chuckfox

Here is a picture of my newly built Surly Cross-Check Commuter. It's a bit unusual, sporting Nitto North Road handlebars, but I've been commuting on it for the past two weeks and it's proving to be a very comfortable ride.

georgiaboy

Great bike!


I have considered using the Nitto North Bars myself. How are those bars? Do they perform well on a climbs? Are they comfortable? Do you think it would have been better to use another style?

squeakywheel

Wow! That's a nice bike.

dobber

That' one heck of a spacer pileup. I wish they'd market some stems with longer reaches and steeper angles. Something like a Salsa SUL 130° with about 200-250mm length.

But a nice and unique ride none the less. I've got components converging for another Cross-Check build. My aim is to get the bars (On One Midges) up as far as possible also. I'm gonna go with the double stem route, avoids the spacer stack (simply asthetics for me) and gives me a nice perch for the h-bar bag.

chuckfox

I like them (the Nitto bars Georga Boy refered to) for the relaxed upright position that I was going for on this bike. They also have a nice second hand position in the front of the bend in the bars that will get you more forward. That said, they are pretty poor for standing, or standing and climbing...I prefer to be much more forward with the ability to pull up to gain leverage for climbing. They are just a nice comfy bar for a long relaxed ride.

squeakywheel

I'm trying them out now. Just installed them this weekend on my SS MTB commuter. Road the bike for the first time today. I think I'm going to like them. It gives an upright riding position. Climbing performance was good (at least on the moderate hills). I couldn't climb the big hill today due to ice and snow.

The upright position suits my slow commute style. A slow commute in the upright position without feet attached to the pedals makes me feel safe in slick conditions. I have mine mounted to give some rise. If I wanted to go fast, I guess I would mount them upside down.

chuckfox

Hi Dobber...yes it is a huge stack of spacers. I was generous when cutting the steerer because I don't have experience with this type of bar so I wanted to err on the long side...it's hard to add that steerer back once you've cut it . The stem I used is a Kore 130mm with a 110 degree rise. I was seriously considering the On One Midges, but decided on the North's. I would be interested to see your Cross-Check when you get it together. Thanks for the comments!

georgiaboy

I occasionally encounter a fellow commuter in Atlanta with a 3-speed and a North Bar setup. We ridden together over a 5 mile stretch once. He could really move on the that bike and it seemed to suit in all road conditions.

trackandtrials

I've thought about buying a stem for mod trials bikes for this very purpose. Something like this:

https://www.webcyclery.com/product.ph...cat=363&page=1

There are a number of other companies that market similar stems in 25.4 and 31.8

DCCommuter

Thanks for the link, but 56 bucks for a stem?

I agree that when it comes to long stems with a decent rise the bike industry really fails the consumer.

trackandtrials

No kidding - niche parts like that (trials or otherwise) are supa overpriced. The market for really high-rise threadless stems just isn't that big I guess - possibly because so many people who want this kind of rise use threaded stems (ala technomic)?

dobber

Thanks for the link to the mod stems. That might actually come in handy, I'd though about building up a Monkey before settling on the Cross-Check. The thing that held me back on the Monkey was that I didn't think I could get the bars up high enough without a huge stack of spacers.