Been kicking it around. After 30 years on yer basic steel road bikes, I got a new bike, the Felt F65, this year.
Great bike, fast and Spry and maybe lighter than I need... BUt it doesn't not have rack braze-ons or that loping relaxed geometry (I do have a couple 70's bikes that are close... but they are... 30+ years old)
I doubt I'd do heavy loaded touring, but I like the idea of a rack (or two?)
and an all-round type of rig for commuting/light touring/messing around.
The Surly Cross-Check gets an awful lot of notice for versatility
I'm not a MTB'er nor a XC racer... just someone who does modest to long training rides at medium pace (my GF rides a TREK 1500), and will do some supported touring -- with the need to haul a pack-on-back. Something like the Surly is looking mighty attractive (given the complete bike price)
What I need to know is... all you Wisconsin/N.Illinois surly riders... where are the dealers local where this beast can be auditioned??
I'll edit this by saying that I surfed the Surly(ville) site and checked their dealer list and noted that many of the listed dealers do not carry them any more or are out of biz (at least here in Mad-town)
Or if there are any Mad-Town Surly Cross-check riders who's bike is about a typical 54CM road frame size (I'm a 31" inseam) perhaps you could indulge me a test ride (smiles)
Nightshade
06-15-05, 07:56 PM
Not to be a smart pants, mate but I don't see anything special about
a "Surly" other than a re-hash of the great steel frames of the last
20 years. If you want an all'rounder then take your best, most comfortable
steel framed bike that you have to convert into an all'rounder with different
tires, bars, etc. to your way of doing things.
If the truth be known the first all'rounder was a converted road bike, mate.
Sigurdd50
06-15-05, 08:47 PM
Not to be a smart pants, mate but I don't see anything special about
a "Surly" other than a re-hash of the great steel frames of the last
20 years. If you want an all'rounder then take your best, most comfortable
steel framed bike that you have to convert into an all'rounder with different
tires, bars, etc. to your way of doing things.
If the truth be known the first all'rounder was a converted road bike, mate.
I appreciate your smarty-pantsyiosity
I think I get ideas in my head and then I begin to romanticize about getting that thing I want... not really a material thing... just filling out the niche...
In this case, it's that comforatable ride with rack mounts and bottle cage mounts and a bit of the loping geometry, and enough guts to hold some gear -- not a full-bore tour of siberia load.
I do have the Bottecchia -- which tho it was technically a road bike in the 70's, is a steel frame w/rack mounted on back. It was at a time, tho, when they didn't mess up the frame with bottle cage mounts (boo) so the paint job is a bit messed from those pipe clamp type holders. It has a Campy Record changer with a 6-speed freewheel... very nice, but a more up-to-date powertrain would be sweet -- hence the inquiry about NEWER touring/light touring options.
Maybe I'll just keep an eye out for a steel frame and try my hand at building up something.
til then, I'll look at Carradice bags to add some cartage ability to the Felt
-=Łem in Pa=-
06-16-05, 03:55 AM
I bought my Surly online and use it for exactly the same thing you might be using yours for.
I must agree and disagree with the previous poster. The Surly is a re-hash of great
steel frames of the past, which I cant see anything wrong with, but is has the added bonus of being able to accept any different combintation of drivetrain stuff you can think of if you like to experiment. Lots
of eyelets to add gear to, too. If you need customer service Surly will answer you immediatley. You can find them online for 850.00 or so. For what you get at that price point its hard to find anything objectionably wrong with it.
Nightshade
06-16-05, 05:58 PM
I guess I'm just a skinflint at heart because I firmly
believe that many of the quality steel bikes of the last
20 yrs are a better deal than anything new.
As to different gears , or more gears(?), all I can say is
why?? Sure,if your bikes gonna be a pack mule then
more gears will get the job done. But for normal people
how many of the gears you have do you actually use now??
I prefer a 5 or 6 speed cluster for everything I do because
you always get a stronger wheel with them. Beside for an
all'rounder speed just ain't the thing. Dependablity is.
Daily Commute
06-17-05, 03:12 AM
You can buy much better bikes than the Surly, but they get expensive real fast. The great thing about Surly is that it hits the quality/price-point sweet spot. To get a better bike, you have to pay a lot more for only small improvements. If you're a racer or if you have a lot of cash sitting around, the "small" improvements may be worth the money (more power to you, I'm not dissing the "better" bikes). But for reliable, reasonably priced transportion, it's hard to beat a Surly.
MrEWorm
06-17-05, 07:03 AM
You may have to post "Are there any Cross-Check owners in my area who will let me try out their bikes?
I got mine at Performance Bicycle in Naperville, IL but I ordered it on reputation alone, I had never seen one in person till I watched them put it together for me.