greenbeing

How do these two frames match up? What is the difference in Reynolds 631 on the soma and the 4130 cro-moly steel? I'm going to be using the bike for commuting and touring. What would you recomend?

thanks a ton,
gb

Revtor

Reynolds 631 is very nice stuff, surly's 4130 is anyones guess. I know nothing more so Ill keep quiet.

good luck, youll love either!
~Steve

greenbeing

Revtor-
I noticed you have a 2004 lemond poprad. that was actually the bike i was set on getting but i was told it is pretty expensive and complecated to convert it from a double to a trip crank in the front. I saw the pic of yours and you have a tripple...how did you go about doing that? Was it complicated?
Thanks,
GB

sdsurfer

I've been researching Soma versus Surly for the same thing (commuting and touring). What I've heard so far is that Surly is the way to go. A bike store owner me one of his customers is a hardcore commuter and they went through 3 or 4 Soma frames before giving up and just going to Surly (the Long Haul Trucker). The Soma frames kept breaking. I know Soma has a good guarantee on the frame but it sounds like depending how you use the bike you may have better luck with a Surly. I haven't purchased anything yet but I think Surly will be my choice over Soma (although I really wanted to buy a California company bike).

michaelnel

I weigh 250 lbs and have been commuting and doing weekend rides on my Soma for 4 months now. Lots of crappy pavement and 700x28 105psi tires, no frame breakage (yet).

I hope your friend's experience is an isolated case. Where, exactly, is he getting the breakage? I'd like to keep an eye on it for signs of problems.

gescom

One guy went through 3 or 4 frames!? Um, hardcore alright! Many people will never see a frame break in a lifetime. Something to keep an eye on anyway. Maybe he had a carbon fork?

I've owned my Doublecross since the start of last year (bought frame online from Bulltek sports in CA) and have given it plenty of miles and mild abuse. I spend all day riding it its that comfortable, basically my car at the moment (my actual car is older than me, built 1976). The other week I completed a 150km ride that included 20km off road through forest and mud. Lots of fun, not too fast though and I nearly got lost.

The Surly Crosscheck looks great imo, and would probably be a much better choice for touring, even though both have the same length chainstay. With some weight in my pannier bags the Soma does feel a liitle softer than normal, especially when descending and hitting bumps.

Michaelnel I've seen pics of your Soma, very nice!!

michaelnel

Thank you. Got any pictures of yours?