From Eurobike:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tfj77/4...n/photostream/

Don't like! I imagine they did it to lower manufacturing costs to compete with the Yuba Mundo and Kona Ute. Pretty happy I got my frame when I did, even though it's still sitting in a box.

I like the curved top tube better too.

+1, me too. When the bike is loaded, it just seems easier to step thru the frame when it was curved instead the straight top tube.

seems to me, the first big dummy frames were made like that.

I actually like this better! Te curved top tube was my least fav part of Big Dummy. Does this mean they'll drop the price???

A.

I received this response from Surly regarding the 2011 BD:

Tim,
The BD is undergoing a few changes for 2011. The frame itself is donning a new top tube design. We have ditched the curved TT in favor of a sloped straight tube with a small "gusset" tube to increase rigidity. We have also shifted the rear dropouts a touch back and changed the fender mount to give the bike a little more tire/fender clearance.

The complete spec will also get a significant change up to lower the price by almost $600 MSRP! We will only be offering the bike in black for next year.

Thanks for your interest.

Cheers,
-----------------------
Trevor Clayton
SURLY - Inside Sales

I want to know about the cargo trailer pictured in the same photostream with "surly" on it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tfj77/4...n/photostream/

I prefer the curved TT as well, but ultimately it is a small detail and the rest of the bike rocks so I don't think it really matters very much.

So I wonder how much the frame itself is going to be now. Black is fine with me

Ask and ye shall receive. I just received this follow-up/clarification:

"I agree about the TT (aesthetically speaking) but increasing the rigidity in a long frame is never a bad idea.
Keep in mind the price decrease I quoted is for the complete build only, the frame set will likely only come down a hundred at most. These are also compared to non-sale prices, which I feel I needed to point out as there was a sale on these to sell out the 2010 stock.

Cheers,
-----------------------
Trevor Clayton
SURLY - Inside Sales"

I too like the curved TT and the green color looks so cool too me. I’m glad I bought mine when I did. But then increasing the rigidity is a good thing. So goes progress.

That means the frame should be under $600, not too bad at all.

Under $600? I wish. The MSRP for the frameset was $1050.

Yeah, but there were selling everywhere for around $650.

Yes. Those were closeout prices. Would you expect to find the new frames for $650-ish?

And...... They realized the cat was out of the bag.

Info here.
https://surlybikes.com/blog/2386/

Lots more, not just the trailer, Troll looks interesting, as does the complete Pugsley.

Good bye sexy! I guess it's the end of an era!..

Look at it this way. Now we own classics. Mine will be around for many years. And yes, I'm happy to have one with the curve.

Dang. You're right.

As much as I'd like the old curvaceous frame, the practical side of me says get the new one and have an easier time mounting fenders, etc. and the theoretically more rigid/efficient(?) power transfer blah blah blah. Besides, the old ones seem very hard to come by now.

Why would it be easier to mount fenders on the 2011 BD? The old version takes fenders without having to do anything special.

Vik,
in post #6 I pasted an email response from Surly. "We have also shifted the rear dropouts a touch back and changed the fender mount to give the bike a little more tire/fender clearance."

I mispoke. I've read so much on the BD in the last week that my head is spinning...no fender mounting issues.
Apparently the '11 BD will accomodate slightly larger tires and/or be easier to remove.

The change to the top tube was a cost cutting move. It's not going to change the power transfer. Surly claims it's stiffer in torsion (twisting), which is probable. I wonder if they've seen frame failures from that.

I also believe the changes were for cost. I'm also disappointed that the same top tube design is applied to their entire MTB lineup... I feel like it cheapens their bikes or takes some of the uniqueness out of them.