The Cross Check is Dead

Last month we reported that Surly discontinued the Steamroller. And now we are sad to report that the Cross Check is going away, too.

The Cross Check was first introduced in 1999. I bought a Cross Check frame in 2006, built it up and commuted on it for about eight years. Surly wasn’t the first to offer an affordable, practical cross bike (Bianchi had done this with the Volpe, and Redline had done it with the Conquest). But it had a lower price, more adaptability and best of all you could order it from any LBS.

Jeff Frane of WIlde says, “it is my contention that the humble Cross Check is the single most influential bicycle of the last 30 years. I’m not claiming it invented anything, but it certainly popularized and democratized several key concepts such as big tire clearances, versatility, utility, parts compatibility, etc. and ushered in the steel bike as a cult “bicycle person” trait. Owning a Cross Check was a major waypoint in countless riders journeys through cycling. It was THE bike that made people realize that perhaps the dominant paradigm that the industry was pushing wasn’t all there was out there.”

Here’s a pic of my old flat bar Cross Check on my drizzly Seattle commute in 2008. I built it with Paul Thumbis, Shimano XT cantis, an 8-speed Ultegra drivetrain, heavy 700 x 32 Continentals and Planet Bike fenders. It was bombproof and I loved it.

In 2014 I took it apart and transferred most of the parts to an Indy Fab Planet Cross I’d bought on eBay. I then donated the frame to BikeWorks in Seattle. I definitely got my $300 worth out of it. And I’m sure it’s still going strong somewhere. The Cross Check will never die.

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