Surly describe their range as “serious steel bikes for people who don’t take themselves too seriously’, and it kind of sums them up.

Surly are adamant that steel is the best material for the kinds of bikes they design and ride; bikes that are likely to be taken off the beaten track and are made to last – their ‘Natch!’ tubesets are 100% proprietary 4130 CroMoly. This means every model has a unique tubeset designed to match the intended use and loading characteristics of the bike. In addition, sizes within each model have tubesets scaled to preserve optimum butting profiles.

Surly’s forks, too, are proprietary and model-specific. These features create the characteristic “Surly Ride” – with bags of comfort and compliance – that is consistent across all Surly bikes. The frame is the most important part of the bike, but add to this foundation of proprietary tubing an assortment of custom dropouts, fittings, and castings., creating a foundation that Surly riders can customize to make it their own.

Surly riders tend to upend the principles of pinpoint marketing demographics, and adopt an approach of ‘wear what you brung’, and just throw your leg over and go. With Surly it’s less about wearing the right gear or number watching, and more about the experience. It’s about having fun on your bike. However, you choose to define fun.

A few final words about Surly values: UTILITY. VERSATILITY. DURABILITY.  Surly makes functional bikes that do what they’re designed to do. They don’t build one-trick ponies; and their bikes are built to last a long time.