SNF
Thank you for the reply. My thoughts about these bikes are
LHT- all reivews that I have read seem to view this bike as the perfect touring bike. I have doubts about the frame, only that it is not double butted, the bar end shifters are a minus since I like brake shifters (I know what others say about reliability, but I most likely will not tour in the remote outback Alcan areas, and will have a set of campy downtube shifters in my bag). Tires are a little wider than I would like.
Jamis El- reviews that I have read say nice bike but not really for touring, the gearing is too high. 10 spead rear end is wrong for touring, the 9 speed equipment is more reliable and more available incase of damage on a trip.
When I saw the Jamis, I liked the frame material ( double-butted Reynolds), these brake shifters are also a minus since I am used to Campy shifters. Not sure of the clearance for my big feet due to the difference in chain stay length.
There is also the difference in the rear hub spacing the Jamis has a standard 10 speed spacing of 130mm and the LHT has a mountain bike spacing of 135mm. The LBS that sells surly says this is a big difference, I am not sure about this point.