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Jason's Surly Disc Trucker

Like Michelangelo chipping away to reveal the sculpture within the stone,  Jason's customizing his "pea lime soup"  Surly Disc Trucker to reveal...himself. Or something. But is it art? Heck ya, read on...

I’m originally a hiker by outdoor interest which means I am used to two things: 1) going slowly; 2) carrying heavy things. I think most bicyclists will look at my bike and immediately say, “That bike is SO HEAVY!” But when I ride it, I say, “Whoa, 10 miles an hour! This is EASY!” It’s slow, heavy and big…wait, are we talking about me or the bike?

Anyway, this is not a bike that will win races or do technical trails well (I tried the black dotted trails in the Palos System on this bike once and decided I wasn’t ready to rewrite my will). It can tow my kids, carry my groceries, do 50 miles in a day comfortably and help me look like a fashion war criminal; let’s face it—my bike might not make noise, but it sure is loud. 

The Specs:

General: Surly Disc Trucker. I’m 5’8” on a good day, so I went with a 52 cm frame. Derailleurs, brakes, tires, fork, and whatever else comes on a bike are all stock – I’m not knowledgeable to have an opinion on anything being good or bad. As a practicing Catholic I assume anything my bike does poorly is because I’m bad at riding it, after all.


Metal Pieces—Fenders are Velo Orange, Front Rack is a Surly with a 12-Pack adapter. Rear rack is a Surly as well. 

The racks are not the lightest options out there but allow me the fantasy of believing I could help the Grinch take all the lightbulbs and Who Hash if I truly needed to—the weight capacity on each is about 80 pounds. Santa, if you’re reading, I’m sorry for writing that. 

I also have a Velo Orange Copenhagen dual kickstand on it; I admire the purity of people who can ride without kickstands, but one look at this bike should tell anyone that I’m not cutting weight on this *anywhere*. Phone holder is from Nite Ize, it works well enough.


Fabricky Pieces—The weird top tube bag is one I had custom made from 7 Roads, a company in Ukraine that does amazing work and has amazing customer support—I highly recommend them. Other than that, they’re all Ortlieb—Ultimate Six, Back Roller, Back Roller Pro, and Rack Pack 49L. I know Ortlieb says the 49L won't connect to the Back Rollers, but it does :) . I teach math by trade so I can appreciate that saving five bucks in gas by spending hundreds of dollars on bike bags will break even in about 50 years or so. 

Weirder Fabricky Things II—Pogies. That’s those weird hand covers on my drop bars for cold or rainy situations where my hands be less handy than they should be (I’m sorry)—are from Bike Iowa. I like them because they’re big, light, and flexible. They’re not insulated but big enough that I could wear gloves if I needed to; many pogies are insulated, which means using them in anything but the deepest cold results in hands that are *too* warm.



I also have two stem bags that I think work well and I personally prefer to water bottle holders, but I drink way, way more water than an average city block, and I use a small Camelbak 1.5L Chase backpack as first line of hydration. I’ve been hospitalized from dehydration before—it’s not an experience I’d recommend. I also use a Da Brim brim for my bike helmet—it’s a little annoying in high wind but I am a huge fan of not having skin cancer.


Shiny Pieces—I’m kind of a flashlight nerd so I use a camera mount for my Sofirn Q8 pro, a supervillainy bright flashlight (that I use at its dimmest setting) that would make Prometheus proud. Rear taillight is a Bontrager, which was chosen for its longevity; my ADHD sparklebrain means I forget to recharge electronics and OOH SQUIRREL!

The do it all...

...see it all...

...haul it all machine!

Talk Jason up about his Trucker and his many adventures when you find yourself pedaling next to him on the next GoodSpeed ride!