but have done 100+ mile days on the bike, sometimes fully loaded and see no reason why you shouldn't use your Disc Trucker on LEL.  On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

I've no specific knowledge of either bike but so long as the wheels used are not heavy, a frame that is a bit heavy should not be a significant disadvantage.

That's my experience.  In heavy mode my DT with dynohub, lights, 'guards and rack is c18kg.  In lightweight mode with the same kit but the lighter wheelset its c16kg.

[tippers_kiwi]

I have a 700c Disc Trucker and I love it.   Yes, it is a heavy bike but it doesn't ride like one.  I have two sets of wheels, one for heavy duty touring with beefy tyres and a lighter wheelset (lighter rims, fewer spokes, lighter tyres) for ordinary riding.  Swapping between wheelsets makes a huge difference, it's like having two bikes.

You, Ordinary Riding....

I think when you say something like '.... it fits me like a glove, super comfy for long rides ' about a bike you are most of the way there, in your head you are comfy and what others might think is irrelevant as they may have a different idea of comfortable.

I finished building up a new bike shortly before PBP (Stainless Genesis Croix De Fer) and it rode beautifully on the 270km ride I did a couple of weeks prior to PBP. As I had built it from the ground up it all fitted well but I decided that I would ride PBP on my Domane as I knew that bike was good for the distance having used it for all my qualifying rides. Even on 23's it was a good bike for that distance and I had no real comfort issues.

[bobb]

On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

He did indeed - with not-really-very-light-at-all Mavic A719s shod with 37mm Marathons 

I do ride a lighter bike now, but most of the disadvantages of heavier bikes are all between your ears IME...

[dim]

On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

He did indeed - with not-really-very-light-at-all Mavic A719s shod with 37mm Marathons 

I do ride a lighter bike now, but most of the disadvantages of heavier bikes are all between your ears IME...

depends how old and frail you are, and how competitive you are  ....

I'm nearing 60 now, and my Surly LHT was just way too slow on long rides (especially on hills and in headwinds) .... at my age, a lighter faster bike is a ' must have' for long distances 

[mr ben]

50km daily commute.

Respect.

[canuckystan]

Was your LHT stock?  I'm building mine with light tubeless wheels.

On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

He did indeed - with not-really-very-light-at-all Mavic A719s shod with 37mm Marathons 

I do ride a lighter bike now, but most of the disadvantages of heavier bikes are all between your ears IME...

depends how old and frail you are, and how competitive you are  ....

I'm nearing 60 now, and my Surly LHT was just way too slow on long rides (especially on hills and in headwinds) .... at my age, a lighter faster bike is a ' must have' for long distances 

[dim]

Was your LHT stock?  I'm building mine with light tubeless wheels.

On of the mid-Essex crew, bobb to be precise, road the 2015 PBP on his 700c Long Haul Trucker and didn't report any problems.

He did indeed - with not-really-very-light-at-all Mavic A719s shod with 37mm Marathons 

I do ride a lighter bike now, but most of the disadvantages of heavier bikes are all between your ears IME...

depends how old and frail you are, and how competitive you are  ....

I'm nearing 60 now, and my Surly LHT was just way too slow on long rides (especially on hills and in headwinds) .... at my age, a lighter faster bike is a ' must have' for long distances 

mine was stock with 26 inch wheels .... lovely bike to ride, great for long distance but just a tad too slow compared to some other lighter bikes

I also bought an old 80's Bridgestone MB2 mountain bike and converted that with drop bars, and it was very similar to the Surly LHT (geometry wise, weight wise and speed wise):

look at what the guys are riding on Inypac ....  light bikes, 28 wide tyres, disk brakes etc .....

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/03/bikes-2017-indian-pacific-wheel-race/


 

[Oscar's dad]

I built my Disc Tricker up from a frame. Currently I'm running it with the heavy wheels but shod with 40mm Schwalbe Land Cruisers and no mudguards as we've been doing some Comedy Off-roading. The tyres roll nicely on tarmac and are reasonably grippy off-road but not very puncture resistant. Not that I'm overly bothered as I bought them cheap from Amazon.

[Ham]

I finished building up a new bike shortly before PBP (Stainless Genesis Croix De Fer) and it rode beautifully on the 270km ride I did a couple of weeks prior to PBP. As I had built it from the ground up it all fitted well

What tyres are you using on the Genesis?  I'm running 38s (as it came shod with) and it feels like a magic carpet ride to me. If you built it from the frameset yourself, I'm also curious what choices you made, especially for gearing.