BIKES! I am the hungry wolf, I run endlessly with my mate.

Sometime back in September or so, I made the decision to purchase a new bike. As much as I love Mellow Yellow, it's in a considerably limited state. It only fits clip-on fenders, which felt prone to slipping and slapping, and the narrow stay tubing combined with nervous handling on hefty grocery runs to convince me that mounting a rack wouldn't be wise. With the headset starting to go (or probably gone already by some people's standards), winter ahead, some cheese saved up, and a well-researched decision on the ride I desired, the time was at hand.

The bicycle knows many ways of testing my patience, indeed. I arrived at my preferred bike shop, the Peddler on North Loop, to discover that the last Surly Cross Check in my size was on its way out the door, and that some minor changes being made to the frame for 2009 would leave QBP out of stock for a few months. I considered checking some other shops around town, but the Peddler's treated me well, and if I was going to make such a large investment, I really wanted them to be the ones building it up. So, I sucked it up and waited. And waited. In the meantime, Surlys (Surlies?) kept popping up everywhere I went, winking sweet chromoly teases at me. Winter never really came but more drought did, and Mellow Yellow soldiered on but rattled for relief.

Well, the '09 Cross Checks finally shipped in January, and if the last two weeks are any indication, my patience is going to be paid back for some time to come.



Let the bike erotica commence.

The Build

This is essentially the stock Cross Check complete, with just a few different parts. The Salsa Bell-Laps were replaced with 42 centimeter Nitto Noodle bars wrapped in red cloth tape, the knobby cyclocross tires were swapped out for Schwalbe Marathons, and after a couple days I switched back to the scavenged Specialized saddle I've been rocking on Mellow. (The WTB saddle that's included has a shape I'd consider friendlier to female riders, with a noticeable slope at the back. That said, it's a nice, firm saddle, definitely better than the squishy seats a lot of bikes seem to ship with these days.) Surly doesn't include pedals, but since my pedals (MKS Sylvans with Soma clips and Pake straps) were the classiest component on the Western Flyer to begin with, I was all set. Additional accessories include SKS fenders and a Jandd rack I can't really tell you much about, since the Banjo Brothers panniers haven't arrived yet. I'm not sure if the photograph quite does it justice, but it is one handsome beast.

The build quality straight out of the shop was excellent, save for a couple minor criticisms and one pretty major issue. The rear fender bracket that attaches to to the bridge leaves space for the fender to vibrate and rattle: this was quickly muted with some small shims - same for the loose rear reflector. Also, after about a week or so of riding, the front shift lever slid out from the end of the bar. This was a quick fix, and I'm glad to know now how to remove and install barcons, but it's the kind of thing that might send the less mechanically inclined back to the shop upset. The major issue did send me back to the shop, however, as it reared itself when I was riding nearby on 51st Street. The back wheel somehow slid forward in the dropouts, causing the tire to sound a warning cry against the fender before things got any worse. A quick and apologetic adjustment of the quick release skewer left everything good to go, but it was a bit nerve-wracking regardless. An easy mistake to make and to fix, but nonetheless something that my journalistic integrity necessitates mentioning. Lesson being, double check the quick releases on any bike before you ride it.

Those gripes aside, the rest of the build was beautifully done. Steering is smooth as butter, the drivetrain is stealthy-silent even after a couple rainy days, and aside from personalizing the action on my brakes and dialing in perfect saddle position, I haven't had to fiddle with a thing. A glowing example of the quality you get from a shop where every hand is greasy.

The Ride

Along with my daily commute and all the other random traveling I've done, I've taken the Cross Check out on a couple good, long rides, with a little bit of the Lady Bird Lake trail thrown in with all the, umm, varying Austin pavement. Surly riders are a proud bunch, and there is no shortage of glowing reviews for their products, so to put it simply, this bike absolutely lives up to its hype. It's a goddamn tank. The bone-rattling potholes of Hyde Park get chewed up and spit out. On the smooth slopes of Shoal Creek, it glides. The Hike and Bike Trail is no longer a sketchy premise for skinny tires but instead the calm cruise it should be, and the 18 speeds have both sides of the steepest hills completely covered. The Cross Check frame has long been praised for its broad utility, and the components Surly chose for the complete build serve to further the Swiss-Army-knife reputation. It just kills everything I throw at it. It may seem odd to describe a notoriously heavy bike as sleek and graceful, but when you ride something that handles so well you couldn't lose control of it if you tried, utilitarian sturdiness takes on some much sexier qualities.

Alas, every bike on Earth has its issues, and with this one, it's toe overlap. There's really no way of avoiding a little interference when you're combining large toe clips and wide fenders, but that doesn't make it any less noticeable:



Toe overlap, though feared by many, is not a difficult issue to deal with, though it does require a little practice to adjust your pedaling technique, and plenty of awareness when making slow, sharp turns. Big endorsement of SKS: I've only had one nasty slip where I caught my foot flush against the fender. It could have been much more embarrassing, were it not for for the genius design which allows for the fender stays to release from the fork end mounts. Rather than falling off my bike, I just pulled over, let my heart make up a couple beats, locked the stays back into place and went on my way. A great, thoughtful, reassuring feature.

The icing on this cake is, without a doubt, the Nitto Noodles.



Find me a more comfortable drop bar and I'll find you a three-eyed cat. I was worried that the smallest width available might be a bit wide for my tastes; I stand corrected. There are no less than five distinctly functional, totally comfortable hand positions on these things. I was almost exclusively in the drops on my old bike; now I'm up on the hoods, relaxing on the back of the ramps, all over the place. Both long rides and quick errands are wildly more comfortable as a result, and my poor back is in love with Nitto for ever and ever.

Hell Yes

This bike has a hold on my heart already, and many, many miles ahead of it. I'm itching for my panniers, which will get the bag off my back, putting long adventures and lots more groceries within my reach. It's really the steel I believed it would be, and the folks at the Peddler made finally getting it between my legs a pleasure.

So now, it's time to say goodbye to the Pabstmobile. The first bike of my adult life has served me well, but it's been sitting sessile since summer began, and it's time for it to serve someone else. Off to Yellow Bike to pass along one set of pedals, then into the night to push the others.