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OK So how much for that LHT?

Old 03-31-06, 12:25 PM
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OK So how much for that LHT?

Hey,

So my friend has the bug to have a Surly LHT built up. The shop says its heavy, and will cost way too much. They would rather sell her a Cannondale.

So all these nice LHT's what was the final price tag? (If I can be so brazen).

Thanks

Jim
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Old 03-31-06, 12:36 PM
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Around 2300 for me. I constructed a commuter LHT. Who cares if it's heavy, it still rides great...
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Old 03-31-06, 12:52 PM
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Some of us have good used spare components laying around. I built my LHT from some of these spare parts and also canibalized my wife's no longer used mtb bike for more parts. I had to order just as few components to complete my build. I'm sure a few LHT owners fall into this category. My total cost including frame and few extra parts was under $800, and that includes a Tubus rear rack.
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Old 03-31-06, 01:20 PM
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Mine cost the price of the frameset. All other came from my parts bin and some from another bike. I'll probably spend another $ 70.00 in the future for some proper cranks.
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Old 03-31-06, 01:39 PM
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Originally Posted by bluesref
Hey,

So my friend has the bug to have a Surly LHT built up. The shop says its heavy, and will cost way too much. They would rather sell her a Cannondale.

So all these nice LHT's what was the final price tag? (If I can be so brazen).

Thanks

Jim
of course they would rather sell her the Cannondale... it is in stock, and the salesman probably does not even know what a real bike tour is....

find another bike shop.
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Old 03-31-06, 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by bluesref
Hey,

So my friend has the bug to have a Surly LHT built up. The shop says its heavy, and will cost way too much. They would rather sell her a Cannondale.

So all these nice LHT's what was the final price tag? (If I can be so brazen).

Thanks

Jim
The joy of an LHT (I don't have one but I can see the appeal) is in doing the work yourself. If you buy the frame and a complete build kit (Shimano Tiagra or LX level), I would suspect that she would be looking at around $1000 to $1400 more than the frame...if she built it herself. If she has a shop build it, I suspect that you could add another $300 to $500 on top of that. Especially considering that it just wouldn't be cricket to go to Nashbar and buy the parts and have the shop install them She would be paying quite a premium for a shop to build it.

If she has another bike to cannibalize, she could do it for less...but don't forget the extra cost of the other bike. Other's on this thread have said that they just had the parts laying around but they forget that they had to pay for them at some point. Also, a shop might charge extra to break down the old bike and build the new one.

Aadils price of $2300 seems right on the money to me. With labor you could be pushing $3000 pretty hard. Assuming that she is looking for a touring bike and that the shop is trying to sell her a Cannondale T800 (which, if she is looking for a touring bike she should get that one and don't let them sell her an R500 or something), the price of the T800 is around $1100. She could buy the Cannondale and the LHT, swap the parts and still be ahead. Or just buy the Cannondale, because it's an excellent bike!
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Old 03-31-06, 01:51 PM
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Originally Posted by mcavana
of course they would rather sell her the Cannondale... it is in stock, and the salesman probably does not even know what a real bike tour is....

find another bike shop.
I think the shop is actually looking out for her best interests. Considering that she wants it built, it would be pricey. And Cannondale makes 2 excellent 'real' touring bikes! I don't think you can point to any other large manufacturer that offers not just one classic touring bike but two!
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Old 03-31-06, 02:19 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
I think the shop is actually looking out for her best interests. Considering that she wants it built, it would be pricey. And Cannondale makes 2 excellent 'real' touring bikes! I don't think you can point to any other large manufacturer that offers not just one classic touring bike but two!
I stand corrected... a question for the origional poster.... what cannondale was he pushing her towards?


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Old 03-31-06, 02:20 PM
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Yeah we've have been down that road. She isn't going to build it.

I actually just found a leftover '03 T800 on the evil Ebay. She liked it when she tried it but that just a mile. She is worried about "stiffness of the al". She has some issues with bone spurs in her neck and doesn't wnat to chance it. Have you seen the new wheelset they seem to have dropped down a notch when I looked at the other day.

I am encouraging her to try them all. She might go the Trek 520 if it had better (lower) gearing and din't have thumb shifters.

Oh the quote is $1700 from the shop, that doesn't sound too bad.

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Old 03-31-06, 02:44 PM
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Check out this thread: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/

I spent about $450 in addition to the frame for one, but already had several components.
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Old 03-31-06, 11:26 PM
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Originally Posted by bluesref
Yeah we've have been down that road. She isn't going to build it.

I actually just found a leftover '03 T800 on the evil Ebay. She liked it when she tried it but that just a mile. She is worried about "stiffness of the al". She has some issues with bone spurs in her neck and doesn't wnat to chance it. Have you seen the new wheelset they seem to have dropped down a notch when I looked at the other day.

I am encouraging her to try them all. She might go the Trek 520 if it had better (lower) gearing and din't have thumb shifters.

Oh the quote is $1700 from the shop, that doesn't sound too bad.
I can understand her issues with the stiffness. The Cannondale is a stiff ride, especially without a load. I'm big and with a load, the bike and I push 300 lb. We need that stiffness but she might not.

If I understand what you posted, you already have the T800 (mine is an 03 also) right? If you do, buy the LHT and work something out with the shop to swap parts. Or do it yourselves. It's not that hard really and you learn a lot about your bike while you are doing it.

Then sell the frame on E-bay.
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Old 04-01-06, 12:57 AM
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I spent around $800 on my LHT. I built it up myself and used a seatpost, wheels, and racks that I already had. I have no idea how much it would have been using all new parts and paying a shop to build it, but my best guess would be about twice as much.
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Old 04-01-06, 08:08 AM
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Local shops around Seattle will sell a LX gruppo Long Haul Trucker with machine laced wheels for 1,400 bucks or so. I can name 4 shops I went into this winter that had Long Haul Truckers built up as floor models.

A little shop i frequent charged me only $100 to assemble my LHT. I have a tendency to crossthread (caveman in shop class) so first time build ups are worth it to me. I think most shops are flat rate build ups, seems like its 150 bucks if i'm remembering correctly all the rate boards i've seen lately.

To be honest, unless you are specifying Chris King Headset and a Phil Wood bottom bracket, the LHT's biggest price variation is going to be in your wheelset. splurging on a well chosen set of wheels can add a half thousand to the bike, and it may be worth it.

You can also throw a sixty dollar set of poptabs on there and still be good to go for a while...at a slightly higher premium, Velocity wheelsets are rated pretty highly, are widely available, handspun in Michigan, last I checked. probably in Michigans' prison labor system, but hey...

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Old 04-01-06, 10:23 AM
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Stuart's build up estimate is well on the high side, but the Cannondale is a fine bike. You can't go wrong either way. If stiffness is a concern, with fat tires and a B67 it's not likely to be a problem.
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Old 04-01-06, 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
If she has another bike to cannibalize, she could do it for less...but don't forget the extra cost of the other bike. Other's on this thread have said that they just had the parts laying around but they forget that they had to pay for them at some point. Also, a shop might charge extra to break down the old bike and build the new one.
I should have said that I did pay full retail for some of the parts I have laying around 2-10 years ago(seatpost saddle and LX rear cassette was way back in 96-97) Current parts are the bars and the canti brakes. Because I caught the upgrade bug during the years these parts were relegated to the "Parts Bin". Now that age caught up and being practical and all why buy more parts if I just have them laying around. I would not think how much I paid for them in the past but how much I would saved by just recycling it to a new project.

The bottom line, it can be done cheaply if you have the parts or can get the parts from someone or can get the parts cheaply from someone who has an extensive parts bin. Parts bin rules!
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Old 04-01-06, 09:46 PM
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I had the exact same discussion at my favorite LBS today. I asked what it would cost to build up an LHT and the sales guy say probably about $1500. We had this discussion right in front of a Bianchi Volpe, which costs about $900, and he suggested I think about the Volpe.

My question is: is the LHT frameset much nicer than a Volpe or the Trek or Cannondale tourer's frame? Unless there was a compelling story around how much better the LHT was, I'd tend towards having something already built up that costs a lot less. One thing I did like about LHT was slightly longer chainstays and a lot of capacity to build the bike in different ways. For example, you could use v-brakes or down-tube shifters... although I wouldn't consider these two items compelling reasons actually.
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Old 04-01-06, 10:30 PM
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I am building up an old raleigh super course. The projected cost, buying quality used stuff, is around 500 american.
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Old 04-01-06, 11:26 PM
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Look at 1000-1500 depending on quality of the components and how much work you do yourself. Mine weighs 23lbs and it's a 62cm. The bikeshop wants to move what's on the floor, and not what the customer wants. Find another shop. OTOH, I stopped at the Trek Store in La Mesa with mine one time for a tube (had a flat and my spare had a split seam). All the older guys in the shop were drooling on it, it was the first LHT they'd seen and they loved the build. Now that I'm playing with recumbents, I'm eyeballing a trike for touring, and there may be a 62cm LHT on the slightly used but in pristine condition market.
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Old 04-02-06, 12:01 AM
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I'd say a nice LHT shop build should run around $1200-1400 with mostly new parts and maybe a few used ones (an old 110 BCD MTB crank, used front derailuer, old Nitto bars maybe?) It's easier if you have bike buddies with lots of old parts lying around....

I'd start with finding a set of high quality used brake levers and pair them with new bar-end shifters. This set up is cheap and unlikely to fail for miles of hard riding. Stay away from using STI brifters unless you have more $$$. I'd try to stay with 105 or Deore LX level parts-- they offer the best value for the money.

The bike shop should give you a deal on the frame-- close to wholesale, if they are building up the bike. Trust me, the shop will make plenty of money of labor and parts. It would be hard if you don't have a bunch of bike shops around. Here in the Northwest, there are so many shops that one of them would be more than happy to give a person with 1200 bucks a deal.
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Old 04-02-06, 12:01 AM
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I'd say a nice LHT shop build should run around $1200-1400 with mostly new parts and maybe a few used ones (an old 110 BCD MTB crank, used front derailuer, old Nitto bars maybe?) It's easier if you have bike buddies with lots of old parts lying around....

I'd start with finding a set of high quality used brake levers and pair them with new bar-end shifters. This set up is cheap and unlikely to fail for miles of hard riding. Stay away from using STI brifters unless you have more $$$. I'd try to stay with 105 or Deore LX level parts-- they offer the best value for the money.

The bike shop should give you a deal on the frame-- close to wholesale, if they are building up the bike. Trust me, the shop will make plenty of money of labor and parts. It would be hard if you don't have a bunch of bike shops around. Here in the Northwest, there are so many shops that one of them would be more than happy to give a person with 1200 bucks a deal.
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Old 04-02-06, 01:12 AM
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Originally Posted by aadhils
Around 2300 for me. I constructed a commuter LHT. Who cares if it's heavy, it still rides great...

Twenty-three hunderd for a LHT? Yikes! How does one spend that much? Do you have any pictures? Must be lot of bling on that bike!
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Old 04-02-06, 01:19 AM
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Buying a complete bike from any of the large manufacturers is going to seem cheaper than buying a LHT and building it up. Most people I know that have a LHT build them up with a mix of new, used and donated parts. I spent $1500 on mine; built it up my self and hand picked all the parts to my specific needs.

The LHT is a great bike; well designed and super tough.
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Old 04-02-06, 10:14 AM
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Ah, metal cowboy really gets down to the real reason anybody would build up any bike....customization to your personal needs.

I'd also add that most *store bought* bikes have low end parts on them that might fail under heavy use like touring..... with a $1500 LHT custom build, all the parts should be strong and last a long time.

Many new bikes sold by bike shops end up with trashed wheels or shifters after less than a 1000 miles---- after the repair bill, the rider might as well just bought a nicer custom build in the first place
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Old 04-02-06, 12:24 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
If she has a shop build it, I suspect that you could add another $300 to $500 on top of that. Especially considering that it just wouldn't be cricket to go to Nashbar and buy the parts and have the shop install them She would be paying quite a premium for a shop to build it.

Wow that is way high for a shop build, please dont let a shop sucker you into paying that, it's a flat rate job at most places and the highest I have ever seen was $150.
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Old 04-02-06, 12:26 PM
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That's a good point about "store bought" bikes. The Volpe I looked at had some components that I would probably not buy in a "build up". Right off the bat, I would want to replace the stem, seat (and probably seat post...) and certainly the nobby tires.
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