Tommmmmmmm: That Genesis is nice, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a Surly. The Straggler is special, they're not common and it fits the bill perfectly in my opinion. Fairly aggressive geo and all the mounts you need. I appreciate that it's cromoloy, but my Pacer was the nicest riding bike I've had, then again I've never ridden 853...
Tommmmmmmm: That Genesis is nice, but I don't think there's anything wrong with a Surly. The Straggler is special, they're not common and it fits the bill perfectly in my opinion. Fairly aggressive geo and all the mounts you need. I appreciate that it's cromoloy, but my Pacer was the nicest riding bike I've had, then again I've never ridden 853...
http://surlybikes.com//uploads/blog/Straggler.jpg
If not a Surly, why not get a Salsa? For example a Vaya 3? Just don't put a triple on it and slam dat stem and you'll be fine.
http://www.huckleberrybicycles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/salsa-vaya-3-2014.jpg
Or a new Cotic Escapade?
http://road.cc/sites/default/files/imagecache/galleria_900_nocrop/images/Cotic%20Escapade/Cotic%20Escapade%20-%20Black%20Grape.jpg