To change my road and MTB for a Surly do-it-all?

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Tim O

Über Member
Would appreciate any thoughts on this. I've got a Specialized Secteur and a Spesh Rockhopper 29er. I like them both but I'm very tempted to sell them and get something like a Surly Cross Check which appears, from the adverts, to be a "do-it-all". I really like the idea of being impulsive on a ride and deciding when I'm out whether I stick to a road trip or take that bridlepath etc. I do about 35 miles per ride about 3 times a week, I'm also planning to do some "credit card" touring this summer and so I won't know what various conditions I'll meet.

I can't justify three bikes (no space and the better half would not approve).

My question is, has anyone else gone down this route? If you did, got any regrets? My slight hesitation is that I do a few sportives each year and wonder if I'll think the Cross Check is a bit of a clunker compared to the Secteur. Cheers everyone.
 

Osprey

Guru
Location
Swansea
I too had a specialised secteur and an older rockhopper. Like you I fancied the Cross Check but eventually plumped for a Croix de fer. Riding the Croix on anything more than a fire road wasn't confidence inspiring with the steering on narrow drop bars. When on macadam roads, the xc tyres produced too much drag. I suppose it just felt compromised in either situation. However with 28c tyres and full mudguards makes for an excellent winter ride and I love it. I kept my old rockhoppper but the secteur got stolen. :angry:. Anyway, good luck with your decision making and enjoy. Let us know what you choose.
 
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OP
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Tim O

Über Member
Thank you Osprey - that's a very helpful response. Hmmm, "compromised", yes, I think that's what I feared. Funny you had the exact same bikes. Glad you like your Croix, I think they are really good bikes but I'm not fond of discs - just my personal taste. Food for thought,
 

jazzkat

Fixed wheel fanatic.
I've got a cross check and it is a very comfy bike. It's no lightweight though. Mine is built up as a winter fixed with wide tyres (with studs at the moment)
It doesn't feel as 'frisky' as my Trek 1.9 road bike but I'm more than happy doing long rides on it.
I reckon it would be a good middle ground of your other bikes. Slower and more cushioning than the secteur but nippier than the rockhopper. Like you i was tempted by the Croix but I didn't want disks.
 

brand

Guest
A second hand rohloff equipped tourer or mountain bike. Remember that all professional mountain riders other than downhill riders use bikes without suspension. Other than ground clearance (something not to be ignored) a tourer other than weight (something not to be ignored) should be better off road.
 

brand

Guest
Just as matter of interest will the sale of the other 2 bikes pay for it? Bikes are dire at holdings their value. Stripping them snd selling the parts supposedly gets you a much better price. Suggestion keep one sell the other one stripped or not and buy the
Surly Cross Check
with zero interest credit card paying it off monthly. Say a Tesco 18month one (check might be shorter. Of course this requires financial discipline, good credit score and compliant wife.
 
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Tim O

Über Member
Thank you Jazzkat and brand, helpful responses. I'm going to have to think about this. I didn't mention, as I largely ignore it these days, but I've got an old Saracen Tufftrax which is now 25 years old. I could never get rid of it for sentimental reasons: it took me all over Nepal and Laos back in the 90s when I worked there. In Laos, every morning at 6 am I would do an hours ride along the Mekong and watch the monks receiving their alms before going back for breakfast with the wife and kids. That was the essence of a bike: it enabled me to see a multitude of things in 'perfect time' - get to places and see more than walking and go down tiny tracks between wooden houses on stilts with looms underneath... Sorry, getting carried away here. But I was just thinking from all your contributions, maybe I could resurrect it? Maybe I already have what I'm after under cobwebs at the back of the shed?
 

jazzkat

Fixed wheel fanatic.
Sorry, getting carried away here. But I was just thinking from all your contributions, maybe I could resurrect it? Maybe I already have what I'm after under cobwebs at the back of the shed?
No need to be sorry, they sound like great stories.

Maybe what you are seeking is right under your nose?
:thumbsup:
 
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