Something about that cold North wind blowing gets people thinking of sturdy, steel Surlys.

First up, The Swobo-to-Surly switcheroo!  Chris decided he would like the feel of steel more than the aluminum bike he had been riding, so he came to us to get a Surly 1×1 frameset and switch everything over.  It was a pretty straight swap, a new bottom bracket was required but other than that we just chased, faced, frame savered, and switched.  Fun!

Next, shop favorite Doug is prepping for touring anytime, anywhere.  Enter the Surly LHT.  He already had the Jandd Standard rear rack, but added the Jandd Extreme front rack.  Which is, in a word, well – extreme!  The wood fenders set the bike off nicely, whether leaning on our bar stools, or an elevation sign at a mountain pass somewhere in Montana.

At the same time as these bikes were being built we also had a Surly Cross Check in for pre-winter maintenance and we built a new rear single speed wheel for it around the venerable Surly New Road hub laced to a sturdy Salsa Delgado rim.  SURLY-O-Rama!

In softer news, for those that don’t yet know, we have taken in a stray cat from the neighborhood and named him Otis.

He is a cute and curious little guy who likes to sleep on your lap and play with his catnip mouse.

He took an Xtracycle ride to the vet and seemed to enjoy the journey, if not the destination.

He has been with us for almost 3 weeks now and is settling in nicely, it is nice to have him here!