Who Has A Surly Cross Check?

I'm looking for my first drop bar bike in 25 years. I want steel. Don't want a racing bike or a touring bike from a geometry stand point. I will not do cycle cross, but ride mostly (99%) on paved surfaces. I have a 2011 Trek FX 7.3 hybrid that I love, but just want a drop bars for a variety of hand positions. I have test ridden ( around the parking lot) a Cross Check in a 50 and a 52 and both felt about the same. I felt a little less constricted on the 52.

So anyway, what do you think of your bike? How do you ride it? How do you have it set up? What don't you like about it? I know you can put fenders, racks, etc on them and I've already researched a ton about them, so I'm asking for personal experience, pro or con. Things you wish were different about.

Thanks in advance.

I've got a 52cm Cross Check.

4 years old.

I changed the tires to Vittoria Randonneurs (32mm). Switched the drop bars for moustaches, and gave her a 120 deg rise dimension stem. Added a third -granny- chainring. Brooks B67 saddle. Rack and fenders.

Eventually I bought her a new fork so I could get a longer steerer as I was having some trouble in traffic. Couldn't quite see over cars.

I love this bike in every way. I've ridden long distances, short distances, commutes, drafting a better rider, toodling along on dirt. She's done Costco runs with two panniers and can pull a trailer.

If I only had one bike, this would be it.

Right now I'm yearning for a Soma Buena Vista because I want a mixte and I'm a fickle woman. But really, I have nothing bad to say about my Cross Check.

Oh very nice. Thanks for sharing.

I do have somewhat of an issue on how "utilitarian" they look-sort of like an old jeep. I guess they're made that way for the sake of function. I've heard they have almost a cult-like following.

Well, they certainly don't have fancy paint jobs. Probably that's one way they keep the price down. I am a fan of mono-chromatic paint, it's serene. Sleek. :D

The geometry is classic. No oversized tubes. Pretty horizontal TT. That can make the bike look a bit dated, I suppose.

If you think it looks too much like an old Jeep, get the lighter blue one rather than the black one. I've got the black one, and it does look pretty utilitarian. Well, especially with the heavy rack and stuff, mine looks VERY utilitarian!

Everything is so standard on the Cross Check that you could really change out whatever you want to your heart's content and make it as un-Jeep like as you wish.

I love mine too.
The only thing I'd change is to have more time to spend riding it.

I'm thinking about one of those for my hill country commuter. I'd want to swap a bunch of stuff out, but the LBS says it's still probably more economical to swap it, than to build it up from a bare frameset.

I rode one around the block in jeans and sneakers, a size too big which is what they had in stock, just to get a feel for the geometry and the bar-end shifters. I was surprised how easy the shifters were.

Hmmmmm.

I'd love one as a winter bike/commuter/unpaved path bike--if I bought one, I'd probably swap out a few things because I'm pretty sure I'd kill myself with the bar-end shifters. And perhaps dress the black up a bit. :D

I was worried about the bar end shifters too, but surprisingly, they weren't bad. The 52 bike has longer handled brakes vs the smaller sizes, so I wonder if brake levers are easy to change?

The bar ends are a piece of cake, but I'm old and grew up with down tube friction shifters. Brewer also set me up with short reach brake levers and super-grannyfied the gearing.