A Straggler to a Rambler - building an All Terrain Tourer

My Straggler has been my commuter and tourer for almost 10 years but the time has come for a reshuffle and a new bike.

When I bought the Straggler 40mm clearances seemed massive and the ‘fatties fit fine’ decal gave filled me with confidence that my horizons for wide, plush rubber were endless. Now it’s 2024 and 700x40mm isn’t cutting it anymore.

Even though the Surly marketing blurb suggests the Straggler is good for  "credit card touring rather than full-blown touring" I rode it 24,000km across the Americas and even as we moved away from riding roads and took to more gravel and off-road the bike kept on trucking. It was good enough on double track and put in an honourable effort on sand and occasional rocky descents. It wasn’t all plain sailing though and after one too many pinch flats and a few sketchy moments on the rough stuff I was dreaming of a new ATT (All Terrain Tourer) dressed with rubber far beyond the Stragglers meagre clearances.

The Crust Evasion seemed like a match for my desired blend of retro-grouch aesthetics but with massive tyre clearances and somewhat modern standards but the price of getting one in the UK is silly money. No amount of day-dreaming would allow me to justify £1500+ on a Maxway frame.

An All-City Gorilla Monsoon was next on the list but the idea of one wasn't sparking joy. The current paint schemes are terrible and I think I'd always think of it as a poor imitation of the Evasion.

Then I landed on the Stooge Rambler - suitabley different to the Crust that I wouldn't be forever comparing them to each other, all the tyre clearance I could ever want and more importantly for a price that a steel frame should be from a brand who seem to care about what they are doing. I'm not the biggest fan of the split top tube but you can't have it all and this frame was ticking more boxes than anything else I could find.

The Rambler frame just arrived and I've almost got all the parts to build it up over the next few weeks.

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The moodboard:

• swept back alt bars
  
• 27.5+ tyres
  
• desperately trying not to look like a mtb while also being a mtb
  
• 2x10, long live the double
  
• friction shift thumbies
  
• frame bag + fab's chest + mini rear panniers
  
• riding gravel bridleways with 2.6" tyres while everyone else talks about the virtues of being under biked
  

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My kinda vibe! You just transferring parts or starting from scratch?

Pretty much starting from scratch - I've de-blinged the Surly to make it more London/lockable friendly and will be re-using the headset and bb. Most other parts aren't compatible with the new frame so have either been sold or stashed in my parts box.

This is the Surly in full touring mode, ratbike commuter mode is coming soon...

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Subbed! Really stooge curious and all of those references are on some of my Pinterest mood boards too 🙌

subbed, love the monster truck sensible mudguard feels.

riding gravel bridleways with 2.6" tyres while everyone else talks about the virtues of being under biked

This is enlightenment.

Great colour and looking forward to seeing this.

Also congrats on completing your trip. It's fun getting to the end of the world.

I might have missed it, but what's the use case for this? Offroad touring with bigger tyres than the Straggler allows?

Stooge posted something kinda similar last night, but without the bags. I'm into it.

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justify £1500+ on a Maxway frame.

wish more people were as educated

desperately trying not to look like a mtb while also being a mtb

Kinda what I'm going for with my Spa Rove.

The bars on that Ranger build you posted look good, I've changed to a Salsa Bend Deluxe recently but a bit more sweep would be nice.

Just finished building this, maybe some influence?

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Subbed to this, sounds very similar to my Singular Swift build.

Bars as such an issue- Stooge Motos- VO Klunkers- still undecided but Soma Dream hi rise, Stooge Trackers, Tumbleweed Persuaders are all being considered as potentials.

I might have missed it, but what's the use case for this?

Mainly trying to fill the void that comes with not being on a perma-holiday and having to subject myself to the world of work.

Other than that off-road routes like the Pictish Trail, chill New Forest over nighters and maybe the Great Divide MBR in a few years time.

Great inspo pics

Maxway

Where do I buy a Y24T01 Lugged Touring Frame for cheap?

I know that feeling. Wait till winter kicks in 😢

I found this an enjoyable read. https://stoogecycles.co.uk/2022/02/11/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-rambler-but-were-afraid-to-ask/

I’ve had both size Stooge Junkers, Soma Dream and Soma Hi Dream - both Dream bars are by far my favourite in terms of comfort but the Junkers look cooler.

Note, the Junkers do bubble under the paint a bit though. As do the raw Magic Moth bars which I also have, much more visibly.

Crazy prices for Soma and Tumbleweed bars and I like the idea of a UK brand but the Soma do look best on paper

Watching with interest.

I’m undecided on bars at the moment, at first I’ll put on the knock off Jones loop bars from the Straggler but they aren’t perfect. I don’t really use the loop part and it interferes with bags.

I like the back sweep but could probably get on just as well with something 30 degrees.

I’ve never felt the need to go wider than 720mm but maybe I should give it a go (after I’ve worked out how to fit 800mm bars up my staircase).

I'm probably going to be moving on some VO Klunkers as I don't think they are wide enough for me, if you're interested in trying those?
I've got Surly Sunrise on my Scrambler and will probably cut those down to 800 then 780

Maybe, I’m not drawn to the cross bar design and don’t think I need the rise but I’ll have a think over the next few days.

While I wait for a can of Frame Saver to be delivered I got the Straggler ready to move from inside the flat to a Cyclehoop hanger round the corner. I don’t like the small pedals so will keep an eye out for some cheap mtb pedals. I’ll be gutted if it gets stolen but at least the financial hit won’t sting quite so much now all the nice parts have come off.

The new basket should cover most of my #carryshitolympics needs.

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