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I really enjoyed watching this build, which you started as I was dithering about my own Cross-Check project - finally got properly started today by dropping off a Cross-Check frame for a respray.

I think it is the evident thought you put into it that really makes it stand out! I am inspired to try some bright colours on mine - going with electric blue, to match an existing saddle, against a gloss black frame - so possibly quite similar to UpNorthChris - any photos of that final build?

FWIW I'd vote to keep the yellow bar tape, I thought it was awesome :-)

...This is my project to convert my Steamroller to a Cross-Check...

Once upon a time I had one bike that seemed to do everything - a Cannondale F800, which did MTB, got me around town, went touring and even managed the odd TT (I should >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cannondale Aficionados / Owners)

That got nicked and I replaced it with a full-suss Specialized. Obviously no good on road, so this left a gap for ... something ... after wanting a Surly MTB for a while I actually ended up with a Steamroller off ebay to fulfill the do-it-all hole left by the F800. This has been awesome, I have very much enjoyed cycling it, and it has got me properly back into road riding and wanting to do more touring. So... I began dithering about putting hub gears onto the 'roller, and everything seemed to get complex (mudguards? rack?)... in the end I found a Cross-Check frame on ebay and decided to swap over to that... I'll end up with the ratbike for pubs and short town trips, the Speccy for MTB and the Cross-Check for everything else.

The Steamroller looks like this:

I've had a love/hate relationship with that blue saddle. In the end I've decided to embrace it, so the Cross-Check will be pretty similar: mostly black, with the saddle and more blue bling, to fully embrace that hue. I'm quite inspired by magnuswinwick's recent Cross-Check project thread to have some brightly coloured cables and maybe bar tape!

http://www.lfgss.com/thread91252.html

Hopefully, though, I won't end up with too much anodised blue widgets scattered everywhere... though I did grow up as a 90s MTB-er and secretly have a desire to scatter my bike with anodised CNC components. I am aiming for 1x9 with maybe a 39 on the front and 11-34 on the back. Sensible mudguards. And hopefully moving as much of the existing bits across as possible to save money.

One of the really enjoyable things about the thread above was not only the thought that went into it (I doubt I will match that) but the build log, so I am trying to keep a log of the costs of both the donor 'roller and the new Cross-Check, including the sale of bits as I've swapped them around. That's here for anyone interested.

Quite a few of the 'roller bits will end up for sale (Frame, forks, Sugino cranks, rear wheel, probably front wheel). Drop me a PM if any of that sounds interesting otherwise I'll post some classifieds eventually.

Hopefully I can find lots of the replacement bits from Forumengers...

It felt like it began today, after a good while thinking about it, when I spent a couple of hours hammering at the donor Surly to remove the crown race, the headset and various other frame bits ready for it to go for a respray:

This photo makes the frame look OK but up close it has has a few scratches, which have been neatly patched with clear laquer. It's a 2005 frame and is in metallic dark green, and I'm after gloss-black to stick with the look developing in the 'roller, so all in I decided to go with a respray and dropped it off at Amourtex this afternoon.

Ironically, in an et-tu Brute moment, it was the 'roller that I cycled upon to deliver its nascent nemesis to Amourtex...

I hope I don't end up missing the Steamroller too much!

Thanks! Yep, 'Guess' seems to be the brand, I found them on ebay looking for cheap forks without too much sticker bling -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guess-Carbon-Road-Racing-Forks-2010-Range-brand-new-/350610756762?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item51a207949a#ht_3354wt_1144

When I originally got the bike off ebay it had BMW Cluster forks, version 1, which weigh 1.6KG! Made the front end feel quite heavy.... Luckily they seem to have quite good second hand value, so I managed pretty much a straight swap for the Guess forks, but saved 1KG :-) I do quite like the look, but in hindsight I would have preferred to put the proper Surly forks back on it - my 28mm tyres only just fit and it makes the front end a bit low.

^^ sammo1789 - PM coming your way :-)

Haven't had a bike pic on here for a bit, so here's my steamroller!

I enjoy it a lot, it's got me back into road riding again - I'venot had a road bike for over 10 years, just MTB and town ratbikes ... so I am about to try swapping most of this over to a Crosscheck which I will run with gears, and revert back to an old town bike... can't afford to run two Surlys, I don't think. Hope I don't regret it! so I thought I'd better get the 'roller pic on here before the swap begins...

Hi,

I am about to have a spare 53cm Surly Steamroller frame with some Guess carbon forks. Not quite as snazzy as a Leader, but maybe you're interested? There's a picture of the bike below. I'm going to transfer some of the bits over to a Crosscheck and so will be selling various other bits - definitely the back wheel, probably the front and the Sugino cranks. Seatclamp, a creaky BB and a cheap headset will prob also be spare once I am done!

Not quite got it all prices up yet, but looking at £90 for the frame and £30 for the forks, or £110 as a bargain for both :-)

I recently posted some forks to France and that seemed to go OK, so happy to try posting to Finland.

Aha I'm about 6ft too and have gone for a 56cm Crosscheck frame!

The steamroller is ok, comfortably upright around town and I can stretch out on drop bars for a road ride, but the worst thing is about 1" overlap when using SPDs (size 12 feet) plus both the stack of spacers and the saddle height tend to confirm the frame is a bit small for me really! I guess I know what you mean by being a bit exposed... the Guess fork is shorter than the Surly one, which lowers the front end even more...

Price would prob be a bit lower than the usual 125ish that steamroller f&f seem to go for... The wrong fork! 110? Or could split and offer the frame for 90?

I am just about to start to move bits off my steamroller onto a crosscheck frame - the steamroller will then be surplus. It's 2008, matt black, no decals or head badge, 53 cm and with Guess carbon forks, I've not got the surly ones. You'd be welcome to have a go on it if you want to try the 53 for size? I'm in Mile End.

Was just browsing through the Travel & Tips and found this... possibly too late (have you gone already??) but just in case it helps, I cycled from Seattle to Crescent City (a small place, just inside north California) in 2004 - so only a small part of the whole route, about 600miles over a week.

This book was very useful for planning, and also en-route:
Bicycling the Pacific Coast: A Complete Route Guide, Canada to Mexico: Amazon.co.uk: Vicky Spring, Tom KirKendall: Books

I teamed it up with some maps I bought in Seattle before setting off. I stayed in motels and had no problems finding places for about US$50 a night. But on the way I saw lots of nice, quiet state campgrounds - free to stay in, for just a patch of ground and a toilet - I've thought about doing it again, maybe going a bit further, but using the campgrounds instead and travelling less far each day for a more relaxed trip, with perhaps the odd motel to dry out / have a shower.

The roads could be busy at times, especially with logging trucks in Oregon, but mostly they had wide shoulders to get away from traffic... otherwise it was quite fast and gently rolling, so good for long distance days.

I finished the trip by wrapping my bike in a big tarp from a hardware store and taking it on a Greyhound bus down to San Francisco - so a good escape route if anything goes wrong.

(this is the 'electric blue', in case you've not seen it!)

I have one of those saddles, in blue. I inherited it on a bike I bought off ebay and it's in really good nick - it looked pretty much new when I got it. I was thinking of selling it because it's my town bike and I'm really not going to look after the leather - I can already see it starting to dry out from my usage. Also I'm not a fan of that electric blue! Any good? Have you got a saddle to trade with? I'd probably get something like http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35305 as a replacement.

just in case you ever see this, just to let you know: I have bought a crosscheck frame off ebay!

A 58cm Surly Pacer (frame and forks) sitting on £12 with just 1 bid, and 1 day 23hrs left. Snipe!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300766438040?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1204

Very tempted, but I think I want a Crosscheck.

I have a steamroller and am liking it a lot, but am thinking about taking it out of town and touring a bit more ... starting to look at hub gears ... gets ridiculous, and I end up thinking maybe I should have a crosscheck. So I searched the forum for crosscheck posts to see what's out there and found your post.

Mine is 53cm, black powder coat (not by Surly, I think it was redone by previous owner), no decals, and the orig fork is long gone - I have a Guess carbon fork on it. Good nick, but no idea how old (bike came off ebay).

Your orig post was ages ago so this is probably irrelevant by now, but just in case I thought it worth replying...!

Hi, I should prob be able to answer both these Qs by looking closely at your photos, but assuming I'll get it wrong, can I ask:

• are the wheels alloy, or steel?
  
• do you know the seat tube length?
  
  

thanks!

Forks now sold, for £57

I'm glad you found this post! I took them off my bike over a week ago but have yet to take the photos to post the classified ad... so hopefully this will get them sold.

They're powder-coated black. There's a small rub behind the fork crown, but otherwise the paint is OK. There is a star-fangled nut inside, but no headset and I have removed the fork crown race for my new forks.

I'm in Mile End - would you like to come by for a look? or I can get a photo up today.

I saw some sell in January for £65, so I'll put these up for £60.

Sold - £10 for both pairs.

Now sold, for £10

Cool, thanks. I'll PM you the address and my movements!

Dibs on the SPD pedals! Will PM now.

Rummaging in the bottom of a box for some stem spacers I found quite a few pedals, which I've never managed to attach to anything, so offering them up here!

1 set is Kona, quite old and scuffed and the axles are a bit rusty-looking, but the bearings roll fine. They look like a pretty old version of the Jackshit Primos. - £5

1 set is Specialized, brand new (off my MTB and I replaced them with SPDs) - with reflectors! - £5

Prefer not to post - prices don't include it, I don't think, what with them being quite heavy - but will get you a price with postage if you like! Or I am in Mile End for collection, or I often bike into central London, so can meet to drop off.

Any queries let me know!

Sold - £20

Hmm these bars don't seem so popular!

Price drop bump ... £10 anyone?

Got some Gusset Open Prison bars for sale ... cut to 50cm wide, 22.2mm BMX-style diameter and 3" rise. They've also got some cut-down grips on them as in the photo below (but the levers have been sold).

The bars are scratched from the previous owner, who used some aluminium shims for the brake levers :-( You can just see these in the photo by the logos on the rise.

After a bit of discussion in a 'wanted' thread we settled on £17 as a fair price, but that didn't quite close, so offering them up here for £17 ... but I'm open to offers as well.

I've only just joined LFGSS and I've had a good run on here, selling spares being swapped around on my bike (thanks Vince, Ummar, Likeaboss) so will donate some from this sale to the forum itself.

Thanks for interest...