Which Bike? Surly, Jamis or ?

[Captain K]

Hey Folks,  Hope your world is well.

I'm in the market for solid advice; opinions supported by logic and/or experience that will help guide me towards choosing a touring bike, so I can get on with it, and ride. 

What I want is to start touring CO's mountain roads; mostly paved, some dirt and gravel.  I intend to climb a lot of passes, cruise down a lot of hills and spend all nights outside.  I've been searching for a bike for a couple weeks and my head is swimming with all sorts of new data --brakes, gears, saddles, bars, geometry, kinds of steel and most important the frame and fork.  I get that I can upgrade gear as I go along, what I need now is some experienced bikepackers guidance on frames.  This is what I've checked out so far:

Bianchi Volpe - No go!
REI's Navara - Not interested
Jamis Aurora - Sweet ride, low price point.
Surly Long Hual Trucker- All the rave, not sold.

I loved the Jamis from the moment I took my first spin; the size is perfect, it rides smoothly and handles well...but was not loaded.  The Surly road like a tank but not comparable in comfort to the Jamis.  Also not loaded, however had front and back Surly racks with empty panniers. 

I'm stuck!  Aren't I suppose to jump on the bike that offers the best fit and ride?  I hesitate for the following reasons: 1. Everyone, everywhere is in love with Surly and as a result finds fault in other rigs in or near its price point.  2. The criticism on the Jamis is that its frame will flex when loaded.  Is this true?  How much does that really matter?  All frames flex a bit.  3. I'm new to this game and all I have to compare rides to are city bikes and mtn. 

I'm not against Surly.  Maybe the ride I experienced is what a touring is suppose to feel like, and I just need to prepare to adapt to a new way of riding.  I need to stick around the Surly's price point ~$1300.  I ride a 54 or 55.  With the Surly this means 26" wheels and the Jamis 700.  The Jamis is equipped with v-brakes and the Surly has disc.  Disc or V? 

Is the Jamis a solid frame to build on or should my search for a better prize continue? 

Thanks all. 

CK...

[FatCloud]

DO NOT GET THE VOLPE!

I was enamored with that bike for a while til I met two people who had it and it failed on them (that's TWO too many people).

I was looking between the Surly Cross-Check and Surly LHT for my first new bike. In the end I went with the X-Check. My reasoning was that I liked the more aggressive geometry and sportier feel than the LHT (it also has all the same mounts except the under the frame bottle mount). It handles pretty well off road and you can slap up to 45mm tires w/o fenders (I've also heard people going bigger, but with whacky setups). I like that I can change the style this bike is (fully loaded on-road, sporty weekend bike, burly commuter, mild off-roader). It's not quite designed for comfort or climbing though, so if the LHT is not comfortable, this might not be the ride (but maybe it's a matter of new bars on the LHT instead of drops?)

In terms of tire size. Right now I'm dreaming of touring Central America, but having 700c's seems like a headache to me (especially remembering when I fucked up and burned through a few tubes in a few days). So having a 26" tire is smart for that reason (I'm actually looking at the Troll for my next bike for this reason AND because it's actually an off-road bike).

In terms of do anything bikes, Surly's are great. You can hit mountain passes and hit fire roads no problem. Plus they are reliable and versatile. I'm a Surly fanboy for sure. Curious to how it goes! Welcome to the world of bike touring/bikecamping! It rules!

[texasjake]

I'm going to throw my .02 in here and ask that ya try to go ride a Trek 520. I was in your shoes about one month ago and rode so many bikes it got overwhelming. In the end though - I chose what felt best over all. The Surlies are bad ass - no doubt - but for me 6'1" with a short inseam (32.5") the 520 in its 57cm size fit extremely well, not to mention it comes stock with some great components and super sturdy rear rack, bontrager hard case tires and pretty boss saddle. All in all man, get what feels good and try to get the most bang for your buck, "settling" on something now will cost you time/$$ later.
Ride on Captain K-

[FatCloud]

I'm going to throw my .02 in here and ask that ya try to go ride a Trek 520. I was in your shoes about one month ago and rode so many bikes it got overwhelming. In the end though - I chose what felt best over all. The Surlies are bad ass - no doubt - but for me 6'1" with a short inseam (32.5") the 520 in its 57cm size fit extremely well, not to mention it comes stock with some great components and super sturdy rear rack, bontrager hard case tires and pretty boss saddle. All in all man, get what feels good and try to get the most bang for your buck, "settling" on something now will cost you time/$$ later.
Ride on Captain K-

These frames are pretty ubiquitous used too. I'd probably buy a used one before I bought a new Trek.

[frejwilk]

It sounds like it would really help your decision if you were able to try a bike or two unloaded vs loaded. Probably hard to do. If you have whatever kind of bags you're planning to use, you might be able to mount them on that Surly (or put some weight in their panniers at least). Bikes feel very different loaded, especially if you are thinking of panniers. A 'tank' may be what you'd like vs something 'agile'. Just like you've read.

Considering that you're planning to ride some dirt and gravel, I'd recommend considering tire clearance as a major factor. For me, that means 45mm capability at least. You can always run narrow tires in a frame with clearance. I personally like wide tires for unpaved roads in the west (I live in UT and have ridden a lot in CO). With any kind of load, I find tires 35mm or narrower cause way too jarring of a ride (gear and rider) even on smooth dirt. Not to mention mud clearance. Others seem to get by, but it's nice to be able to choose.

What length top tube do you ride? The difference between a 54cm and 56cm Surly Trucker is only 15mm. If the 56cm fit, you'd have your choice of wheel diameters.

Even though they're a bit above your budget, my personal recommendation would be a Disc Trucker or maybe a Salsa Fargo 3. I have a Fargo and use it (with narrowish tires, fenders, racks, and panniers) for road touring. I like the ride.

Good luck with your search,

FW

[JRA]

The Salsa Fargo is worthy of consideration for the type of riding you've described.

[Area54]

Disc trucker or Vaya for dirt/road, El Mariachi for more offroad. I'm not overly familiar with the options you have stateside, but for what we have here, these are the options I recommend as a base for my clients. Definitely Fargo in there too, great setup flexibility IMO. Kona Rove?

[dadana]

If you want to grind some gravel go with a 29er. Set up with some non aggressive tires like Kenda small block 8 you can get pretty efficient pedaling. I bikepack with a Niner Air Nine and find it more comfortable than a road bike. Set up with either a rigid or 100 mm travel fork, disc brakes and frame packs you can go anywhere.