Tell me why Surly...
 

is so GD great? I'm rolling this old schwin converted fixie without a real hub. I love it and if I make it through the winter on it and still love it I am going to invest in a real fixed gear. I hear so much about Surly and I have to know why it is so fantastic so that when spring comes around I feel justified in gettin' me one. :) Though if there is a better commuting fixed gear out there I'd love to hear about that as well I suppose.

Fire away.

I like my Surly LHT, my wife likes her Cross Check, but I love my Colnago. And the used Colnago frame cost much less than the Surly frames. Used frames are just fine and offer a much better ride for the money. Just a thought.

Nothing is so great about them. They're solid, no nonsense bikes, with no major problems, and that's it.

I second this. Surly's are solid, and they have the braze-on's we need. Surly's are not the best at any one thing, they're just good all around bikes.

I just ordered a CrossCheck cos it can do everything.

They're mostly just versatile -- can be used as a tourer, a long-distance recreational roadie, a single-speed/fixed gear, have sufficient clearance for really wide tires if you want, a trail bike and have a ton of attachment points for racks and fenders.

As stated above, Surly has a no-nonsense approach to building frames. They build them of steel, typically have all the braze-ons and mounts you want, and fit fat tires.

Except the steamroller, ironically. No fender mounts on that one. A bummer, IMO.

And they're inexpensive--$400 for a frame and fork? Good deal.

Surly is great especially their Fatties Fit Fine system if you don't want to do a complete build up you could check the IRO Rob Roy. I love the feel of steel, but I wish there was a alum bike with all the braze ons, and fixie. Justification for these setements (sp) is the fact of winter with salt, and other irratents (sp) I would like something alum so I don't have to worry about the potential of it getting rusted out.

Actually, the IRO Jamie Roy fits your description. Check it out - www.irocycle.com/id22.html.

But you really don't need to worry about steel. It takes a LONG TIME for steel to rust out even if you abuse it. If you treat the frame with a rustproofing agent, it can take an amazing amount of abuse. Aluminum will still be corroded by salt, so there's nothing you can do about that. I find it very odd that so many people are worried about steel rusting and falling apart. It really doesn't happen that easily or that often.

I like the Surly for what has been said...it's a no nonsense product...that "Big Dummy" is pretty coolhttp://todd.cleverchimp.com/blog

they need to do one on a LHT call it the XtraLongHaulTrucker...or MuthaTrucker....

But so are a lot of other bikes. Plus the website for the Surlys makes me what to hurl! The guy on the Crossc Check in the midrif outfit is just...creepy:eek: :D

LOL! I sent their website to a german I chat with. His response was almost exactly the same as yours! Ack!
Actually, he is a austrian living in germany.

Surly is a proletariat offshoot of a large bike industry supplier, and they are remarkably well accomodated and designed by riders that actually use those bikes.

i think their frameset diversity is as great and as complete of a quiver any bicyclist would ever need. and the frame touches are nice. who includes a chain hanger on bikes anymore? sweet...and FATTIES FIT FINE is a very beneficial to real world bicyclists who realize that, yes, bigger really IS better. I run 35s and 37 wide tires and they are the pothole eating, curb hopping skids every rider needs for real world road conditions.

keep the fancy pants, totally unrealistic, delicate 20's and 23's for the weekend club rides so everyone can stand around several times and watch your fellow riders get frustrated wrestling with latex while dressed in spandex- kinky!

That dude is the whole reason I was originally going to get a Cross-Check. I was hoping that I could be that cool, too. :roflmao:

Seriously, though... Surly makes good, solid frames that are designed around specific purposes, with the exception of the Karate Monkey, which is designed around every purpose and has more places to attach stuff than my expedition backpack.
Since you're looking to stay w/ a fixie, check out the bikes at IRO and compare them with the Surly bikes. I was going to go with a Cross-Check at first, but then found the IRO Rob Roy. I'm partial to the track ends that IRO uses on all their models, instead of the long-ish horizontal drops on the X-Check. Plus, the Rob Roy hasn't got a derailleur hanger or shifter brazes to detract from the smooth lines of a SS/FG ride.
Overall, they're both good bikes. Check the frame geometry, decide which one will fit you better, and if that's not an issue then just go for which one you think looks cooler.

Or if you really like the Schwinn conversion you're riding, wait for the release of the new Schwinn Madison. That bike is getting some good reviews over on the SS/FG forum.

Which in turn is what is great about them!

Simple steel bikes with ample tyre clearance and braze ons.

They have brought the essence of the Rivendells and other custom builders of this world to the price point of the average joe.

(Not that I am seriously comparing them with Rivendell, but if you can do without the lugs and the looks then Surly is a bargain.)

Such as? (I know there are other good bikes, but what specifically are you thinking of?)

Agreed. But these are practical bikes, not see-me bikes.

If you love your Schwin (and if it will take snow tires for Denver winters), why not just build it up? Use the money you were going to spend on the Surly to buy kick-a$$ components, gear and lights.

As much as I love my Surly, you should ride the bike you love.

Here's another vote in favor of the guy in the cutoff shirt on the Surly website. It's definitely a statement: we don't take ourselves overly seriously and if you do, you're buying the wrong bike.

It made me not want to buy a Surly bike, but only because I know I'm not cool enough to deserve to be seen on one. :)

My first non-used bike was going to be a cyclocross and I was set on the Surly Crosscheck. I wanted the complete bike and found (in 2004) that there were two versions - the standard and the 105 STI build. One with fairly basic components $950 and easy to find on the web and in QBP catalog and one with better for $1350 - only in some but not all QBP catalogs. I walked in to the LBS ready to pay for the higher end pre-built. But then I found the Lemond Poprad and did a side by side and found the Poprad to have better components, perhaps better frame and $1050. I was still tempted to go with Surly for the non-Trek name (but still distributed by QBP). But I overcame my fashion/coolness instincts and got the Tre.. I mean Lemond. Still quite happy.
I am quite sure I would still be quite happy with the Surly too!
Al

Just about any touring bike built for loaded touring will have the same braze-ons. Examples are the Cannondale T series, the Trek 520, Fuji Touring, Jamis Aurora, Gordon BLT. This reference is rather dated but here's a pretty comprehensive list.

There are also lots of hybrids and commuter bikes that have the same braze-ons. One place you probably won't find them is on mountain bikes, at least mountain bikes that are newer than around 2000. They just seemed to disappear on those bikes.

I think there are three reasons why Surly is so popular.

1. They make a decent frame, with good features.
2. They listen to what bikers want. They jumped on the single speed/fixie popularity surge faster than most of the makers. The Big Dummy is a perfect example of that.
3. They aren't afraid to try different things. The Pugsley and the Big Dummy are examples of that. Who else has a superfat wheeled bike where the front wheel can be switched with the back in an emergency? The Big Dummy is certainly going to be the first production frame designed to be a dedicated Xtracycle rig.

I just hope they don't stick with the Big Dummy name though. If they're going to stick with the "Sanford and Son" theme, I would rather see them call it the Sandford or the Lamont, just not Big Dummy, despite the humor.

I really like their plain, single color looks too. Most of the modern factory bikes that try to go artsy, look horrible.

Surly is the new Schwinn, or the old Schwinn.

You know, the Schwinn we liked, the one that built the killer bikes of our youth.

I love my LHT. I have a few other bikes including a nice, light, and relatively expensive road bike, but the LHT is the one I enjoy riding the most. Just something about her that puts the biggest grin on my face. Although its not the fastest or lightest bike I own, it just feels like a 'pure' cycling experience.

I've been thinking about building another identical LHT just in case something happens to this one.

that's a pretty good way to put it