Surly? I know you are, but what am I?
The Surly Bikes website has a dealer locator which is updated regularly and lists “shops we know have ordered a lot of Surly stuff or who we know to be knowledgeable in all things Surly”. Bike Touring News is the only shop listed within a 50 mile radius of zip code 83703. Yes, we like Surly stuff – and I am even surly. surly,surly,surly
We currently have these customers Surly bikes/frames in the shop:
I talked about the Deluxe Trucker frame in this post. We consulted with the owner and came up with a build kit for this frame. Now I’m going to have some fun putting it together. The deluxe version (with SandS couplers) only is available as a frameset, which means the buyer gets to spec the parts the way he/she wants it. This always ends up costing a little more than buying a complete bike, but allows the opportunity for customization.
This customer bought the Long Haul Trucker complete version. This bike comes with the parts that Surly specs, and those parts are good. This machine is meant to be taken out of the box, put together and ridden across the country, and many, many people do that.
This customer needs a solid, predictable and reliable commuter bike. He needed to look no further than the Surly Cross Check. We helped him determine the correct size which hopefully avoided some wailing and gnashing of teeth. These bikes too are available as complete kits, but the design features of the frames makes them especially suited for custom builds. The main feature I’m thinking of is the semi-horizontal rear dropouts, which make a single speed setup a no brainer. Although I think he will be building this with parts he already has and with a single chainring and 8 rear cogs. Very sensible! And, as with all Surlys the frame clearances allow for big tires and fenders. “Fatties Fit Fine”!
