Touring Build

26" wheels is a ggod start. You'll also want wheels with a high spoke count but you probably already knew that. I would build up the wheels like I build MTB Wheels, standard cross 3 spoke pattern, nothing fancy. Deore sounds like a good choice. It is so widely used because it is good equipment at a reasonable price. It is also easy to find parts if the need arose.

BTW: I always build my own wheels. It relaxes me, so I cannot comment on pre-built wheels.

You won't go wrong with 36 spoke, 3x laced, 26" wheels. I'm a wheel killer but I can't kill those.

Look no further. Here is a Surly LHT built up for only 900.00. This is a great deal. Webcyclery also has a similar deal. 6 months ago I was looking to build up a LHT with almost identical equipment and it cost well over 1500.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BI401G00-Surly+Long+Haul+Trucker+Bike.aspx

PSC said:

Look no further. Here is a Surly LHT built up for only 900.00. This is a great deal. Webcyclery also has a similar deal. 6 months ago I was looking to build up a LHT with almost identical equipment and it cost well over 1500.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BI401G00-Surly+Long+Haul+Trucker+Bike.aspx

That's the kind of deal that we don't get in this country.

CptDestructo said:

So the idea is to build up a Surly Long Haul Trucker for some serious loaded touring. Now as of yet, I don't even have the frame, but I'm already looking into how I'm going to build it. My main concern at the moment is wheels (in my size, 54 cm, the LHT runs 26" wheels), largely because I've heard several horror stories involving broken spokes on the road. I'm looking for a pair of bomb-proof wheels, but am not sure what to consider in my purchase. That is, if anyone can suggests either pre-built wheelsets, or good rim/hub/spoke combinations, that'd be awesome. Also, gruppo suggestions are appreciated. Right now I'm looking at Deore, mainly because it seems to be the default touring group. I'd say I'm trying to build this thing for aroud 1,500, but I have room to budge. Thanks.

Hubs = Shimano XT M760. 36h. Black
Spokes= DT Swiss 14g stainless. Silver
Rims= Alex Adventurer 36h. Black
is what comes stock on the complete bicycle. The complete bicycle from a QBP dealer is a very good value. You may want to change a few things after riding it for a while, but you won't beat the performance for the money.
The savings you garner can go to things like Nice Rack (Surly's Touring Racks are very stout and reasonably priced for the quality).
I have no connection to QBP or Surly, but I think they are doing a great job.

PSC said:

Look no further. Here is a Surly LHT built up for only 900.00. This is a great deal. Webcyclery also has a similar deal. 6 months ago I was looking to build up a LHT with almost identical equipment and it cost well over 1500.

jensonusa.comBI401G00 Surly+Long+Haul+Trucker+Bike.aspxOpen ↗

Maybe the reason they are all priced so "reasonably" is that they are all unavailable, at least as of 05/22/07.

daveornee said:

Hubs = Shimano XT M760. 36h. Black
Spokes= DT Swiss 14g stainless. Silver
Rims= Alex Adventurer 36h. Black
is what comes stock on the complete bicycle. The complete bicycle from a QBP dealer is a very good value. You may want to change a few things after riding it for a while, but you won't beat the performance for the money.
The savings you garner can go to things like Nice Rack (Surly's Touring Racks are very stout and reasonably priced for the quality).
I have no connection to QBP or Surly, but I think they are doing a great job.

Thanks for that, I hadn't heard of QBP - I looked at their website briefly. I understood that Surly was doing built versions of LHT, but when I went to Freewheel bicycle here in SF, they told me they only stock frame & fork. So should I look for a bike shop that deals with QBP?

CptDestructo said:

So the idea is to build up a Surly Long Haul Trucker for some serious loaded touring. Now as of yet, I don't even have the frame, but I'm already looking into how I'm going to build it. My main concern at the moment is wheels (in my size, 54 cm, the LHT runs 26" wheels), largely because I've heard several horror stories involving broken spokes on the road. I'm looking for a pair of bomb-proof wheels, but am not sure what to consider in my purchase. That is, if anyone can suggests either pre-built wheelsets, or good rim/hub/spoke combinations, that'd be awesome. Also, gruppo suggestions are appreciated. Right now I'm looking at Deore, mainly because it seems to be the default touring group. I'd say I'm trying to build this thing for aroud 1,500, but I have room to budge. Thanks.

We are using Velocity 40h DeepV's on our Co-motion Mocha tandem and have over 9,500kms on the wheels so far with no problems at all. We are up to the 4th set of tyres though.
36h should be fine for a half-bike as even if you take the kitchen sink, you still wont be anywhere near our 400lb + rolling weight.

Cheers

Geoff