There’s no doubt but that a bike like the Surly Long Haul Trucker is an attractive machine that’s a pleasure to ride. But in some areas, maybe it’s too valuable and attractive to use everywhere all the time. An unattended bike of this sort can be an invitation to theft or vandalism. That’s Marcos Netto’s view, and that’s why he’s recently bought a cheap old bike with characteristics similar to the LHT. Here’s what he has to say:

When I built the Surly I thought, “Well it rides so well and looks so beautiful that it is such a shame to use it everyday.” But the fact is I’m afraid that the Surly will be stolen somewhere or that I might get robbed while using my bike daily. So, I decided to built (or buy) a cheap bike with similar characteristics to the LHT.

A friend of mine who is also a bike aficionado knew of my intent and pointed me to an ad at the local eBay website. He said, “This bike’s perfect! Go for it!” That’s what I did, and this nice piece of old cycling hardware cost me only $160.

And here is Marcos’ find:

 

 
I bet you’ve owned a bike like this, and I sure have. In fact, I still DO own such a bike. It’s a Schwinn Traveler, and she’s got History. I bought her in 1978 with hard-earned savings, and she was my first good bike. For a very long time, I rode Traveler everywhere, in all weathers, because she was my only transportation. But, inevitably, the workaday life imposed and I hung Traveler from hooks in the shed, where she languished for a few years without her tires even once touching pavement. When a carless friend needed transportation, I gave Traveler to her. Time passed. Over a decade, in fact. Then one day I saw Leslie and she said she didn’t use Traveler anymore because of a bad back. She couldn’t tolerate the riding position. Would I like Traveler back? You bet! Now Traveler rests on a rack over Petra, my LHT, awaiting new brake cables and a few tweaks to make her roadworthy once more.

But I digress. Marcos’ new circa 1976 Monark 10 Super, tugs at his heart strings, too:

I will be using this old jewel everyday to commute to work. The Monark is almost extactly like one I had in 1980 when I was 16 years old. I bought a brand new one, but I kept it for only two weeks because I did not like it. I did not know how to shift, how to handle it, etcetera.

Riding this old jewell is quite interesting. The bike is heavy and the riding position is sort of aggressive. One needs to keep changing the position of the hands constantly to avoid pain in the hands and arms. It takes a good deal of pedaling in order to get it to move fast (48/44 x 22/11 doesn´t help a lot). Braking is a long-forgotten art—if you do not take care you’ll either stop too early (with painful consequences) or end up crashing somewhere. But once you reach the right cruising speed it handles very nicely and smoothly, and after a few miles it seems to be a part of your body, ready to take you anywhere. Just as long as “anywhere” means no hills to climb! That friend of mine told me, “Do not ride it too much, otherwise it will become your favorite bike!” I guess he´s right.

I am still thinking what I’m going to do about her. Do I restore the components to their original beauty, or should I to a complete revamping with brand new modern parts with the old frame? Not sure. I will take some time to think about that. Meanwhile, the everyday way from home to work will be much more fun!

Sure is easy to see why Marcos is taken with his new old steed. Here are some photos, beginning with the stem-mounted shifters. Remember those?

 

 
And how about these center-pull brakes. They remind me of Traveler’s:

 

 
The brake levers are familiar, as well:

 

 
The crankset is markedly different from Traveler’s, though.

 

 
Looks like rust around the bottom bracket shell, but that can be cleaned up. Here’s the other side of the crank:

 

 
The rear derailleur looks up to the job:

 

 
All in all, I’d say Marcos got himself a good deal. He’d better be careful, though. His friend might be right, and the Monark might emerge as Marcos’ favorite ride, in which case, he’ll have to go and find another new old bike for his daily commute!

 

 
Thanks to Marcos for letting us reprint his photos. Be sure to check out his latest tour with his LHT. You didn’t realize Brazil was so lovely, did you!

 
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