New cross check owner :)
#1
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New cross check owner :)
Hello everyone,
Long time reader, first time poster.
So I bought a Surly Cross-check two months ago, for work commuting (16mi RT). Love it!
Things I have upgraded:
Selle-anatomica saddle (switched from another bike)
Tubus rear rack & panniers
Panaracer Tourguard 700x38
90mm stem (7degree-same as stock)
Odyssey platform pedals ( cheap but I like them)
My question to you, what small affordable (100$ Or less) changes/upgrades would you do off the bat?
I apologize ahead of time if this has been posted before.
Long time reader, first time poster.
So I bought a Surly Cross-check two months ago, for work commuting (16mi RT). Love it!
Things I have upgraded:
Selle-anatomica saddle (switched from another bike)
Tubus rear rack & panniers
Panaracer Tourguard 700x38
90mm stem (7degree-same as stock)
Odyssey platform pedals ( cheap but I like them)
My question to you, what small affordable (100$ Or less) changes/upgrades would you do off the bat?
I apologize ahead of time if this has been posted before.
#3
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Fenders
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#6
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I’d add bluetooth speaker as well
#7
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Forgot to mention. I already have lights and I'm in the desert so it never rains so no need for fenders.
Action is on order
Action is on order
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Nice! I wanted a cross check for about 10 years, and about 500 miles ago I finally bought a Straggler. Atlanta’s broken streets have never felt so smooth.
#11
GATC
Sounds like you're done, really (if you have bottle cages). Ride it!
A frame pump maybe?
Oh, a bell! Definitely a bell.
A frame pump maybe?
Oh, a bell! Definitely a bell.
Last edited by HardyWeinberg; 06-05-18 at 11:29 AM.
#12
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Hey there, welcome from another CrossCheck commuter, living in the desert with no fenders, but with selle an-atomica (titanico x) saddle, platform pedals, rack, etc!
Are you me?
Here's my original build (sorry the formatting is messed up), I cobbled it together starting with frame&fork.
That pic is pretty old, it's had red trim for a few years now, and the anatomica saddle, and different tires, different crankset... you know, always evolving!
Thing one, you want some Kool-Stop Salmon brake pads. Those Tektro CR-whatever brakes are apparently pretty good as far as cantilevers go, but no matter how well they're setup, they take a lot of hand-muscle.
Thing two: do you want even wider tires? 700x38 is pretty good, but I've stuffed up to 700x50 marathon supremes in there. Fatties fit fine, indeed.
Thing three: I forget, does CrossCheck still come stock with bar-end shifters? Consider moving those levers up to some Retroshift brake levers (now branded as "Gevenalle")
Finally, you need at least one bada$$ sticker. Here's mine on my stem, it helps me get up hills.:
Are you me?
Here's my original build (sorry the formatting is messed up), I cobbled it together starting with frame&fork.
That pic is pretty old, it's had red trim for a few years now, and the anatomica saddle, and different tires, different crankset... you know, always evolving!
Thing one, you want some Kool-Stop Salmon brake pads. Those Tektro CR-whatever brakes are apparently pretty good as far as cantilevers go, but no matter how well they're setup, they take a lot of hand-muscle.
Thing two: do you want even wider tires? 700x38 is pretty good, but I've stuffed up to 700x50 marathon supremes in there. Fatties fit fine, indeed.
Thing three: I forget, does CrossCheck still come stock with bar-end shifters? Consider moving those levers up to some Retroshift brake levers (now branded as "Gevenalle")
Finally, you need at least one bada$$ sticker. Here's mine on my stem, it helps me get up hills.:
#13
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But really, as much as I love my CC, my upgrade recommendation for you would be (would have been) to return it and get a Straggler. Because, disc brakes. I built my CC a year or two before the Straggler was released, otherwise I would have been in for disc brakes for sure.
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But really, as much as I love my CC, my upgrade recommendation for you would be (would have been) to return it and get a Straggler. Because, disc brakes. I built my CC a year or two before the Straggler was released, otherwise I would have been in for disc brakes for sure.
I love my straggler.
#15
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Except that initial Straggler was only available in that sparkle-pony purple. I'm not quite confident enough in my masculinity for a color like that.
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my recollection of starting commuting is, the more I rode to work, the things I needed, became self evident. embrace the failures
#17
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? Did Surly implement disc brakes differently than everybody else?
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#20
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love the build!
Will be posting pics once I hit 10 posts.
I am actually considering dropping down in the future to possibly 35 or 32 tires. I switch off between my 41 Knards and the 38 Panaguards.
Yeah, my shifters are the bar end ones, but I am back and froth on them. Today I like them, tomorrow tho....who knows. Those Gevenalle's are awesome and look very convenient.
I have to pick up some pads. Like you mentioned stopping is great, but it does need some muscle.
#21
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I am starting to notice that. As of now, something that is kind of annoying, but not horrible is charging my lights/batteries. I keep thinking dynohub.
#22
GATC
dynohub is the BEST!!!
Can get a wheel and light for $230, which kind of exceeds your c-note benchmark but it's not too bad for what you get
I put dynamo tail lights onto my kids' bikes as well so I don't need to keep reminding them to turn their tail lights on before heading to school (and off when they get there, and on again when they leave...)
Can get a wheel and light for $230, which kind of exceeds your c-note benchmark but it's not too bad for what you get
I put dynamo tail lights onto my kids' bikes as well so I don't need to keep reminding them to turn their tail lights on before heading to school (and off when they get there, and on again when they leave...)
#23
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dynohub is the BEST!!!
Can get a wheel and light for $230, which kind of exceeds your c-note benchmark but it's not too bad for what you get
I put dynamo tail lights onto my kids' bikes as well so I don't need to keep reminding them to turn their tail lights on before heading to school (and off when they get there, and on again when they leave...)
Can get a wheel and light for $230, which kind of exceeds your c-note benchmark but it's not too bad for what you get
I put dynamo tail lights onto my kids' bikes as well so I don't need to keep reminding them to turn their tail lights on before heading to school (and off when they get there, and on again when they leave...)
I'm a led flashlight man. I fix a cheap cree light onto my bars with interlocked hose clamps (see pic above). It takes one 18650 battery, and it is strong enough that I can confidently ride in total darkness. The zoomable head lets me put all the photons on the ground with a width I like. In the winter if I run it on medium (which is enough) I will get typically 4-5 days out of one charge. Blinking lasts longer. I have two batteries so always a full backup. The light was dirt cheap, it claimed 2000 lumen, and I'm sure it's not really that much, but comparing to pics online I bet it's well over 1000. The batteries that came with it were crap, I bought a pair of decent batteries for I think $15 (i.e. about what I paid for the light) from a U.S. battery-specialist website.
My taillight is a usb-chargeable cygolite hotshot. I run it blinking every ride. Daily roundtrip is maybe 70min or so. It needs recharging so infrequently I'm not even sure how long a charge lasts. I'm pretty sure it's a month or two.
#24
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for this one, I kept a charger at work & one at home (for my AAA taillights). I think I was using eneloop batteries which are better, but I don't remember for sure. my headlight had a big honkin' battery so that was OK for the round trip
but yeah, ppl w dynohubs, swear by them
#25
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Yes dynohubbers can get like religious zealots, unwilling to allow anybody else to prefer battery lights.
Not sure which extremists are crazier, the dynohubbers or the chain-waxers.
Not sure which extremists are crazier, the dynohubbers or the chain-waxers.
Last edited by RubeRad; 06-07-18 at 09:41 AM.