I’ve been riding the Surly Big Dummy since early April of 2009. If you try to take it away from me, you’ll be sorry. Very, very sorry.

My Big Dummy (we’ll just call it the BD from here on out) is the complete bike option from Surly and came with a full component kit.

The very first thing I noticed was that the BD is . . . big. The box was incredibly huge and when the frame was pulled out, it was shocking. I knew that I was getting a cargo bike, but I had no idea that it would be that massive! The build was easy and, aside from having to spend a bit of time figuring out the Xtracycle attachments that went on the back of the bike, it was a standard assembly.

The components in the complete kit are a great value and most fit solidly in upper end of the mountain bike component range. Here’s the list of parts, right off the Surly website:

Of special note are the solid wheels, built from Salsa Gordo 36 hole rims, XT disc hubs, and 14 gauge DT Champion spokes with brass nipples. After 4 months of daily commuting with a loaded bike, they’ve stayed true and round without any adjustment.

The Surly Mr. Whirly crankset is also a great feature of the complete bike. It shifts like butter and is built around chainring diameters that are readily available in many sizes. Fine tuning the gear ratios would be a nightmare without it. The stock gearing of 22/32/44 up front and 11-34 in the rear has been fine for riding around the flatlands of Indiana, but the potential for customization is excellent with the Mr. Whirly crankset.

For a build freak, I’m shockingly content with the factory spec straight from Surly. I haven’t changed a single part on the stock bike . . . I swear!

I have, however, added a few bits and pieces. Most of my additions are safety related. The BD is now sporting a pair of LED blinkies on the back and a NiteRider Minewt USB head light on the front for my night excursions. I’ve also added a set of Planet Bike Freddy Fenders, which should be standard on any bike that’s intended to be a commuter. Both the front and the rear fenders required some special bending and fitting of the stays to accomodate the disc brake in the front and the frame members in the rear. While it was easy to bend the stays, the average, non-mechanic cyclist might want to consider taking the BD to a bike shop for fender installation.

Finally, I have to mention the Xtracycle V-racks and Freeloader bags that came with the bike. They are, quite honestly, amazing. I’ll talk about some of the alterations I’ve made at the end of the review, but I love just how much stuff I can cram into these bags! From 100 pounds of recycling to a week’s worth of groceries to my daily office cargo (laptop, clothes, and lunch), the Freeloaders hold it all with room to spare. The bags are easily adjusted for cargo size, and, with the addition of other Xtracycle accessories, they can carry other bikes, kayaks, ladders, and much, MUCH more!

With all of that room for cargo, I was anxious to get the bike on the road and find out how it handled. While it’s definitely not as responsive as my track bike or XC racing mountain bike, I was surprised to find that it was still a lot of fun to ride. I didn’t notice the extra length as much as I thought I would. In fact, within a few days, it felt as natural as a regularly sized bike.

Freeloaders, V-racks, Magic Carpet, and Footsies

The most notable differences are due to significant differences in weight distribution when riding unloaded or lightly loaded. Most bikes carry about 70% of the weight in the rear and 30% up front. On the BD, however, the rider sits directly between the wheels and the weight is distributed evenly. The extra weight on the front wheel makes it track through corners like it’s on rails, but also causes the rear end to be a little skiddish. There were a few times that the back wheel slipped an inch or two during high speed or rough turns. I never felt unstable, but also learned to slow down and avoid pushing the bike through the corners the way I do with my “short” bikes.

The BD is definitely built for durability and weighs quite a bit. In fact, fully assembled without the Xtracycle accessories or cargo, it tips the scales at almost 40 pounds. The weight makes it a bit slow to accelerate, but, once up to speed, it cruises quite well.

When loaded, the bike is quite sluggish and requires a bit of attention. The extra mass picks up inertia quickly and balancing at high speeds becomes difficult. However, I can’t imagine wanting to ride at 25 mph when loaded with 100 pounds of cargo. The solution is to take it easy and only ride as fast as you can comfortable handle the load. This criticism shouldn’t be a knock against the bike, as the changes in handling when loaded are a direct and expected result of riding with a loaded bike.

Our BD frame is the 18 inch size and it fits me quite well at 5′10″ with a 32″ inseam. I typically ride a 55cm c-to-c road bike or an 18 inch effective c-to-c mountain bike and have been very happy with the 18 inch BD. However, I ride with the stock Surly 1×1 Torsion Bars, which are a mountain style bar with minimal sweep. It appears to have been designed with flatbars in mind and if you were to put bars with more sweep on the BD, the cockpit would likely be too short. Assuming that the frame size remained the same, the solution would be to combine a longer stem with a set-back seatpost to lengthen the cockpit.

For a racer who is used to light weight, responsive bikes, it’s quite a shift. Even so, the BD has become one of my favorite rides and the one I reach for on a daily basis. The magic is that it has turned cycling from a hobby into a utilitarian, integral part of my daily life. Instead of rushing through grocery shopping and errands so that I can take a bike out for a ride, I do the grocery shopping and errands on a bike. Since getting the BD at the end of March, I’ve only used my car a dozen or so times, usually when I travel and have to go to the airport. Everything else has been by bike.

The BD isn’t the most fun bike I own, but it is the most life-altering, useful, and purposeful. In fact, if you told me that I had to get rid of all but one of my bicycles . . . I would keep the Dummy.

There are a few draw backs that I’ve had to address. First, the frame is steel. While that isn’t a bad thing in itself, it is susceptible to rust and corrosion, especially if it’s used as a year-round commuter and utility bike. Like most steel bikes, the exterior is painted, but the interior is raw metal. One of the first tasks was to completely tear the bike down to the frame and treat the inside of the tubes with J. P. Weigle’s Frame Saver.

Also in the rust prevention category is protecting the exterior from scrapes and abrasions that could lead to bare metal. One notable spot that suffered very quickly was the frame support tube that’s just in front of the rear wheel and below the chain. The long chain deflects quite a bit going over bumps and will chip the paint on this piece, so I’ve wrapped it with an old piece of inner tube and zip ties for protection.

I’ve also wrapped the rear frame stays where the Xtracycle Freeloader bags contact them. Over time, I’m sure that the loaded bags would abrade through the paint.

The left Freeloader bag required some modification to prevent the disc brake caliper from wearing through the fabric. After only a few months, there was noticeable wear, so I sewed an old, plastic margarine container lid to the bag for protection. Now, the caliper rubs on the plastic, which can be easily replaced when needed.

I’ve also learned that I need to carry a few 55-gallon plastic garbage bags with me for rainy days. The Freeloader bags aren’t waterproof and my cargo has gotten very wet, very quickly. Now I use the garbage bags to protect whatever I might be carrying. I have some ideas for modifying the Freeloaders with waterproof liners and flaps, but haven’t had time to test my theory. If I get to it – and if it works – look for an updated article on Cog And Chain!

If I were to spec out my ‘perfect’ BD build, I would include an internal Rohloff hub on the rear, a SON generator hub on the front, and a front rack from Leah the Rack Lady. I would also swap out the flat, Surly 1×1 Torsion bar for something taller and more swept. I don’t mind the traditional mountain bike posture, but other folks who have ridden the BD have wished for a more upright position.

Finally, I should also mention the customer service at Surly. Our Big Dummy complete came without the chainring nuts needed to attach the Xtracycle Freeloader clips to the frame. An email to Surly’s customer service resulted in a near-immediate reply from a guy named Aaron who was not only nice, but downright friendly. I ended up with the chainring nuts, some great advice on aftermarket bags, and lots of Surly swag. And all within 4 days of sending the original email. If that’s any indication, Surly is the stand-up company that I thought they were!

As is, the complete Surly Big Dummy is an excellent buy for anyone hoping to go car-free or car-lite. Once you’ve tried a long tail cargo bike, I’m not sure you can ever be without one again.