LeMond Poprad vs. Surly Cross Check
 

I'm looking at getting one of these two bikes and was wondering if anybody had advise or reccomendations as to which bike they prefer and why. I'm going to be useing it for commuting, regular long distance rides, and touring. I'm looking for a sort of All in one bike and these looked pretty good to me.

Also, if you konw of another bike besides these two that you think is better, that would be great for me to know too.

Thanks,
GB

Well, the good news is you can't go wrong with either, really. They have their own plusses and minuses -- for example, the Poprad is a little lighter, but the Cross Check (I believe) has rack mounts. Both are decent steel cx bikes. If you can, try to ride them both on the same day to see for yourself.

Rode both plus a few others one day at the LBS. I was set on the Propad after riding them, but ended up finding a great price on a set-up Cross Check so that made the decision for me. I haven't had one complaint and the Cross Check has proven to be a very versitile and comfortable bike. Normally a commuter and weekend ride but it's going on its first loaded, short distance tour tomorrow in fact.

I would agree 100% with this post.
the Poprad is a little more hi-tech and flashy and has the dual brake lever set-up that would
be nice but in the end I went with the Surly due to the barend shifters. I shift 500 more
times a ride than I use brakes so that and the fact that you can chamilionize it into anything
sold me on the Surly.....But , they are both great bikes. Cant really go wrong.

Also, I forgot to ask, but does the Poprad have rack mounts? I was pretty sure it did.

Hmmmm...I cant remember !
The Poprad I checked out was a leftover model from last year
so it might be diffent than this year anyway.....
This question comes up alot in this forum and the commuting forum too.
A search would probably yeild more stuff than you can read in a night !!
I have a rack on my Surly and it can take fenders too.

I'll have to check on the rack mounts on the Poprad when I get home. I know my Bianchi hardtail has them, and they're really obvious. For some reason I don't remember seenng them on the Lemond, but I could be wrong.

In fact, I'm starting to think that it must have 'em because I've seen a picture or two in the Commuting thread of Poprads with rear racks.

I've been trying to figure-out if Poprads have the rack-mounts too. I may buy a used '04 Lemond Poprad, and would need the rack for my school/work commuting. It seems to me that they do have one set of braze-ons. It also seems that some people have issues mounting both racks and fenders, because there are only one set, but it also seems that many mount both rack & fenders together on the single set of braze-ons. So, like I said . . . I'm not 100% sure if they have the mounts, but I'm almost sure they do. Plus I've seen a picture of a '04 Poprad with both front and rear racks.

KeatonR, I hope you get a chance to check your Poprad . . . and let us know for sure, THANKS.

~Mehow

I was just looking around and in the CycloCross forum there is a thread called "Picture of My POprad" by G-Unit. It's an '05 Poprad . . . and in one of the pictures you can clearly see holes in the frame. Luckily, the '05 is White and therefore it's easy to see the small black hole.

Yeah, I was looking at the picture on the Lemond website of their stock Poprad and it looked like it had both front and rear rack mounts, so I'm guessing they do, although those photos can be a little deceiving. Anyway, has anybody used the poprad for touring with front and rear panniers, because I usually have both front and rear panniers when i tour and I'm currious if anybody knows how the poprad handels with 30-40 lbs on it.

One of the bikes I took to Ireland for a year and loved was a 2002 Poprad. I sold it before I left Ireland.

Last fall I needed my Cyclocross fix. I was all ready to just buy the 05 Poprad, but had some time and looked around. I ended up with a Cannondale Cross. The carbon fork really helps smooth out the rough stuff. Nice wheels and tires. Also the frame being alum. for fall and winter riding is nice due to the condensation from warm house to MN winters. It will take a rack and also has great room for fenders. The big thing was the Cannondale was smoother, more controllable and had better grip. The Poprad was harsh, bouncy and had smooth tires (nice if you’re just on trails) but not for off road. I love my LeMond Road bike as the longer top tube fits me well. But the Poprad just didn’t work for me.

Don’t get me wrong the Poprad is a very good bike!

But as I always say …. buy the bike that fits your body the best! What works for me may not work for you.

Cheers,
Dusk

Get the Poprad :p

Turns out the '05 Poprad does have rack mounts, front and rear. Sorry for the confusion. They're more obvious on my Bianchi because it has little bolts screwed into the unused mounting holes. Also, the Bianchi has rack mounts up high on the triangle, near the seatpost, whereas the Lemonds mounts are down near the quick release.

At any rate, I can post pictures if that would help.

Thanks KeatonR . . . you just solved a HUGE mystery for many of us looking at the Poprad.

~Mehow

I have a 2002 Poprad and it does NOT have rear mounting holes.

2004 poprad. rackmounts, yes.
~Steve

For my money, the Poprad simply spec'd out better.

Better frame (True Temper steel vs. CrMo 4130) and better parts mix (105/Bontrager vs. Tiagra/Deore/generic) for what's less than a $300 difference.

The Poprad's also lighter, less "clunky" ride-wise, and a lot more responsive all the way around.

I couldn't spend another $400 on a Cross-Check and get anywhere near the bike that the Poprad is straight out of the box.

Don't get me wrong; I like the Cross-Check and I "get" the Surly vibe. I just think that QBP's asking about $200 too much for what ends up being a glorified generic* Taiwanese frame with parts that are largely under-spec'd for the purported "go anywhere, do anything" application.

As always, JMHO, YMMV, etc.

EDIT: On second thought, I didn't really mean the generic part. I actually really dig how much thought went into things like the rear spacing, SS-compatible dropouts, clearance for big tires and chainrings, etc.

But only on the rear right?

Man it seems Lemond cant make up there mind on this one :)

Mine has fronts too. 2005.

The Poprad is great value, but isn't your comment here really true of any bike in a lower spec class? You can't buy a Tiagra bike (e.g. Trek 1200), spend the price difference between it and a 105 bike (e.g. Trek 1500), and have a bike with a comparable parts spec. You can, however, spend a little bit more on the Cross-Check with a 105 group, and have something that potentially beats the Poprad spec (it's in the QBP catalog - many people don't know, but QBP list complete builds on pretty much all the Surly frames, including a second Cross-Check build with mostly 105)