…and what’s the free/free flip/flop hub look like?
ps..... hmmm... .too snarky.... i should delete.
anyways - I like Surly. It's like they ask the question: "why not?", and then ignore any answers they might think of.
A free-wheeling Krampus or LowSide look appealing. I've not been able to convince myself I'd spend enough time on them to justify the cost -- so I'm spending a couple hundred bucks on a
Roadside Rescue RockHopper. Not a wise use of money that could go towards the retirement or mortgage. But hey, the LBS-owner has to eat!
No flip flopping with offset wheels. Front and rear are the same so you can have front and back set up differently if you want. I had 2 different cogs on it for the first year. Then nine speed with single speed front for bailout. The derailleur snagged a rock one day, mashing track end closed. Took it in, and mechanic found frame cracks at all the welds. Got new frame barely in warranty time. Then I tried the Nuvinci rear for a few years, Broke 2 of them. There was a 27.5+ takeoff wheel from something in the back room of the shop when I took it in with the second Nuvinci failure. We dished it over without having to change any spokes, and that wheel has been on the back with a 10 speed ever since.