I only own Surly and Salsa these days. There's just something about them that makes them worthy of collecting and riding til they drop. I currently have a 2022 BC with Jones bar that easily does 75 mile adventure rides, races, et al. A 2021 Wednesday and have owned multiple Crosschecks and even a Chum Bucket Red vintage Karate Monkey.
My wife is a minimalist, loves her Pacer for our pothole filled back roads. A road bike that takes crap roads. My Cross Check is not my main road bike but it’s my most versatile bike.
I used to have a 2009 Karate Monkey and a 2011 Crosscheck, but they have now moved on. The Monkey didn't have rack mounts and the Crosscheck had too low a stack height in the size I thought was right at the time. I now have a 2015 Big Dummy and a 2022 Straggler, both bought new, and much loved. I've considered getting a new Monkey but I'll probably get a Bridge Club.
Krampus OG….love it. Fits like a dream. Great to have a high BB and love the body English it necessitates on trails. Knards make the bike rock…3.0 is magic. SS with skewers, however, suck. Paint on the dropouts wore off, so every time I brake hard the brake side axle slides forward. Monkey nuts have no adjustment, so getting the wheel set for clearance at chain stay yoke means a tiny gap btw axle and monkey nut. Had to get a Hope SS hub for the aggressive steel bolts. Works ok now. Not sure I’d like the modern Krampi with the lower BB height.
Love Surly also. Have 5 different models. Fav was the original 29 Karate Monkey. 2nd fav is my current Disc Trucker. I always swap out the steel for a carbon fork. Really smooths out the ride,makes it livelier and lighter.
Hi Paul, I saw you at the Ballard Locks in Seattle last week. I didn't recognize who you were but you were wearing a Paul hat AND Paul tee shirt... nice
Have a Karate Monkey that I built up with all my fav parts, including Paul brake set. Had a Cross Check built with 9sp dura ace and old Cane Creek cat is I let get away. Had a Straggler to replace it but it never felt good like my old Cross Check, so never jived with me. Got rid of it, so now my only bike is the KM.
Sick! I have a Karate Monkey that I’m actually riding tomorrow morning here in Phoenix. Love that bike. I’ve tried to convince my buddy to pick up a Krampus. He’s currently riding a Disc Trucker.I really dig the Surly vibe too. My first bike was almost a Salsa El Mariachi. I’d rock one of those too!
Yeah, I’ve have so many configurations I experimented with on my surly ogre. Some variations included fixed gear , 3x, 27+ mtb tires, 700c with Dynamo and commuter tires, every kind of rack, and of course klampers for a while. I agree the dropouts are fiddley and I often had rotors rubbing. Now I’m trying to sell it, not sure if I’ll regret it.
Totally agree. I couldn't watch the video. I was cringing so hard looking at the bikes stacked up like garbage on top of one another. How can you claim to like something yet mistreat it like that?
I'd like to argue that Jeff Jones nailed the 29+ geometry with the Jones LWB. I've had a Krampus (as well as ten other Surlys), and the Krampus didn't ride nearly as well.
'and i had a mishap.'😂 I was a mega surly fan, too, from the 1x1 era...last few years have been tough, though. Cracking ICTs, distribution issues, the deayh of some of their best models, and a really lackluster set.of recent offerings.
I dig my purple Karate Monkey, and I dig the company's style. But I have not enjoyed GnotBoost, (or the paper-thin paint,) and that spoils me for Surly, (Until they adapt something else.) Fairdale is a pretty good stand-in, though, and Somas are kind of tempting as well.
Stacking your bikes in a pile , ok, maybe works for some people, not something I would do but hey , maybe I’m missing something. Love the videos though , thanks.
Surly bikes are intended to be thrashed and abused. I recently dented the top tube on my Ritchey Swisscross (very thin steel) in a crash. Had it been a Surly frame it wouldnt have been half as bad and I wouldnt have given half a shit!
@@rollinrat4850 abused: ok, but please avoid it, treat them with some care, thrashed: they can handle it, but why should one do it to them, trashed: no way, they can resurrect
Because Pole already beat them to CNC machined frames, and are now filling for bankruptcy if I recall. Paul are better off leaving the frames to the endless other manufacturers while they continue to make the great parts that decorate them. Also, it's on the name... Paul Component Engineering.
