Tag Archives: touring

Surly Long Haul Trucker touring build

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Surly LongHaul Trucker

The Surly Long Haul Trucker is considered one of the best modern, non-custom touring bicycles on the market these days.  Introduced in 2004, it quickly became the “go-to” bike for riders looking for a reliable, no-nonsense machine for long, multi-day travels.  It can also do double duty as a solid commuter or errand-runner around town, perfect for hauling camping gear or groceries.

This one is a 2009 model in their beige “Truckaccino” color, size 52 with 26″ wheels.  I scored it off of Craigslist from a guy who won it in a radio contest and then never rode it.  It came stock with a set of Ortlieb panniers and Blackburn racks.  Since I’ve never been one to leave a stock build alone, I changed almost all of the components out.

Highlights of the build include a Gilles Berthoud “Aspin” touring saddle, Schmidt SON28 Classic generator hub with Supernova E3 light, BioLogic Reecharge system for the iPhone 4,  Schwalbe Marathon  tires, Deore XT derailleurs, Suntour Command shifters, Tubus racks, and a LOOK ErgoStem.  More details and picture gallery after the jump…

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Bridgestone RB-T randonneur touring bike

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1992 Bridgestone RB-T

The RB-T was designed by Grant Petersen to be  a “sport-touring” bicycle, a fore-runner of today’s hybrid bikes.  It’s intended to fill a number of roles, from putting in long rides on the road to tearing up off road trails, to weekend touring loaded with gear.  It does all of these things quite well, and has a classic style that harks back to the French randonneur / audax bicycles of the 1950’s and 60’s.

This particular example was found on eBay in dusty but barely used condition.  It’s a 1992 model, shown in the Bridgestone catalog here.  I cleaned it up and added a lot of new parts.  Like most of the Grant Petersen-era Bridgestones, the stock parts group on the RB-T is a well-thought out mix of reliable but affordable components.  It’s hard to “upgrade” a Bridgestone, but I replaced the brakes, handlebars, and saddle with my own selections, chosen for comfort and style.  Also, it needed racks and a new fork with the appropriate eyelets to mount them on in order to be truly tour-worthy.  The result was a classy, easy-riding machine that gets a lot of compliments.  Read on for details on the restoration and build.

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SPD Shoe 2010 buyer’s guide Pt. 1 – Casual Shoes

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spd_casual

Following up on my last post, I recognize that not everyone wants to make their own SPD-compatible shoes.  So what are your “off the shelf ” options?  Well, I’ve done a lot of research and here is the first installment of my two-part “2010 buyer’s guide” based on the coolest shoes I have seen that are currently for sale.  My criteria here is to list shoes that would look and feel good at a casual office or social occasion, the kind of shoes you can wear all day, anywhere, without looking like a total bike dork.  This first list is of leather low-profile shoes that have a European style.  Part Two of the buyer’s guide will focus on sneakers that are SPD-compatible.

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