mdilthey

Hey all,

Surly just announced their new stuff. Two very relevant pieces of gear. First, the Moloko Bar:

Handlebar | Parts and Accessories | Surly Bikes



Looks like a Jones bar with bar-end points out front. Very cool! It's made from Cromoly Steel, though, which means it'll be heavy! 709g is about twice the weight of a conventional aluminum bar (a Salsa Salt Flat is 300g), so not outrageous.

The other big announcement was Surly's Extra-Terrestrial tires in a 29x2.5 size. BIG rubber for all the Surly Ogre tourists out there. These are Surly's version of the Schwalbe Marathons, but with a little more grippy knobs.

In addition to that, the Wednesday and ICT fatbikes get a little more affordable, and if you missed the last wave of announcements, the Troll got new geometry with no suspension correction and the Karate Monkey was overhauled into a 27.5+/29er.

What do we think?

fietsbob

Not necessarily..

I had a Nitto Chromoly Albatross bar , the Japanese company used the Higher strength

of that steel alloy, just like people do when they build with a Higher strength steel in a frame .

they Use Less Of it in the form of a Thinner wall tube ..







You hoping you get enough blog hits to have them think you should get revue samples?

mdilthey

I probably already do have enough blog hits... But I already have a Surly, and I don't need new handlebars, so why ask?

I love Surly. Their staff has called out the industry for a lot of B.S, especially regarding the way women cyclists are treated. They get my business and my reviews with no strings attached.

fietsbob

Thats Nice . after sending the designs to Taiwan QBP runs a Warehouse , all the inventory is imported.


I dont have a Bachelor of Science, BS degree , Just a PhD [Push Here, Dummy]


Out here we the Touring peeps, just dont sell the fancy gear , because they already Bought it elsewhere


Obviously you tie the front Bindle to the Bar .. Most people here still use Bar Bags,& Panniers on The OR Coast Route


./.

jonc123

Looks like the LHT comes 11-32 and the DT 11-36.

Seems like they would use the same cassette.

mstateglfr 

Looks like the ugly spawn of a Jones bar that hooked up with a the cromoly version of the VO Crazy bar.

All utility for sure.

cyclist2000

ugly

mstateglfr 

A few more thoughts.
1- if just released, that bar has been in the works for 4 years now. Wow thats a long time.
2- Surly thanks you for the unofficial press release.
3- deleted because its too off topic.

mdilthey

Well, whatever, this whole forum is fanservice for the indomitable LHT anyways!

saddlesores

where/how do you mount a handlebar bag for touring?




yeah, right.....and that's why they named their new handlebars after
milk drinks spiked with drugs at the infamous korova milkbar from
clockwork orange!

hey, now that's the way to treat the ladies!

TRIGGER WARNING ...... scene from the bar is NOT pg-13 "MOLOKO" prominently displayed.

Korova Milkbar at "Clockwork Orange"


https://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...oko%20Vellocet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moloko_Plus

ColonelSanders

So unbelievably ugly.

Cyclist0094

Ugly handlebars? My but touring sure has become fashionable. If The brace wasn't there and the fronts bent out parallel , I could probably mount my old Cannondale bag on there and toss the handlebar fork.

Leebo

Wait, Surly made something ugly? No. The bar looks great from a utility end of things. Ugly? Umm there is this stuff called bar tape, comes in like 42 different colors and patterns. Sweep looks good too. Currently have a cross check , and a Karate Monkey in " stretch pants black" The 1x1 will see some 3" tires, the rigid fork put back on for some proper off road bike packing. Sweet.

Rob_E

I agree about the cross between the two bars. I have only used a Jones bar on a test ride, but I thought that front curve didn't make for a great place to grab. With flat stretch instead, it might be more useful.

I've been using the Crazy Bars for about a year now. I think they're great. Although I rarely use those forward hand positions, but they're nice to have on those rare occasions. This bar looks interesting, but I don't find it super-compelling given that I'm happy with Crazy Bars.

mdilthey

Was thinking the same thing. These are very, very similar to the crazy bars.

revcp 

I have a Jones Loop H on my Troll that I use for touring and commuting/errands. For non road bike use it's the best bar I've ever used, hands down. The front curve adds to the comfort, actually, as it allows essentially two different hand positions. Hard to tell just from eyeballing a photo, but the angle leading into the horns of the Moloko make me think it would bend my thumbs out more than would be comfortable.

mdilthey

This might be helpful for envisioning thumb positions:

SparkyGA

I've been waiting for this tire to be released for awhile. There has been a hole in the market for a 29" high volume tire that isn't a 29+. Until now the biggest 'proper' touring tire was about 29" x 2.1"

Super stoked. Only thing I'm scared is how heavy the tire will be

PolarBear007

All the above except inversely evaluated!

They're gorgeous!!!!

I struggled between the Jones Bar and the Casey's Crazy CroMoly bar ending up with the Crazy CroMoly (which is AWESOME).

However, the new Surly Moloko bars need to have slightly longer horns out front to be just right

Well done Surly!!! The Touring/Commuting Community salute you!!!

Leebo

Been running the Geax tattoo in 29x2.3 for 2 years, hook worm like tread. Seen the maxxis grifter in 29x2.5? Just a little smoother than the Surly. Lots out there.

mdilthey

I use ControlTech bar extenders on my touring bike. Adds 20mm to either end of my flat bar. They should work great for the ends of the Moloko bar.

SparkyGA

Yeah I was a bit vague on what I mean't by a hole in the market. I was more meaning along the line of a HD large volume 29" tire with a trekking tread that could be run tubeless. Most of the trekking tires out there max out around 1.75" to 2.00" in the 29"/700C wheel size (Schwalbe, Continental). Anything past that tends to be a mountain bike tire.

I tend to kill tires while on off road/single track tours and would love something that would last more than a month or two with some serious volume and reasonable traction

elcruxio

What are the other things they have successufully called the bike industry out for?

IMO surly makes mostly silly failures but they have a few hits like the LHT and of course the fatbikes

Rowan

And these handlebars solve what problem? Poor bike fit?

ColonelSanders

Thank you for that, I doubt I would have thought of it myself and there may well come a time that I will be able to use something like this.