surly

Tester: Eric McKeegan Price: $90 (120 TPI version) Plus size tires have mostly stuck to the “buncha small knobs” design brief. While this has been surprisingly effective, sometimes terrain and riding styles call for some big, sturdy knobs. The Surly Dirt Wizard answers that call with a mean-looking tread pattern and aggressive cornering knobs. Looks ...

Folklore describes the Krampus as a half-goat, half-demon Christmas wrecker that punishes children who are bad and will not be getting a visit from Saint Nick. If misbehaving is wrong, I don’t want to be right. The new Surly Krampus is too much fun for that nonsense. The Krampus roared to life five years ago as one of ...

The old Surly Karate Monkey got a few small changes over the years but, for the most part, it was the same bike that helped 29ers gain mainstream acceptance starting in 2002. It was launched that year at the very event we’re now detoxing from (Interbike). We covered the new Karate Monkey earlier this year and brought ...

Editor’s Note: Katherine, our new web editor, wasn’t on staff when the 2015 Editor Choice Awards were being collected for Dirt Rag Issue #188, so her honorable mention list is made up of stuff she purchased during the past year on her own dime. If you want to know what the rest of the staffers chose as their favorite bikes and gear ...

Editor’s Note: This bike is part of our annual, sub-$3,000 bike test where the Dirt Rag staff spends significant time aboard less-expensive but fully capable offerings that we’d seriously consider buying ourselves. The final review will be out early 2016 in issue #189. Subscribe today so you don’t miss it! Price: $1,500 The new Wednesday brings ...

My how things have changed. When the Surly Pugsley rolled onto the scene nearly 10 years ago no one could have predicted (well, some probably did) that fat bikes would be as common as they are today. Riders are using them not just for Arctic exploration, but also for straight up mountain biking, which has ...

In a few weeks Surly will join its parent company, Quality Bicycle Products, at its annual product show dubbed Frostbike. Well, they couldn’t keep the cat in the bag, so today it announced a few new goodies we’ll be “officially” seeing for the first time at the show: First up is the Moonlander Special Ops, ...

Ahhhh Surly’s Karate Monkey. Released at the Interbike trade show in 2002, it was the first 29er to come through the doors of Dirt Rag. I reviewed it for issue #103 and later purchased it for my own use and abuse. I’ve had many life-changing experiences on this bike, and some near-death ones as well. ...

Two big-tire heavyweights go head to head.

News today from Frostbike and our friends over at Fat-bike.com: Surly is introducing a new fat bike dubbed the Ice Cream Truck. The steel frame (‘natch) is built around a symmetric 190mm rear hub spacing to clear the largest of tires. The rear dropout is the same convertible unit seen on the Instigator 2.0 that ...

Let me answer this question first: no, this is not a Krampus with holes drilled in it. While ECR closely resembles its 29+ brethren, it is a completely different beast. The frame is different, the geometry is different, the build kit is different and the fork is different. Built for loaded touring, exploring and “Escaping ...

Let me answer this question first: no, this is not a Krampus with holes drilled in it. While ECR closely resembles its 29+ brethren, it is a completely different beast. The frame is different, the geometry is different, the build kit is different and the fork is different. Built for loaded touring, exploring and “Escaping ...

This contest has ended. Congratulations to the winner: Fernando Rivera! Subscribe to Dirt Rag Magazine and sign up for our weekly newsletter so you don’t miss a chance to win our next bike giveaway. Check out Surly Bikes here. Surly bikes have partnered with Dirt Rag to give away a Karate Monkey 27.5 SUS. Enter to win below! The Surly ...

Snaking our way through the sand dunes under the darkness of night, the ocean heaves its cold salty breath upon us. The open air feels right pushing against our bodies. The day was filled with claustrophobia and forced conversation, just the collective hum of tires on sandy pavement and the whip of the wind remains ...

As Surly says, “The Lowside is the bike that gets you across town for a quick rip on singletrack, then over to the bar for a night out.” This singlespeed picks up where the 1 x 1 left off with the addition of modernized features like internal dropper post routing, Gnot-Boost rear spacing and thru axles. ...

Yup, pun intended. Sorry. But in all seriousness, this new bike from Surly is designed to be somewhat of a jack-of-all-trades, a blend of the brand’s dirt and road touring models that is meant to handle a variety of surfaces, loaded or unloaded, and offer a platform that is adaptable to a variety of riding ...

Surly has been coming out with a lot of new stuff lately, from the Pack Rat front-loader touring bike to the redesigned Pugsley fat bike. Here at Frostbike in Minneapolis, the brand launched yet another brand new bike, the Midnight Special. The folks at Surly describe the Midnight Special as a bike that can ride ...

The Surly Pugsley, one of the original popular fat bikes, got a makeover and is now designed specifically to be an off-road touring and exploration machine. The new “Pugs” features a longer wheelbase for improved stability and handling while loaded, standard Q-factor cranks and plenty of rack and 3-pack mounts to strap just about whatever you’d ...

The Surly Karate Monkey is an iconic hardtail that helped popularize 29er wheels back in the early 2000s. It remained unchanged for 14 years, until 2016, when Surly launched an update to the frame that brought it into modern times. With longer, lower, slacker geometry, 27plus compatibility, internal dropper post routing and a frame that’s designed ...

Ed. Note: The full version of this piece appears in Dirt Rag 202. Grab your copy today to read the full story and much more.  In some ways, it seems that plus tires have always been with us. It was the summer of 2012 when Surly released the Krampus and the Instigator, the first production ...