Passed its first road test: Surly Trucker, loaded touring

[p nut]

Originally Posted by weisan

...there's no $500 tent out there that will even come close to how much it weighs.

Well...., don't know about that....



http://www.tarptent.com/momentdw.html

Couple of years ago, I ditched my tent and went bivy and fly. 6.5oz for the bivy and 7.5oz for the tarp. I pack light, so every ounce counts for me.

These guys were great to deal with.
http://borahgear.com/

[Ken Robb]

The up/down tilt is very critical on a B-17. I think many riders are most comfy with some nose-up which keeps them from having to use their arms to keep from sliding forward. Very small adjustments can make a big difference in comfort. I had one seat post with such coarse "teeth" in its vertical adjustment mechanism that I couldn't get the saddle just right.

[Ray]

Looking good Weisan - I hope you enjoy loaded touring more than I did. I did a fair amount of it back in '98-2000. And, although I tended to be a seated climber who spun low gears anyway, I never learned to like the total loss of momentum a loaded bike would experience when you carried some speed into a hill and lost it ALL pretty much immediately. I did a few shorter loaded tours leading up to riding from northern Vermont back to my home near Philly. It was a memorable trip, and I had some good times and some bad times. The bottom line was I never again carried more than a credit card touring load.

But to each their own. Many people love it - i hope you're one of them! I had the Jamis version of a loaded touring bike - don't remember what it was called. But I bought my daughter one not too much later when she was about 14 or 15 and she's still riding it for fun and commutes sometimes on it too.

The long haul trucker looks like a great frame for that. I hope you have a blast!

-Ray

[weisan]

ray pal, I think I am in the same camp. The reason I am doing this is just because I don't want to say "no until I have done it." I don't really sleep well outside of my home or bed for that matter. I like the great outdoors, just not when it gets dark and an army of mosquito are trying to mate with me... anyhow, this is just an experiment and for the experience.

p -pal, thanks for the links, those are high quality stuff!
Talking about saving weight....the problem is 80-90% of the bulk comes from me and the trucker that is built like a tank. This is my first outing, I try not to over spent or agonize too much about equipment and their weight, that can come later.

ken-pal, thanks for chiming in, I hope you are having a good day. Yes, that's what I understood or read about the Brooks and seems to work that way.

I want to increase visibility on the road carrying all that load and being less nimble....think I will stick one of these behind.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by weisan

I want to increase visibility on the road carrying all that load and being less nimble....think I will stick one of these behind.

I never rode a bike with a pennant on a mast except a recumbent. How do you mount the bike?

[weisan]

Ken pal, that's what we are gonna find out...:-)

I took my "technical advisors" (my 6, 8, 11 yr-olds) to this place yesterday and bought a bunch of clamps, bolts and nuts, we gonna try something later this afternoon, stay tuned.

[kittytrail]

Originally Posted by weisan

Ken pal, that's what we are gonna find out...:-)

I took my "technical advisors" (my 6, 8, 11 yr-olds) to this place yesterday and bought a bunch of clamps, bolts and nuts, we gonna try something later this afternoon, stay tuned.

best engineering team for the task methinks.

and if it ends painted in "safety pink" too, well, it's because it's way safer that way.

[weisan]

Kitty pal, I agreed 100 percent!

[p nut]

And if that fails, this is an easy solution.

[JAllen]

Weisan, that is great! I know you were waiting on some stuff to finalize it last time we spoke on the subject. You've got a great thing going with it. Man, if I was in Austin I'd tour with you in a heartbeat! maybe someday.