Hey, man. Good on ya for keeping things bright and happy out there. I find that for the causes I advocate for (mostly water and land conservation issues and Autism education) that a positive attitude goes a long way. If a kid sees a smiling face on a cool pink bike, that will go a long way to getting small butts on saddles.
Honestly... I really don’t really know exactly why the Gorilla Monsoon dropped from a spot near the top. I think it was a combination of things as I rearranged the list and focused in on what I want to do - ‘gravel rando’ or ‘home territory adventure’ or ‘state forest explorer’ or something. Randonneur-style front loading on secondary county and state forest roads. I really fell hard for the GM the first time I saw photos. I mean, how could I not? Both the orange and green colorways are striking. I guess I thought there might be other frames that would handle high, front-load weight in a rando bag better? ‘Low trail’. Maybe I’m not as familiar or comfortable with current MTB components that the GM takes? Am I hip enough for All-City? Price for the complete is entirely out of the budget and the frameset is at the absolute top end.
Anyway, as I kept looking some other bikes came to the forefront and that gorgeous Gorilla Monsoon slid down and off of the Top 5 list. But maybe it deserves another look. How’s the front handle with a load up high? Any tendency to flop?
All-City responded to a query from their website with a really nice email and basically said Space Horse or Gorilla Monsoon. Space Horse for more paved/gravel riding or touring, GM for fire roads and single track. They see GM as more “dirt-specific/‘Monstercross’”. I found that interesting. That doesn’t necessarily come through in their ad copy.
The Pack Rat seems like it could be the sleeper here. I just don’t see a lot written about it, which is a shame because I think it might be excellent. When I pinged Surly about their thoughts on what I was looking for they actually sent a very lengthy and thoughtful email with some recommendations. They touted the Straggler and Disc Trucker, but then mentioned something about how if I wanted to carry my banjos over every hill and through whatever terrain I could find in the county - in a front rack - I should look hard at the Pack Rat.
I don’t own a banjo, but I get what they mean. Again... I feel their ad copy really aims that bike at urban commuters, rather than all-road randonneur. With ‘gravel’ and front-loading being the current thing, you think they’d be getting that bike into that segment of the cycling world. Could be it’s a ‘value’ NFE and they’d sell thousands.
Late night ramble. This is a fun conversation! Thanks all for the continued participation!
R