The 585

I'm on the fence between the Nashbar Steel CX ($899) and the Surly Cross Check ($1099 at LBS). For those of you with familiarity of these, which do you recommend? I'll probably put a rack on and this bike will be a "do-it-all" for commuting and exercise.

The Nashbar is cheaper and does 20-25% off sales often. However, I don't like how their sizing goes from 53 to 56-- size 54 is typically my sweet spot. I also don't like how it's only offered in a Red frame. But I DO like how it comes with full 105 components.

On the other hand, the Surly CC has a great reputation and I like the frame color options. What would you guys go with?

martianone

IMHO, get what you can make sure fits well.
Have the crosscheck- commuted with it, did a couple credit cars tours with it, ran it with studded tires. At college now with my son, set up as a 1x9, 42 t chain ring and 12-36 cassette. Would be sad if it gets stolen.
No experience with the nashbar.

The 585

Thanks, great feedback on the CC.


Just got one of those 22% off emails from Nashbar, so their Steel CX bike now goes for $720 after shipping. Would this ~$400 cheaper price justify getting this over the Cross Check?

Jarrett2

Do you know how to assemble and dial in the Nashbar for you? If not, dealing with a local bike shop is nice.

The 585

You bring up a very good point, and this is one of my concerns. I've never assembled a bike but from what I heard Nashbar bikes come mostly assembled and I figured I could find instructions on the rest.


But yes... I do like the fact that the LBS can fit me for the right size and I can test out some bikes first.

noglider 

Have your local bike shop do the final assembly. It might cost over $100 but you'll still be ahead, and it is well worth it.

ksryder

I had the Nashbar, lusted after the Surly. Couple attractive things (to me) about the Surly are wider tire clearance -- can fit up to 45s? I think? My Nashbar could only fit 38s. And horizontal dropouts -- can be useful if you're out in the middle of nowhere and you break your derailleur and need to do an emergency single speed conversion to get home.

If those things aren't important to you then disregard.

Squeeze

How is Nashbar resale value? I never see them on craigslist.

I know Cross Checks have great resale value, at least if the ASKING prices I see on my local craigslist are any indication. I seldom see them advertised at less than $750. Most are advertised around $1000-ish, depending on components and accessories. Of course selling prices may be less than asking prices, but still...

I don't know if that's important to the OP, but it's one of the reasons I don't own a Cross Check myself - they cost more than I want to spend, even (and perhaps especially) used ones.

ksryder

About like it was thrown off a cliff, from the few I've seen.

Having trolled CL plenty for Cross Checks in the past, bike prices in Colorado are high no matter what. It's not unusual to see CCs for $500-700. There's a midwest velo swap FB group where I see prices like that on CCs fairly often.

RubeRad

My opinion, no the CC is not worth $450 more than the Nashbar -- unless (like ksryder notes) you want clearance for more than 38s.

I think the biggest difference in the riding experience would be brifters vs having to shift with bar-ends, which I would not enjoy at all. Both bikes have cantilever brakes. I would consider splitting the difference and taking a look at the Nashbar 105 CX bike (unfortunately, that "105" doesn't extend to the brakes, as shimano hydraulics have an excellent reputation, but these disc brakes are mechanical). Stan's Rims is also a nice addition to that spec

FWIW I ride a CC that I built myself. Sorry this page is such a mess. I would be riding a Straggler with disc brakes if they existed when I built my bike.

a1penguin

30% OFF ALL NASHBAR BRAND ITEMS INCLUDING BIKES! GET THE NASHBAR! Hmm, not sure why it's only saying extra 22% off for items over $49. How likely is it that you would want to resell it?

I agree that having your LBS assemble it for $80-100 still saves you a nice chunk of $ for accessories or clothing.

The 585

Thanks for the advice, guys! The 30% off deal is making me seriously consider ordering the Nashbar, which will still put me ahead to order a bunch of accessories and have LBS do the assembly/tuning.


Still concerned about not being able to test ride the bike... especially since it looks like I fall between sizes. At 5'9" and typically fitting size 54 road bikes, should I go for the 53 or the 56? Thanks!

RubeRad

Personally, I tend to err on the larger size. Because I read this, and I believed it. Riders that are more about performance and aero than comfort, would tend to err on the smaller size. The bike industry nowadays tries to fit everybody as if they are riding in the TdF.

My mountain bike is a motobecane 29er. I bought it in the 19" size, which says for 6'1"--6'3", even though I'm a hair under 6'. My wife (who is pretty tall, like 5'11") thought that bike was unbearably stretched out. But then I swapped the stem from 110mm down to 60mm for her to test, and now that's her bike. I bought the same bike in 21" (listed for 6'3" to 6'5"), and again swapped the stem 110-->60, and it's the same for me as before.

My commuter is a 60cm crosscheck, if that helps you at all.

So yeah, I recommend considering going with the larger size, but in the end it's your body and your preferences, and it's not possible to guarantee the right choice without a test ride. That's the biggest downfall of ordering bikes online. You can save a good chunk of change, but sizing is a risk. You should check if Nashbar will take a return/exchange if you change your mind on the size. Since they're the same company as Performance, maybe they can ship it to a storefront cheaper than shipping to you?

ksryder

If it was me I'd get the 53 and put on a longer stem. The effective top tube of the 53 = 53, so a 110mm stem might put you in a similar position as your other bikes.

I've put shorter stems on bikes that are too big for me but I've found that if I go less than 90 the handling is sketchy af.

chas58

good answer on the stem! That is what I would do too.

chas58

Anything that says cyclocross on it seems to go for at least $700 around here, no matter how old it is. If it was in decent condition, you should easily be able to get $400 for it.

chas58

That sizing doesn't match my experience at all, and I have bikes that are a little too small and a little too long. I'm sitting more upright on the small bikes, and lower and more stretched on the long bikes. Of course I adjust stem length and height to compensate.

Ultimately what they are saying is raise your handlebars, not so much get a bigger sized frame. The only reason they suggest a larger frame is to raise your handlebars, but that is backwards in my experience.

This description of a "small frame" describes my experience with a "large" frame.
When I am on my "too large" 56cm, I'm leaned over too far, my arms are locked straight and its uncomfortable to be on the brake hoods. If I take my hands off the bar, I would " flop down and smack his nose on the stem. It's not comfortable or correct."

Part of bike sizing is to find the angle and postion where you can be bent over without falling on your nose. You can do this by standing up and bending your knees - your torso will lean over naturally to ballance. This is what you want on your bike. If you take your hands off the bars of a short frame, nothing will happen - you are not leaned over that much. If you take your hands off the bar of a bike that is too large (where you are stretched out too much) your core will not hold your body weight and you will fall forward.

markjenn

I recently put together a Nashbar hybrid bike for my daughter so can offer my experience on the assembly issues.

Overall, the bike came well boxed and protected (there was one very minor scratch in the paint that was likely there before boxing) and there were no major issues with assembly. But both wheel bearings were adjusted WAY too tight, both wheels needed truing, the brake calipers were mis-aligned with the discs, and the drivetrain required quite a bit of adjustment to shift properly. None of these things were difficult but it took a half day and this is probably too much for a novice bike mechanic to tackle, at least all at once. When I did all these things, the bike was a great value, basically a $600 LBS bike for $300.

I think Nashbar and Bikes Direct bikes best suit someone who is a pretty good bike mechanic and is experienced with the issues involved. Otherwise, you really need to take them to a LBS at which point the price advantage tends to vanish, especially if the LBS provides a good fitting and 30-day tuneup. And while some LBS's are cool with mail-order bikes and will (wisely) hope to foster a future relationship even if they didn't get the original bike sale, many are openly hostile to folks bringing a mail-order bike in.

With Nashbar, you do want to get the timing right to take advantage of their 20-25% off sale periods. They seem to come/go randomly.

- Mark

ksryder

I'll add one more data point from my experience with the Nashbar Steel CX bike after putting ~8000 miles on it -- I wouldn't buy it again.

It's a good value, you can't beat 105 components on a 4130 Cromoly frame, but I ended up replacing pretty much every other component on the bike and would have been in just the same position financially, or possibly better off, buying a bike that was spec'd more to my liking right off the rack. Or buying a frameset and building my own rig.

TO BE CLEAR, I'm not saying it's a bad bike, I'm just saying the perceived financial incentive disappeared once I upgraded parts to a level I considered sufficient. And, like someone else mentioned, needed to have the hubs and bottom bracket serviced right out of the box, but I think that's pretty standard on any mail-order bike.

noglider 

@ksryder, are you saying you replaced 105 components? If so, why? If not, then it shouldn't be a worry for @The 585.

I think Surly makes competent bikes, but I find them to be heavy. But I have no idea if the Nashbar is any lighter. It better not be heavier.

ksryder

Apologies, I could have been more clear. I ultimately replaced just about everything *but* the 105 components. (Actually I had problems with that, too, but it was 10-speed 105 and the current models have 11-speed so I didn't want to further confuse the issue. I assume the 11-speed stuff is good.)

I think mine was ~23 pounds (size 56) out of the box. After I bolted cages and bags and stuff on it was around 25-26.

noglider 

I saw a video of bike buying advice by some guy who rides tens of thousands of miles a year. He is a very frugal guy. He showed how his bikesdirect frame is very durable and reliable but he had to change a bunch of things before even riding it. He said the crank was the worst thing on the bike, and replacing it was quite expensive but he was still ahead of the game. His modified bike did great over huge distances, but this is largely thanks to his expertise and willingness to do a lot of work on it. It's a strategy that works for some but isn't for everyone. Not everyone even has the time to think about how to optimize something that starts out cheap. It worked out for me with a Nashbar. I got a complete fixie for $300. All the bearings were overtight, and the wheels were not well tensioned. I put a lot of work into the bike immediately and changed the pedals. The wheels were also quite heavy, and I might have replaced them if the bike hadn't been stolen. But I don't recommend it to most people who want a new purchase to be relatively problem-free.

phughes

Did you just call my bike fat?!

chas58

I wonder about that too, but at this price point I usually get a decent second wheelset (allows me to run road and gravel tire sets) and a good saddle. Not sure what else I would change on a bike like this.

RubeRad

OH
MY
GAW
LOOKIT
THAT
Tire Clearance