I have a short urban commute with some hills. The Trek 520 is priced at $400 and the LHT $500 (pre negotiation). Both appears to have been cared for reasonably, judging from asking the sellers and checking the pictures.
I posted this on the Surly group and of course everyone is pro LHT.
Does anyone feels otherwise – that the Trek might be a better commuter and why?
Thanks everyone
by Frosty-Ad-5489
4 Comments
They’re both steel frame touring bikes, I don’t think you could go wrong with either one.
I’d still personally lean towards the Surly for two reasons. One, they don’t make the LHT anymore, just the disc brake version, and I think Surly makes more versatile frames. You’ll likely be able to fit any kid of tire on it with no clearance issues
Perhaps bikes are harder to find where you’re at, but I feel like you could find retro shimano style parts on an 80s/90s steel road bike for quite a bit cheaper than that, though both look like solid bikes!
I have an old Trek 520 frame, and it served me very well.
Both are great steel bicycles, with similar range in quality to each other. I would choose the trek, personally, that orange chrome is rather uncommon and looks fucking awesome. It’s also $100 cheaper. But I think you can feel safe knowing that neither are bad options.