gplhl wrote:Si wrote:Although, not that I've really counted, but I think I see more Thorns than Surlys on the road.
I've still seen more SLHT on the road. Especially in Africa. Thorns are great... Unless you want something built not in their standard setup. I spent ages trying to get a thorn with disc brakes and drop bars and it couldn't be done so I went down the disc trucker route, it's been fantastic for my long bike ride. As for aesthetics, when it's loaded to the hilt you can hardly see the bike, it's all bags..
Gary
http://www.longbikeride.co.uk
I've toured on a LHT for years, but it was a size too big. I thought a lot recently about a better fit, and went down the Thorn Club Tour route. It's been a nightmare, mainly down to the 'not quite how Thorn like to do it' problem. So it ended up costing a lot and was not spec'd well. The frame is fantastic, but I've since replaced the 853 forks, the handle bars, stem, spacer stack, mudguards, seat tube, gear levers, brake levers, tyres. An expensive lesson, but there you go.
Re the LHT being 'a slug', unfair as a general statement of fact. The Reynolds 725 Club Tour frame is 2.4kg, the LHT is (I think, in 58cm) also 2.4kg. So the LHT is not the bloated/overweight frame people like to say it is. The LHT
feels more relaxed/slower than a Club Tour (almost like for like components, and the LHT fork on both frames). I'd guess that's down to the lower BB on the LHT. The reality, for me, is that I go no faster on either bike, but I feel faster on the Club Tour. I doesn't feel £800 faster though, and 250km rides are completed in roughly the same time.
One of the things that strikes me about the LHT is that the frame I bought about 8 years ago is exactly the same one on sale now, and it's selling more than ever each year. The Club Tour I've just bought is a 'mk 4', and it feels as if Thorn are following fashion a bit (whilst marketing the opposite message). The Club Tour 4 is a great frame (not the 853 fork though) for road touring on nice roads, it's a 'refined' frame and I was constantly informed that it wasn't their 'go anywhere' frame. The LHT is simpler, cruder, but tougher, and you don't need to stick to nice roads, it's fine off-road too.
Finally, riding an expensive bike on a tour is just stressful for those times when you have to leave it outside a supermarket, outside overnight, on a ferry, in a train carriage, etc. The dull aesthetics of the LHT win here, my Club Tour is painted like a shiny expensive thing.