Hi, uforgot! Thanks so much for the response! I have indeed seen that picture before, and I'm pretty sure it was that thread that got me looking at the Cross Check to begin with.

And thanks for the comparison with the Quest. I'm thinking the Quest is going to end up being too road bikey, when what I should really go with is BOMB PROOF. Besides, the Surly is much more within my price range.

I was doing a little more research on my old Aurora last night, and realized that it's listed as a road/sport bike, rather than a touring as they now are. The '94 Quest was listed as a race/tri, so that makes sense that it felt more aggressive to you, I think.

It looks like I'll be going with the 42cm. Surly's site lists the TT length as 19.9in and the Effective TT as 20.6.

Yesterday, I rode a 51cm Jamis Ventura with a Effective TT of 20.6 (oh, the same!!) and it felt a bit long. I rode a 48cm Specialized Dolce that has a TT of 19.92 and it felt SO PERFECT. I'm not sure what the Effective TT was, though.

Even though it felt a bit long, I might be able to fix that with a shorter headset/stem?

Ok. Final question, and then I think I'm just going to pull the trigger: which shop to order from.

Shop #1: The guy seemed pretty knowledgeable about Surlys. Knew right away I'd need a 42, and was keen on swapping out some parts for me, namely STIs instead of the bar end shifters. I really liked him, but no guarantee. Shop about 5 miles from my house. (There's always ebay, right?)

Shop #2: Really nice guy. Put me on a couple different bikes to test out the sizing, looked things up with me for quite awhile. Didn't know too much about Surly's and didn't really say anything about swapping parts, but has a 7 day guarantee. Shop about 20 miles from my house.


Thanks!! OOOOh, I'm getting excited and hopeful!!