nice crosscheck erik
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Came here to say nice surly
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It’s like Blue Lug but… more metal.
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Crosschecks are great. I love my crosscheck.
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All crosschecks are just crosschecks with the same geometry
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That’s funny, the only bike I have EVER heard my wife say “thats a nice bike” about, was my buddies copper-plated Straggler.
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My Surly brand bicycle Crosscheck (like capital C) is definitely not the best bike I’ve ever had, but it’s done light offroading, touring, commuting, road riding, and probably some other stuff I’m forgetting now.
I’ve done basically zero maintainence on it in the decade that I’ve had it (a new chain once? New brake pads?), I’ve stuck tires from 25-55mm on it, and have used it as a depository for all the parts that come off of other bikes.
It doesn’t have the elegantly refined ride quality of a nice bike built to my measure, but it fills about five niches and refuses to die.
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Erik’s crosscheck is one of my favourite bikes ever, doesn’t make it less bad that he is a nice guy (IRL friend) and has beaten the fuck out of that bike in probably every way imaginable. It’s legit 
I know this will come off as “AcTuAlLy It’S nOt PaInTeD”, but that’s an industrial copper plate finish he did way back in 2011.
This is way back when it was fresh:
How it finished his first PBP:
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That finish is super fuckin cool
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“horizontal one inch top tube” ?
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surprised there wasn’t more patina after 1200km of sweat
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Constantly swapping out parts may not be maintenance but it’s certainly maintenance adjacent.
How much heavier is it after plating ?
Fun thing he used to mention when he commuted on it: riding it in jeans polished a part of the TT to almost “factory shine”, couldn’t get patina on it at that spot. Also the air in Gothenburg is/was way to good for it to turn green…
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Quite a bit i think. Not that Stragglers are light. I do know that it has to be done properly or the frame can end up dissolving from the inside out. It happened to one guy I know.
Not going to lie.
I hate it
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I could imagine the frame in my house with a pot plant growing out of it.
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I’d rather have a gun blue’d bike personally.
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Eh, my point of comparison are road bikes, which gobble up tires and chains like nobody’s business. Sticking an old saddle or bars on a bike every now and then isn’t really in the same league.