I had some concerns about the size, 62cm, but after talking to the seller, we came to the conclusion that he was basically my bearded, non-ginger doppelganger; identical height and even inseam (he seemed put off that I brought my ruler to check, but you have to be through).
I was going back and forth on looking for a used complete bike versus building something up myself. Yes, it is always fun to build up the bike yourself, and yes, it can be more expensive. I just couldn't seem to find a bike in my size (Sasquatch) with the components I wanted. Unfortunately, I am up to speed on my component options, enough to be picky. Yes, we all want SRAM Red. No, we cannot afford SRAM Red. SRAM Red is like bigfoot to me, I've seen blurry pictures, and heard mumblings and yarns from the villagers, but have never had the luxury of laying eyes on (owning) some of my very own. Building the frame up allows me to choose which components I could skimp on (almost everything), and which ones I could get and barely afford.
As for the frame, I was contemplating an aluminum/carbon mix from Nashbar, which was on sale. I ended up deciding against it and going for the steel Surly for two reasons. Steel is awesome and rides like butter. Surly bikes are awesome and I've wanted to own one since I discovered the brand.
I have long abandoned the idea that you can have one bike that truly does it all. Not to say that I was looking for one, but I don't think I'll ever find one. Yes, some bikes are more versatile than others, Nothing is as fun or huckable as my Atomlab, nothing makes me look as pretentious and trendy as my fixie, and nothing reminds me that I have no lungs and couldn't climb the slope of a spork like my 29er. That said, I didn't have a bike that was good for long road rides. I've done some long rides on my fixie, long rides on a fixie for me is about 40 miles. I want to (try to) ride further than that. The Pacer is a bit more versatile than my other bikes. It can run up to 32 mm tires, 28 with fenders, hell it can run fenders. I plan on setting it up with 23 mm tires to start, and setting it up for distance road rides.
The frame came with the Surly fork, seatpost clamp and a headset. All of which I will be keeping until I decide to swap the fork out for something made out of carbon and pixie dust. The headset will stay until it starts to grind, then stay a while longer, and longer still, until I find something on sale (Cane Creek S3 or Chris King) to replace it.
I'm looking forward to building this up. I should be getting some components in the mail today.
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