While I’m suffering from mild sunburn after spending a weekend on the beach, I’m mindful to remain grateful—in Wisconsin, there’s snow and zero degree temperatures. Which means little riding, but here’s the perfect vehicle to tackle the local trails once the snow begins to melt. Mark built himself a Surly frame with a Niner fork and, rather than remaining constrained by a single speed configuration, applied a front derailleur to achieve a dual speed setup.
Mark’s original intention was to create a hybrid townie and cross bike, and was successfully ridden as such for a while. Eventually the call of the wild was answered and the Surly evolved into the dual speed arrangement you see here. After much tinkering and tweaking, a derailleur was sourced that could handle the jump between the 32 and 22 tooth chain rings. An 18-tooth sprocket on the rear provides Mark’s ideal ration: 32/18 for cruising, 22/18 for climbing. A Paul Components Thumbie restores the thumb action shifting, while a Melvin provides the necessary tension. Mark splurged on the Hadley hubs but assures us they’re worth every penny as they’re the smoothest rolling hubs he’s ever experienced.
