Surly Ogre touring build?

[Dave T]

Hi all.

Thinking about a 29er mountain bike build for touring, rough roads, and trail work. Thinking about a Rohloff Speed Hub (expensive!) for easier maintenance. And a sturdy rack for carrying lots of water in the desert.

Perhaps a build along the lines of this on a Surly Ogre? Any thoughts (besides expensive with the Rohloff!)?
http://cyclemonkeylab.blogspot.com/2012/01/rohloff-equipped-surly-ogre-29ertouring.html

Another option is to make a cheaper build on a Surly Karate Monkey with deraileur, but they don't recommend putting racks on them with disc brakes, and if I have to carry 10-15L of water, a sturdy rack is going to be a must. Thought about a single speed, but probably need some gears for touring, grades, etc.

Thanks!

[Dylan Snodgrass]

Your questions answered!

http://bit.ly/fPUCip

I have met the fellow who writes the blog I linked above and he is an incredible wealth of knowledge especially concerning the Surly Orge and Troll. Good luck with your build and please post a few pictures when done.

[Dave T]

Dylan,

Thanks for the link! Looks like you've been doing some good riding yourself…

If and when I get a bike up and running, I'll put some pics up! Definitely like the look of the Ogre… (for a non-custom rig!).

Thanks!

[Steve Bennett]

I have really enjoyed my Salso Fargo for off road touring.

[MW]

You don't say where you planning on touring. Sourcing 29 tires could be tricky in places.

I'm running a Surly Troll with Rohloff, Avid BB7 disks, Tubus racks. Been wandering about Australia on tar, dirt roads and 4×4 tracks. Not spent any time on trails.

We don't have a lot of towns about off the East coast, and its a dry country. Current gear list is 28kg, plus food and water. Water has ranged from 3 liters to more than 25 liters. (2x 10liter MSR Dromedary bags + PET bottles). Food at that time also run to 2 to 10kg range.

One thing I have done with my set up is mount a rear rack on the front. This way the front panniers don't hang below the front axle. Keeps that ground clearance for 4×4 tracks.

Apart from the tire issue, I'm sure you can't go wrong with an Orge.

PS: Love the Rohloff. Wouldn't be without one.

[Dave T]

Thanks for the info, Megan. The plan would be rides and touring in California, so 29ers is no problem for sourcing. East side Sierra, Death Valley NP, and Bay Area would be on the list; love to get further afield if it all works out. My first dream ride would be a long tour of Death Valley, with graded roads, some paved, and some rough jeep trails, in a large loop. Thus the need for some serious water hauling (though not as much as your Australia needs, it sounds!). And thanks for the yes-vote for the Rohloff; the price tag is a little scary, but the reliability and simplicity is a huge selling point. I'm talking with a builder here to put together specs for a possible build.

[David Chenault]

I've been riding a Karate Monkey since 2006. Great bike, feels at home on everything from mellow dirt roads to tough singletrack. If you intend on regularly touring with a serious, traditional pannier-type load a bike with more specific geometry (longer CS, slacker HTA) might be less nervous. If you just want a rack for water loads, and will go light otherwise, than I reckon the Ogre will work fine, and be more fun on that descent from the Racetrack down to Saline Valley.

[Dave T]

Thanks for the comments Dave. I know you know what you are talking about!

I'm doing some planning based on either a Salsa Fargo or Surly Ogre.

And the current plan would be going UP (i.e. pushing the bike) up Lippincott Grade! But it's just a dream plan right now.

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