I have been reading discussions about my new Taiwanese BLT's on several groups Both the RBW owners bunch and the tour...@bikelist.org. So I decided to try to clear some facts up and post to both groups. First - someone said they thought the BLT would be a "Tank". I used 2 bikes for the weighing and measuring - one was a 52cm (center to center) BLT, and a 54cm (center to Top) Long Haul Trucker. Both bikes were weighed without racks, pedals or water bottle cages. These 2 bikes were very similar size wise. The LHT (with parts that come with the whole bike for $1095) weighed 26 pounds 12 ounces.
The BLT weighed 26 pounds 4 ounces - or 1/2 pound lighter than the LHT. Is that a "Tank"????? At least it is less of a Tank than the LHT - it is after all a bike designed for serious loaded touring, not a 15 pound race bike. Second - It has been mentioned that the Head tube was short on the BLT. If one goes only by the headtube length - they are not taking into consideration the length of the fork. The LHT has a head tube that measures 171mm - the BLT measures 170mm. That is shorter but only if you don't take into account that the fork is 2cm longer on the BLT. Bottom Line - on these 2 similar sized bikes - the top of the Handlebars is just over 1 inch (almost 3 cm) higher on the BLT than the LHT with all the Aheadset spacers installed and using the steerer uncut as supplied on the LHT. Also - the BLT comes with a 15 degree rise "quill" stem, call me "Old Fashioned", but, I don't care for the look of an Aheadset stem with 2 or 3 inches of spacers. That said - I can supply the BLT with a Threadless steerer if that is what the customer wants. Also, a steeper rise quill stem can be used to get the bars higher if desired. Another thing to take into account is the weight of the racks. The Surly Racks front and rear weigh in at just under 5.5 pounds (according to their web page). The Bruce Gordon Racks (made in California) weigh in at 2 pounds 10 ounces for the pair. That is a savings of more than 2.75 pounds. That means that the BLT with BG racks would be more than 3.25 pounds lighter than the LHT with Surly racks. Finally, people have mentioned the different cost of the parts groups. This is also because they are comparing apples and oranges. The Groups I have coming are completely LX. The Crankset, cantilever brakes, brake levers, and front derailleur are of much better quality than those spec'ed on the LHT parts group. Finally - the BLT frame packages (including a frame, fork, headset and stem Made in Taiwan, and Front and Rear Bruce Gordon Racks made in California) are on sale till December 24th for $875 that is $100 off the regular price. Check out our blog at brucegordoncycles.blogspot.com Any questions - feel free to give me a call. Regards, Bruce Gordon - www.bgcycles.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
