Recommendations for a small touring bike

[Hartmame]

I agree with eofelis, I love my Surly!

"Don't let those LBS people bully you into thinking that it's a big hassle to change out gearing, because it's not a big deal. Sounds like they are just being lazy.
Any bike shop can order a Surly bike or frame. They are carried by QBP, which is a supplier for almost all bike shops. Just few LBS carry them. You can order a Surly yourself online too. Many places sell them mail order (Jensen, etc).
You can even get them through REI now too. Do you have an REI nearby?"

[Sky King]

1. NO YOU CANNOT ORDER A SURLY ONLINE - you can order a frame but not a complete bike. It is totally against SURLY policy to sell a Complete Bike online
2. Yes, anyone with a QBP account can order a Surly BUT do they have any idea how to fit a Surly or help you with your decisions (note the shops who discouraged you)
3. Yes, REI sells some Surly's but please see my comment in item 2 - we have had to "fix" and refit so many surly bike owners that got such a "great deal" at REI
4. When we sell a Frame online, we spend at least 30 minutes on the phone with the buyer before we ever ship the frame to make sure they made the correct size choice

Ok, just had to vent as we spend hours and hours blogging and discussing Surly, We stock Surly and pride ourselves as being Surly Savvy.

I agree with eofelis, I love my Surly!

"Don't let those LBS people bully you into thinking that it's a big hassle to change out gearing, because it's not a big deal. Sounds like they are just being lazy.
Any bike shop can order a Surly bike or frame. They are carried by QBP, which is a supplier for almost all bike shops. Just few LBS carry them. You can order a Surly yourself online too. Many places sell them mail order (Jensen, etc).
You can even get them through REI now too. Do you have an REI nearby?"

[happyscientist]

Sky king, you managed to suck me into your website. Like I need anymore distractions.

Anyway, if a bike shop doesn't want to deal with me, I don't want to deal with them. Unless I was stranded and had to take what I could get. So if the Surly dealers feel they have better things to do than work with me, I am not going to argue. REI is fine for some things, but my favorite LBS has an outdoor store, and there is a running store in town, so there is very little that I need to buy there.

I like to support small business and I love the idea of skilled master craftsman building a bike for me. It is far more appealing than some poor little kids in an Asian sweatshop. I don't get new-bikitis or feel the need to fill a stable, but I can see upgrading my roadbike in a few years or buying a touring bike in 2014. I might go the custom route for those.

[Sky King]

Happyscientist,
thanks for checking out our site. Custom bikes can be fantastic and look forward to hearing about your journey. The North American Handmade Bicycle Shop is terrific, 2013 is in Denver if you get there, is well worth it. While we have lived in Idaho 22 years we still consider Montana home and Carl Strong does make a beautiful bike. As you know, I ride a Rivendell and am horribly spoiled.

[Hartmame]

Sky king; I see what you mean by using a shop that knows what it's doing with sizing. Touring bikes fit differently than road bikes or race bikes. I did a lot of research before buying my LHT frame and talked to a guy who toured to figure out what I needed before I purchased my frame. Built it up myself and as far as I can tell only made one "sort of" mistake. I should have used shorter cranks. I was using parts I already had lying around though and used what I had. I rode 2000 miles this summer on them and they are OK just think on a longer tour shorter cranks would be more comfortable.

[rustyshrapnel]

I know there's already a lot of Surly love on this thread but I'd just like to add my 2 cents. My friend is a little shorty and has a 42" LHT. She LOVES it and says it fits great. Here's my friend (our other friend for scale, he's about 6"):



Aaand here's her LHT (we call it the MiniTrucker):



She said the moustache bars took a little getting used to but are comfy for her.

As for me, I'm 5'5" and love a good steel frame. My BF and I do long rides together and he's got a LHT that holds all our stuff, so I'm spoiled in that I can go very minimal on road trips since he's my built-in SAG. I was on a tighter budget so I picked up a ready-to-ride 1984 Nishiki mixte for $150 on Craigslist, which solved any "can I fit this top tube" issues, cleaned it up, and kitted it with a spanky new wheelset and cassette. It's certainly fast enough, very comfortable, and I did a 70 mile ride on it a couple weekends ago without my tush or any other parts of me complaining. If you're on a super tight budget, going vintage may be a good bang for your buck, and mixte frames are very short-lady friendly while still being strong and offering good ride quality.

[nuliajuk]

Don't know if this has been mentioned or not (I didn't go through the entire thread, as it's quite long) but the smallest Salsa Vaya models come with 26" wheels. This makes for a 50cm top tube, 74.5 degree seat tube angle and 69.8 cm(27.5") stand-over clearance on the smallest (50 cm) size. 26" wheels make so much sense for a small touring-type bike.
I spotted a 56cm Vaya in a local shop today and looked it up when I got home. Neat machine.
http://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_3