SurlybLong Haul Trucker = 26" or 700C?

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

On 10/8/2011 10:33 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

It it's for touring get the 700C wheels. A lot more appropriate tire
choices than for 26". If it's going to see a lot of off-road get the 26"
wheels.

I thought the 26" wheels were on the smaller frames while the 700C were
on the larger frames.

Per Sir Ridesalot:
What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

Until I built up my Salsa Fargo I swore that I'd never use
anything except 26" wheels.

Now I'm riding the Fargo with 700c 38's, I can see that it rolls
significantly better over rough ground and/or grass. Not quite
as well as, say, 26" 55/55's - but much, much better than a bike
with 26 x 1.5's (which are comparable in width to the 38's)

For the LHT, I'd consider pedal height - assuming the frame's
angles are the same for 26/700c... Might turn out that, with 26"
wheels, the pedals are too close to the ground for the intended
use.

With my Fargo - even though it has 700cs on it - I have tb
careful not to take a full pedal stroke when crossing things like
tree roots or even rough ground to avoid pedal strikes.

OTOH, it's great for pavement/smooth surfaces that I spend 95% of
my time on bc I can put a foot flat on the ground when stopped.
--
PeteCresswell

On Oct 9, 12:33*am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

Unless you're touring remote regions of the world, get the wheel size
that looks correct for your frame size. 26" or 700c, those Alex
Adventurer rims are gonna be as strong as you'll ever need. Mine are
built on Deore hubs and allow for the most sloppy and indelicate
riding style.

That said, every *mart in the universe sells 26" stuff, and if you
want spare wheels--Deore/Suns are routinely 100 bucks on blowout
somewhere. 700c/135mm wheels, not so much.

On Oct 8, 10:39 pm, SMS wrote:
On 10/8/2011 10:33 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

It it's for touring get the 700C wheels. A lot more appropriate tire
choices than for 26". If it's going to see a lot of off-road get the 26"
wheels.

I thought the 26" wheels were on the smaller frames while the 700C were
on the larger frames.

Used to be - cutoff at 54 or 56 cm frame, IIRC. Now you can get any
LHT w/ 26" wheels (and last year they even made a blue one).

On Oct 9, 7:31 am, landotter wrote:
On Oct 9, 12:33 am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

Unless you're touring remote regions of the world, get the wheel size
that looks correct for your frame size. 26" or 700c, those Alex
Adventurer rims are gonna be as strong as you'll ever need. Mine are
built on Deore hubs and allow for the most sloppy and indelicate
riding style.

That said, every *mart in the universe sells 26" stuff, and if you
want spare wheels--Deore/Suns are routinely 100 bucks on blowout
somewhere. 700c/135mm wheels, not so much.

Or if he's going to be riding occasionally in ice and snow, there seem
to be a lot more studded tires available for 26". There's a good
scenario for spare wheels ready to go w/ studded tires mounted.

On Oct 9, 9:47*am, Dan O wrote:
On Oct 9, 7:31 am, landotter wrote:









On Oct 9, 12:33 am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

Unless you're touring remote regions of the world, get the wheel size
that looks correct for your frame size. 26" or 700c, those Alex
Adventurer rims are gonna be as strong as you'll ever need. Mine are
built on Deore hubs and allow for the most sloppy and indelicate
riding style.

That said, every *mart in the universe sells 26" stuff, and if you
want spare wheels--Deore/Suns are routinely 100 bucks on blowout
somewhere. 700c/135mm wheels, not so much.

Or if he's going to be riding occasionally in ice and snow, there seem
to be a lot more studded tires available for 26". *There's a good
scenario for spare wheels ready to go w/ studded tires mounted.

For sure. Or mount up some 2.3"s and go fire trailing. Fun stuff.

On Oct 9, 8:50*am, landotter wrote:
On Oct 9, 9:47*am, Dan O wrote:





On Oct 9, 7:31 am, landotter wrote:

On Oct 9, 12:33 am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

Unless you're touring remote regions of the world, get the wheel size
that looks correct for your frame size. 26" or 700c, those Alex
Adventurer rims are gonna be as strong as you'll ever need. Mine are
built on Deore hubs and allow for the most sloppy and indelicate
riding style.

That said, every *mart in the universe sells 26" stuff, and if you
want spare wheels--Deore/Suns are routinely 100 bucks on blowout
somewhere. 700c/135mm wheels, not so much.

Or if he's going to be riding occasionally in ice and snow, there seem
to be a lot more studded tires available for 26". *There's a good
scenario for spare wheels ready to go w/ studded tires mounted.

For sure. Or mount up some 2.3"s and go fire trailing. Fun stuff.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

With the proliferation of 29ers -- my industry friend reported that
full suspension 29ers were popular at Interbike -- I think it is just
a short while until there are as many fatty choices for both wheel
sizes.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Oct 9, 6:33*am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

I'm big on comfort, so it won't come as a surprise to anyone that I
agree with everyone else here that a 700 wheel and tyre rides better.
I don't do any offroading, though some of the lanes I ride are pretty
rough.

But just an observation to the contrary. I follow the best Briish
maker of touring bikes, Thorn, these days because they have a very
knowledgeable Rohloff sub-board, but in the beginning I followed them
because their designer, Andy Blance, always gives a full and fair
explanation of why he specs components, and he always arrives at the
best components that are still good value for money, not boutique
crap. (Now that I have the best of everything on my bike, I should
remember to say, Thanks, Mr Blance!). Andy tours in places like
Patagonia to test his bikes, and the circumnavigations on his bikes
are legion, and heroic rides up hellish hills all over the world
litter the gallery pages of the Thorn site, so I reckon those guys
know what's what. And Andy is very big on 26 inch wheels for their
strength. He designed his iconic loaded touring bike, the Raven Tour,
around 26 inch wheels -- and kept them when he made a sports version,
the RST, for lighter touring.

With the 29er craze in full swing, I don't see any problem getting any
tyres you want for 622mm wheels. (It may come down to a question of
clearance on the forks.)

On Oct 9, 12:12*pm, Jay Beattie wrote:
On Oct 9, 8:50*am, landotter wrote:









On Oct 9, 9:47*am, Dan O wrote:

On Oct 9, 7:31 am, landotter wrote:

On Oct 9, 12:33 am, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Hi there.

I can get a very good deal on a Surly Long Haul Truckr frame at the
local bike shop. They are available for either 26" wheels or 700C
wheels.

Before I go to the shop Tuesday or Wednesday I'd like to know:

What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either wheel size?

I have both sizes of wheels here at home already.

Thanks and cheers from Peter

Unless you're touring remote regions of the world, get the wheel size
that looks correct for your frame size. 26" or 700c, those Alex
Adventurer rims are gonna be as strong as you'll ever need. Mine are
built on Deore hubs and allow for the most sloppy and indelicate
riding style.

That said, every *mart in the universe sells 26" stuff, and if you
want spare wheels--Deore/Suns are routinely 100 bucks on blowout
somewhere. 700c/135mm wheels, not so much.

Or if he's going to be riding occasionally in ice and snow, there seem
to be a lot more studded tires available for 26". *There's a good
scenario for spare wheels ready to go w/ studded tires mounted.

For sure. Or mount up some 2.3"s and go fire trailing. Fun stuff.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

With the proliferation of 29ers -- my industry friend reported that
full suspension 29ers were popular at Interbike -- I think it is just
a short while until there are as many fatty choices for both wheel
sizes.


Three sizes if you build up a 650b disc LHT...My buddy B. has a 1x1
built with Velocity Blunts on Paul hubs. Spectacular.