It seems like I've been doing this for ages! Back near the beginning of the year, I had my annual bonus (a small one) and decided to put it towards a new bike. I haven't bought a bike since 2009 so it was about time. My plan was to build something that could be used for commuting on road and off (with a plan to cycle home over the Clwyds, which might be a little ambitious), playing off road, and light cycle touring.
So what I really needed was a cyclo-cross frame with rack and mud guard mounts, made from steel (obviously) and in a size small enough to fit me!
Eventually I decided on a Surly Cross check - it fit all the criteria and when I saw one in Alf Jones' I fell in love with the colour! There was lots of discussion in the shop about what size I should buy - I'm not that small (5'5'')! Involving taking the Trek in for them to measure seat tubes and top tubes, and consultation with the Surly dudes in the US. After all that we decided I needed the smallest one, as the top tube was closest in length to the Trek.
Then I started collecting bits..... The groupset was a bargain Shimano 105 from Merlin, 3x10 with 30/39/50 on the front and 11-28 on the back - should give me enough to get up the hills with loaded panniers. After advice from the CCM collective I went for Tektro Mini-V brakes. Second hand wheels - Shimano XT on Mavic A719 rims courtesy of Russ from CCM, and even a second hand Brooks saddle from STW.
On the whole I think it looks absolutely lovely and I can't wait to get out and ride it!
The photos of the surly cross check bike look awesome. I would not mind getting one of those for biking around at my place More about the author.
ReplyDelete