Yan 

Three months after ordering it, my fixed gear Cross Check has been delivered. Here it is, decked out for my 50km round trip commute:

Both the wheels are loaners from the bike shop. The rims I want, white Velocity Fusions, are on back order, so I won't get them till the end of November. I've also ordered a rear brake, and the Axiom Tracker LX rack.
https://www.axiomgear.com/product/rac...uct.php?id=151



Specs:

56cm Surly Cross Check
Syntace Stratos bullhorns
Shimano 105 Crankset/BB
Shimano BR-R550 cantilever brake (soon to be two)
Brooks Team Professional saddle, honey (but brown due to use)
Planet Bike Cascadia Touring fenders
Planet Bike Superflash blinkie
Vittoria Rubino Pro 23mm tires
Surly hubs, DT Competition spokes, White Velocity Fusion rims (different rims in photo; front will be radial in final build)

Everything else is generic.

Here's a photo of my bar mounted flashlight, a MTE 8 mode P7, mounted with a Twofish Lockblock.


Here are a couple of photos of my fender mounting technique. Note the spacers at the chainstay bridge, and the brass extender bracket (door hardware from Home Depot) at the fork. Also note the copious use of rubber washers.

uke

Nice setup. Nice lights.

Gurgus

Where are you commuting from? I work in T.O, but live in "The Hammer". I'd love to commute on my PaddyWagon, but 66kms one way and a twelve hour shift....somehow I just don't see it happenin'.

Killer bike, BTW.

Yan 

I'm commuting from the east end of North York to the west end of downtown (Don Mills subway station to Exhibition). I take the Don Valley trails, and then Queen's Quay.

sorsha6

Lovely. I've been lusting after a crosscheck for a while now.

tdot-miele

man why the don trails!? there are way better streets you can rip on...
-sheppard W to bayview or leslie, then S
- turn W on Eglinton
- S on avenue rd
- W on dupont
- S at Bathurst

Straight line man, and lots of hills to can tuck

I ride from shepphard down to king and well west of dufferin all the time man. Use the hills. Plus you don't have to worry about some big angry racoon playing peak-a-boo from the bushes... or worse a skunk

Yan 

I used to take Bathurst. The Don Valley is 100 times better. Why would I cycle in rush hour traffic over one of the worst roads in the city when I can cycle through forests on well paved paths? The trails are only about 5% longer.

delorean

**** yes, that's hot.

joetronic

I like the fender mounting. Very creative. Do the foam gaskets keep down on noise/squeaks? My fenders on my mountie squeak a *****.

Yan 

The fenders are very stable and completely silent. You can buy rubber washers from Home Depot. I also used Finish Line teflon bearing grease on the bolts. Keep everything tight and the fenders should be quiet. What part of your fender is causing the squeaks?

Re-Cycle

Nice rig, I like that you are using a modern road crankset. Thought about a handle bar bag? Axiom makes a nice one.

operator

I like your super non hipster choice of frame pump there - topeak road morph and the p7 + superflash rear. Exactly what i'd run (except for the p7). My only question is why mount it on top and not under slung.

Re-Cycle

Uh, its a cross bike... he may have to shoulder it for a mad dash to the finish line... or the cubical. No under-top-tube pumps permitted.

Yan 

I'm using the bottle cage braze-ons for the pump holder. Zip ties on the top tube are ugly, and would leave no room for the top tube pad I'm sewing. The pad will be white

I'm going to mount the flashlight under slung from now on though. Thanks for the idea. I also run a helmet mounted thrower (Shiningbeam.com MF flashlight, Q5 emitter). The MTE P7 is mostly a to-be-seen light. Together they let me ride on pitch dark trails at full speed.

operator

Heh I wasn't talking about the pump.

kergin

This is really the ideal setup for Toronto winters. I like your style.

Where did you buy the frameset?

NoneMoreBlack

That is one BAD ASS Surly.

Yan 

The bike was built by Cycle Cambridge, in Cambridge, Ontario. I go to school there (U Waterloo).

fordfasterr

nice bike. question, if you ordered this bike, why not go with a model that has track ends instead of road dropouts?

**********

Jawn P

Horizontal drops are the way to go on a bike with fenders.

kergin

How sloppy do things get in KW?

tdot-miele

hey yan, do they actually clear up the paths along the don in the winter?? I'll keep an eye out for you on my morning commutes downtown

91MF

i grew up in cambridge-kitchener-waterloo area and i can confirm the girls can get sloppy there. lots of them will drink most ducds under the table.
but they'll let you take them home after.

Yan 

I'm planning to do a cross Canada tour when I graduate. This is the bike I will be using. It's also the reason I went with a 105 triple crank.

I have studded Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires sitting in the basement.

I have no experience with Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge girls. Mine is Toronto born and bred. I've had highschool girls try to flirt with me on the bus though. Good luck