Lee suggested that I put an animated Swiss Army Knife on this page, to explain what it is we like about the Crosscheck. It’s a frame built originally built with cyclocross racing in mind, but everything that makes it a ‘cross bike makes it an excellent platform to build a heavy duty or light tourer, long day-ride, commuter, off-road, drop bar, flat bar, hybrid, road-type bike.
Lots of room for fat tyres, lots of mounting points on the frame, single speed, derailleur or hub gears, cantilever or v-brakes.
See what we mean about a Swiss Army Knife?
Models
Complete Bike From Surly – $1950 – The Crosscheck complete spec belies the ‘cross origins of the frame in the choice of cantilever brakes, bar end shifters, compact double road 9spd gearing, wide drop bars and bar-end shifters. An immensely fun bike to ride. Like the Salsa La Cruz, equally at home on dirt or tarmac. Ride it on the road to Manly Dam or Loftus, then make the mountain biker’s jaws drop as you follow them round the trails.
All that said, depending on where you’re riding and/or your level of fitness, the gearing can be a little restrictive, or the bars and shifters might not be your preference. We’re happy to play around with the spec to make you comfortable. It’s a pretty easy modification to swap out the bottom bracket and front derailleur to add a ‘granny ring’ to the crankset and expand your gearing downwards. Talk to us about a quote for modifications.
Custom Build – From around $3000 – Like we said above, the Crosscheck frame makes a really versatile base to build a custom setup. Typically we’d suggest a Crosscheck if we were asked for a comfortable commuter with the ability to do regular longer rides and touring. Other options include single speed, hub gear (3, 8 or 14), or even 1×7. We’d love to know what your ideas are.
Manufacturer
Cool Crosscheck Links
- Surly Long Haul Trucker & Cross-Check Owners Group – Google Discussion Group for Surly Owners.
