REI Safari or Surly Long haul Trucker?

SMS wrote:

I'd go with the Randonee. It's 20% off for the next three days, with the
20% REI discount on one item. Another 5% back with an REI Visa card.

Well I bought the Randonee..... not sure I'm gonna keep
it tho. have 30 days to decide, right?

OTOH, the frame on the LHT is better, 4130 versus 520. The LHT is hard
to purchase around here, it has to be ordered I believe. Maybe some
store stocks it, but probably not in multiple sizes.

Yeah the LHT Trucker IS hard to find!!! I couldn't
even find one to set on and make sure the size was
right. So that's why I went with the Novara Randonee

On Mar 31, 10:39*am, wrote:
SMS wrote:
I'd go with the Randonee. It's 20% off for the next three days, with the
20% REI discount on one item. Another 5% back with an REI Visa card.

Well I bought the Randonee..... not sure I'm gonna keep
it tho. have 30 days to decide, right?

OTOH, the frame on the LHT is better, 4130 versus 520. The LHT is hard
to purchase around here, it has to be ordered I believe. Maybe some
store stocks it, but probably not in multiple sizes.

Yeah the LHT Trucker IS hard to find!!! *I couldn't
even find one to set on and make sure the size was
right. So that's why I went with the Novara Randonee

See if you get along with the shifting system, that's the major
difference, really. You might just love it, or your inner techno
grouch might long for the simplicity of the LHT's bar-ends. Once you
know how the Randonee fits--if you want to switch to a different bike--
it's pretty easy to look at the specs and find your size. For example,
the 55cm Randonee and 56cm LHT have top tubes that are within a couple
mms of each other. Hopefully the Randonee will work out for you.

mount decent kevlar/aramid belt tires, Specialized thornproof tubes
with a CO2 threaded and unthreaded inflator

On Mar 27, 8:15*pm, Woland99 wrote:
On Mar 27, 10:30 am, wrote:

I want to do some touring this summer.

Any help on deciding between the tow bikes above?

I was facing similar choice - wanted a touring bike and
at the end had to decide betw Surly LHT and Novarra Randonee.
For me Novarra Safari was out of a question - I wanted something
that would look like road bike. PLus I had Novarra Viaggio - I guess
you can call it earlier version of Safari and I was VERY unhappy
with that B-shaped handlebar.
I eventually went with Randonee for two reasons - all things being
about the same on both bikes Randonee had much better wheel.

That's not true. The Randonee has a perfectly good wheel with Tiagra
hubs, Mavic rims, and generic SS spokes. The LHT has even better XT
hubs, DT spokes, and Adventurer rims. Both are good wheels, but at the
end of the day--I'd say the LHTs are higher pedigree.

landotter wrote:

See if you get along with the shifting system, that's the major
difference, really. You might just love it, or your inner techno
grouch might long for the simplicity of the LHT's bar-ends. Once you
know how the Randonee fits--if you want to switch to a different bike--
it's pretty easy to look at the specs and find your size. For example,
the 55cm Randonee and 56cm LHT have top tubes that are within a couple
mms of each other. Hopefully the Randonee will work out for you.

OK thanks

The Luddite in me does wonder if the combo shifter and
brake levers of the Novara Randonee make sense

I will give it a week or so before deciding whether to
keep it

datakoll wrote:



mount decent kevlar/aramid belt tires, Specialized thornproof tubes
with a CO2 threaded and unthreaded inflator

Mount on what?

Who are you talking to?

On Mar 31, 3:21*pm, wrote:
datakoll wrote:

mount decent kevlar/aramid belt tires, Specialized thornproof tubes
with a CO2 threaded and unthreaded inflator

Mount on what?

Who are you talking to?

well, ya gotta get ridda the generic spokes too. nooooooo touring on
generic spokes.
less ya wanna spend the sumer in Demoine learnin taxidermee

EVER WONDER WHY your supplier has a bad attitude?

"Well I bought the Randonee..... not sure I'm gonna keep
it tho. have 30 days to decide, right? "

WHERE'S FRANK?

YO FRANK HOW'S THE BIKE ????

wrote:
datakoll wrote:


mount decent kevlar/aramid belt tires, Specialized thornproof tubes
with a CO2 threaded and unthreaded inflator

Mount on what?

Bicycle.

Who are you talking to?

Hominids.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful