Originally Posted by
PDKL45
I think it looks like a really neat little commuter. It goes head to head with a bunch of alloy hybrids like the Giant Escape, and will be heavier but with a much nicer ride and better carrying capability. Simplified QR dropouts, and, for Surly, minimal braze-on/mounting points. People will see it as a Bridge Club with less tire clearance, but if the M-XL frames have room for 700x35c and 650x47b tires, it looks like it would make a great commuter/ATB. I'm keen on it, I kind of want one.
But does anyone know about budget CUES? All I can find with Google is an ebike specific Di2 groupset/components. The drivetrain and brakes are a new type of budget analog/acoustic version of the ebike CUES?
Seems nice, yes, but Surly steel doesn’t ride better than mainstream aluminum frames. Not even close. Perhaps the 650B version with the big tires will.
Per usual the challenge for Surly is competing on spec. Things aren’t as bad now as the dark days when they were selling Cross-Checks with steel forks and bar-end shifters at the same price as competitors with carbon forks and integrated shifters.
But the similarly priced, aforementioned Giant Escape Disc has hydraulic discs for instance. 2x9 drivetrain. Etc. What Surly has going for it is style and practicality. Though the Giant looks pretty good in Hematite.
*Oops - apparently the Surly will also have hydraulics. We regret the error. Gathered my impression of spec from reading thread before the document. Generally a bad idea. The “official” (leaked) parts list looks just fine for the price.
What’s interesting is the bike in the photo looks like it doesn’t have rear rack mounts, but does have a full set of fork mounts. I wonder if it’s just a preproduction bike in the photo, me missing something, or a classic Surly quirk.