Can this bike handle cross country? (sorry if posted to wrong place before!)

[ohlukeson]

Hello everyone,

I'm new here and have just become a member. I am planning on biking cross country this upcoming year and will be mining the boards for insights before I go posting a bunch of general questions that have probably been asked before.

But, I did want to see if anyone had any experience with the bike posted below and whether or not they think it would be a good one for the cross country trip.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/cross_check

My friend is thinking of purchasing it in hopes that it can also be his bike after he's done. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading through!

-Luke

[FredHiltz]

... will be mining the boards for insights before I go posting a bunch of general questions that have probably been asked before. But, I did want to see if anyone had any experience with the bike posted below ...

Hi Luke. One of the best ways to mine this forum is its search feature. Go back to the list of groups and try a search for cross-check, which will cover all the groups. I just ran one and got 12 responses. Most of them look relevant.

IMO, this bike is completely adequate for your task.

And welcome to the forum.

Fred

[Tandem4Rider]

Honestly almost any bike can handle the task - depending upon how you travel.  As one of the otehr dicsussions points out, can you handle it?  The double chain ring might require more leg strength in the hills; therefore, changing to a triple would be necessary.  Best wishes on your trip!

[DaveB]

I have a Cross Check as my rain/beater bike setup with a rack and fenders and it could certainly handle any length ride you can imagine.  The current frames even have fork blade braze-ons so you can equip it with both front and rear racks.  Highly recommended.  The Cross Check is one of the most versatile bikes out there.

[RussSeaton]

The frame looks to have all the braze-ons needed for racks and fenders.  Only one fork eyelet so you will have to put the fender and low rider rack together.  But that is not a problem.  You will need to fix the gearing for loaded touring.  Get a 33 or 34 tooth inner chainring.  TA and Stronglight make a 33 chainring for a 110mm bcd crank.  Little lower than 34 tooth so if you have to buy a new ring, might as well get the lowest.  If you wanted, you could replace the 11-32 cassette with a 11-34 for a little bit lower gearing.  A roughly 1x1 low gear of 33x32 or 34x34 would probably be low enough.  Its none too low for a loaded bike.  I prefer a lower low, but I have a triple crankset and its much easier to get under 1x1 with a triple.

[DaveB]

The frame looks to have all the braze-ons needed for racks and fenders.  Only one fork eyelet so you will have to put the fender and low rider rack together.  But that is not a problem.  You will need to fix the gearing for loaded touring.  Get a 33 or 34 tooth inner chainring.  TA and Stronglight make a 33 chainring for a 110mm bcd crank.  Little lower than 34 tooth so if you have to buy a new ring, might as well get the lowest.  If you wanted, you could replace the 11-32 cassette with a 11-34 for a little bit lower gearing.  A roughly 1x1 low gear of 33x32 or 34x34 would probably be low enough.  Its none too low for a loaded bike.  I prefer a lower low, but I have a triple crankset and its much easier to get under 1x1 with a triple.

From what I can make of the Surly web site, the Cross Check comes with the exact same crank as the LHT but without the third chainring supplied.  So, all you have to do is buy a 74 mm BCD chainring in whatever tooth count you want down to 24T, buy the bolts, reset the front derailleur's low limit screw and you have an instant triple.  The friction front barend shifters will handle it with no problems. 

[RussSeaton]

From what I can make of the Surly web site, the Cross Check comes with the exact same crank as the LHT but without the third chainring supplied.  So, all you have to do is buy a 74 mm BCD chainring in whatever tooth count you want down to 24T, buy the bolts, reset the front derailleur's low limit screw and you have an instant triple.  The friction front barend shifters will handle it with no problems.

I see the LHT and Cross Check come with the same crankset.  But it may not be just as simple as buying and bolting on a 74mm bcd mm 24 tooth chainring.  Both bikes come with a Sora triple front derailleur, so that is good.  But the Cross Check comes with a 107mm bottom bracket.  The LHT is 118mm.  You may want to get a 110mm or 113mm or 115mm Shimano square taper bottom bracket to get enough space for the inner ring.  An easy job.

[paddleboy17]

I see the LHT and Cross Check come with the same crankset.  But it may not be just as simple as buying and bolting on a 74mm bcd mm 24 tooth chainring.  Both bikes come with a Sora triple front derailleur, so that is good.  But the Cross Check comes with a 107mm bottom bracket.  The LHT is 118mm.  You may want to get a 110mm or 113mm or 115mm Shimano square taper bottom bracket to get enough space for the inner ring.  An easy job.

If you are buying new, you might see if the dealer will swap the bottom bracket out for you.  He should charge you little to no labor, and give you a credit for the bottom bracket coming out.

[indyfabz]

I see the LHT and Cross Check come with the same crankset.

I would check on that. While the model numbers listed are the same for both bikes, the photos show two different cranks. Perhaps the crank model number is inccorrect on one. Or perhaps there are double and triple versions of the ASC124 (or whatever it is) crank. I find it hard to believe that Surly would sell the CC with a triple crank minus the small ring. What would be the point? Next time I am in Trophy Bikes I will ask.  They usually have at least one CC in stock.

[DaveB]

I find it hard to believe that Surly would sell the CC with a triple crank minus the small ring. What would be the point?

The point would be to simplify their inventory.  One crank fits all.

[ohlukeson]

Thank you everyone for your feedback!
I've passed all of this on to my friend who is purchasing the bike in the Boston area (Broadway Bicycle in Cambridge) and it looks like they'll be able to make the necessary adjustments. They had actually made a lot of the same recommendations offered up by some of you. great minds!

[indyfabz]

I find it hard to believe that Surly would sell the CC with a triple crank minus the small ring. What would be the point?

The point would be to simplify their inventory.  One crank fits all.

But why leave off the other ring? Cost?  Insignificant.  Weight?  Same.

[RussSeaton]

I find it hard to believe that Surly would sell the CC with a triple crank minus the small ring. What would be the point?

The point would be to simplify their inventory.  One crank fits all.

But why leave off the other ring? Cost?  Insignificant.  Weight?  Same.

Because the Cross Check is appealing to a different market than the Long Haul Trucker.  You CANNOT have a cyclocross bike with a triple crankset.  No one would buy it.  Cyclocross is cool.  Double cranks are cool, not triples.  And if by chance anyone actually used the Cross Check in a cyclocross race, a double would work better.  Front shifting during a cyclocross race is abrupt and sudden and forceful.  You don't want the chain accidentally falling to the inner ring.

[Pat Lamb]

I find it hard to believe that Surly would sell the CC with a triple crank minus the small ring. What would be the point?

The point would be to simplify their inventory.  One crank fits all.

But why leave off the other ring? Cost?  Insignificant.  Weight?  Same.

You're all missing the point.

Marketing.

Tough, macho guys that ride cyclocross don't need a triple ring -- they'll get off and run up that hill carrying the bike faster than the sissy riding up with a granny gear.

Just like commercials sell cars.