Passed its first road test: Surly Trucker, loaded touring

[weisan]

First time taking the trucker out to test it on a local trail fully loaded. A couple of minor tweaks but overall I would say, "Passed QC!"

The plan is to take it on a nice and easy 100 miles 2-day overnight trip next weekend for some field testing, and also making sure I know how to operate and happy with some of these equipment; hennessy hammock, jetboil, Ortlieb, Therma-rest etc. Shortly after that, maybe step up to a week-long excursion somewhere in the Kerrville/Hunt Texas hill county area. We shall see how it goes. This is all rather new to me.

[1happygirl]

Awwwww. Awesome W.
I have eyed those frames for years.
Good for you. We will be expecting a FULL ride and gear report replete with lots of pix.
PS That is a beautiful setup.

[dustyrider]

Nice, indeed!
The more you use it the less you'll need to bring along.
Better take on those hills before it gets too hot!

[montag]

Looks like a great rig. I'd love to do some bike overnighters around Austin but I currently have neither the bike nor the time...

[weisan]

happy and dusty pals, thanks for your kind words.

Monty-pal, looks like we live in the same town.

I actually am looking for a "companion" of sort to join me on my road trips.

[pinkshogun]

weisan pal, i would be more concerned about trying out the Hennessey hammock before your overnight

[weisan]

Originally Posted by pinkshogun

weisan pal, i would be more concerned about trying out the Hennessey hammock before your overnight

pink pal, i shared the same "concerns" don't worry, I will try it out before I go, in fact it's pouring outside right now and will continue raining tomorrow....perfect time to perform some "tests"

[p nut]

Nice 'trucker. Looks set up for a world tour.

[Jesper64]

Nice looking Surly.

You've got a lot of saddle tilt, I assume it's comfortable?

[weisan]

jesper pal, I know what you mean, normally you wouldn't see that in my other bikes all set up with Specialized Toupes. Apparently, for the Brooks, it needs a wee bit more tilt to achieve the "hammock" effect and get to the sweet spot. I am still experimenting with it. Yesterday, I rode about 12 miles in rugged trail conditions and it was okay, no real discomfort to talk about.

I made the mistake of setting up a Brook B17 the way I did with my "normal" saddles several years ago and it wasn't nearly as comfortable so I gave up fairly quickly after a couple of rides. It was a brand new saddle and I probably gave up too early before it got broken in and the other factor might have been the "tilt".

This time around, I got a lightly used Brooks from a pal here and it's already been "softened" up before it ended up in my hands and yet still fairly new to provide the opportunity for my butt and the saddle to get "acquainted".

Again, I hear you....still work in progress, but so far, I have made it a lot further than I did the last time with the B17.

And the last thing we have to take into account is that with the current setup, I am sitting a lot more upright than I would otherwise on my normal road bikes, thus the need to get more "sunk" near the back end.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by pinkshogun

weisan pal, i would be more concerned about trying out the Hennessey hammock before your overnight

I actually started off shopping around for a one-person tent...and then I got a sticker shock at how much some of these so called "highly recommended" tent costs...upwards of $300 !!!

And then I remembered I already have a hammock, why not give it a go? I am definitely concerned and aware of its greater vulnerability to bad weather conditions. On the plus side, there's no $500 tent out there that will even come close to how much it weighs.

[pinkshogun]

weisan pal, a friend used a piece of reflective cardboard to line the inside of the bottom of his Hennessey hammock to keep a straight shape and it kept him a little bit warmer

[weisan]

Originally Posted by pinkshogun

weisan pal, a friend used a piece of reflective cardboard to line the inside of the bottom of his Hennessey hammock to keep a straight shape and it kept him a little bit warmer

ah...right! the natural "air vent" circulation underneath a hammock makes it colder during the night.

Thank you Pink pal for the tip, I was planning to do something along those lines if it ever gets too cold. Fortunately, we are talking about April/May in Texas and it is getting warmed up pretty quick, night time temperature is now mid-60s, probably get down to the 50s in the valleys, so with the right clothing it should be comfy.

[pinkshogun]

we did the Natchez Trace pkwy beginning in Nashville and it was 30 degrees with howling wind in mid April. Luckily, their was a heated bathroom in the state park where i could park my frigid behind for the night

[weisan]

I hear you pink pal, speaking from experience.