Surly Cross Check fixed gear build
 

My new Surly Cross Check frame arrived today, and I can't wait to start building it up. I got this to be my new fixed gear, all weather commuter, but I may end up doing some singlespeed CX racing with it in time.

It's gonna be kind of a low budget build for now:

Cane Creek S-3 headset
Profile Design Aris stem
Salsa Poco handlebars
Tektro R200A brake levers
Tektro CR720 front brake
Avid Shorty 4 rear brake
Origin-8 Pro Pulsion 46T crank
Origin-8 Pro Pulsion bottom bracket
Surly 18T cog
Formula/Mavic CXP-22 wheels
Maxxis Re-Fuse tires
Specialized Phenom saddle

Most of that is coming off my old Gitane fixie conversion.

I'm planning to get it stripped and re-powder coated, probably a candy blue something like this, depending on how it looks in person:

http://www.caswellcanada.ca/shop/ima...PCPPPS2502.jpg

To maintain the Surly spirit, I'm going to call it either Interstate Blue or Recycling Can Blue. :p

As I was unboxing it tonight, the urge to rush ahead to building it up nearly overtook me and I was thinking about skipping the powder coating. My wife came into the room and I asked her, with no more context than the presence of the frame, "What do you think?" Without hesitation, she said, "That color is ugly." I went a step further and told her I was thinking about not getting it re-coated. She thought it was a bad idea. So, there you have it.

Obviously, this thread needs pictures.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2535/...96e50d796e.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3633/...d823b064ed.jpg

I'll post more when I get something done with it.

Oh yeah, I got a nice deal on the frame from Taylor's Bike Shop. Look them up if you're thinking about buying a Surly or Salsa frame.

One vote for "Recycling Can Blue"...

Have fun with the build!

sweet!

I didn't find anything on that site about cross-checks : (

Yeah, it's a little strange. I got there by way of the Google product search, which seems to take you into a part of the web site that isn't directly exposed from the main page. The price was so good I called the shop to verify that it wasn't just a glitch in the web site.

Try this link:

http://taylorsbikeshop.com/central-w...rames-c501.htm

I ordered Cascadia fenders from them earlier this week. For my FG CC (which frame I got from universalcycles.com at a closeout rate and with a coupon)!

$650 for a complete Casseroll single... that is pretty good. LBS wants $740 - I think I'll stay with them though and pay sales tax.

I just got the frame back from the powder coaters (Brooker Enterprises in Portland) today, and I have to say they exceeded my wildest expectations.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2586/...cc6b6ce2_b.jpg

While it was being stripped, I had them add a rear brake hanger.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2562/...dcb297be18.jpg

It came out way too nice to call it "recycling can blue" -- so "interstate blue" it is.

Sweet, are you going to put the Surly decals back on it or leave it nameless?

Get a flip flop hub. If you ever want to coast, just switch the wheel around.

I'm putting the decals on. They're sitting in a box with a bunch of new parts just waiting to go on. I find myself wishing I could skip work today to do it. As it is, it might be a couple of weeks before I have time to finish the whole thing.

Very nice. I just went for v-brakes on mine.

The wheels I'm using have a flip flop hub. I built the bike I've got them on now as a singlespeed, but after trying it fixed, I found out (like many others have) that I like it a lot better that way. After a couple of months, I ended up taking the freewheel off because I was never using it. I recently put it back on for a couple of cyclocross races, but I don't know if I'll leave it on outside of cross season.

I'm thinking about rebuilding the other bike (after replacing all the parts I'm moving to this one) and having one fixed and the other singlespeed.

Daaaaaaang! That looks nice.

I too, am not a fan of their switch to "skidmark brown" frame colour.

WOW:thumb:great color...and I'm not a big fan of blue. That is going to be a great build.

It's driving me crazy, but I haven't had time to work on this. All the parts are sitting in my garage, but so far I've only gotten as far as applying the decals. :(

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3480/...4a51f53a_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/...52b5a037b6.jpg

Has anyone else put one of these head badges on? I'm not sure I got it to stick properly all the way around. It still makes a little noise when I press the edges in some places. I tried to press it tight for a minute or so when I put it on, and then I wrapped a shop towel around it and twisted the other side tight to try to keep pressure on it for a while longer, but I can't help feeling like it's going to come off sooner or later, probably the first time I take it out in the rain.

Man, that's lookin' pretty darn good already.

Even the head badges on the new Surly's don't always seal on the edges where it wraps around. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. BW, I think it would look better without decals. Can't wait to see it all built up.

It turns out the rear axle on my Formula hub wasn't quite long enough for the wide spacing. Once I put the spacers on, I could just barely get the nuts to start threading on. After much searching and buying one incompatible axle, I'm now waiting for the right one to come in the mail. It appears that Harris Cyclery is the only place in the world you can get the thing. :twitchy:

The rainy weather has helped me be patient to a certain extent, but today I decided to throw my CX wheels on there with spacers, just to have a complete, ridable build.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/...bf50c127_b.jpg

With the fixed gear wheels and the too-short axle, it weighed in at 21 pounds, 0.5 ounces.

ah...the ever popular 'poo-brown" -- the blue is much more handsome!!

At last, it's finished. Well, it's as close to finished as my bikes ever get. I think it'll be at least a week before I change anything.

I've been riding it with the Alex/Deore/Tiagra wheels from my Kona Jake and the 29x1.6 Continental TownRides from my Marin Muirwoods 29er while I waited for the longer axle to come in. I posted this picture on the sticky pictures thread, but I'm reposting it here for unification purposes.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2542/...3fa7a6d8_b.jpg

Here it is in bare fixed gear configuration:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/...40e39c47_b.jpg

And finally, in full commuter mode (minus the lights):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2629/...1a0e3c11_b.jpg

Yes, these last three pictures are nearly identical.

What axle did you end up ordering from Harris Cyclery? I 've got a wheel with a 120mm formula flip flop hub to go on my Cross Check which is in the mail as well. I've got two 5mm spacers but am afraid the axle wont work on my bike either. I would like to go ahead and order the axle so i can ride as soon as possible. thanks for the help.

memo

I'm sure Seattle has some good Powder Coaters but after seeing those results i'm half tempted to drive down.

How much did it cost?

My black is nice but if i had the money i might be tempted to paint it.

Looks Great!

I'm pretty sure this is the one I bought:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/images/hua07.jpg

It fit perfectly with a 5 mm spacer on each side.

I like my black but I am partial to blue but already have three blue bikes, yellow would be nice.

Your bike is nice!