[jerome neidhardt]

after months of deep contemplation and savoring the idea of a new bike in the spring it is now the time to decide and act. I am 6ft with 33/34 inseam and long arms. currently primarily ride 3 year old rigid KM singlespeed size large with 100 mm stem and carnegie bars. regular seat post. l love this bike; I was right between an 18 and a 20 KM, rode both and fit better on the 20. It is a tad large for super technical stuff, but at my age and ability for xc mountain biking and rail trail it is great. It fits great and I can ride it for hours comfortably.
I Want to get a "road bike." I love the KM singlespeed and want something that can do everything else. long road rides, maybe even a century at some point. something that I can ride on the rail trails and road. most of all, I want something that is like my KM - fun and comfortable to ride. price wise, I am looking at $1000 to $1200 and a "road bike" with tiagra components would probably weigh 20-22 lbs. cross check would probably weigh 25 lbs and a pacer about 22lbs. I don''t care about the weight of the bike as long as it is fun and comfortable.

I can ride some road bikes to try, but my LBS has to order CC or pacer so I can't ride one of those. I am 44 and live in northern nj. Also, this bike may get some use pulling a tag a long for the next year, but my KM can do that on most of those rides so if I got a "road bike" I wouldn't use it for the tag a long rides.

everyone seems to love their cross check, and that is what i am leaning towards, but I am savoring the idea of a new bike and would welcome any input.

other question is sizing; do you think a 56 cm or a 58 cm frame? thanks!

 

[appleSSeed]

if you want a road bike and want a Surly, the Pacer would be the obvious choice.

Sizing is hard to decide w/o knowing how tall you are.

 

[EastCoast]

Sizing is hard to decide w/o knowing how tall you are.

That's true! However:

I am 6ft with 33/34 inseam and long arms

 

[veloduffer]

I would look at cyclocross bikes - you can take them off-road or use them for long road rides. Giant TCX, Cannondale CADX and Specialized Tricross fit your budget. You can probably go with a top tube length of 57cm or slightly larger, which is a Large in Giant and 58cm in Specialized and Cannondale. I'm 5'11" (33 sleeve) and use bikes with a 56.5 to 57cm top tube and 72.5/73 seat angle (110-120 stem).

Marty's Reliable carries Specialized and Cycle Craft carries Cannondales. Who's your LBS (I live in northern NJ as well, Morris County)?

 

[jerome neidhardt]

I would look at cyclocross bikes - you can take them off-road or use them for long road rides. Giant TCX, Cannondale CADX and Specialized Tricross fit your budget. You can probably go with a top tube length of 57cm or slightly larger, which is a Large in Giant and 58cm in Specialized and Cannondale. I'm 5'11" (33 sleeve) and use bikes with a 56.5 to 57cm top tube and 72.5/73 seat angle (110-120 stem).

Marty's Reliable carries Specialized and Cycle Craft carries Cannondales. Who's your LBS (I live in northern NJ as well, Morris County)?

that's why I was thinking a cross check. Maybe my question is, how does a cross check or other cyclocross bikes compare to a true "road bike" in terms of speed, fun and comfort?

re sizing, according to the surly site, a 56 cc has 57 cm eff. top tube; a 58 cc has a 58cm eff. top tube. Marty's is my shop.

 

[veloduffer]

that's why I was thinking a cross check. Maybe my question is, how does a cross check or other cyclocross bikes compare to a true "road bike" in terms of speed, fun and comfort?

re sizing, according to the surly site, a 56 cc has 57 cm eff. top tube; a 58 cc has a 58cm eff. top tube. Marty's is my shop.

There won't be much difference. Slightly heavier frame and slacker head tube angles are better for off-road. I think the "fun" factor is much higher - you can do almost anything on a cross bike. Many road bikes have tight tire clearance, so you can't get much wider than 700x25 (sometimes 28 depending upon mfr) and fenders if you ride in the wet. With a cross bike, you can fit 700x35 easily. I ride my cross bike on the trails at the Tourne sometimes and this year I put Nokian studded tires on my cross bike this year and rode during the winter. You can't do that with a road bike.

Hard to say on your size. Are you legs long too? If you want to ride more upright, get the larger bike as it will give you a longer head tube to raise the bars. You also might want to have a more upright position if you ride offroad too. Also, think about if you like to ride with your saddle pushed back or not. Pushing it back effectively lengthens the top tube and reach.

I spec my road and cross bikes the same, but some prefer less difference between the saddle and handlebar heights for cross.

 

[jvossman]

pacers can take up to 32s

pacers can take up to 32s - i still miss my powder blue one.

 

[dfltroll]

I've had my CC for 4.5yrs now and have really enjoyed the versatility of it. For a while I had it set-up with drop bars and used it as my primary bike (commuting, road rides, trails) and it was fine. If I were looking for a primary road bike with only occaisional dirt excursions I'd probably lean towards a Pacer. As point out the Pacer can handle 32s. The one thing I really like about the Pacer over the CC is the longer head tube but depending on how you fit the bike and set it up it may not be an issue for you.

For what's it's worth, I'm 6' and have a 80cm saddle height and have a 60cm frame. I can't imagine riding one smaller.

 

[XJaredX]

I almost bought a CC but instead decided on a Long Haul Trucker.

 

[JAGI410]

I almost bought a CC but instead decided on a Long Haul Trucker.

I almost bought a Long Haul Trucker but instead decided on a CC

I wanted the "sporty" handling and the horizontal dropouts.

 

[Thor29]

I've owned a Crosscheck, a Long Haul Trucker, and a Pacer.
The Pacer was significantly better on the road.
Much better handling than the other two.
No way you'd be on a 56, more like a 58cm.

 

[tihsepa]

I have had both the CC and a Pacer.

I miss the CC and am glad the Pacer is gone.
I'll get another CC soon.

 

[pedalmunky]

Can't beat the CC for versatility, which is what to me sounds like what you're looking for in a road bike. On a CC you can train for a century, or ride rails-to-trails, or take on milder singletrack, or commute everyday, or ...

You get what I'm sayin'. I love mine.

As far as sizing, I'd e-fit you to a 58, and leave most of the long steerer tube on the fork to raise up the bars a bit. With a mountain drops, a bit of trial and error, and careful trimming, I bet you could get the CC to feel pretty similar to your KM with its swept-back bars.

 

[keith13]

I just picked up my Cross Check last night, its a 52 and I am just under 5'8" with a 31'ish inseam. I went with the Surly Complete bike option.

 

[jerome neidhardt]

Thanks for all the input. I'm still betwixt and between. I am going to test ride an"true" road bike tomorrow (20 lbs AL frame carbon fork&post, 23mm tires 105 components). If I like it, then I may get that. However, it seems from all the posts that everyone loves their cross check and that it is just plain fun to ride. the "fun" factor doesn't seem as evident with the pacer. If I had a cross check and put 25mm or 23mm tires on it, how much less of a "road bike" is it? it would weigh at least 5lbs more than an average aluminum road bike, but would I be able to keep up if I was riding with a group of roadies? thanks again for the info.

re sizing, I think I would be 58cm size. that is what I am going to test ride.

 

[EastCoast]

However, it seems from all the posts that everyone loves their cross check and that it is just plain fun to ride. the "fun" factor doesn't seem as evident with the pacer.

Don't forget you're not getting a representative sample: the Cross-Check outsells the Pacer so you're more likely to hear from people who bought a Cross-Check. I am looking at the Pacer for my next bike, but I just want a Surly to go fast on (no loads, no off-road, no commuting, just pedaling).

You can't hang standard racks on the Pacer; if you want to carry any loads. If you want to do rail trails (not sure how rough those are) maybe the Cross-Check is better.

 

[jerome neidhardt]

Yeah, it seems there are a lot more cross checks out there than pacers. Since I would use it mostly on the road, maybe my choice should be pacer vs aluminum road bike. From my intensive internet research, only issue a few people mentioned with the pacer was the bottom bracket flexing a little under heavy load. Running the KM singlespeed, I stand and mash when climbing, so I am a little concerned about flex, However, I really wish I could test ride the surlys. Before I bought my KM, I tested a Mary and the KM, and really liked the KM and I definitely have no regrets with the monkey.

 

[pedalmunky]

I went on a 20+ mi shop ride the other day with a bunch of strong riders on alu/ti/carbon bikes, and was able to hang on with my CC. Didn't do a whole lot of pulling, I'll admit, but I didn't get dropped, either. Left my 35/32mm cross tires on, but skinnier tires woulda helped.

 

[jerome neidhardt]

test road an AL road bike yesterday. it didn't do anything for me. bottom line is it just wasn't much fun. So it still comes down to pacer or cross check. It seems like the cross check is more fun, so I am leaning towards a CC.

 

[jerome neidhardt]

NICE BIKE! are those pedals battery powered?

I just picked up my Cross Check last night, its a 52 and I am just under 5'8" with a 31'ish inseam. I went with the Surly Complete bike option.

Beautiful bike. love the color and the pedals. I have seen other blue cc photos and the color looks more green and blue (aquamarine?). Is the blue blue or does it have some green it? either way, me want a new surly...