Surly Steamroller owners...

The bike:

1 Attachment

I like it. Do you have 35s clearing normal caliper brakes there?

I think they are 32s but the Gravelkings size up big. I had planned to swap out the front fork for a Sraggler disc fork and have one in my possession but never got around to it. I didn't for two reasons: the clearance hasn't proved to be too much of a problem over the winter as I anticipated it would and since the length and rake of the fork is different I didn't want to tinker with the geometry since I enjoy the ride.

Seriously Surly, do a Steamroller disc fork, its stupid not to.

Conti CX 35mm fit fine. Unless it's really muddy then calipers will choke up whatever tyre you have on.

You can thread tap the vent hole in the fork dropout and use as a mudguard mount, need shallow dome head bolts or grind down bolt heads for hub/spoke head clearance.

Getting 35's and mudguard up front to play well together will require some bodging.

The Brother All-Day is what the Steamroller should have been, it even retain track geo.

I have literally been rolling on the Steamroller for a year (I know this as I got in the cycle to work scheme and just had it valued. £56 apparently) and I like it so much despite having options it is about the only bike I have ridden over the last twelve. Its also stopped me constantly browsing classified as other projects have just been mothballed. Its fucking brilliant on the commute, excellent on our potholed roads and can handle light, non-technical singletrack. Its just removed a need for other bikes.

Unless there are hills.

I am considering picking up a steamroller frame in a colour I don't like with fairly poor paint generally and I am thinking about getting it powder coated and possibly getting front and rear guard mounts welded on at the same time (it is the one without rear guard mounts). Maybe I should get disc tabs welded on as well...

@Jimmy_Fingers I do kind of like the idea of stopping constantly browsing the classifieds, although I do quite enjoy doing it

Maybe I should get disc tabs welded on as well...

then you'd need to space it to 135mm .. not sure if its worth it

get fuck tonnes of mounts and rear brake cable stop brazed on

if you do, you'd need this: https://www.framebuilding.com/what.htm (scroll down)

Get a straggler and set it up fixed?

I imagine disc tabs on the forks is a no-no? The braking force stresses the forks in a completely different way and forks designed for rim brakes aren't usually strong enough just to add a brake tab.

However if that is an option on the Steamroller forks I would be up for it, I just don't imagine they can.

Oh just for the forks I meant, not bothered about having a brake on the back. To be honest, what I would be using it for the extra clearance I would gain would be mostly useless. Just seems like an interesting project to do

Would be interested to hear about this from someone in the know. I have seen a steamroller on pedal room with disc tabs welded to the fork

I think you would to have to have a framebuilder eyeball it.

Were they definitely Steamroller forks? The Straggler ones look very similar.

Unless there are hills.

48/20!

I have seen a steamroller on pedal room with disc tabs welded to the fork.

Not something I recommend, unless the fork blade can be able to withstand the force of the disc brake compare to the fork crown.

Like Jimmy said, frame builder best for this.

I converted my cross-check to disc and the frame builder wouldn't touch the forks. I think it's just a hard-no.

Plenty of people add carbon forks to their steamrollers but I think often sacrifice a bit of the clearance

I thought about it but the added weight and cost didn't seem worth it as the frame is heavy enough already. I'm running mine fixed with a TRP caliper on the front and have never had any issues stopping even in the rain.

Saying that If you're taking it off road a disc might be nice.

I tried carbon for the weight but the stock forks just look/ride so much better. And clearance...

Maybe they were stragglers but I'm sure I remember reading in the comments he had them welded on, possibly by someone not that knowledgable.

Looks like that idea is a non-starter then.

@edscoble out of interest what is different about a disc fork compared to a standard fork?

the blades are strong-er at hub to reinforce for (disc) braking

The area of the fork that experiences force under braking is completely different - rather than at the crown, the braking force is experienced near the fork ends, so they need to be significantly stronger

https://www.condorcycles.com/collections/forks/products/tange-prestige-steel-disc-fork

This could be good. Is 15mm longer than stock so would change things but not as extreme as a straggler fork or similar

Makes sense.

https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/surly-steamroller-21927

Here is the bike I was talking about, they just mention it's surly, not specifically that it is a steamroller fork. Definitely looks like a steamroller fork though

Or a 26" disc trucker fork, though that has significantly more rake