u/NascarNate

Fellow Surly Brethren, I need your advice!
Pretend like you’re talking to someone who grew up thinking “a bike is a bike” and only a year or so ago learned about gear ratios, carbon vs aluminum vs steel frames, the reason drop bars exist, etc.

I got an LHT to go bikepacking and enjoy longer, more comfortable rides than my Giant Talon mtb would allow for. It’s been great! We have some great rail trails (both gravel and paved) near us in VA and enjoy riding them, and I’ve gotten to ride the C&O canal on a longer ride.

My wife got into riding because she saw how much I enjoyed it. Her parents and several friends started joining and we started riding every weekend we have nice weather…and then they all bought e-bikes.

Now they want to go farther, ride roads with challenging inclines, and do the rail trails faster. They’re not throttle users, but they enjoy that motor assist riding for sure. Is it possible to change my LHT’s gearing to keep up with them? Or should I just buy a new bike to ride their speed? If so, which bike?

Does anyone know why Shepler’s charges a slightly higher fee for their services? Looks like tickets, bike passes, etc are all about $2 more than Arnold’s.

Should I use one over the other?

My family and I are visiting for the first time this week. Just a day trip while we’re passing through to visit the UP. We planned to bring our own, standard bikes:

1. Should we bring and use bike locks, or is there not an issue with bike theft/unauthorized use on the island?

2.So far in 2026, are people getting away with bringing and using their class 2 and up e-bikes? Or did the new legislation cause them to crack down on that?

3. If you were only eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner once on the island, where would you choose to go for each?

4. Any hidden gems we should know about?

I know, Surly says “No”, but what about you all? Have you run a Long Haul Trucker with 45s and fenders? If so, which fenders?
I need to stop flinging gravel into the kid cart I’m towing on the rail trail, but didn’t want to change my tires.