I’ve been commuting on a Surly Long Haul Trucker for about a year. It’s a well-built, well-designed touring bike, but since I don’t do much (any) touring, it’s not ideal for my 5-mile commute. The oversized steel tubes and undersized, 26″ wheels make for a somewhat harsh ride over the rough Milwaukee streets.
Before the LHT, I commuted on a Surly Cross Check cyclocross bike. Compared to the LHT, the Cross Check was smoother and livelier, but not as stable with a rack and panniers. Plus, it had long horizontal dropouts, which made it difficult to remove the rear wheel with fenders installed.
Tomorrow, my new commuter bike will arrive – a Velo Orange Polyvalent. The Polyvalent is a traditional city bike (a porteur, si vous plait). It has 650B wheels, skinnier frame tubing, and geometry that’s optimized for carrying its load up front. I’ll assemble it with parts from the LHT, plus some new stuff. The part I’m most excited about is a dynamo front hub, which will power a headlight that never needs recharging.
Denny Yunk 
Nice bikes! And perfect for a five mile commute. For my 16-18 mile commutes, I’ve used an old racing bike (I raced the 2001 Alpine Valley race on it) with 28 wide city tires and, initially, front and rear fenders and a rack. But with that distance, you just want to be moving, so I’ve shifted the balance from durability and comfort over to lightness and speed (relatively speaking): no more rack, no more front fender with mudflap, and soon my 25 wide 2010 Gatorskins will arrive. I may have to set up yet another old rig with wider tires (maybe even Gene Macken spike tires) for the snowy and icy days. Enjoy!
I like to carry my load up front as well…
Cool bike for sure… I want to build a bike with a dynamo hub and fenders too. Plus we’re adding a new addition to the family and he needs a place to sit so he doesn’t miss out on weekend rides.
Looks like fun D, keep up the good work.