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Surly Cross Check Bike

$1149.00

(8)

Item # 806824

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A do-it-all road ride, the Surly Cross Check bike handles commuting, light touring, everyday riding, weekend charity rides and centuries with ease and smooth, steely grace.

4130 chromoly steel frame and fork offer the legendary smooth handling and ride associated with steel, ensuring all-day comfort
Andel double crankset is partnered with Shimano Tiagra derailleurs and shifters to provide dependable performance and easy shifts between the versatile 18 gears
Shimano bar-end shifters offer easy shifts
Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes supply sure speed management and offer plenty of clearance for fenders
Alex rims and Shimano Deore hubs combine to supply reliable, smooth rolling; Ritchey SpeedMax Cross tires handle on- and off-road conditions
Frame features eyelets for fenders and racks (sold separately), 2 water bottle mounts, downtube lever bosses and semi-horizontal rear dropouts with adjusters
Fatties Fit Fine (FFF) stays and slope-crowned fork provide plenty of room for tires up to 700x45 with clearance for fenders
Specs are subject to change

All bicycles sold at REI include a free warranty tune-up. New bikes go through a normal break-in period, after which readjustment is important for longevity and performance. Bring your new bike in to your local REI for its free tune-up within 20 hours of use or 6 months from purchase, whichever comes first. Contact your nearest REI bike shop to schedule this important service.

Imported.

Item 806824

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Surly Cross Check Bike Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Surly Cross Check Bike

4.8

(based on 8 reviews)

88%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Durable (8)
Handles well off-road (6)
Great components (5)

Cons

Best Uses

Commuting (8)
Pavement (5)
Off-road (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Avid cyclist (3), Commuter (3)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (5)

Reviewed by 8 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-8

Apr

2012

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Goldilocks bike - just right!

By tanker

from Alexandria, VA

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

4130 Chromo Steel frame
Durable
Fast
Great Components
Handles Well Off-road
Horzontal dropouts
Lugged fork crown
Versatile

Cons

A little toe overlap
No option for disc brakes

Best Uses

Commuting
Cycle Cross Racing
Just about anything
Off-Road
Pavement

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

The Cross Check is lighter and faster than the LHT, but stronger and beefier than the Pacer. Its "just right". It rides (and looks) MUCH nicer than the aluminum road and cross bikes that dominate this price range. Just select the appropriate tires (slicks for the road, knobbies for the dirt) and go. The Cross Check can do it all - fun, fast, and in style!

Barend shifters are an excellent choice for this type of bicycle. The Dura Ace barends are higher quality and more reliable than the cheapo brifters that usually come stock on $1K roadbikes. And they shift better too.

Comment on this review

Apr

2012

(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Smooth, Fast, and Versatile.

By Splitboard Graham

from Olympia, WA

About Me Commuter

See all my reviews

Pros

Cushy Ride
Durable
Great Components
Handles Well Off-road
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Commuting
Riding fast in the rain
Towing a toddler

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

i use this bike to commute, run errands, pull a todler trailer, and ride for fun. the commute is hilly and urban, with plenty of marginal pavement conditions, train tracks, and the like. this bike is great for all of it. it makes riding marginal and mixed conditions more fun and secure. i wasn't sure i liked the bar end shifters the first time, and i almost got integrated shifters, but the stock shifters are perfectly adequate for riding in stop and go traffic, and shift smoothly and securely. The smooth and stable ride make night riding more fun, so i'm glad i got a bright light for it. looking forward to adding racks, fenders, and panniers, and touring up some washed out roads in the Olympics and Cascades to access climbing and skiing/riding. well thought out and built it seems. very impressed with Surly.

Comment on this review

Jul

2011

(16 of 21 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Surly about Surly

By surlyaboutsurly

from Arlington, VA

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable

Cons

Poor Component Selection

Best Uses

Commuting
Off-Road
Pavement

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

I wanted to post this review to help people like me. After a 20 year absense, I recently got back into riding last year. I am hooked. I bought the cheapest Trek Mountain bike I could find. This served me well for about a year. The shifting was never great, but it never broke down on me. I am a muscular 230 pound man with alot of lower body strength. Therefore I put alot of stress on a bike. I ride about 80 miles a week, 60 on crushed stone rail/trail and 20 on paved roads. I was looking for a [$] cyclocross bike that was durable. While I wanted it to perform much better than my Mountain Bike, I was much more interested in durability. I thought I found what I was looking for in Surly Cross Check. It received rave reviews online and was billed as 'bomb proof'. I wanted to love this bike, and be a Surly geek. I wanted to sing Surly's praises to whomever would listen; however, I am a bit disappointed with the bike. I am not outraged, just disappointed. My first disappointment was with the Customer Service. For those of you who don't know, Surly is owned by Quality Bike parts (QBP). It is not a small quirky company they portray themselves to be, but rather a part of a large corporation. You can not order a Surly yourself, you must go to a bike shop which has an account with QBP. My bike shop was very, very, helpful, but had no experience with Surly's. I realized this was taking a chance, but the online reviews convinced me to take a chance. They originally claimed the bike would take a week to come in. After a week, it was not there. When my bike shop called, the QBP people were not at all apologetic. They seemed to have a 'too cool for school' attitude. This is not the end of world, but it was disappointing because I wanted to love Surly.But unto the bike. In summary, the frame appears to be great, but the components are poor to average. When I bought the bike, I knew very little about which components were poor and which were great. I found out the hard way that you must educate yourself. This takes time and is a slow process, but if you are an avid bike rider, it is neccessary because you will be taken advantage of. What I have learned the hard way is that you get what you pay for. The Surly website states that "stuff that works well and doesn't dent your piggy bank too bad." What they should say is that, "our goal was to keep the MSRP to [$] because if we picked quality parts, the bike would be $2000 and no one would buy it." The Derailleurs are Shimano Tiagra. While these are not junk, they are average quality deraileurs and certainly not know for being especially durable. But what is junk is the Cross check wheels. The Hubs are high quality Shimano Deore, but the rims are low quality Alex DA16. I should know because my wheels had problems after only 50 miles. When I showed my wheels to a knowledgable bike repair man, he perplexed as to why they would put a high quality hub with low quality rims. I have since found out that Alex rims have a reputation for being low quality. The brakes are adequate, but not great. The shifters are Shimano Bar-end type. These are the types which are used on touring bikes. Since they have fewer moving parts, they are more durable. They do shift well, but are not convenient. You have to move your hands to the end of the handle bars to shift. This is a part which does live up to being tough yet cheap. I might over time learn to love this bike. Until proven otherwise, I will continue to believe the frame is great. My personal opinion is that Surly's are great framesets, but mediocre complete bikes. In order to get a true bombproof cyclocross bike, you will have to spend another [$] on quality components.

Comment on this review

Oct

2010

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Excellent everyday bike

By kflo

from Indianapolis IN

About Me Commuter

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Great Components
Handles Well Off-road

Cons

Best Uses

Commuting

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

This bike is excellent. I use it as my commuter bike 3-4 days each week (10 miles round trip). I have also taken it on several longer weekend rides. It is comfortable, responsive, quick and stable. The only thing I don't like about this bike is that I can't think of a reason to own another bike. Which all you gear heads may hate. I love how easily it handles dirt, grass, or pavement. Even with the added weight of the rear pannier it is still a joy to ride

So far I have only added a rear rack and pannier. I plan to add fenders next week. Other than that it needs nothing.

Comment on this review

Oct

2010

(6 of 6 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great do-it-all bike !!

By surly jason

from Harrisburg, PA

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Does everything
Durable
Great Components
Handles Well Off-road

Cons

No disc brake mounts

Best Uses

Commuting
Off-Road
Pavement
Touring

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

I've had my Surly for a couple of years now and love it. I do fast club rides, long-distance rides (longest one-day was 130 miles) and commute.

The stock bike offers a lot of performance for the price but you can make useful, inexpensive upgrades that increase the utility of the bike to suit your individual needs.

I have my bike set up with 47mm Schwalbe Marathons (or studded Nokkians), Planet Bike fenders, front & rear racks, Nashbar panniers, a granny gear and wide-ratio cassette and rear derailer.

The bike is super useful, goes anywhere in comfort and style and, with 27-speeds you can fly on the straights while climbing the steepest hills.

Surly makes a great bike !!

Comment on this review

Aug

2010

(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Well it's a Surly!

By Surly Bill

from Pittsburgh, PA

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Great Components
Handles Well Off-road
Rides Well
Unique

Cons

none

Best Uses

Commuting
Streettrail riding
Touring

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

I've owned many high-end bikes, but the crosscheck is my favorite! It rides great, is durable, and goes anywhere you want to take it. This is a bike that last a lifetime. My infant son will probably ride this bike one day!

Comment on this review

Jun

2010

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Excellent Ride

By horvathjp

from Cleveland, OH

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Handles Well Off-road
Lightweight

Cons

Best Uses

Commuting
Pavement

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

After riding a 35 year old Schwin that broke some spokes.. i upgraded to this beauty. I would recommend this bike to anyone that is looking for a bit of everything. whether is trails, roads, commuting, it handles all the challenges put before the weekend warrior. i fully intend to use this as my primary mode of transportation. strongly recommend you put in shimano tiagra shifters, for convenience and never having to take your hands off the bar.

Comment on this review

May

2010

(9 of 9 customers found this review helpful)

5.0

Great Bike!!

By Duzzy

from St. Louis

About Me Commuter

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable

Cons

Best Uses

Commuting
Cycle Cross Racing
Pavement

Comments about Surly Cross Check Bike:

I just sold my expensive road bike because this Cross Check is all I need. I commute with it 20 miles round trip. When I go for day rides with my friends, they have carbon fiber bikes and I can keep up with them. It handles great and is fast. I got it from LBS but would have got it here if they would have had it. I also own a LHT. Surly makes great bikes.
I added 28mm road tires, back rack and fenders. Other then that it's a stock Cross Check and I love it.