benajah

I posted a few weeks ago about wavering between a 54 or a 52 cm frame for a cross check, and I finally ordered a 52 (glad I did, it fits perfectly). I built it up last night and rode around on it all day dialing everything in, and I see now why it has something of a cult following. It's fantastic.
Current build, Easton EA90 SLX clincher wheels, Ritchey 32mm tires, Ultegra 6700 road group. I think over time I will end up with an XT long cage RD and 10 speed mtb cassette that will work with the 10 speed road shifters, but so far it did great on fire roads. Climbed like a mountain goat on meth, fast and responsive on the road.
I took it home, threw a rear rack on it, with two heavily loaded panniers and took it out again, and it still felt light and agile.
I am not such a big fan of the funky rear dropouts, but I understand the point of them, Surly markets this frame as a DIY do anything with it kind of frame and they want to offer versatility.
After riding it around today, I can easily see it becoming my favorite bike out of the 4 I have.

FunkyStickman

Do you have pics of it built up?

benajah

Here is the build. The toe cages and cheesy saddle were just for the tune up riding so I would't have to change clothes and shoes. Will end up with SPD pedals or Speedplay frogs and I havent picked a saddle yet.

meanwhile

Great build - very professional, and the Ultegra looks great. But wouldn't the bike look happier with some coloured bar tape?

Btw - what are those tires?

knobster

Quite nice.

benajah

The tires are Ritchey Speedmax Pros. I have zero experience with them so will have to wait and see how they do. They get good traction on dry fire roads and fairly fast on pavement but I have not idea about mud. Here in the SF Bay area we won't get a drop of rain for another few months at least.
As far as coloured bar tape, I did have white on there, the bars are from my road racing bike that I stripped for parts and sold the frame (not racing road anymore, no time for the training volume needed).My wife wanted me to put red tape and a red saddle, and I thought about it. I am sure the bike will go through many evolutions over the next few months.

meanwhile

How I miss the Bay and predictible weather...

White isn't a colour! Red or burgundy would really finish the bike. Orange wouldn't be bad.

Red Horn

How tall are you?

Andy_K 

That is a very nice build. I don't know if I've ever seen a Cross Check with a sub-1500 gram wheelset before.

benajah

yeah, Burgundy would be great, it's my favorite color in fact. Not sure Ive ever seen burgundy bar tape before though.

benajah

They are climbing wheels...I really don't think they will put up with the beating they will get on a cross bike, but they are what I had on my road racing bike. I would love some suggestions on good, fairly durable wheels. I used to run a set of Fulcrum Racing 7s that were flat out bombproof, and still pretty light.

Unagidon

I had ultegra hubs + open pro on mine, 32 spoked.

knobster

Heard from a guy on BF, I think his handle was benajah, that the Fulcrum Racing 7's were bombproof.

If you've already got experience with them, stick with it! I know I would. Those Open Pros are sweet though.

pretzelface

I consider the 132.5 mm dropout spacing to be a major disadvantage - it means I have to fiddle with the QR "nut" basically every time I want to swap a wheel. It's a hassle for commuting, and it's likely to be totally unacceptable for racing. When I get my "race" build together (it's built up as a commuter right now) I'm going to have my mechanic buddy cold-set the rear down to 130 mm - he said he'd do it after hours for a sixer.

benajah

From what I can tell so far, only two days of riding it, yeah it is sort of a PITA. However, I do see the point of it, so you can run touring wheels if wanted. I would race it if I had a spare bike so I could just swap bikes instead of changing wheels. As it stands now, I am considering doing away with the QR and just going to track nuts to prevent slippage.

tashi

I never had any problem with wheel changes or slipping with my Cross Check. I used a Shimano QR to prevent slipping (which I do for any non-vertical dropout) and just left my QR nut alone - the closing of the skewer takes care of the "cold setting" needed to go from 132.5mm - 130mm, and the QR opens enough to clear the dropouts at the 132.5mm width.



Your milage may vary.

Andy_K 

This matches my experience.

benajah

I just read about using a Shimano internal cam skewer last night while trying to find a fix for the slipping. I put the wheel on, and hammered hard trying to make it slip and it didn't seem to slip at all. As far as removal and attachment I did not try it.
By the way, what is it about Shimano skewers or being internal cammed that make it hold tighter?

meanwhile

I saw some yesterday, which is why I thought of it. It's Deda so it's good tape. I think it's the colour they call "Chianti Wine Red" -

https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A0337

benajah

Very nice. I need burgundy bottle cages and some other trim to match it out

meanwhile

You could also stick DVDs of "Anchor Man: The Ron Burgundy Story" on your hubs. And the great thing is - next year disc hubs will be race legal!

What? Why are people staring at me that way?

benajah

Thats pretty good, it would make a good substitute for alleycat cards. While I am at it, I could paint my rims burgundy, and I am sure someone sells tires with a nice burgundy strip right down the middle.

pretzelface

You laugh now, but I've got a pile of spoke cards and a hand-painted (well, hand-sharpie-d) cowbell trophy from our local "alleycross" series last fall.

benajah

That is precisely the reason I gave up road racing...nobody ever seems to actually have fun. I am way too old to take an athletic event so seriously. Local informal stuff is so much more fun

pretzelface

The alleycross races are fun. A good mix of hipster types and "real" racers. SERIOUS mud, conveniently located in disused sections of park land, so as not to upset the locals. Helmet-mounted lights, Lone Star, and prizes up to $15. Serious business!