Surly Bikes
Encyclopedia
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
, established circa 1998. Surly is owned by and shares facilities with Quality Bicycle Products
Quality Bicycle Products
Quality Bicycle Products is the largest distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in the bicycle industry, with revenues of $150 million in 2008. In addition to wholesaling bicycles and components from other manufacturers, QBP owns and manufactures several brands of its own...
(QBP).
The company is well known in bicycle messenger
Bicycle messenger
Bicycle messengers are people who work for courier companies carrying and delivering items by bicycle. Bicycle messengers are most often found in the central business districts of metropolitan areas...
and single-speed
Single-speed bicycle
A single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle....
culture and helped establish the Single Speed World Championship
Single Speed World Championship
The Single Speed World Championship, or SSWC, is an annual event. It is only open to bicycles with a single gear ratio. Those bicycles can be either singlespeeds or fixed-gears...
(SSWC). Surly specializes in steel bicycle frames. Frames are made in Taiwan from 4130 cromoly steel.
Distinctive components made by Surly include the Dingle cog, crankset
Crankset
The crankset or chainset , is the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts the reciprocating motion of the rider's legs into rotational motion used to drive the chain, which in turn drives the rear wheel...
s with separately detachable spiders, reversible chain tensioner, and the "Large Marge" an unusually wide bicycle rim. Surly also sells lifestyle items such as wool jerseys and flasks bearing the Surly logo.
Frame Models
In 2005, Surly began selling the Pugsley, the first mass-produced mountain bikeMountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
with extremely large volume tires
Bicycle tire
A bicycle tire is a tire that fits on the wheel of a bicycle, unicycle, tricycle, quadracycle, bicycle trailer, or trailer bike. They may also be used on wheelchairs and handcycles, especially for racing...
, up to 4 inches wide, for deep snow and sand riding. The front and rear wheels
Bicycle wheel
A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels....
share a common hub size and can be interchanged, allowing for additional gearing combinations. Noted bicycle technical authority Sheldon Brown
Sheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic)
Sheldon Brown was an American bicycle mechanic and technical authority on bicycles. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.-Biography:Brown...
said, "Pugsley is, in its way, as revolutionary as the original mountain bikes were in the early 1980s." Bicycling Magazine wrote, "It's not ideal for everyday use, but it can handle a wide variety of demands and conditions well."
In 2006 Surly introduced the Big Dummy, a longtail bike
Longtail (bicycle)
Longtail is a type of bicycle with a longer than usual frame wheelbase at the rear compared to a standard utility bicycle...
frame
Bicycle frame
A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, on to which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles, a main triangle and a paired rear triangle...
designed for the Xtracycle
Xtracycle
Xtracycle is the name of a company and the name commonly used for the variety of load-carrying bicycle, a longtail or a longbike, that results from use of the company's product: the Free Radical kit and associated accessories. Web forums and blogs often use the shorthand Xtrabike, Xtra, or simply...
Free Radical extension that can carry 200 lbs of gear in addition to a 200 lb rider.
Other Surly bikes include:
- 1x1: Single-speed mountain bikeMountain bikeA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
- Cross-Check: Cyclo-cross bicycleCyclo-cross bicycleA cyclo-cross bicycle is a bicycle specifically designed for the rigors of a cyclo-cross race. Cyclo-cross bicycles roughly resemble the racing bicycles used in road racing...
- Instigator: Dirt jump bikeDirt JumpingDirt jumping is one of the names given to the practice of riding bikes over cement type jumps of dirt or soil and becoming airborne. The idea is that after riding over the 'take off' the rider will become momentarily airborne, and aim to land on the 'landing'.Dirt jumping can be done on almost...
(Discontinued) - Karate Monkey: 29'er mountain bike
- Long Haul Trucker: Touring bicycleTouring bicycleA touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase , frame materials that favor flexibility over rigidity , heavy duty wheels , and...
- Pacer: Road bikeRacing bicycleA racing bicycle, also known as a road bike, is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale...
- Steamroller: Single-speed bicycleSingle-speed bicycleA single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle....
- Travellers Check: Cycle-cross bicycle with Bicycle Torque CouplingBicycle Torque CouplingAn S and S Coupling also known as a Bicycle Torque Coupling or BTC is a coupling which enables bicycle frames to be separated into smaller pieces, usually to facilitate packing and transporting. They can be built into the frame by the frame manufacturer when the frame is originally assembled or...
s so that it can be disassembled for travel. - Troll: 26er mountain bikeMountain bikeA mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
Surly also produced a mountain unicycle
Mountain unicycling
Mountain unicycling is an emerging adventure sport that consists of traversing rough terrain on a unicycle. Mountain unicycling can be done on the same terrain as a mountain bike. However, unicycles typically lack a gear system , preventing the user from coasting or reaching high speeds...
, the Conundrum. (Discontinued)
Components
- Dingle cog: A two-speed track cog for fixed gear bicycles. It was released in early 2007. It is a multi-speed fixed-gear cog that is compatible with standard track hubs and lockrings. Three gear combinations are available, 17t and 19t, 17t and 20t, as well as 17t and 21t. When used with two appropriately sized chainrings, the rear axle's position in the dropouts can remain almost the same and still allow a relatively large difference in gear ratio between the two combinations. Bicycle Fixation's Harold Ikerd wrote, "The ability to change gear ratios while on the trail, road, or lost is heavenly!"