Steve, I've had my
retro-fitted Surly Cross Check (by Bilenky Cycle Works) for about
three years now and I still love it. The couplers continue to work absolutely
perfectly after thousands of miles and many, many plane trips. But you see I had
a problem... As great as the Surly is, it's still a steel cyclocross bike and
all my friends have fancy, uber-light non-coupled carbon or titantium road
racing bikes. I always beat them out of the airport, but they always beat me to
the top of the hill. So I did the only reasonable thing I could: buy a new bike!
I just recieved my new titanium frame from Dean Bikes in Colorado. It was an
extremely long wait but in the end it was worth it. The bike is completely
custom and fits me like a glove. It rides amazing and is so light! Of course the
couplers are the icing on the cake - they are even prettier than they are on the
Surly. The couplers seem to just belong there and melt right into the unpainted
Ti frame. As I expected from riding the Cross Check for the past three years,
you absolutely cannot tell this is a coupled bike while riding it, unless you
look down. The builder told me they were going to make it stiff and they were
not fooling around! The Surly still rides great, but this bike is whole
different animal. So stiff when sprinting or climbing yet it seems to absorb all
the small stuff. And the handling? Do you remember that old movie with Clint
Eastwood, Firefox, where he flies the fighter plane with just his thoughts...? I
just don't have enough superlatives to describe how good this bike is. I think
now I will save money while traveling AND beat my friends up hills... Since I
have steel and titanium, I may just have to get a carbon coupled bike! And I
think I know who to call...
Scott Bernstein, New York, New York
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