I am a casual biker. I live in a midsized city and want to have fun bopping around town. Most I’ve ever biked was maybe 30 miles in a day, and I normally go with friends who have nicer bikes than me and are faster than me—I’d love to be able to keep up. I’m not into mountain biking, and don’t really live near gravel paths (but again, would love to be able to handle something longer gravel).
I am looking at Surly Grappler and Salsa Journeyer. Here is the thing—I think Surly just makes cooler bikes. I love the shape and how straightforward and simple it looks, and I like the vibe Surly has. But, I am nervous that a steel frame will feel really heavy, and that the bike is built for a different kind of biker than I am and might just feel clunky. The Salsa is lightweight, seems like it would be faster and maybe closer to the kind of biker I am. But it doesn’t have the Surly cool factor, lol.
I am almost certainly overthinking this. I’m just not a bike person, surrounded by people who are bike people, and I just keep going back and forth on what to get. so I guess I thought it would be a good idea to ask even more people on this sub!
by tiny_bird_6339
3 Comments
Surly has got the sauce. The frame weight will not be your limiting factor I promise. The real riding difference here is tire selection. Surely had bigger softer tires, closer to mtb tires but without lugs. Salsa has more standard gravel style tires, like road bike tires with lugs.
Salsa is built as a gravel bike, road style with a bit more off road capability added. If you want to go faster and longer pick that.
Surly is built as a gravel bike, mtb style with a bit more road capability added. If you want more casual, more comfort, more simplicity pick that.
Always get the bike that makes you want to ride. So what if you’re a little slower on tarmac vs someone on a more roadcentric bike. All that matters is that you love your bike and you enjoy riding your bike.
What bikes do your friends ride? If you’re doing all your riding on road, the Salsa is going to be the better option.