After riding my Cannondale Capo for almost a year I decided I wanted a more “all-around” bike that would be better suited to purposes such as shopping, touring, bike-camping, basically the kinds of rides a trackbike is really not designed to handle

I had a few criteria:

• Steel frame
• eyelets for fenders and a rack
• more relaxed frame angles
• ability to run wider tires
• good value

Before I started looking for such an animal, I hadn’t even heard about Surly, but all the reviews I read online as well as the opinion of a few cyclist friends of mine advised me that Surly in general offers great value for the money and the Cross-Check in particular would be well-suited for what I wanted. I checked out some other offerings and while the fit some of my criteria, none did fulfill all.

I purchased the bike at Campus Cycles sight unseen, as I had not been able to find a bike shop locally that had one in my size, but given all the very good reviews i figured I be safe. The idea was to ride it stock and the perhaps upgrade to something “better” maybe in a year or two. How did that all workout? Read on to find out

Frame & parts 5/5

Make no mistake this is not a boutique style handmade frame. That being said, it is very well put together with nice smooth welds and a really good quality paint job. That in itself is nothing really unusual nowadays, but a nice detail nonetheless. Where Surly really shines is the part selection. All components are good quality, no-nonsense brand parts, nothing flashy for sure, but functional and durable. For a sort of “budget” bike (MSRP last year was $975, it has gone up slightly since then) I was impressed. I did some upgrades this winter ( more on that later) but not because those parts were worn out. My bike was completely stock when I bought it except the addition of fenders, a 11-34 rear cassette and a Shimano XT rear derailleur

Ride quality: 5/5

The bike now has a little over 2000 miles on it, seeing mixed rides ranging from commuting and shopping to single-track rides, touring, some camping trips and a few getting lost rides. I am really, really impressed by the quality of the ride. It handles swift, but not nervous. The frame lets you know about the condition of the surface you ride on but is never jarring or punishing. Pot holes and pockmarks are soaked up very well, and it does a fine job on single-track and fire roads. Heavy loads or a fully loaded trailer do impede on the handling a bit but a lot less than I expected. The bike is heavier than some of the aluminum offerings from other manufacturers, but not by much.

Practicality: 5/5

Incredible. That’s the only description I can think of. The bike has excelled in any kind of riding I threw at it and continues to do so. It is not perfect in any discipline but does incredibly well in all I have exposed it too. Commuting, shopping, camping, all-day rides, whatever. I am not a racer myself but I know of countless people that slap a set of skinnies on it on the weekend and do club rides, brevets and full centuries. It also appears to be a very capable cyclocross racer.

You have braze-ons for fenders and a rear as well as two bottle holders. The rear drop-outs are semi-horizontal, so the bike can be set up geared, single speed or even with an internally geared hub. Very nice.

Conclusion: 5/5

My Cross-Check is easily my most favorite bike I have ever owned. In between the build quality, the nice ride and the amazing versatility, the bike is truly a kind of its own. My initial idea of replacing it with something better has long gone out the window, simply because short of going with a custom-built frame, I can’t think of any bike that would offer me the same qualities I already enjoy.

If you are looking for a well-built, well-riding bike that can handle almost any riding situation while still being on the more affordable end of the price scale then run, don’t walk to your local bike shop and order one of these. You’ll really be glad you did.

The upgrades:

Well, if this bike is so good, why did I bother to put different parts on it? Simply said, I wanted to fine-tune it a bit more towards my own riding style. So here’s what I chose:

Origin-8 Gary handlebars: better leverage when climbing since they are wider; a lot less numbness and fatigue in my hands and neck compared to the original drops. The standard bar-end shifters needed a little bit of grinding before they would fit

Brooks B-17 standard saddle: Somewhat uncomfortable right out of the box until it’s broken in, but then the most comfortable saddle you have ever exposed your gluteus maximus to. It’s not fully broken in yet but has already started to get very comfortable

Avid Ultimate brakes & Cane Creek Deep-V brake levers: The brakes the bike comes with are entirely adequate for solo rides and light to moderate loads, if you’re pulling 80 lbs. of groceries in the trailer and are going downhill, they get a bit sketchy. The Avid brakes offer a lot more power and modulation, but they also have a different cable pull, so I needed new brake levers for them too. The brakes are not cheap ($100 per wheel) but very well worth it

Nashbar Trekking crank-set and bottom bracket: I wanted to have a granny gear for pulling the trailer in the mountains, as I am not the world’s strongest climber. This crank-set offered me that, in addition to looking very handsome. I could have bolted a granny ring onto the cranks the bike came with, but I am a sucker for matte black . It is an ISIS-style crank, so I also needed a new bottom bracket in order to mount them

Shimano 105 front derailleur: The FD that comes standard on the bike is not compatible with a triple crank. Shimano makes cheaper FDs for triple chainrings, but I decided to pay a little more and take advantage of the 105’s notoriety for offering very good reliability and function.

So far, all the upgraded parts have exceeded my expectations. I have only 200 miles on them for now but will post individual reviews as I get more mileage put onto them