Comments on: Surly Cross-Check Review

By: Tracy Wilkins

Tracy Wilkins — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:14:22 +0000

You know, that’s the great thing about the cross-check. You can run just about any configuration on it with confidence. My experience in going from a triple to a compact double on my road bikes was that it was more annoying than the triple, which I left in the middle ring 99.999 percent of the time anyway. I’ve got a single chainring up front with a 12-32 cassette on back of the Surley, and that’s plenty to get me out of my river valley, but then again, I’ve got a few years and a few pounds advantage on you. If you put me on the spot, I would recommend a triple on front with a MTB configuration on back like I have. With that, you should be able to climb anything.

By: Jeffrey

Jeffrey — Sun, 27 May 2012 11:55:26 +0000

I am sort of oldish (>70) and overweight (>215 lbs) and ride along the Schuylkill River and up the steep hills of the valley. I have always had triple chain rings on my road bikes but they are hard to shift. If I get a Surly Cross Check, what kind of gearing would you suggest? Doesn’t that single chain mean too much space between gears?

By: Tracy Wilkins

Tracy Wilkins — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 01:07:26 +0000

I’ve got to agree that as spec’ed, the complete bike leaves something to be desired. Most folks that I’m aware of who own one have done as I did and built it up from the frame for their specific purposes. I can’t think of one that I’ve seen or known of that’s a stock build.

That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing that they’ve spec’ed it as they have. They give you the option of buying the complete bike, albiet with low end components, but I’m guessing that’s a conscious decision based on the versatility of the frame rather than keeping it at a specific price point.

For example, the LHT as equipped is a mighty fine touring bike that would require very little mods if I were going to buy one.

By: SurlyaboutSurly

SurlyaboutSurly — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:07:48 +0000

Surly Cross Checkes are great framesets, but a medicore as complete bikes. They cut corners on their components and you will pay the price. Surly website states that “stuff that works well and doesn’t dent your piggy bank too bad.” What they should say is that, “our goal was to keep the MSRP to $1000 because if we picked quality parts, the bike would be $2000 and no one would buy it.”

By: GK

GK — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:11:12 +0000

I just bought a cross-check. It’s fantastic. It’s the second cyclocross bike I’ve had. I replaced my specialised tricross exactly because I was unhappy with the braking. To fix this issue would have cost more than I was willing to spend on an old bike. I bought a complete cross-check and got the LBS to replace the from fork with a disc compatible one and put an Avid bb7 on it. The rear brake is still a cantilever but thats not such an issue, afterall its the front brake that will stop you when you need to be stopped. No regrets it’s awesome.

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Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:14:49 +0000

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By: tracywilkins

tracywilkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:19:19 +0000

DC,

Thanks for visiting! Yeah, I’ve had that conversation a time or two also…..

As for the single, I really thought about it a lot and decided that I didn’t really need it for this bike.

By: DC

DC — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:32:56 +0000

I never considered a single ring on the front before I read about your bike. I’m going to build a bike for my girlfriend with that setup. Hopefully that will end my endless answer of “no, on the left side click the small lever to go uphill.”

By: tracywilkins

tracywilkins — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:27:33 +0000

Steve, you’re probably right about that. The tires on this bike are Continental Gatorskin 28′s, and I currently have the Gatorskin 25′s on the other bike, so I suspect the difference is in the wheels, but the additional weight could be a contributor.

By: Steve A

Steve A — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:51:20 +0000

So how much of the speed difference compared to the road bike is the wheel/tire combination? I’d guess MOST of it.

You forgot to rate overall COOL factor. For that, I’d give it an “A.” Almost as good as a Tricross…