Rohloff-Equipped Surly Disc Trucker Commuting/Touring Bike

We built this bike for a local customer in Oakland, CA for commuting and bike packing.  He had come across the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 as the ideal drivetrain for a reliable, hassle-free daily transportation bike and came to us to test ride it and discuss build options.  The Surly Disc Trucker offered a value priced frame with Rohloff-specific features and disc brakes for all-weather braking performance.  We built the rest of the bike up with sturdy, economical parts.For the wheels, we laced the Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 and a White Industries MI6 front disc hub to a pair of Velocity Aeroheat rims using Sapim Race double butted spokes.  The Aeroheat model is the 26" version of the Dyad rim that we use regularly for commuting, light to moderate touring, and cross country mountain bike wheels.Surly is known for providing durable frames out of chromoly steel at reasonable prices.  The Disc Trucker is the disc brake version of their popular Long Haul Trucker touring frame.  As any fully-equipped touring frame should, the Disc Trucker frame and fork come with a variety of mounting points for racks, fenders, and even a place to carry spare spokes.  Having the rear disc caliper positioned between the seatstay and chainstay eliminates common interference issues between a rack and the disc caliper.  Smaller frame sizes use 26" wheels (42-54cm), and larger sizes are offered with a choice of 26" (56-62cm) or 700c wheels (56-64cm).  With long chainstays and a relaxed head angle, the geometry lends itself to a stable, comfortable ride.The Disc Trucker joins the Big Dummy, Troll, and Ogre in Surly's lineup of frames with Rohloff-specific features.  The left dropout has an extra threaded hole for a bolt that the Rohloff OEM2 axle plate sits against to secure the hub's axle instead of using a torque arm.  The frame does not have a means for tensioning the chain built in, so we used Rohloff's high quality chain tensioner on this build.  Using a chain tensioner has the advantage that you don't have to make any adjustments to account for chain wear/stretch because the tensioning spring automatically compensates.  Overall, the Disc Trucker offers a solid, affordable platform for building a Rohloff-equipped bike. Build details

• Frame: Surly Disc Trucker chromoly steel

• Fork: Surly Disc Trucker chromoly steel

• Headset: Cane Creek 40

• Stem: basic aluminum

• Handlebar: Soma Sparrow

• Shifter: Rohloff

• Grips: Ergon GP1

• Seatpost: basic aluminum

• Saddle: Brooks Swift

• Front Hub: White Industries MI6

• Rear hub: Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14

• Spokes: Sapim Race

• Nipples: Sapim Brass

• Rims: Velocity Aeroheat

• Tires: Schwalbe Marathon

• Front skewer: bolt-on

• Cranks: Shimano Acera

• Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN55

• Chainring: Shimano

• Rear Sprocket: Rohloff sprocket

• Chain: Wippermann 808

• Chain Tensioner: Rohloff

• Brakes: Avid BB7

• Braks Levers: Avid Speed Dial

• Rotors: Avid G2 Cleansweep