First Ride: Surly Bikes is known for its steel frames. With the Surly Bridge Club, the company based in the United States has designed a versatile touring bike. The Surly Bridge Club offers front and rear rack mounts, three bottle cages and on the fork. Thanks to the wide tires, adventures can also be tackled on non-asphalted paths. Surly Bikes focused on simplicity at Bridge Club.
Just drive off, don't worry too much. Get out of everyday life, into adventure, but not get into debt? Off-road, but still be on the road a bit? Velomotion had the opportunity to test the Surly Bridge Club at the first Cosmic Camp in Franconian Switzerland on a gravel day tour of about 50 kilometers and 1000 meters in altitude. "Bridge the gap" - "close a gap/build a bridge" is how Surly defines the Bridge Club. While most Surly bikes are designed for a specific purpose, the Bridge Club doesn't care too much about categories. With its comparatively low price, it also appeals to beginners.
Frame / Geometry Surly Bridge Club
The frame and fork are made from Surly 4130 CroMoly Steel Natch Tubing. There are mounts for fenders and luggage racks on the frame and fork. In order to have enough liquid on longer tours, the Surly offers three bottle holders: two on the down tube and one on the seat tube. The geometry of the Bridge Club is based on the Troll and Ogre model, but with a slightly lower bottom bracket to remain easy to ride on the road. Overall, the Bridge Club is very short. With a reach of 443mm in size XL, a very upright sitting position is possible. In addition, this makes it even more playful and manoeuvrable. The Bridge Club is available in five different sizes: XS-XL.
Amenities Surly Bridge Club
The motto of the Bidge Club is "Simplicity". This is how it is equipped. For 1.299 euros you get a very solid complete bike with which both beginners and experienced touring bikers should have fun on adventures. The Surly Bridge Club shifts gears with a SRAM X5 2×10 and a SRAM GX rear derailleur. The range enables the driver to master steep climbs or simply to cruise relaxed on the flat. The circuit requires very little maintenance and offers reasonable switching performance. In order to be able to stop fully packed off-road, Surly gives the Bridge Club a mechanical Promax DSK-300 disc brake, each with 180 mm brake discs.
The Surly Bridge Club tires are also a special feature. The WTB BEE LINE 27,5 with a width of 2.2″ offer plenty of comfort, good rolling resistance and sufficient grip on asphalt roads. The Bridge Club is delivered with WTB Riddler Comp 27,5×2.4 tires, but they should ride similar to the WTB BEE LINE tires we use. There is a Salsa Bend 17° in the cockpit.
| Frame | Surly 4130 CroMoly Steel Natch Tubing |
| Fork | Surly Bridge Club |
| Wheels | WTB STPi29 |
| Tires | WTB Riddler comp 27.5x2.4" |
| Derailleur | SRAM GX 10 speed |
| Shifter | SRAM X5 2x10 |
| Crank | SRAM Blaze 36/24t |
| Front derailleur | SRAM X5w/high direct mount |
| Brake | Promax DSK-300 |
| Lighting | |
| Seatpost | 2 bolts, 27.2mm |
| Saddle | WTB volts |
| Stem | 4 bolt, 31.8 clamp |
| Handlebar | Salsa bend 17° |
Out and about with the Surly Bridge Club
Approximately 50 kilometers and 1000 meters of altitude were on the schedule for the second day of the Cosmic Sports Camp. You could choose between the Surly Bridge Club and a gravel bike. Since there were also some trails on the tour, I decided on the Bridge Club. The saddle bag packed with the essentials, mounted pedals and adjusted the saddle, we were ready to go. Our guides Norman and Flo from Bremsspur Bergradsport led us through the breathtaking Franconian Switzerland.
Now back to the Surly Bridge Club. I rode the Surly Bridge Club in size XL. It was a bit too short for me personally, as I am very tall. But you sit very upright, which is clearly a plus on longer tours. The first steep climb was mastered in no time thanks to the wide range of gear ratios of the two chainrings. Then we continued on forest paths already covered with leaves and the first easy trail was imminent. The Surly moves very smoothly downhill, almost inviting you to play. The tires offer sufficient grip and very good comfort. If you adjust the air pressure to the ground, the tire also absorbs slight bumps.
The mechanical brake discs also grabbed a lot. I never had the feeling that I needed more braking power. The compact Surly is easy to maneuver through curves. The Salsa Bend handlebar with its 17 degrees is supposed to bring better ergonomics, but felt like it took a bit of getting used to for me. Since the Surly Bridge Club is so versatile, it would make sense to mount a dropper seat post. This would offer even more legroom and safety downhill. Even a simple bike like the Bridge Club would definitely look good with a dropper post. At the end of the tour we rode one last single trail - a real treat. A little steeper, more roots and stones. The Bridge Club felt really at home here.
A stopover with Franconian specialties in the beer garden was a welcome change from the tour and invited to nice conversations. After the tour through Franconian Switzerland, a cool down in the river was of course a must on this warm summer day. At the end of the day, Cosmic Sports heated up the grill for us and spoiled us with food and drink.
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