Surly Pacer

I've been on the lookout for a Pacer frame and fork for a while to build up as a commuter/winter bike/light tourer. Lo and behold I picked one up via eBay for the princely sum of £117.

Cosmetically it's a bit tatty, so I'm going to get it refinished and I have new decals on the way. I'm going for quite a low-key look, probably it'll be done in dark grey.

I'm part-way through the component purchasing. Stem, bar and seatpost are Ritchey Comp, wheels are going to be Mavic Aksiums with Schwalbe Duranos. It'll have SKS mudguards fitted because I'm an old man and a sensible one to boot. Saddle is a Brooks Swift off my current daily driver.

I'm hoping to pick up a 105 groupset for it, probably in silver. The chainsets on the black ones always seem to get scratched up in no time.

It'll go in for paint next week, and then I'll post up progress as and when I get the parts. I'm aiming to have it done in the next few weeks. Fingers crossed!

I like the old Surly decals. Are you going to get another set when you re-paint it, or go with the newer logo?

^ Agreed. The 2011 decals didn't look quite right somehow. I don't think they were very popular, so Surly changed them back for the blue 2012 one.

I've always liked the look of the Pacer & I'm surprised I don't see many about. I think it tends to live in the shadow of the do it all Cross Check.

Should be a nice build, look forward to seeing it.

I'm going to go for the same style decals as on the current frame, as I prefer the blocky style to the scribbly ones.

I was pretty lucky, I spoke to Ison Distribution and they had one set left in the UK, which I managed to bag. No pressure when it comes to putting them on, then...

Frame and fork went in for paint today down at Armourtex. They were really helpful.

I'm glad I had a chance to look at the actual finishes on the tubes before I settled on a colour. In the end I went for Black Grey (RAL 7021), which appears lighter on the metal than my monitor. I've since discovered this colour is often known as Panzergrau, which is a thing, I guess.

Most of the parts are with me, just waiting on Chain Reaction to send over a delivery so a Bank Holiday build is looking like a distinct possibility at this rate.

May I present you with Captain Sensible. I got busy with the tools over the weekend, having picked up the frame on Friday.

Surly Pacer

I was a little nervous about the colour before I picked it up, but I'm really pleased with the way it came out.

Fitting the mudguards really tried my patience, but they're never coming off, so that's alright. The rest of the build was pretty straightforward.

I've taken it for a quick spin around and initial impression are that it's very smooth, and pretty nippy. Very happy with it.

Very nice. Im sure you and Capn Sensible will have a very happy future.

Radness. The old decals look way nicer than the new ones.

I was watching that frame on ebay after someone put it on the ebay thread on here. I'm a Surly fan and I really like what you've done with this. What's your completed bike price if you don't mind me asking.

I was watching that frame on ebay after someone put it on the ebay thread on here. I'm a Surly fan and I really like what you've done with this. What's your completed bike price if you don't mind me asking.

All in it was about a grand including the repaint, although the saddle and pedals are donors from various other bits and bobs.

It's a 105 group, the brakes have been swapped out for Shimano medium-length calipers, as that's what works best on the frame.

Nice build! I think the decals look better with the grey than they did with the original green. Pretty much a perfect bike for it's intended use.

Nice that you spent the time to get the mudguards adjusted properly too.

Nice work, looks ace.

Mikenetic, it's a lovely looking Pacer and built up at a great pace too! Thanks for sharing.

Very nice.
With the Pacers dropouts you will be able to get that back wheel out without mucking up the mudgaurds unlike the Steamroller.

I was confused weather to get this or a race-y bike, in the end I got CAAD 10 and I am happy with my decision; not because pacer is not a nice bike, it's just that I wanted something fast ; ) This looks like a comfy build

Amazing build though; would you mind telling us how much did it cost you all in?

I was confused weather to get this or a race-y bike, in the end I got CAAD 10 and I am happy with my decision; not because pacer is not a nice bike, it's just that I wanted something fast ; ) This looks like a comfy build

Amazing build though; would you mind telling us how much did it cost you all in?

I've just added up the frame, components and respray and in total I spent £1,025. A little bit more than I intended, but I'm happy with that given the level of parts I put on it.

I'm just starting a Cross-Check build; I spent a bit of a while through August deciding between Cross-Checks and Pacers and indeed I think ^^^^^^^^that was me that was posting Pacer links on the ebay thread...

Anyway! I really like Captain Sensible. Can I ask how you're finding the mudguards - are they RaceBlades - how wide are your tyres - have you had any issues with such a close fit or do they run fine? They look great being so close fitting, so would be good to know how they're working out.

Pretty sure the mud guards are SKS chromoplastics. I had them on two bikes and have another set I'll soon be fitting. On of those bikes took a serious beating including smashing the rear light that was mounted on the mudgaurd. Front and rear both survived. The front also has a QR safety mechanism so that it can pop off i something gets stuck or it gets knocked.

They work very well and are very good quality. The only downside is they can rattle a bit, as will 99% of 'guards.

Considering a Pacer frame myself, my alu frame is just too harsh for shitty roads on my commute

I was having a think and a browse about what else is out there like this. All City Mr Pink looks like another nice (but pricier) alternative.

I read somewhere they've got a harsh ride, but it's helped by fitting carbon forks. Can anyone vouch for this assessment?

They can't be any harsher than alu.

^^^^ Thanks hugo7, added them to my shopping list

^ Crispin, I can certainly vouch for the smooth ride of a Surly Steamroller. Enjoying that so much after ~12 years of aluminium-only has been a big reason for me getting back into road riding and now going for the Cross-Check, which I hope will be as smooth.

The only downside is they can rattle a bit, as will 99% of 'guards.

:0

Something's not right here.

I read somewhere they've got a harsh ride, but it's helped by fitting carbon forks. Can anyone vouch for this assessment?

They can't be any harsher than alu.

You'll probably get a better ride from alloy, compact geo and plenty of carbon seatpost.

Considering a Pacer frame myself, my alu frame is just too harsh for shitty roads on my commute

bigger tyres, lower inflation, etc. would make a big difference, do that before resorting to the Pacer.