Our arrival right back where we began, nearly 17,000km (10,000+ miles) and a week short of a year later -- what a trip!

Elderly men sit and chat near a market in a Hebei mountain village.

The donkey is the main beast of burden in northern Shanxi (山西) and Hebei (河北) provinces. Never have I seen so many donkeys!

Hebei served as the deserved butt of many a joke throughout the trip, but when we finally arrived in the mountainous northern part of the province three days before the end of our trip, we were pleasantly surprised. There we found blue skies, green hills and picturesque villages as unique and interesting as those in any of the remote areas we passed in the western part of the country.

In Shanxi (山西) province, the Great Wall is now only a short mound of earth connected by the earthen remains of guard towers. The outer bricks and stones were long ago stripped away to build other structures.

Old men sit and talk outside of a home in rural Shanxi (山西) province.

One of our last sights in Inner Mongolia was yet another coal-fired power plant, of which we saw a few. Like the U.S., China has vast domestic coal resources, and dirty, coal-fired power plants generate most of the country's electricity. Inner Mongolia is China's coal capital, and a nearly-two-thirds increase in coal truck traffic from 2009 to 2010 was blamed for the 120km (75 mile) traffic jam on G110 that broke up just a few days before our ride into Beijing on the same road.

The central government is trying everything to wipe out "backward" practices such as nomadism. Previously, we showcased the odd nomad-relocation developments we found in Qinghai. In Inner Mongolia, animals are not allowed to be set out to graze outside of certain, fenced-in areas. Hence, most cows are on leashes.

In the countryside everyone works, even if they need a crutch and a cane to do it.

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.

The saddle: Almost every touring biker I’ve spoken to recommends Brooks saddles, with the exception being a very small few who are hooked on Selle An-Atomicas. I started out with the Brooks B17 Standard but eventually switched to the B17 Imperial after experiencing perineal pressure — something I didn’t want to mess with. I had originally considered buying the Imperial but went with the Standard because of the cost difference. If you’re going to be out on the road everyday for a year, I’d recommend jumping up to the Imperial — again, peace of mind.

The tires: I can’t say enough good things about the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires. I originally went to the bike store looking for Marathon XR (“the ultimate expedition tire,” now discontinued), but was talked into the Plus at the shop. If the XR had been in-stock, things might have turned out differently. The Pluses had enough tread to take just about anything I threw at them (there’s not much you can do about sand though), and I had only two flat tires in nearly 17,000 km. Evan and Alexis bought the XRs, the now-discontinued “ultimate expedition tire,” and suffered something like seven flats each before switching them out for Pluses. The XR replacement, the Dureme, held up nicely for my dad and Ellen in their five weeks with us (during which time all four of us got a flat tire each). But for the money and the surfaces we were riding on (mostly paved despite the much more vivid memories of washed-out dirt roads and cobblestones), I’d recommend the Plus. Regardless, Schwalbe Marathon tires are worth every penny, in time saved if not money. I know other bikers who have gone out on the road for less than have the time that we did and ended up with 50 flats with Maxxis or Continentals.

The peddles: I went into the bike shop expecting to buy egg-beater peddles, and I’m glad I got talked out of that. Peddles are peddles, but for a long ride, having the clipless on one side and a flat surface on the other (for those rest days when you need to bike around a town but don’t want to wear bike shoes) is key. The Shimano PD-A530 pedals just looked nice with my Shimano Deore crank.

The crank: When I asked the bike salesman if there was anything else he recommended switching out from the stock model, he said the crank because, “In bike touring, it doesn’t matter how fast you can go, it matters how slow.” That statement is 100% true, but looking back I have no idea why that meant I needed to buy a new crank. It turns out the new crank still had a 26-tooth chain ring on the low end, just like the stock crank on the LHT. The arms of the crank also weren’t any shorter, at least that I could see. I wasn’t going any slower, but my bike was more expensive. I see no reason not to keep the stock Andel crank and just switch out the 26-tooth chain ring for a 22-tooth. Evan did eventually have to switch out to a Shimano crank as well but only because we couldn’t find a 22-tooth ring for the Andel on the road.

The headset: The salesman told me this was one of the stock components that was most likely to have a problem and the one that would be most difficult to repair on the road. Neither Evan’s stock headset nor my Chris King NoThreadSet had any problems, although you get to choose a color if you replace it. I chose silver, so I clearly didn’t take advantage of that.

The wheels: The rims and spokes held up perfectly. One nice feature of the LHT is that it comes with two extra spokes attached to the frame, which are great in a pinch. Evan had to use one but I didn’t.

The fenders: Get some. You’ll need them.

What Broke

I was surprised at how many components bit the dust over 17,000 km. A messed up ball bearing in the rear wheel hub required a new hub, the gear cassette needed to be replaced once, the bottom bracket needed to be replaced twice due to worn-out bearings, and the right shifter needed to be replaced once. At one point the chain came apart (this due to user error) and caught in the rear derailleur, yanking and bending the derailleur into the spokes of the rear wheel. That needed to be replaced too, but it’s certainly no fault of the bike’s.

Concerns and What I’d Change

The only thing I found myself itching to change about the Long Haul Trucker was the handlebars, and the shifter/brake setup. I don’t find myself using the down position on the road handlebars often, except when going down big hills. I think a butterfly handlebar (mostly a European thing I think) would offer a lot more versatility in terms of hand positions, although it would rule out a handlebar bag, which I personally need for easy access to a camera. I found the bar-end shifters to be cumbersome in difficult terrain (i.e. switching quickly when going through large rocks and potholes) and would much prefer top-mounted shifters. The brakes were also extremely hard on the hands when going downhill for extended periods of time on surfaces where brakes are required (dirt roads, wet cobblestones, windy paths, etc). I’d prefer a dual brake system, with a second pair of brakes mounted on the top of the handlebar with the shifters, but again, that would rule out a handlebar bag.

The only other major concern is the 700 cm wheels. These make it hard to find rim, spoke and tire replacements when out in the middle of nowhere. But honestly, I like the look of the 700 cm wheels so much better that it doesn’t matter. Just carry a spare tire and a few spokes and try not to screw up the rim, I say!

Bottom Line

Overall the Dirty Dragon (土龍) did what it needed to do and didn’t complain too much. There are a couple tweaks I’d make if I were starting over, but for the money, it’s one helluva touring bike.