I'm look for an all-rounder, everything, one-and-only bike. I primarily ride road for commuting around my city (lots of hills) but do a good amount of mini touring trips on a mix of gravel, hills, and chill off road trails (bay area). I use a font and back rack and load it up with panniers / leaning lightish weight touring style. But still like a slightly sportier riding style. I ride with chill people and am not looking for crazy performance stuff. Weight is not that big of an issue.
I have a 2021 alloy Topstone 1 now and don't like how twitchy the steering is loaded up. Looking something more stable but still a bit sporty.
Easiest to find:
- Surly Midnight Special – love the aesthetics, but wish there were more top tube and fork mounts. I liked the way this rode when I tested it
- Velo Orange Polyvalent – worried this will feel too stiff, can't find one to test
Other contenders:
- Crust Bombora – hard to find, looks cool and has all the mounts, pricier
- Wilde Rambler – looks cool and has all the mounts, pricier
- Soma Wolverine – idk someone suggested but I've never tried
by Lizardloops
13 Comments
Don’t know anything about any of the bikes but if you like the surly, why not get that one and do a fork upgrade as part of the build?
Look up both bike on bike insights and compare the geometry. The VO is more of a flat bar-ATB, compared to the Surly is a drop bar gravel bike. The Surly will ride ‘faster’ because the geometry isn’t as relaxed as the VO. If you like the faster gravel feel, look at the Kona Rove ST is very similar to the Surly but with more mounts and a more common thru axle system.
The Polyvalent is a bit more of a hench all round carrying stuff ATB bike, while the Midnight Special is more of a sporty “road plus” gravel bike. Just something to consider.
If you can get one in your region, I would add the Singular Peregrine to your shortlist. It’s bang in the middle between the Polyvalent and MS in terms of use case, spec, looks, mounting points etc.
At the risk of throwing a wrench in the gears, have you checked out Mash’s all-road frameset? It’s a similar concept to the midnight special with some more fork mounting points. Super sporty, can clear 38cs, and you could pick it up in shop in SF.
I just want to share my experience with Velo-Orange. I have a Pass Hunter. It’s an excellent do it all machine. It’s built around 650b but can do 700x35ish. Velo Orange hooked me up with a replacement frame at a discount when I damaged the first one. They have been there to support all of my questions. They still have the Pass Hunter in small and xl if that would work for you. $629
They also have the Chessie coming out right now. It’s aluminum but I believe it’s something you should consider.
Both of these frames will take a carbon gravel fork.
No wrong answer
I just did this calculation and went with the VO. Will be making a comfy drop bar all rounder. Expecting 75/25 pavement/unpaved ride mix. Not serious gravel. Got a great deal on the frame with so many mount points and classic look. The Surly looked like a fun ride but more aggressive then I was planning for. I personally found the Surly fork/headtube to be kind of ugly too but YMMV. We’ll see how it turns out.
Oh the eternal question, which bike is the ultimate single bike quiver killer? It’s right up there with “What is the meaning of life?” “Is love real?” “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
I’ve grappled this very deep philosophical question and have discovered that no matter which bike you choose you may be faced with a “the grass is greener” situation.
I currently have a dozen bikes (including a Wolverine and a vintage 650b rando bike), and have owned a couple of Cross Checks, a Straggler, a LHT, a Space Horse, a Fairdale Weekender, an 84 Stumpjumper, and more. I have concluded that they all have their strengths and weaknesses but one that I should have kept was my Robin”s Egg Blue Surly CrossCheck… at least for today. Tomorrow I will tell you that I should have kept the Fairdale.
Honestly, between the two, I would go with the Midnight Special. It is tough, not too flashy, and has sporty geometry.
Oh the eternal question, which bike is the ultimate single bike quiver killer? It’s right up there with “What is the meaning of life?” “Is love real?” “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
I’ve grappled this very deep philosophical question and have discovered that no matter which bike you choose you may be faced with a “the grass is greener” situation.
I currently have a dozen bikes (including a Wolverine and a vintage 650b rando bike), and have owned a couple of Cross Checks, a Straggler, a LHT, a Space Horse, a Fairdale Weekender, an 84 Stumpjumper, and more. I have concluded that they all have their strengths and weaknesses but one that I should have kept was my Robin”s Egg Blue Surly CrossCheck… at least for today. Tomorrow I will tell you that I should have kept the Fairdale.
Honestly, between the two, I would go with the Midnight Special. It is tough, not too flashy, and has sporty geometry.
You should add these to the list. They actually make some of the frames discussed above 🙂
[blacksnow](https://www.blacksnowcycles.com/product/46FE916E757F4498BAFF4A3E34A3DFD7?categoryName=Bikes&secondCategoryNo=A64459C9858343AAA921B13B1B75FC22)
You should add these to the list. They actually make some of the frames discussed above 🙂
[blacksnow](https://www.blacksnowcycles.com)
Tossing in the Fairlight Faran to make your life even harder. Or if you’re wanting even sportier the Secan.
Amazing machines. I like all the companies you’re looking at personally. Wilde is a local company for me though, so I really like what they are doing.
None of those, instead:
Marin Four Corners 1 ($1k complete)
Breezer Radar Expert ($1.1k complete)
Kona Sutra LTD ($2.2k complete)
Fairlight Faran ($2.3k complete)
Salsa Journeyer ($1kish)