Listen to veteran fixed gear riders long enough
and they’ll start to wax philosophic about fixies,
how the bike is an extension of one’s body,
how the simplicity and the silence are
pleasing to the senses, how riding one is
at first unnerving and later addictive. As
we have said since we introduced the
Steamroller frameset, we won’t try
to convince you that riding ‘fixed’
is better or special or why you
should try it. You’ll have to
determine that for yourself. But
whether you’re old school or new
hat, you’d be hard pressed to find a better
canvas to build your ideal street machine.
It’s made from Surly 4130 CroMoly steel because steel is durable and responsive, things we
like and we’re pretty sure you do too. Its geometry is tight compared to road frames and
relaxed compared to twitchy track frames. It takes big tires because big tires make sensetire
casings flex before the frame. It’s got almost no ‘features’, no pump peg, no housing
stops, no cell phone or GPS mount. Just a set of water bottle braze-ons. Well, it does also
have a nice brazed fork crown we think looks pretty snazzy. If you’re like us, you may
consider less tangible elements (such as ride quality) to be features, and it’s got these in
spades. This is a frame meant for riding. Everyday. It was designed by cyclists for cyclists.
It’s most at home on the street, but it’s also track legal and does a pretty fair job on trails
too. It’s a fixed gear frame in the tradition of fixed gears, before there were freewheels
or handbrakes (effective ones, anyway), harkening back to a time when big tires weren’t
a design feature but a necessity, when a ride was an adventure
But hey, don’t let us convince you. Try one out. It may just become your favorite bike. .
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SPECS | Steamroller Frameset |
Tubing: |
100% CroMoly steel. Main triangle is double-butted. TIG-welded
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Rear dropouts: |
Investment cast Surly track dropouts, 120mm spaced |
Braze-ons: |
None, baby. Pure. OK, we put one set of water-bottle mounts on the seat tube ’cause we’re not camels |
Seatpost diameter: |
27.2mm |
Seatpost clamp diameter: |
30.0mm, Surly Constrictor included
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Headset: |
1-1/8" threadless
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Bottom bracket shell: |
68mm wide, threaded English 1.37x24t |
Tire clearance: |
Fatties Fit Fine (FFF) chainstays and our custom fork give room for tires up
to 700 x 38 with fender clearance left over (P.S. – use clip-on fenders!!)
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Chainring
clearance:
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Heavy manipulation of the FFF stays gives room for a 50t ring while
maintaining chainline. Track crank-compatible
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Color: |
Creamroller and New Black |
Weight:
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56cm = 4.5 lbs. (2.0 kg)
Fork - uncut =1.87 lbs. (0.85 kg)
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