Quote Originally Posted by captenaj View Post
I think I may end up ignoring the tour organizer's recommendation on tires. When I first tried the Giant OCR1W I thought it felt great. I tried it again today, went about 10-12 miles, and it wasn't so great. My hands were hurting a bit. Could it be that I am just not used to drops?

So I'm back to thinking about the Surly LHT. It was one of the first bikes I tried and I think it has been the most comfortable. The specs say "Crankarms:Sugino XD600:48-36-26t, silver." Others on this forum are recommending "50-40-30" I think. Is it better have smaller numbers or larger?

The tires on the LHT are supposed to be 26" by 1.5". How does the 1.5" translate into the 28c terminology? I know it's not just converting mm to inches.

The other bike I'm considering is the Specialized Sequoia Elite. I haven't ridden one yet but there is a LBS that has one in my size. Any opinions?

Thanks for all the feedback. It's been invaluable.
If you are going with 26 inch wheels, the 48-36-26 combination will be just dandy. That's a nice mix for that size of a wheel. As mentioned, you won't have much for going downhill, but, well, 30, 40 and 60 all basically feel the same anyway.

On the tire sizing mystery, I can't say anymore about comparing sizes because the whole system is a bloody mess. I know what sizes I like and buy those.

The Right Honorable Sheldon Brown has this page on the topic

The DW's bike has 26x1.5 and they seem to work pretty well. Wide enough to be comfy but not so wide that it feels like a tractor tire.

The sequoia elite. I'd say this bike would be ok for doing centuries, but not much more.

It doesn't have any way to attach fenders. Not highly recommended on a touring bike. Clip on fenders like the race blades are known to wear grooves in carbon fiber forks and seat stays. Plus, they aren't really secure and will probably drive you batty.

No way to attach racks other than the seat post. If the seat post weren't carbon fiber, that wouldn't be a show stopper.

The gearing is basically ok.

The tires are too narrow and I'm not sure you could get anything larger than a 700x25 on those rims. 700x25 are probably not the best option for touring.

I have other issues with the bike, but it's basically my personal biases against gel seats, carbon fiber and my dislike for the way the front wheel is built.