Long Haul Trucker Cassette Question

[Catrin]

Checking out the specs for the Long Haul Trucker, the following is noted for the cassette:

Shimano Deore, CS-HG53. 9-speed. 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34t

Is this closer to road or mountain gearing? I don't yet understand the differences. My 7.6, of course, has road gearing. I think I would prefer disk brakes, but that isn't a deal breaker :) I DO like that they they include small hand brake levers on my size!

[Cataboo]

That's closer to mountain gearing.. Or rather, that is a mountain bike rear cassette... So it will be easier to get up hills. they do that with"touring bikes" because you're likely to be carrying weight on the bike and you need some smaller gears to be able to deal with that.

People that live in very hilly or mountainous areas sometimes put a mountain bike rear cassette on a bike as well.

If you look you at your trek and you count the teeth of the largest cog in the back, that'll tell you what size cassette you have - you probably have something like an 11-25 cassette. So the smallest gear you can get into on the back is a 25 tooth cog. The largest cogs they make for road bikes is 27 or 28 teeth (depending shimano or sram... there is a company that makes bigger cogs for road bikes, but then you usually have to change your rear derailleur to a mountain bike one and it's a third party company)

[Tuckervill]

I think this is a good one (http://www.8-track-shack.com/cw-mccall-the-best-of-cw-mccall-p-43612.html?osCsid=bb82af6c937edbcbfcf6635dc0ff091d)

[Chicken Little]

i think this is a good one (http://www.8-track-shack.com/cw-mccall-the-best-of-cw-mccall-p-43612.html?oscsid=bb82af6c937edbcbfcf6635dc0ff091d)

haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

[bikerHen]

I think this is a good one (http://www.8-track-shack.com/cw-mccall-the-best-of-cw-mccall-p-43612.html?osCsid=bb82af6c937edbcbfcf6635dc0ff091d)

I have to admit that I just love some of those songs. :o Wolf Creek Pass is just about the funniest song ever! Convoy is a close second!

. . . back to the LHT, the 11-34 rear cassette is perfectly suited for touring. It will get you up and down a mountain pass in style. Definitly mountain gearing but that's what you want when your pedaling yourself and your gear over a 6000' mountain pass! :p bikerHen

[Catrin]

I have to admit that I just love some of those songs. :o Wolf Creek Pass is just about the funniest song ever! Convoy is a close second!

. . . back to the LHT, the 11-34 rear cassette is perfectly suited for touring. It will get you up and down a mountain pass in style. Definitly mountain gearing but that's what you want when your pedaling yourself and your gear over a 6000' mountain pass! :p bikerHen

Thanks - that is what I wanted to know! It also tells me that this would be the bike to take when I go to East Tennessee to visit my family - not my Trek 7.6 :p

[eofelis]

I have full XT mtn bike gearing with an 11-34 cassette on my LHT. I live in Colorado. We have a few hills here. If you are going to do any climbing at all on a loaded bike, I recommend a mtn bike crankset with a 22-tooth chainring. I have used my lowest gears (22-34) many, many times, and not just on Red Mountain Pass (~11,000ft). My loaded bike weighs 75-80lbs. (I only weigh 110lbs.)

Some friends of ours just got complete LHT bikes and the Boy is helping them build them up. Then the Boy decided he wanted a complete LHT, so he ordered one. He swapped out a lot of parts and now has a full XT mtn bike set up on his too.

Happy to answer any LHT questions you have. Got 4 of them on hand here!


FWIW, I will be riding Wolf Creek Pass this June in the Bicycle Tour of Colorado (7 day road bike supported tour). We'll be riding it from Pagosa Springs. I've driven it in my car. It's a freakin' wall! gah. I have an 11-34 cassette on my road bike too! My low gear on it is a 30-34.

[Catrin]

Checking the specs of the LHT, I find the following:

Front Derailleur Shimano Tiagra, FD-4403 triple
Rear Derailleur Shimano XT, RD-M761 SGS long cage
Cassette Shimano Deore, CS-HG53. 9-speed. 11-13-15-17-20-23-26-30-34t
Crankset Andel, Forged arms, Silver. Aluminum rings, 110mm BCD, 48-36-26t

I understand from Catriona that this is a mountain bike rear cassette. Is this a full mountain bike setup, or something else? I hope my question is clear, this is new enough to me that it is hard to know how to word my question :o

I live in Indiana. Central Indiana is FLAT with the occasional bump they call a hill. However, there are places I really want to ride in southern Indiana that DO have hills, and of course there is also East Tennessee :) I already have a bike suited to Central Indiana, Stella is great for flat roads!

I am quite sure that the as-of-yet-unnamed LHT will also get to go on flat roads just for the sheer fun of long rides on a steel steed... so I just want to understand what the stock gearing is so I can make an informed decision on whether to keep the stock components or not.

Surly Pacer, thanks for your kind words (and everyone else). I made a good purchase with Stella, she is a great bike. I want, however, to understand more about what I am buying this time :p

[eofelis]

I think the LHT set up you described will be just fine for the riding you will be doing. You can always change things out in the future.

Personally, I think the complete LHT is the best deal out there for a complete touring bike. It has the nicest set up. I got my LHT frame before they offered a complete bike, but if I was shopping for a touring bike right now I'd get a complete LHT, no contest.

[KnottedYet]

That is a lovely range of gears. Good for going up hills with a loaded bike, and good for cruising at a nice pace with an unloaded bike on the flat.

It's easier to change chainrings and cassettes than you might think. I've done it on two of my bikes, it's no big deal and if you can't do the wrenching yourself it's not too expensive, either.

Take the stock (it's a very nice range) and ride it lots. Maybe you'll even ride the drivetrain to bits like Bikerhen did with her Surly LHT. (she did several thousand miles on it before that happened). You'll get a feel for how you like to ride, and maybe you'll want to tweak your gearing a bit a while later. It's simple to do. (cost me about $20 to pop a smaller chainring on my Surly CC, and that includes the cost of the ring)

[Ritamarie]

So, Catrin... I'm wondering why the LHT over the CC?

I had originally called the LBS because I wanted to try the LHT but ended up with a Cross Check. What they told me is that the LHT is ideal for touring especially if you are going to load it down front and back. The CC can do lighter touring and will certainly handle rear panniers (not front panniers), but be more versatile for other things, a better all-rounder. When we tour, we always stay in hotels, so rear panniers are plenty. The CC is certainly a more solid bike than I've toured on before.

I'm sure others can comment on the comparison of the two better than I, but something to consider.

[KnottedYet]

Ritamarie - did you feel a large difference in flavor between the rides of the two bikes? I was all set to go after a LHT, but rode a CC first. I fell so deeply into wild and passionate love with the CC that I never got around to riding an LHT.

I'd love to know more about your experience comparing the two bikes!

(I'm actually afraid to ride an LHT now, because I already have more bikes than I really need and if I fall in love again.... uh oh.)

[Ritamarie]

I fell so deeply into wild and passionate love with the CC that I never got around to riding an LHT.

lol, me too! Never rode the LHT. Only because after telling the LBS what I was looking for they steered me to the CC, and it made sense, so that's what I tried and loved. So I had them put a triple and straight bars on the CC.

[Ritamarie]

I have to say though, there is something positively romantic about the LHT. ;-)

[Catrin]

The geometry of the LHT seems a closer fit than the CC - though that is a good note about the CC being able to do lighter touring.

KnottedYet and Surly Pacer, thanks for your comments on the gearing. The information is very helpful. It is also good to know that it is easy to adjust gears later if I need to do so.

I probably need to test ride BOTH the LHT and CC - I did note that the stem angle on the CC is 85 while my current bike (and the LHT) is 75. What is the impact of that?

[KnottedYet]

Generally it means the bike with the steeper head tube will be a bit more responsive.

It is almost entirely a subjective experience, something you want to try yourself.

In general a slacker head tube will be a bit more steady and predictable.

Again, very subjective. What feels responsive and lively to one person may feel twitchy and frightening to another. And what one person feels is smooth and like butter may feel sluggish to another.

Ride both. You'll fit the 42 or 46 LHT and probably a 42 CC. If you have to make a road trip to a shop with the bikes in stock, it might be worth it in order to get a test ride on each.

EDIT: WHOOOPS! I answered the wrong question! I was thinking about head tubes, and not about stem angle. Basically stem angle means nothing when comparing between bikes. It's about placement of the bars relative to the saddle. It's one of those things that will be different eight ways from Sunday depending on the geometry of the bike and the geometry of your body when it is happy. You change the angle, reach, height, length, color, flavor, personality of the stem to bring the bars closer or farther or higher or lower. One of those almost infinitely adjustable kinds of things. I've changed stems on two of my bikes. No biggie. (It's one of those fine tuning the fit things, like changing your saddle or its position.)

[Chicken Little]

Not to steal a thread, but why is it nobody's going for the Pacer? I curious, because the minute the ole' tax return comes in, I'm heading for Surlyville!

[KnottedYet]

Several people on TE have Pacers. I bet if you start a Pacer thread they'll jump right on!

Catrin is looking for info about Long Haul Truckers because she's considering them after being bitten by the Salsa Fargo bug... but the Fargo doesn't come small enough.

So, I think we're tending to talk about the two bikes she's got questions about in her thread (LHT and CC), but we certainly don't intend to ignore all the other Surly sweetness!

Mmmmm, Surly.... :D

[Catrin]

I could go to Surly land NOW...if I didn't need to pay for a personal training package... It is THAT work that helps get me in shape for cycling without giving myself a heart attack :)

The Pacer is beautiful, but I am not looking for a road bike. Salsa broke my heart by not making the Fargo small enough, as Knotted mentioned, so I am rebounding to Surly though I was already curious about both the LHT and CC.

[bikerHen]

Not to steal a thread, but why is it nobody's going for the Pacer? I curious, because the minute the ole' tax return comes in, I'm heading for Surlyville!

I SOOOOOO want a Pacer! Every winter I think about selling my road bike and buying a Pacer. But then spring rolls around and I start riding it and it really is a lovely ride. "sigh" What's a girl to do? If I would quit pouring money into my LHT maybe I could save for another bike. Just got it back from the shop with it's new drivetrain and handle bar tape . . . it is a smoking hot machine!:D bikerHen

[Catrin]

It doesn't look like I will be able to find a small enough LHT or CC within driving distance to try out. If that doesn't change, then I will go with the one with the closest geometry that fits my measurements - and that would be the LHT.

How does the LHT do on long rides unloaded? I don't care about winning races, but I do care about being able to go far enough without getting rattled around :)