Review: Surly CrossCheck "Complete"

[KnottedYet]

Ta-DA!!!!!

Meet "Crow Carmelita Crosscheck the Disco Queen"! "Crow" for short. Someday she'll have a crow on her seat tube.

Here she is, fresh from the LBS.


And here she is after getting naughty with Knot. (Note the bottle cage, fender, rack, Brooks saddle, pannier. Front fender bolt got lost somewhere, will get that fender on soon.)


It's raining, of course, but I'll probably take her out for a ride soon anyway. I don't think I'll damage her going for a couple wet rides without a front fender.

(Those aren't whitewall tires, they're reflective Vittoria Randonneurs glowing in the camera flash.)

[MM_QFC!]

Hey there - congrats and welcome to the new bike in yer fleet! Looks like a great ride and yeah, your inaugural ride may well be a sloppy one, but that shouldn't stop you!
You're in the Seattle area, right? Me too - so I'm wimping out today and planning for a dry ride tomorrow. Tailwinds to you and Crow for the start of many great adventures together!
Mary

[cosc]

Knotted, your Disco Queen looks like she can handle anything you throw at her. Enjoy those miles.

[RoseC]

Woo-hoo! Congratulations! She's beautiful!

So...tell me about these Randonneurs...they handle commuting well?

Just thinking ahead to when my stock knobbies wear out on the Volpe...

[KnottedYet]

I have 28mm Randonneurs on my Waterford, and 32mm Randonneurs on my Surly.

I really like these tires, they are tough (I run over broken glass and other sharp junk all the time, hit potholes and cracked pavement full on, just kinda clumsy that way). They are very smooth riding, and their max pressure is low enough that they absorb bumps, but they don't feel slow and mushy. The tread sheds water well and they are nice and stable on wet pavement. Cornering is smooth. (Surly came with knobbies, which I traded for Randonneurs before I took her out of the LBS.)

If you do commuting in the dusk or dark, I highly recommend spending the extra $4 for the reflective sidewalls. Those puppies are BRIGHT, and if you see a pair in your headlights, man, you know there's a bike in front of you! (I caught a bike with reflective sidewalls in my headlights, dunno if they were Vittorias, but they were sure obvious!)

[RoseC]

You wouldn't happen to know of any mail order type places that sell Randonneurs, would you?

I still haven't discussed tires with my new favorite LBS...I should see what they carry. I don't think they have a huge selection, though.

[KnottedYet]

I get mine at my LBS.

Vittoria is a pretty popular brand of tire, I would expect your LBS to have an acct with a distributor, so special ordering a pair if they don't have the tires in stock shouldn't be an issue for the LBS.

I really try to buy my goodies at the independent LBS, "shop locally" and all that. If they know you want something, they'll generally order it for you. (and if you know an online price, they might be able to match it) I'm ordering my 2nd Brooks thru my LBS, and they will match Wallingford's price.