Surly Long Haul Trucker Disc touring bike gets refreshed, though a 26” option is still available

The last time that we saw an updated Surly Trucker Disc, Bradley Wiggins had just finished announcing the raffle number at the Tour de France and ten years on, Surly has made a few key updates to their popular Long Haul Trucker Disc touring bike.

The headline additions are flat-mount disc fittings, 12mm thru-axles, and more luggage mounting points. These changes keep the Trucker up to date with the latest technology and standards, making it easier for riders who are looking to build up their own bike.

Review: 2012 Surly Long Haul Trucker Disc

The good news for fans of the older Trucker is that the geometry has seen only a few minor changes and these make achieving a comfortable riding position even easier.

Firstly, Surly has increased the stack height, giving you a higher front end for those that are looking for the most relaxing riding position. Given the nature of touring bikes, this is likely to be the majority of riders.

There is also a sloping top tube for a lower standover height, ideal for all those “let’s just consult the map” moments.

The move to thru-axles is quite a jump for a touring bike, though Surly’s sensible choice of the 12mm standard should ensure that spares can be found in pretty much every bike shop.

The reasoning for the move is two-fold. Firstly, you have the stiffness improvements, though unlike performance road bikes, this isn’t so much about power transfer as it is about load-carrying.

Thru-axles also ensure correct alignment of the disc rotors within the calliper. This is rather essential when you’re dealing with the close spacing of disc brakes as any misalignment can result in a rubbing disc. That’s really not ideal when you’re riding all day.

Switching from IS brake-mount disc brakes to the newer flat-mount fittings is firstly simply a way to ensure that the new Trucker works with the latest groupsets. Over the lifetime of the previous Trucker, post-mount has come and gone in the road market and we’ve now got flat-mount.

Going forward, it seems sensible that Surly should move to the flat-mount standard, especially if there is going to be another 10-year wait for a frame refresh.

It’s not all about the latest tech. Surly still offers the Trucker with 26” wheels, though you are more limited in which wheel size you can choose with the only crossover frame size offering both 700c and 26” wheels is the 56cm frame. Below this, you’ll be getting 26” wheels, while sizes above the 56cm are limited to 700c.

One thing you won’t be short of on the new Trucker is luggage-mounting options. The front and rear pannier mounts are accompanied by mudguard eyelets, spare spoke holders, three water bottle mounts and three bolts on each fork blade for carrying anything else you want to take.

Other neat touches include internal routing for a dynamo hub and an updated kickstand for the shorter chainstays. You can even use downtube shifters if you fancy it.

Surly offers the Long Haul Trucker Disc as a frameset for £750 or as a complete build with Shimano’s triple-chainset Sora 9-speed groupset. You can pick between this ‘Pea Lime Soup’ green or ‘Hi-Viz Black’ with stock expected in mid-July.

surlybikes.com