The Return {and short revised review} of the Surly Pacer

Last year, I said goodbye to my Surly Pacer. I wasn't all that sad to see it go because frankly, I felt I was getting a similar ride/function out of my Sam Hillborne. It just wasn't as fast as I'd hoped, and I saw no purpose in hanging on to an "extra" bike that may or may not get used. No love lost, I thought. We ended up trading it to a friend who was planning on building it up for his then-fiance. After their break-up, our friend was left with a frame he couldn't use. He'd tried selling it on Craigslist, and thought he had a buyer in a neighbor, but it just didn't work because she was unsure of what she would use to build it up (since it was traded as just a frame/fork/handlebar set up). Not having a plethora of "spare" bike parts (like some people, who shall remain nameless), it just seemed out of reach for her.

The stock Surly Pacer, minus a handlebar/saddle change

Meanwhile, as has been discussed, I've been attempting to figure out a faster/lighter road bike for myself. I've been busying myself riding the Trek Lexa SLX and attempting to get the set up right, but was finding more and more that I was fatiguing early.  I suspected that this could be due to the frame material, but having since taken the Trek on much longer rides, I don't think that was the issue at all. However, at the time of confusion, I had been looking into titanium frames and custom made steel frames, but they are a bit cost-prohibitive at the moment as we try to recover from the expense of Sam's E.R. visit. Then the light bulb went on for Sam. "Why don't we just see about getting the Surly back and putting lighter parts on it?" Sam asked. He does have his moments, I will admit, but all I could remember was the weighted feel of the ride on the Surly. I wasn't entirely convinced this was the answer. Still, being able to get a frame at no-cost (sans a promise to help out with projects around our friends' house) couldn't hurt anything. I figured that even if it didn't work out, at least we'd have parts that could be used on another frame at some point down the line.

Revised Surly Pacer

I was a bit surprised by how much the revisions made affected the feeling on this bike. I recall initially falling in love with the stock Pacer, but quickly discovering that it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. I think the biggest fault with the bike was merely its weight. As a standard set-up the bike had heavy wheels and a steel fork. When it came back into our possession, the first thing to take place was removing the steel fork, followed by a switch to much lighter wheels.

The new-to-the-bike parts consist of a SRAM Force compact crankset, SRAM derailleurs and shifters, an older (but lighter) Shimano wheelset, a carbon seatpost, and a Reynolds Ouzo Comp fork (when I took photos, there was an Easton fork on the bike, but the steerer was cut just a bit shorter than I preferred, so it was switched out - though both forks work equally well as far as performance). It's unbelievable to me the difference the changes made to the feel and ride of the Surly. It has more pick up, it's definitely lighter, and it feels as though it was meant to be going faster out on the roads.

As for speed-to-speed comparison, I have had very similar ride times on both the aluminum Trek and the (revised) steel Surly over similar distances. In truth, I think any variance has more to do with my mental or physical state of being on any particular day than the bikes themselves.

There are many differences between the Trek and the newly revised Surly Pacer (even as far as frame geometry is concerned), but I think it's interesting that a bike that felt heavier and perhaps even a bit sluggish in its original form has the ability to be transformed into something that really could hold up on a group ride or fast paced solo ride.

In all of this, I think if someone were looking for a faster road bike, it would make sense to get the frame alone and build it up, rather than taking a stock set up from a shop (unless it was built as desired by the purchaser). As for me, the Surly probably won't be staying as part of the bike fold (the geometry creates some issues for my damaged hands), but it has been an absolute pleasure to see it transformed into a great road bike and I can see how it would be easy to love this bike again.