alexaschwanden

Nice Surly, i liked the background that you used to take the pic.

Brennan

Thank you. I like the background too. Kind of complements the bike's colors, I think.

puckett129

Here is my newly completed commuter build. Pretty standard Cross Check with a mostly SRAM Apex drivetrain, Zero Lite wheels, and SKS Fenders.

Nothing special but it will be a solid ride.

making

all i see is a red x, but all CC's are special.

SurlyLaika

Here is my CC last March when it was all shiny and newish.

26t granny gear added with Tiagra triple front derailleur.
SKS P35 fenders
Specialized All Condition Armadillo's 700x25
Brooks Flyer and handlebar tape
Cygolite MilIon head light and Knog Boomer in the back
Surly Nice Rack rear
Ortlieb Sport Packer Plus's
MKS King Grip platform pedals

Hot Rod Lincoln

This is my baby. In one of her riding modes! She is my absolute favorite. Always ready for a little exploring or whatever I want to do!

HardyWeinberg

Back to 40 mm tires

ontheroadid

Bought this used in November. Haven't changed anything yet, but plan to.

Sirrus Rider

That looks good to go as it is..

bagxlee

Haven't posted here in a while.

Used today's lunch break to take the CC for a spin around the city.

Onions

New as of today. Rode it home the 8km from the LBS. Weighs less than one wheel on my old bike. Faaaaaaaaaaaaast too.

Bekologist

TC with studs, rolling on the snow.....


and her wandering cousin on tour in San Francisco......

yah!

GearsForFears

Road bikes weren't the best in a city with traffic, bad roads and poorly maintained bike routes. After shopping around carefully, doing a lot of research (including here) and test-riding, I got a SS Cross Check which my partner liked and borrowed so much we now have his-and-his. Like others have said, a Cross Check isn't going to out-run a road bike or out-haul a touring bike or out-comfort a cruiser etc., but it's going to do a better-than-good job at all that and never fail. I think that's why they often become so special to their owners - it's a bike to have if you're going to have just one. (Or in our case, one each, though we do swap.) Mine:



His:

ontheroadid

Quick question for those with drop bars: Anyone know why Surly or its dealers do not route the shifter cables under the bar tape when they install the bar-end shifters? I think that would drive me crazy.

peterw_diy

Surly's cable routing is very normal. I suspect it is intended to perform better than exiting by the stem as the housing has more graceful bends. From experience I can say it's fine so long as it doesn't exit too close to the drops.

LeeG

no idea, I've been routing bar end housing up to the middle of the bars with the brake housing for decades. There's no reason to have housing flapping in the wind.

ajfa

Surly cross check is a nice bike. Big pro is the acceleration speed, the bottom bracket seems designed for fast pickup, lots of torque.

My big complaints:
- it's impossible to find used, and when you do it's 3/4 of new price ($900 at least)
- stock components sort of suck (talking about derailleurs, I'm ok with the shifters actually)
- low bottom bracket, yet very aggressive riding position. If you like this position, might as well get a pure road bike or more exotic cyclocross. I like touring frames where I can crouch for speed but relax if I want to.
- 54 cm is to small, 56 is too big for me (yeah, that's a personal gripe).

Biggest issue for me was price. For the $1200 price of a new CC (after tax or shipping), you can get a used Ridley x-fire or Bianchi cross concept with Ultegra/SRAM components that has similar geometry, weighs half as much, and rides like a dream. For a third the price of a CC, you can get a used Bianchi Volpe. The pre-2010 Volpe rides virtually identically to the CC (though newer models are more raised for touring), I got mine for $400.

Damn hipsters, bidding up the price of CC's... on the plus side I live in a city where I could sell a "vintage" Peugeot road bike (that weighed more than I do) for $350 and finance a 2009 Volpe

Onions

Mine did. Depends on who builds it, I guess.

I don't get why people say the CC is a heavy bike. This thing is sturdy, sure, but I'd hardly call it heavy. Even with rack and fenders it weighs practically nothing.

ontheroadid

That's a problem with your market, not the bike itself. I bought mine used for $650, and it had an upgraded drivetrain/shifters (Ultegra), headset, and other components.

ajfa

That's a really good deal, you really lucked out. I think of Chicago as a "large" market with lots of bikes for sale. It could also be timing: I bet once cyclocross season is over and it's fall/winter, there are many more bikes being sold (including CC's).

I guess what I was trying to say is: CC's seem to fetch a higher price than comparable steel cyclocross frames, and they're not really *that* much better (even though they are nice!)

GearsForFears

We got our two Cross Checks off Craigslist for $600/$650, with better components than stock. But they are singlespeeds and we live in an un-hip place where relatively few know what Surly or a Cross Check is.

ontheroadid

Thanks to those who responded to the bar-end shifter cable question. Just another issue that comes down to personal preference, it seems.

pcb 

Snow commuter Surly, fixed gear w/studded tires & jerk stem. Bought this as a used frameset w/alum fork, found used Surly steel fork w/short steer (thus the jerk stem), sold it after the winter for what I paid. This was 2 winters ago. Bought a cleaner one used the following summer, built w/same parts, but had very little snow this past winter. I didn't used to look forward to snow, but I do now....

beebe

Obviously buying a used bike is cheaper than buying new. Your argument is not compelling in the least.

Andy_K 

My latest configuration: