Hi all,
a few years ago I posted asking about bikes and eventually settled on a pack rat but eventually didn't buy it, but a couple of months ago I finally did - it's been discontinued but my LBS (in Japan)'s supplier had a 2018 model (big rack, racing green!) in my size so I got (as it turns out: very) lucky.
I ended up posting this review on the surly site a few days ago, I thought I'd also share it here:
It seems the
PR is discontinued - I want to offer my thoughts in case Surly ever decide to revisit this awesome bike.
IMHO this is a near-perfect utility bicycle - it's simple (rim brakes), capable of distance (road-sized wheels), a bit lively and fun (ie it's not the LHT) durable (surly steel), and utilitarian (the front rack and geometry work brilliantly).
This last is key: a utility bike needs to carry stuff, and in my experience a front basket is by far the best way to do this - with panniers you have to divide your luggage between them, and rear weight (even in a basket) is always hard to control. Whereas a front basket you can throw your bag in with zero thought, easily control the weight with your arms, AND can see (and reach) your luggage easily. And the
PR geometry means no steering issues - I've carried nearly 10kg on mine with no effect on steering, which is awesome.
But the
PR being discontinued implies it's not selling well...why not? Here's my guess:
I have seen a lot of internet bike people are saying they don't really see the point of the
PR (and questioning rim brakes!). But ...I think these are probably bike connoisseurs (the kind of people who hang out on internet bike forums!...and who often spend 3K on a really great bike!). Compared to those, the Pack Rat is undoubtedly lacking.
But that's simply not the right market for the
PR: it's an EVERYONE UTILITY bike: simple, reliable, capable, durable, a bit fun, and able to carry stuff. But yes, not the lightest and definitely not the best spec...but for me that's fine.
But definitely 4 not 5 stars - minus one star because it's somewhat overpriced for "utilitarian". IMHO if the price was sub-1K (same as cross-check) (maybe by embracing utilitarian: friction shifters! square taper bottom bracket?? Make a bike that can survive the collapse of civilisation!) and marketed it as such, then I think the
PR might have a future: as a "standard bicycle" that people own because it gets the job (mid distance utilitarian + a little fun) done with no fuss. Kind of "your grandad's bike" (but perhaps a little sturdier: esp that front rack). I think this is a great bike for utilitarian/commuting usage - I'm loving mine. It's fun utilitarian tho: I also ride it quite a bit just for fun.
Just my tuppence worth, of course, I'm super happy to have snared a
PR before it was discontinued and wanted to share my thoughts in case anyone on here is ever looking at the
PR (used, or maybe there are some still around)
happy riding everybody
UPDATE:
I've been putting the bike through it's paces this week: I went camping for a couple of nights (first time bikepacking) and I also did what turned out to be quite a speed run (the mood just took me) last night, so I thought I'd comment on those two.
TLDR: front loading works great, and speedy runs work great too, but gearing isn't low enough for significant climbs with a load.
Camping:
First time bikepacking so I don't really have lightweight equipment so worked with what I had, total of about 15kg(!), 10kg on the front basket (5kg in a saddlebag), and I can confirm that it does exactly what Surly said it would: steering is not even slightly affected by the front load - no-handed was a bit optimistic (but doable for a second or two) but one-fingered steering was easy. I also enjoyed being able to control the load with my arms (I've done heavy loads on the back before, I much prefer it up front). On the journey home (50km, 2.5hours) I picked up the pace and no real problems, bike was still easy to handle.
That said, I committed a navigation error and ended up climbing a mountain, and the gearing wasn't adequate: I ended up pushing quite a bit (anything approaching 10% i think). If I was going to tour mountains regularly I'd definitely either switch to a mountain drivetrain or (more likely) get a second bike that's more suitable. Overall that's my one gripe with this bike: I wish the gearing was lower (I do live in a hilly area). So long as I'm not carrying too much it's just about adequate, but more than 5kg and any significant climbs become a bit of a grind...
Speed run:
Had to go 15km into town yesterday evening for an event (basically unloaded), was feeling energetic so put my foot down (repeatedly teehee) to see what happened, Result: it was fun. On the way is mostly gentle downhill so I did it in about 40mins, gentle uphill on the way home (obviously) but I was still feeling good so hammered it in 45mins. Again bike handled it great. So: gearing is all good at the top end, and bike rides fine without a load.
Overall:
The
PR is fun to ride both loaded and unloaded. Not the lightest speediest bike ever built of course, and probably not the best heavy tourer either, but as a middle way that does both speed and carrying stuff adequately (it's currently my only bike, tho N+1 is beckoning...probably a fatbike for offroad fun and adventures) I'm loving this bike. But I do wish the low-end gears were lower, might well switch to a bigger cassette...