2025 Surly Cross Check Retro Old School Road Bike – Frugal Average Bicyclist

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I’ve made some more changes to my Cross Check and decided to do another post. I think I have this bike perfect for me now, so this is probably that last big update. The biggest change this time was the change to Box Three mini v-brakes. I love the look and performance of these brakes. Here are some images:

2025 Surly Cross Check Retro Road Bike

Updates for 2025: Box Three mini v-brakes, Venzo pedals, Rockbros bar tape, titanium bolts for stem, and Omni Racer bottom bracket. I also put a black cable liner over the brake cable running over the top tube, I don’t like the look of exposed cables.

Look

With the new brakes I’m completely happy with the look of this bike. I’m going for a late 80s road bike look and I think I’ve done pretty good. The Campagnolo Veloce shifters are great looking, the Stronglight crankset looks right for the time period, I’m pretty sure most people think it’s an old bike. But while it looks old it shifts and rides great.

Shifters/Brake levers

The Campagnolo Veloce shifters have a great aero look and shift great. The levers are also silver, which fits into the time period I’m looking for.

Drivetrain

The Stronglight Impact double crankset looks great and has functioned perfectly for this build. The front derailleur is Campagnolo Veloce and the rear is 10-speed Centaur. Campy is a great vintage brand so I think a real good fit for a vintage look bike. I switched to a KMC X10SL chain to save a little weight, the SL is super light. The cassette is also Veloce.

Brakes

I love the look of my Box Three mini v-brakes, the silver and side-pull is a much better fit for my look than the old Tektro 720. They also have more braking power with the mechanical advantage of v-brakes and much bigger pads.

Stem

The gloss black Uno alloy stem looks great, and I’ve added some titanium bolts to lighten it up a little.

Wheels

Velocity A23 rims with Miche hubs. Nice looking silver wheels, tubeless ready, and pretty light.

Tires

American Classic Torchbearer tires provide a comfortable ride and are tubeless.

Saddle and Seatpost

Charge Knife saddle with titanium rails and silver Trek system 2 seatpost. Love the look of both and are pretty light.

Full component list

Campagnolo Veloce shifters

Campagnolo Veloce front derailleur

Campagnolo Centaur rear derailleur

Campagnolo Veloce Cassette 10 speed 13-29

Stonglight Impact Double Crankset 48/34

Omni Racer Cromo bottom bracket

KMC X10SL Chain silver

Venzo SPD 6066 clipless Pedals

Whisky No 7 F12 Silver drop bars

Rockbros black/white bar tape

Uno Stem gloss black with titanium bolts

Cane Creek headset

Charge Knife Saddle titanium rails

Trek System 2 seatpost

Velocity A23 wheelset with Miche hubs

Halo Retro skewers

American Classic Torchbearer tubeless tires 700×32

Weight

Weight is down to about 22.7lbs with pedals, water bottle cage, Bryton mount, and bell installed. The Omni Racer bottom bracket brought the weight down a little. Not much left I can do to make it lighter without changing the look a lot. For example, a carbon fork would drop weight a lot, but I think it would ruin my vintage look. I may get some lighter tires in the future which might save 200 grams.

I love the bike; comfortable ride and I love the vintage look of it. It’s also not Shimano, which is kinda different. I think I may be done with updates on it as there is nothing left that I really want to change. Real shame Surly stopped making the Cross Check, also a shame Campagnolo no longer makes affordable groups. I’m going to mess around with my fit and see if I’m still comfortable if I drop the bars down.

Here is my original build:

Surly Cross Check Drop Bar Vintage-Look Road Bike Build

Frame I started with:

Surly Cross Check Frameset Drop Bar Bike Build

2023 version:

Surly Cross Check 2023 update

Here are some reviews of some of the components used:

Charge Knife Titanium Rails Bike Saddle Review

Halo Retro Road Race Wheel Skewers Review

Velocity A23 Road Wheelset Silver Miche Hubs Review

American Classic Torchbearer Tubeless Ready Tires 700x32C Review

Stronglight Impact Double Compact Crankset Review