but this one is mine. I built it, I got all the parts and put it all together (Minus the rear wheel, Chris Ames from Freewheel built the shit out of it for me.) myself.



I went with the Surly Cross Check because I wanted a super duper work horse bike. Something to commute on, something I could possibly tour with, something that wouldn't jar all my bones loose if I ever took it on a rough surface, something I could go for speed on if I wished. This sucker does all these things.

All though with the new Hospital Foam Green I kind of have buyers remorse on the frame color but oh well.

So the rear wheel is a DT Swiss 350 hub and TK540 rim. Super beefy. I actually managed to knock the thing out of true last week but it was a fairly extreme situation that I should have stayed away from, honestly I am impressed it is still in one piece.



The whole drive train is the SRAM Rival cyclocross kit in a box. So Rival all around and Avid Shortys, nothing is bad and I really enjoy the action on the SRAM levers compared to the way Shimano shifts. Neither is better than the other, it comes down to preference, really.



This bike is super fun to ride. I commute on it constantly, it handles city streets just fine. I can take this sucker down to the river bottoms and it can handle most of that stuff, but not all. I did a tour on this thing too, 40 lbs loaded on the back and rode from Kingsfield area to Afton State Park. Even with all the weight plus me, this thing handled like a dream and still climbed hills no problem. I like the ergo drop bars on this thing too. When I strip the rack and fenders I can use this bike as a road machine and crank out some quick miles. I love it.



Front wheel is a Mavic A719 or something like that laced to a Shimano Deore XT hub, also super duper beefy. I had bought that wheel for my previous bike when I cracked the front rim on that one, so I decided to keep using it. Other stuff I like is the Brooks saddle, I always thought the Brooks saddle excitement was a bunch of hype from all the hipsters out there until I read the blogs of a lot of people that do extended touring and praise their Brooks saddle. So I tried one, holy shit.

So that is my bike.

I especially like the 350 hubs. That bike's going to last you a long time.

Why are you using FGFS straps?

I didn't think CCs would pose for a pic unless it was instagram.

What'd you do?



Care to share how you cracked it? I love a good horror story



Love it. Now granted I don't know a ton about hubs, so your tech specs are lost on me, but your obvious love for this thing makes me want to go down to my basement and say "hi" to my CC right now

Glad you love the Brooks. I had your same attitude until I took a quick ride on a bike at Calhoun Cycle that happened to have a B17, After 3 seconds I was sold and bought one right there.

Double post.

Right now the Cross Check is mostly being used to commute and I don't care to wear bike shoes for hours at a time off the bike and I am too lazy to carry around a pair of shoes. When I go on longer rides I throw the spds on there.




Well as far as why I am surprised the wheel is still in one piece... I was cutting through a new parking lot that I had not seen before, well at the end of the lot there was a good 15 foot retaining wall that I basically had to commit to or really get hurt, I landed right on the curb. Just hardly put a hop in the wheel, it is pure beef.

The last wheel I broke was a cheap ass velocity rim on a super cheap bikes direct bike. I just rode it hard and I hit a pot hole once and like 8 spokes flew off the thing. I got tossed because the bike started wobbling all over. When I looked at the holes with no spokes they had all cracked. Woops.

My hubs are mountain bike hubs, I dunno about the front rim but the rear rim is as well. My theory on the bike is that the beefier I can get the wheel set the less problems I will have over all. Just keep the drive train clean and so far everything is fine.

Give your Cross Check some love man.

Nice bike, dude.

Thank ya' kindly, sir.

Just wanted to say I like your bike, and this is the exact thing I'm looking for. A commuter, a tour bike, and a speed bike all wrapped into one. I'll have to look into getting one for myself.

That is one bad ass ride. Considering that I am a bike porn addict, I don't know how I missed this thread back in Nov.

How are you liking the brakes so far? I'm looking for a replacement set of cantis for a Cannondale touring bike which was just given to me. Its brakes are pretty shot and I know nothing whatsoever about cantis except that I fucking hated them when I was younger and had them on my mountain bikes. I've heard the shorty 4s are good, but how do you find the stopping power?

I know people like the mini-Vs with 700c wheels, but I have a suggestion. While they absolutely suck for MTB, on a touring or cross bike, these work great: Cane Creek Direct Curve 3. They are right around $50 per wheel, the cable routing is ideal, and the feel and power is great with road levers. I paired them with SRAM Rival Double-tap, btw.

I have a set of the S-curve and Mini-Vs for sale if you are interested. Id have to check the brand of the minis.

Yeah, I did some googling of the s-curve, I think they'd be just great and they look kinda funky, too. Just to be clear, I have no problem with the brakes on the touring bike not being the greatest. I just need something that works better than the 20 year old cantis that are on there now. They get the bike stopped, but I gotta grab a lot of lever for just a little bit of stopping power.

So, anyway, PM'd on the s-curves! Thanks.

So much much later here I am.

Canti's work great. The key is getting them set up right, make sure you take the bike to a reputable bike shop that you trust, when canti's are set up half assed they blow, when they are done right, they are awesome.