Originally Posted by
zippy753
I really like the Surly Cross-Check I saw this weekend for $900, but there are a few things I’d change from the complete bike to make it my own: seat , headset (and possibly stem), chainring, handle bars, seatpost, and maybe tires. Just these parts are at least $400 together. My local bike shop says they can customize a bike for me, but naturally, they need to know what I want.
The main reason to change handlebars is personal taste and comfort. This is a common change, but unless you've ridden a drop bar bike enough to know what your favorite bars and reach are, I wouldn't swap the Crosscheck's bars right away. It's *probably* better to adjust the reach via the stem if things are a bit off.
Saddle is a standard swap. Making a Crosscheck a triple is also pretty standard, since the normal spec means it needs a chainring and a bit of front derailler fiddling.
I can't really see why you'd swap headsets unless you're a randonneur or racer and know that you break the Crosscheck's stock one too quickly. Headsets seem to take an incredibly long time to wear out.
The tires are one of the first components you'll wear out, so unless you have a couple spares at home, I wouldn't bother.
Seatpost can be a fit swap, but if it's not a fit issue, there's a lot of "why bother?" to my mind.
The main reason I can see to build up a Crosscheck is if you want something that is Really Not Stock. So a generator hub and internally geared Crosscheck with mustache or North Road bars... that would be a good reason *g*. A bike like that would easily run $1500 or more, so the complete is a huge savings.