Mountain Biking Australia – August 2019

THERE'S NO FUNN Y

BUSINESS WITH

THIS ANIMAL. ALL-

ROUN D FE ATUR ES

COMBINING TO

MAKE IT WORTHY

OF AN YTHING FROM

A QUICK TR AIL RUN

TO A WEEK IN THE

WILDERNESS

My first memory of a mountain

bike was back in the 90s, aboard

a gleaming new Cr-Mo steel

framed hardtail. Those were the

days, with horribly basic front

suspension, non-indexed shifting,

cantilever brakes, narrow bars

and 2.1-inch wide tyres that I

thought were fat at the time.

Despite all that it delivered plenty

of fun to my teenage self, riding

around the poor selection of trails

we had at the time.

Fast-forward to today and

despite two decades of progress

in the waves of alloy bikes along

with capable dual suspension

and then the rise of carbon, there

are still brands out there building

bikes out of Cr-Mo and other steel

tubing.

Surly is one such brand, using

good ol’ 4130 cromo steel tubing

they call Natch in all the bikes

they make. Founded in 1998 in

Minneapolis, USA, Surly Bikes is

a brand that initially focused on

single speed componentry but

have since progressed to produce

a wide range of components plus

steel frames and complete bikes.

Nowadays they are known for

bikes such as the Pugsley, the first

fat bike with its five inch wide tyres

and produce a range of frames

and bikes including cyclo-cross,

trail, touring, cargo, road and

commuter bikes.

Of course they do things a

little differently, opting to powder-

coat their frames rather than use

solvent-based paint. They also

produce steel bikes as the ability

to repair and recycle steel is

greater than alloy or carbon and

even pack their bikes inside boxes

using twist ties and cardboard

instead of plastic ties and foam.

RIDDEN & RATED

SURLY KARATE MONKEY

WORDS: BEN SYKES

PICS: JAIME BLACK