Soon after buying a complete utility blue LHT (2007) I realized that the 58cm frame was going to be too high and planned to part the bike, sell the frameset, and then buildup the new frameset with the original components... well that was the plan anyhow.  We remember what "they" say about best laid plans.

Had I been on the mainland things would have been much simpler and the research field work more efficient but being in the islands I spend a lot of time gauging things two dimensionally and sometimes through other's perceptions and experience.

In the beginning of 2008, facing cold and wet weather and several holdups on selling the blue frameset I decided to wait on Surly's anticipated release of the new olive green frameset.   So I waited, and waiting and waiting.  I needed a buyer for the blue LHT and needed to do some reading and research.  But I did way too much reading forums and thinking about how I wanted my new bike.  So slowly my collection of cannibalized parts started to shrink, to be sold on eBay, at my LBS, and to the buyer of old blue.  Meanwhile my list of components to get for the new build grew and grew.

Finally toward the end of April my frameset came in and the build began but I soon realized that it was going to take a while, a few mistakes, patience, a bit of blood, and more investment that I had planned to get what would soon be named Matilda just right.

Learning the Hard Way

The first couple of mistakes, I chalked up to being good learning experiences and I figured that I would pay much more taking a course in bike building and I certainly wanted to learn everything about my bike as I could so I could deal with mechanical issues while on tour.  But those "lessons" quickly started to add up and I got a lot of head shaking from my LBS.  I'm sure I also got called a "Fred" (sans the Lycra and white socks) a few times by some on the many forums I joined.

In spending two weeks in the saddle however, a lot will happen that will get you thinking about what you might do differently when building up a bike and while on our two week tour up the inside passage and back, I started to understand what I need to do and how to do it. 

New technology however, isn't always the best and two things that needed changing stood out the most, weight and utility.

Good, well made and proven technology however, one could count on to last. Components had to be somewhat field serviceable as well.  Not a thing Shimano is best known for but where they lack in utility they make up for in mass and cost.

COMPONENTS