The Land Cruiser of Bicyles (1 Viewer)

[GTV]

I don’t spend a lot of time on this sub forum (ok, none) but I think that ya’ll would have a better idea of what I’m after than most bike guys.

I drive a 2007 100 series LC.

It’s practical and does everything well. It’s comfortable on the road and easily goes anywhere I point it. It’s dependable, reliable, robust, swallows all of my gear and I don’t have to work on it all the time.

This is my current bike, a Surly ECR with an Alfine 11 speed hub that’s made of glass. It was bought, not built.

If I spent all my time in the dirt I think it would be an ok choice. But, just like my DD Land Cruiser, it sees more time on the pavement and on there it totally sucks. I blame this on the 3.0” tires that make the bike feel clumsy and hard to push. I do love that green though!

So you can see where I’m going here. I want an all purpose bike that can do it all, that’s dead reliable, simple to maintain, strap gear on, that I can hop on any time in any weather through (nearly) any terrain and just go.

I *think* I want:
29x2.5-ish tires
Room for fenders
I’d consider a suspension fork if it is reliable and needs very little maintenance, all of my previous bikes have been rigid!
Rohloff 14 speed hub with belt drive. Pretty immovable on this part. I like the Pinion gearbox but the design severely limits frame choice

What do ya’ll think?

 

[2mbb]

Check out the New Hunt Land Cruiser

Released alongside the Hunt 1000 in Australia, the new Hunt Land Cruiser is a titanium drop bar gravel bike designed for long days in the saddle. Learn more here...

bikepacking.com

Don't know anything about this. Just googled land cruiser bicycle. If you really are spending more time on pavement what about a gravel bike? or get a second bike.

 

[GTV]

Check out the New Hunt Land Cruiser

Released alongside the Hunt 1000 in Australia, the new Hunt Land Cruiser is a titanium drop bar gravel bike designed for long days in the saddle. Learn more here...

bikepacking.com

Don't know anything about this. Just googled land cruiser bicycle. If you really are spending more time on pavement what about a gravel bike? or get a second bike.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I've got a lot of bikes. I love them all but the problem is that they're all one trick ponies. I'm not after something that excels on smoother surfaces just something that isn't so damn clumsy like my ECR is. A gravel bike would be too much of a sacrifice on the mountains, I've also tried drop bars and they just aren't for me.

 

[bcart1991]

You want a titanium hardtail with slack-ish geometry. It will climb decently, descend well, be light enough not to piss you off, and do everything you want it to good enough to justify not buying another frame for a LONG time.

Lynskey, Litespeed, Turner (they make some sweet frames), Thomson, Moots, Mosaic (they might be only road...) all have what you need. Some will evenwork with you to get custom geometry.

 

[gilamonster]

Just buy a second set of wheels, and run skinnier tires for pavement use. I put lots of miles on 29 x 3 tires both pavement and dirt. With a little extra psi, they roll just fine on pavement. But, it takes seconds to switch wheels. Another consideration, is those rabbit hole rims and rim strips aren't light. Having your hubs built to something lighter like would make it roll and handle much better then it is now.

On the other hand if your set on a new bike, I definitely love the (n+1) motto.

 

[bcart1991]

@gilamonster the answer is ALWAYS n+1. I n+3'd myself last year.

 

[GTV]

Just buy a second set of wheels, and run skinnier tires for pavement use. I put lots of miles on 29 x 3 tires both pavement and dirt. With a little extra psi, they roll just fine on pavement. But, it takes seconds to switch wheels. Another consideration, is those rabbit hole rims and rim strips aren't light. Having your hubs built to something lighter like would make it roll and handle much better then it is now.

On the other hand if your set on a new bike, I definitely love the (n+1) motto.

Nah, there's no way in hell I'd want to change wheels and/or tires just when I ride pavement, and what if the ride has more than one surface? I've got a rigid SS running 27.5x2.3" and it doesn't feel clumsy at all. It's the huge plus size sidewalls that make it feel like that, 29" will give it more roll over without all the sloppiness. I've also tried increasing PSI, it did roll better but didn't corner for sh!t. Especially when I travel I want to bring one bike with me that can comfortably (maybe not optimally) do it all and not a bunch of other crap. Besides, if you saw my requirements above the wheels aren't the only thing I want to change, a belt drive is high on the list.

I started searching for frames that are belt drive compatible to help narrow it down. I came across the Soma Juice and it looks pretty intriguing.

 

[reddog90]

You want a titanium hardtail with slack-ish geometry. It will climb decently, descend well, be light enough not to piss you off, and do everything you want it to good enough to justify not buying another frame for a LONG time.

Lynskey, Litespeed, Turner (they make some sweet frames), Thomson, Moots, Mosaic (they might be only road...) all have what you need. Some will evenwork with you to get custom geometry.

Add RSD to the list. There are some great hardtails with modern geo these days. I don't bike enough to fork over the money for a ti frame but it sure would be sweet.

 

[coleAK]

I’d say stay away from: carbon fiber, suspension, non-shimano components, and hydraulic brakes. Other then that there are tons of options.

I like building my own bikes. If I were going to build something bomb proof and low maintenance I’d do a Brother big bro,
With 27.5+ wheels, shimano XT drivetrain, Chris king hubs/BB/headset, Velocity rims, and Paul Klampers mechanical brakes.

Big Bro | Brother Cycles

(Price for non-UK customers £665.83 excluding any local import taxes) Our all purpose, tough as nails 29er/27.5+ adventure frame; designed to take you well off the beaten track and beyond. Whether you’…

www.brothercycles.com

For a built bike tough to beat.
Kona unit X

Unit

If the Unit were to put out a wanted ad for its ideal rider it might look something like this: Cromoly, single-speed badass ISO someone to adventure with. Some people call me rigid. I think I’m just classy. I like long rides in the sun (or mud, or snow), will carry all your stuff, and will last...

konaworld.com

Or Salsa Marrakesh if considering drop bar and doing more touring then MTB.

Salsa Cycles | Adventure by Bike

www.salsacycles.com

 

[GTV]

I definitely want another steel frame. I too can't justify the cost of ti, the bike is going to be on the heavy side no matter what so steel it is.

Agreed on mechanical brakes.

The more I think about it the more I want to stay full rigid, if nothing else it gives a much larger triangle for a frame bag and I really don't want the extra maintenance of a fork.

I'm shying away from +size tires, I've put enough miles on 27.5x2.3" and my current 29x3" to feel like 29x2.5" is going to be my sweet spot. I can also find fenders for that size relatively easy.

Belt drive has got to happen. My bike spends a lot of time on the rack behind my LC and my LC spends a lot of time on dirt roads. I'm tired of the chain being an oily muddy mess all the time.

That being said, I'm now heavily leaning towards a Surly Ogre with a modified seat stay to accept the belt. It sounds like a good all-rounder.

 

[coleAK]

I definitely want another steel frame. I too can't justify the cost of ti, the bike is going to be on the heavy side no matter what so steel it is.

Agreed on mechanical brakes.

The more I think about it the more I want to stay full rigid, if nothing else it gives a much larger triangle for a frame bag and I really don't want the extra maintenance of a fork.

I'm shying away from +size tires, I've put enough miles on 27.5x2.3" and my current 29x3" to feel like 29x2.5" is going to be my sweet spot. I can also find fenders for that size relatively easy.

Belt drive has got to happen. My bike spends a lot of time on the rack behind my LC and my LC spends a lot of time on dirt roads. I'm tired of the chain being an oily muddy mess all the time.

That being said, I'm now heavily leaning towards a Surly Ogre with a modified seat stay to accept the belt. It sounds like a good all-rounder.

I run a 2.5 F 2.4 R (largest that will fit) on 32 IW rims on my Kona Process below. My daughter (who absolutely rips) runs 2.6 F/R on 36 IW rim on her salsa rustler. My son is on a 2.5 F/R on a 30 IW rim on his trance X. None of us feel the need to go wider.

I just mentioned a plus if I were to do a theoretical ridged “only bike” build for myself as 3” would give me more options for the winter (snow).

All summer I ride the Kona at least 4 days a week, my kids ride at least 6. The bikes do 7-10k miles a summer on the back of my 200 or mostly our camper. And ~2k miles of almost all technical single track and we race enduro. Only thing we do to the chain is lube it and change out every spring.

For suspension even a fork, air springs are high maintenance and I feel like coils (although low maintenance) are boat anchor heavy and almost pointless as a suspension. I’d stick with ridged, if you hated it could always add a fork later.

All that said I haven’t owned a suspension-less (or even a hard tail) bike in ~25 years.

 

[kwon-offroad]

Rigid all the way. I'm a huge fan and have been on the Plus concept since its inception.

Steel frame isn't what is bogging you down, it's the rotational weight. Those Surly tires suck for pavement and they're heavy, get rid of those as you're already planning. The rims as well as someone else also mentioned. Get a carbon fork, ENVE or Whisky (or Chinese knockoff but I would never go there with such a critical component), and that will make your ride feel a lot more nimble.

Here's my whip. Custom Ti Blaze designed by me, built by Pierre, i9 Backcountry 450 with XR2 3", Enve MTN. Bike weighs 21.5lbs and is nimble on any terrain.

 

[GTV]

Rigid all the way. I'm a huge fan and have been on the Plus concept since its inception.

Steel frame isn't what is bogging you down, it's the rotational weight. Those Surly tires suck for pavement and they're heavy, get rid of those as you're already planning. The rims as well as someone else also mentioned. Get a carbon fork, ENVE or Whisky (or Chinese knockoff but I would never go there with such a critical component), and that will make your ride feel a lot more nimble.

Here's my whip. Custom Ti Blaze designed by me, built by Pierre, i9 Backcountry 450 with XR2 3", Enve MTN. Bike weighs 21.5lbs and is nimble on any terrain.

View attachment 3107332

Nice looking rig!

I don't believe that the steel frame is bogging me down, I intend to go steel again. I really feel like it's the huge low pressure tires. I'd love to test out a lighter wheel/tire to confirm but that would be a very expensive test if it doesn't work out as hoped. Also, fenders for 3" tires are also much harder to find and more expensive than smaller versions.

 

[Grayscale]

I love my full suspension mountain bike, 26x1.95. I do not understand why suspension is not done for pavement-platforms. It keeps you in control, because for a bicycle, turning on normal pavement, realistically, means dealing with cracks, sand, and gravel. Yes, unpaved is much more slippery, but, paved is effectively worse for being bumpy. I think that every bike could benefit from a front at least a front suspension fork. I also think that the springs/ telescoping structure and hydraulic dampeners should be separate components. Aftermarket shocks that you can easily swap depending on your riding style. Until then, stick with a solid fork if you have to deal with rain and typical bicycle-parking-security.

 

[Beng1328]

I just bought this Moots gravel bike and it is amazing, smooth on gravel or the road. They are a bit on the pricey side but they are amazing bikes. Just another option and it depneds on what you want to do with it, I ride a ton of fire roads here in Colorado so this bike is perfect…

 

[davegonz]

What about a Spot Rocker with belt drive? Wait, those are single speeds.

 

[Boss Hog]

Just cruising Mud and saw “the Land Cruiser of Bicycles” title and chuckled. LC’s ARE the benchmark.

Anywhoo, here’s my 2-wheeled ‘Cruiser: 2016 Rigid Karate Monkey with 29’s. About as simple a mountain bike as one can get these days. Slow, relatively comfortable, and bulletproof. Just like my ‘60.

With 3 other really nice mtb bikes, this is the one I ride the most. And I have an attachment for Moose to pull me (bike jöring).

 

[reddog90]

Found the actual Land Cruiser bike

Land Cruiser - Gravel bikepacking frame and fork

Currently available for pre order at a $1000 discount The NEW 2023 V2 Land Cruiser is our gravel adventure/fast off-roading frameset built to take you almost anywhere, get you there fast but keep you comfortable for long days in the saddle. Bikepacking ready with triple bottle mounts on the top...

huntbikes.com