Portrait of an LBX

By Andy

I had never been a big biker before Evan and I undertook this massive trip around China, so I don’t have a lifetime of bikes with which to compare the Surly Long Haul Trucker. Still, I did just ride nearly 17,000km on an LHT, so I thought it might be worth writing a review of the experience.

Evan and I both bought LHTs because they were the most well-reviewed bikes in our price range (around $1,100). I think that’s probably still true. Still, there were a couple things that needed to be switched out immediately, namely, the saddle, pedals and tires. At the suggestion of the guy who sold me the bike, I also switched out the crank and headset. My replacements and additions were:

• Shimano Deore crank
• Chris King NoThreadSet headset
• Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires
• Shimano PD-A530 pedals
• Brooks B17 Imperial saddle
• Fenders

What Worked

The frame: The Surly Long Haul Trucker itself (a.k.a. the frame) held up like a champ. Over nearly 17,000 km, we rode through some pretty rough terrain — dirt roads, rocky roads, washed-out dirt roads, seemingly endless stretches of cobblestones that felt like they would shake me apart at the joints, etc. I would never have felt comfortable or confident riding on this sort of stuff with an aluminum frame simply because a cracked frame would mean an immediate end to the trip. I still have my doubts as to whether taking a busted steel bike frame to the village welder would result in a rideable bike anyway, but the thought that it was possible in theory did wonders for my peace of mind.

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By Andy

We awake at 7 a.m. with a collective groan – two weeks of going to sleep well after midnight and waking anywhere between 10 a.m. has taken its toll. I check the weather on the iPhone: still 40 percent chance of rain until noon and 60 percent after that. A quick glance out the bathroom window, which looks out on a narrow alleyway between two buildings, confirms that it’s not raining, and we pack up and head downstairs. I’m the first one out the door.

“It’s snowing,” I say. I missed it looking out the window. I don’t really know how to feel about it. It seems better than rain.

“November rain,” Alexis jokes. His English is getting better, and it’s making for some unbearable puns.

China sits closer to the equator than the United States, which means insufferably hot summers just about anywhere in the country for a northeasterner like me. If my memory is correct, Zhejiang province and Hangzhou, the nearest large city to us, are on the same longitude as northern Florida and southern Louisiana. The snow is downright strange and makes me worry about what we’re going to face for the rest of the winter.

After a breakfast of subpar vegetable-filled buns, fried dough and soymilk, we set out. The first part of our ride is gray and industrial. The smell of coal in the icy air hits my nostrils. Throughout the ride, my fingers fare better than the day before, but the cold still cuts straight through the vents in my shoes, freezing my feet despite the two pairs of socks I’m wearing. We have to figure out a way to avoid cold feet, or we’re done for the winter, I think. (more…)