I visited the Surly booth. The new Surly Steamroller comes with a brake and lever, sealed bearing hubs, and the chromo steel frame is comfortable for urban riding. The rear brake bridge is drilled for a rear brake, so you can utilize the flip /flop rear wheel and run it as a single speed if you move to the mountains.
We have put a few pro-athlete team-sport sized guys, 6' 4" weighing 215-240 lb guys on this bike. They haven't broken the frame yet. So that is a good sign. The frame has brazeons for a water bottle cage. And you can fit up to 700c x 32 tires on it. The rear stays have a wider clearance. This is good news for those who have to commute on busted up pavement, since you can run a wider tire for a bit more shock absorption. You can then spend less time wondering when your ride over that giant crack in the asphalt if your body is going to be jolted really bad or just a little.
The color is kind of a vanilla cream (kind of the old SE color, actually) and the componentry is mostly black. It comes spec'd with a 3/32nd 47T chain ring and 3/32nd 19T. So that is a gear ratio of 66.8, which is a nice cruising gear, and the bike won't throw you off when you try to stop it. You aren't going to ever beat anyone in a sprint, but you should be able to ride the same terrain you can ride on a geared road bike if you put the bike in the smaller ring (on a double crank set) and in the middle of your cassette. Go here to figure out what gear ratio feels comfortable for your style of riding. I forgot to check to see if you could scrape off the decals or if the clear coated over them and are there to stay. If someone knows about the decals, put up a post for us. (Jump for more ratio picking info.)
And if you don't know what gear ratio might work well for you, borrow a bike with a derailleur, and keep the bike in 1 gear for a week. Don't shift for any reason. Then count the teeth on the front chain ring and the
teeth on the cog you choose. Find the ratio, and look on the chart for a chain ring and cog combination that works with your riding style and terrain or with skid oatches, if you plan to skid a ton.
Also, this whole Steamroller bike costs a bit more than a hand-built Phil Wood fixed gear wheelset on Deep Vs. I kind of advise customer to avoid dropping a ton of money into their first fixie until they really have a clear idea of what they want to feel when they are riding. Tricks? Speed? Beater city bike? Highly responsive and quick, but not comfortable on the pavement? Comfortable but feels like riding a couch? Heavy but super durable? Something in between? Everyone is different. It is fun to build up a fixie, but it has to work with your riding style. So, the package fixed gears, like the Steamroller let you start to figure out what you like and don't like at a price that won't break the bank.
