Surly Steamroller owners...

Huh? You'd be swapping it in for a 650b one right? Or are you keeping it for something else?

Disc fork option:

Ask the omnium shop if you can (still) buy a 'tight clearance’ steel fork from the cxc frame.

axle-to-crown: 370mm, rake:38mm, clearance between fork legs:59mm

https://omniumcargo.dk/omnium-cxc/

I have no plans beyond trying to preserve the geo of my Steamroller and get a disc brake on it some how

Hello all,
I'm replacing old Frankenstein's road bike with a SS. I was going to buy a complete build for ease and then replace bits as needed. They've stopped producing them for the moment, so I've decided to source components and build my own. I'm totally new to this, and there's just so much choice around, so I thought I would ask if anyone had any advice on good brands, or things to avoid. If this is in any way a silly/annoying Noob post then feel free to ignore it. (But a million thank you's for any help!). I'm going to use the bike mostly for my commute and for town/flat riding.

This be why sez I

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Might send that to Surly. They call it trackish, I think a lot of ppl build them as bruisers. You want a track bike you buy a track bike, you want a Steamroller you buy a..

650b roller

Truckroller

Messenger Bike.
43 000 km in 2 years .
My steamroller is my office.

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Over 13,000 miles a year? That’s impressive!

This year already 5838 km 😁

Oh what is it to ride a bike for a living!

Fair play though - as @Eamesy said, very impressive.

It's like, wake up. Jump on the bike at 8 am and being outside till 8 pm.
I do this full time with fixed rounds with 3 hours break at noon. Frisbee in the park , coffee bars...
I had a shit job for 11 years and quit in 2016. Bought the bike in 04/2017 and use it for 300 km gravelride, climbing in hilly part of Belgium in grouprides and bikepacking with a rear rack.
Sometimes I am home for 2 hours after work and still wearing my helmet 😂
I use 1 izumi chain every month.

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A chain a month.
I fill my car with petrol once a month, about £38. If just running about maybe 280-320 miles on that
+vehicle tax

• Insurance
  
• annual car MOT
  +service and consumables
  
  

A quality chain a month is cheap if your mileage demands it :)

I sold my car.
Chain is 15€ a month. But...
I eat more than a dodge ram 5.8 v10 consume on fuel 😁

A chain a month probably means your chainring and sprocket last a lot longer too so you avoid spending on those.

Guy I work with has like an '80s or '90s road bike that's on it's original chainrings and cassette because he fits a new chain 3-5 times a year. It's Dura Ace stuff so replacing chainrings and cassette could be a considerable expense.

I see a lot of vintage parts like they are new . In the past things get build to last a lifetime.

My surly chainring worn out after 35 000 km
Tires 9000 km = 4 months.
Front wheel , 6 months (I use my front brake a lot, 100 deliveries a day..)
Bottom bracket and headset 6 months and wheelbearings 6 months. But I change all bearings at 6 months . I don't want to find a shop when its to late. I have everything spare at home. But after the 6 months they are almost worn out.
About the chain , I can't find a better one then izumi. I have a chain checker tool and at 2500 km the chain is worn out 75% Sometimes in winter I cycle longer with the chain and you can see that its not going straight any more. I cycle 400 to 800 altitude a day.
Rear wheel is hand build with a surly ultra new hub and front wheel is what I can find in good condition and a quality wheel.
The sram crank is new since yesterday. Before I had a sugino messenger rd2 and never had a straight chainline.
I was thinking about a disc fork but the 38mm rake of the steamroller fork is what make the bike so good.

Which city do work? Don't you get sick of riding so much in the same place all the time?

I work in Maastricht, The Netherlands. And also in Valkenburg. I am from Belgium and moved 15 km across the border.
And no, I come into companies and see how people get stuck in their lifes, hate the job they do and buy stuff to make them happy , big tv, once a year a brochure holiday.. And people say to me, you shine happiness. I walk out in summer into the sun not knowing Whats comming next.
Every day is different, meet different people and I have freedom . Doesnt matter were I cycle. I am never sick, never overslept . Messengers are like a community , we are Friends and meet eachother in the city. Do events like alleycats, night rides , meet eachother for beer and campfire in summer.
We have fixed rounds and urgent rides come into those rounds . Money is fixed and every ride/round is different.
I love the urgent rides. But Valkenburg is all the time the same, more like a village we deliver for pharmacie. Nobody call me for urgent stuff thats Nice about it, but sometimes I have a ride to another village for 8 km and when I come back another package is there for the same village 😁 thats having a bad day.

Haha sounds good man! I've been cycling in Valkenburg sometimes, great area. What do you deliver on those fixed routes?

Mail to companies are fixed medicines rounds .
And Documents, flowers, bread, more documents, urgent medicines from hospital, flyers and everything they call for is urgent.

Fixed rounds take max 3 hour. The other 4 are the fun part 😁
Fixed rounds are needed because only live with urgent jobs is almost not possible on not so busy day's

Me too . Aftermarket or other surly disc fork is mostly 44 rake. Steamroller has 38 rake and that s make the handling so special.

I was in the same boat as you are, eating front wheels on the job :-D
From my own experience: high quality pads don't eat the rim so much (I was using swissstop green pads).
But seriously - order a custom made disc fork, it'll change your life. Polish framebuilders can provide beautifully-made disc forks, for a messenger-friendly budget :-)

Impressive! I took the Steamroller out for the first time this year, my mileage stands at 3.1 so far. (I have other bieks.)