kylecrispin

Hi All,

Long time lurker sometime commuter here. I am finally replacing my bike that got stolen (almost 2 years ago) with the new (2008 model) 50 cm Surly Cross Check you see below. Pretty much stock except for the stem(bontrager somethingerother swapped in during fitting), seat, tires (Gatorskins) and bar tape. The LBS cut off an inch from the end of the bars to guard against my knees hitting the shifters when out of the saddle.

making

i dont know if I would like the bar end shifters. I did have them on a bike when I was much younger, but before that I had shifters on the down tube, so they were an improvement from that. You had them before?

kylecrispin

Nope. Last two bikes were downtube shifters. It is funny that that is the first reply. I just got an e-mail from my brother that said "Bar end ****ters, huh?". Why do people hate on the bar end shifters so much? My first impression is that they are going to be fine. Anyways that is what comes stock with the crosscheck. I would be interested to hear what other owners that have had theirs for awhile think.

riff

Very nice bike! I really like the combo of cool grey with leather/brooks!

BradBB

Out of curiosity, how tall is the original poster? I recently got a cross check 54cm (5'9", 32" biking inseam) and it feels great to ride but my seat looks a bit dorkily low.... Love the leather bar tape!

subclavius

A beautiful and nicely built bike.

If the bar end shifters give you any trouble, just have your knee caps removed...

mesasone

Bar end shifters are awesome, I think that everybody who needlessly hates on them is uncomfortable with the size of their "package" and is trying to compensate with more expensive gadgets to become the "alpha male". How is that for over generalization?

Nothing wrong with Brifters, but bar ends are dead accurate and bombproof.

BentCapt

Kyle,

Great looking bike. I have the bar-end shifters on one of my bikes and love them. I sent a tire recommendation to you via your Wisconsin office

Enjoy the Surly!

kylecrispin

I am 5'9" but have a long torso and short legs (pants inseam is 30 in). I test rode both the 50 cm and 52 cm crosscheck and also had a professional fitting. Seems like the 50 cm fits me best. It also seems like this is the first bike I have ever had that really fits me. The stock stem was replaced with one that is a bit longer but has more of an upright angle to it. You have me all freaked out now. Did I buy a tiny girl's bike

kylecrispin

Thank you. They only had some really dark "poo" brown tape in stock but the mechanic took the tape off of another bike on the floor and threw it on mine.

ryanwood

nice ride, I have had my Cross Check since February. I really dig the bar end shifters, coming from a flat bar bike, they took a little getting used to, but they are completely indestructible. I crashed on the trail and sent my knee into the right shifter at full speed, hopped back on and it shifted perfectly, gotta love that reliability.

BradBB

I doubt it! I debated getting a 52, but it had a crazy stem on it that was way upright, and the 54 felt more plush in some way. I could have gone with the 52, but the shop (which was very helpful, but not what I'd call "scientific" in their fitting) suggested the 54 because I wasn't going to race or be off-roading. Perhaps I've got a bike that's too big?

I guess in the end, If it feels good, ride it! Oh, and mine is the poo brown, so in the end, I think you may come out ahead. It's "beef gravy" according to Surly, so the bike may be christened The Gravy Train.

pwdeegan

gorgeous, gorgeous ride! how does the leather handlebar tape hold up in the rain over the long run?

CliftonGK1

Nah, if you went for a fitting, they probably know what they're doing. There were 2 things that I thought odd though:
1) The saddle to bar drop is huge! Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the B-17 isn't the best saddle for that type of setup. Tends to cause issues with most guys, regarding their junk falling asleep; not a good thing.
2) Maybe the deep drop ratio and the length of the bar bottoms would cause it on a smaller frame (less distance from saddle to stem), but I'm 6'6" and never bang my knees against the shifters when doing a standing climb.
I think you'll get used to the barcon shifters really quickly. I've actually gone back to 100% friction mode with mine for the super old-school feel. I've got over 6000 miles on my Cross Check and I love it.

I really dig the grey/honey colour combo. As that saddle breaks in, the colour is really going to look awesome with that setup. Personally, I'd put Challenge Parigi-Roubaix or Gran Bois Cypres tires on it to get the gumwall matching look with the saddle and bartape.

If you shellac it, it holds up just fine. (I shellac cloth, real cork and leather tape.)

Santaria

Fantastic bike. Bar end shifters rock, and we at the LBS love them. They're very mechanic-friendly and don't suck to tune in like expensive rapid-fire style shifters.

stringbreaker

Bar end shifters

kylecrispin

After the saddle was swapped out the drop ratio did look a lot more severe. I wonder if the brooks has taller rails? At any rate I am no crazy aggressive in the drops rider ( I live in sf so the fact that I have gears on my bike should give you a clue i'm in it for comfort!) and this set up actually feels way more laid back than it looks. I will re-evaluate the seat post height after I get a few longer rides under my belt.

making

bugly64

Welcome to the Surly Cross Check club. I love mine. Now you need a nice rack for the back.

Grimace 2/9

I've had my Cross Check for about 3 weeks and love it as a fast commuter. HATED the bar end shifters though. I think I made a nice compormise by having "Thumbies" installed which placed the shifters to the top of the bar. I still have enough room for my hands and the only real change I had to make was placing my computer on the stem instead of the bar. Sweet!!!

rugerben

I love..no wait.....LOVE my bar-end shifters. I put some on my C-Dale T400 to upgrade from DT shifters.
They offer all the reliability and light weight of DT shifters, but still have most (not all but most) of the convenience of brifters.
For a commuter bike you really can't beat 'em.

Besides, if you fall, you can easily ruin a $300 set of brifters. If you fall and you run bar-ends, you probably won't kill them, and even if you do, you can replace 'em for about $60.

d2create

Nice looking ride!
I wouldn't have thought the honey tape and saddle would look good on gray, but surprisingly it does look really good.

Do you have the barends setup in friction mode yet? If you don't, give it shot... you won't go back. To me, that's their main advantage over indexed brifters. It means you will never have to adjust your derailleurs again.

habcup

Bar-end shifters rock. I re-routed the shifter cables completely underneath the bar tape (like campy & SRAM) on both my touring and road bikes. It makes for a clean and practical setup. I really like being able to shift into friction mode and shift up and down the rear cog with one stroke.

Quel

How'd you get the cables all under the tape? My cables are definitely not long enough to ride along the handlebars before going down. Did you replace both shifter cables?

kylecrispin

Yes I do! I was hoping that the nice folks here on BF would be able to suggest a sturdy versatile rack. I am kind of split on what type I want right now because I would like to be able to slap on some panniers at some point but don't want too huge of a rack on there just yet.