thomspins

What do you guys think of Surly frames? I'm poss. gonna buy one.. thx

Arsbars

Nice frames, pretty good company... never had any problems with their frames.

pitboss

Been hit twice on my Steamroller...never had to have it re-aligned (maybe I am just lucky though)

riderx

I own a 1x1 and a fixed Crosscheck. Great bikes for the money. If they fit you, you can't go wrong.

fore

i sold my steamroller in favor of something a little more track specific, but while i had it i loved it. so much i've just about convinced my boss that we need to order a few for the shop i work at.

skitbraviking

I also looked at them. I like their style.

When I brought them up with a few different dealers they VERY STRONGLY recommened a Soma instead (somafab.com). For the extra $50, you get better tubing (Reynolds 631 in the front triangle). According to one local Surly/Soma dealer, the Surlys are basically plumbers pipes. I made the leap to Soma and as soon as I get mine, I'll be happy to let you know how it rides, etc.

jitensha!

i'd have to agree with the viking... the soma also has nicer geometry (IMO) than the surly... too bad they don't make 'em small enough to fit me...

alexs

I think that's just dealer hyperbole. Either that of your dealer is ********. The Steamroller is double-butted cro-mo. Certainly not 853 or even 631, but it's not straight-guage plumbers pipes.

Regardless, I love my Soma Rush. I know several guys who love their Steamrollers. *shrug*

riderx

I wouldn't be buying anything from this dealer since he either doesn't know what he is talking about or he lied to upsell you (not much of an upsell either). Surly frames are made from 4130 Cro-Moly, double butted tubes on the front triangle. My first fixed was a lugged gas-pipe frame and they are vastly different creatures.

skitbraviking

It wasn't one dealer, it was two or three. Their response was quite visceral, not some strategy to ploy me.

absntr

Which dealers were these skitbraviking? Just curious where people go in Chicago for the bikes.

skitbraviking

The two that I remember for sure were: Upgrade and that one on the south side, loop area. Don't remember it's name. Sorry. But they are probably listed on the site as a deal in the 312 area code.

alexs

well, then you were lied to by two or three dealers instead of just one. *shrug* if you don't believe me, go check out surly's site and read the specs on the bikes.

skitbraviking

then they lied... *shrug*

RAN

fixed cross check here.....fine jus fine..

Schiek

I love Surly bikes. But I think they may have lost a little street cred when the Steamroller showed up in this month's Bicycling magazine.

On second thought....maybe I should be posting this in the riveting poseur discussion going on next door...

OneTinSloth

hehe.

i may be reiterating what was said earlier, but...meh.

the steamroller is made of 4130 cromoly. while this isn't as light as say, reynolds 631, or 853, or columbus whatever the hell, it is pretty damn sturdy. 4130 is what most quality BMX bikes are made from, and yes, they may be heavy, but they last a long time, and lots of people swear by them. 4130 is definitely NOT plumbing.

HexagonSun

OneTin, i'm not sure i know much about metallurgy or whatev, but isn't reynolds 631, 853 etc still 4130 chromoly? i'm almost sure it's the same stuff, differently treated to allow for slightly lighter tubing with sturdier welds. companies like reynolds/columbus just hold the patents for their particular steel specs. steel is steel. mass produced name brand tubing isn't always all it's cracked up to be.

on the soma tip, "my bike shop buddy says" soma frames are fabbed in the same factory in indonesia/taiwain/oompa loompa land that does bianchi's pistas - surly's are fabbed in the u.s.... of course that might mean nothing at all about quality. can anyone else verify this?

OneTinSloth

reynolds has their own proprietary blend of steel, i think. and the numbers refer to the maximum temps that they can handle during welding. and since higher temps mean faster welding, thinner tubes and stronger joints are the end result. 4130 is a lot more flexy than reynolds of the same thickness. which is why a lot of BMX bikes that are made from it are so heavy, thicker tubing...also bmx bikes tend to take a beating.

i thought surly's were also made overseas...

alexs

according to bikeworks nyc and velo city (the first two google responses to "surly bikes taiwan" ) surly bikes are made in taiwan.

https://www.bikecult.com/works/bikesframes.html
https://www.velo-citycycles.com/sales_bikes.htm

riderx

Surly's are definitely NOT fabbed in the US.

jimv

Hi Folks...

Last summer I decided to bite the bullet and order a frame a from local builder (Rodriguez). Before I spent that kind of money I did as much research as I could regarding bicycle materials.

All of the alloys mentioned above are steel but not all are 4130 chrome-moly. I believe there is no molybdenum in either 853 or 631. Even though all steel tubing is 95% iron and a few percent nickle, the differences lie in that last percent or two of alloying ingredients.

Neither alloying nor heat treating affect the density or stiffness (of the metal not the ride). The differences lie in the elongation and tensile strength of the metal. This allows tubing to be made thinner and still maintain (ride) stiffness and resistance to bending/breaking. So no steel frame is lighter than another because it's made from a lighter steel, it's lighter because it's made from a stronger (hence thinner walled) steel.

Diameter of the tubing allows for the use of thinner walled tubing as well and can greatly affect the frame's stiffness (but not the metal's of course).

Another difference results from the heat treatment. The process usually involves multiple heating/cooling cycles. Alloys that are 'air-hardened' are shipped without performing the final cycle. The final treatment occurs during frame fabrication (welding). So the joint is actually stronger after it's welded. Other alloys actually lose some strength after they are welded. Some can only be brazed.

The more exotic alloys were created to solve a problem that occurs when metals are mixed. Within the material, the component elements tend to form long chains like grain in wood. This can make the alloy's strength non uniform and somewhat directional also like wood. The tiny amounts of additional elements in the mix form small crystalline structures that interrupt the growth of these chains and makes the 'grain' more random like compressed chipboard does for wood.

For what it's worth, I chose Tru-Temper Ox Platinum for my frame. But my other rides are a 4130 Surly Pacer (replaced dropouts with horizontal ones) and a 4130 Surly Steamroller. I love both of those too.

Thanks...

Jim

SD Fixed

Thinner does not always = stronger.

kiingfinny

the thinner walled steel is stronger at the same thickness as the non-alloy steel, therefore can be used at a smaller thickness at the same strength (and therefore lighter)

bombusben

I think jimv was saying that a stronger steel allows for thinner walls, not that thin walls are stronger.