Firstly sorry for the distinct lack of updates. Its been a busy summer for us, which is no excuse i know. But i promise we'll try to do better!
This week saw us complete a pretty tasty Surly Cross Check for a customer who wanted something just right. Dicks kindly done a write up of his new bike so rather than me rambling on i'll now pass you over to him to tell you all about his new bike :-
When my employer Kelvin Hughes signed up to the Cyclescheme I knew I could finally do something I always wanted to do, have a bike custom built to my specifications (a bit like Rob Penn's Ride of My Life: The Story of the Bicycle) and, of course Trion were the natural choice to do this. I'm a pretty big guy and as I have a 18 miles daily commute on London's
potholed roads it's vital I have a bike that stands-up to the job and is as maintenance free as can be. Over the past few years I've already seen of a Specialized Langster, a Dawes Discovery, a Pashley Roadster and even my classic a Raleigh Touriste (a Reynolds 531 touring bike) was being to fall apart at the spokes so the guys at Trion recommended a Surly CrossCheck frame<http://www.surlybikes.com/>. I also wanted some gears again after the Langster, but I really hate all the maintenance and cleaning you need to do in the winter so after a great deal of research (and a lot of
reading the fine works of Sheldon Brown) I chose an Alfine hub to go be built into 36 spoke black Salsa Delgardo wheels. These, of course, had to be topped off with the closest thing you can get to a puncture proof tire - Schwlabe Marathon Plus. (I've punctured one once, but it took a massive piece of glass to do it!) I know I wanted flat bars because I find it safer on the busy city roads to be more upright and I wanted to have Ergon GC2 grips, but I really wasn't sure what bar to choose. Luke recommended a Torsion Bar by Surly. Luke also recommended:
* DIATECH D-Cup Headset
* Shimano M590 Deore front hub
* Shimano Alfine 2-piece chainset and Bottom Bracket
* Shimano SL-S500 Rapidfire lever
* Avid Shorty 4 '09 Cantilever Brake
* Avid Speed Dial 7 Brake Levers Graphite
* System Ex Seatpost
When the build was complete I handed Luke my SPD's my girlfriend bought me for my birthday, my trusty old Tubus Rack (the very best in my humble opinion) and Brooks B17 (It's only 3 years old so only just starting to be worn in!) and that evening I picked it up.
It was stunning! Smooth, responsive, very strong and because Triton had taken the time to listen to what I wanted I didn't have to change or adjust a single thing. I rode straight home and then just kept going all the way to
London Bridge!
I can whole heartedly recommend the Surly CrossCheck and Triton are most certainly the most expert place you can buy one.
Indeed I can honest say I've not been so excited about a bike since my Dad gave me a second hand Grifter when I was 11! (Now that IS a bike ... !)
This week saw us complete a pretty tasty Surly Cross Check for a customer who wanted something just right. Dicks kindly done a write up of his new bike so rather than me rambling on i'll now pass you over to him to tell you all about his new bike :-
When my employer Kelvin Hughes signed up to the Cyclescheme I knew I could finally do something I always wanted to do, have a bike custom built to my specifications (a bit like Rob Penn's Ride of My Life: The Story of the Bicycle) and, of course Trion were the natural choice to do this. I'm a pretty big guy and as I have a 18 miles daily commute on London's
potholed roads it's vital I have a bike that stands-up to the job and is as maintenance free as can be. Over the past few years I've already seen of a Specialized Langster, a Dawes Discovery, a Pashley Roadster and even my classic a Raleigh Touriste (a Reynolds 531 touring bike) was being to fall apart at the spokes so the guys at Trion recommended a Surly CrossCheck frame<http://www.surlybikes.com/>. I also wanted some gears again after the Langster, but I really hate all the maintenance and cleaning you need to do in the winter so after a great deal of research (and a lot of
reading the fine works of Sheldon Brown) I chose an Alfine hub to go be built into 36 spoke black Salsa Delgardo wheels. These, of course, had to be topped off with the closest thing you can get to a puncture proof tire - Schwlabe Marathon Plus. (I've punctured one once, but it took a massive piece of glass to do it!) I know I wanted flat bars because I find it safer on the busy city roads to be more upright and I wanted to have Ergon GC2 grips, but I really wasn't sure what bar to choose. Luke recommended a Torsion Bar by Surly. Luke also recommended:
* DIATECH D-Cup Headset
* Shimano M590 Deore front hub
* Shimano Alfine 2-piece chainset and Bottom Bracket
* Shimano SL-S500 Rapidfire lever
* Avid Shorty 4 '09 Cantilever Brake
* Avid Speed Dial 7 Brake Levers Graphite
* System Ex Seatpost
When the build was complete I handed Luke my SPD's my girlfriend bought me for my birthday, my trusty old Tubus Rack (the very best in my humble opinion) and Brooks B17 (It's only 3 years old so only just starting to be worn in!) and that evening I picked it up.
It was stunning! Smooth, responsive, very strong and because Triton had taken the time to listen to what I wanted I didn't have to change or adjust a single thing. I rode straight home and then just kept going all the way to
London Bridge!
I can whole heartedly recommend the Surly CrossCheck and Triton are most certainly the most expert place you can buy one.
Indeed I can honest say I've not been so excited about a bike since my Dad gave me a second hand Grifter when I was 11! (Now that IS a bike ... !)
Posts
