Surly’s Karate Monkey hardtail was one of the first widely available 29ers. Can a revamp keep this iconic big-wheeler competitive in the ‘eclectic yet economical’ category?
Veteran workhorse gets more versatile
Surly has used its double-butted ‘Natch’ chromoly steel tubeset to build ultra-tough workhorse bikes for years. If you want a frame that can take an implausible amount of punishment on home trails or riding round the world and shrug it off smoothly, then the Karate Monkey is ideal.
Despite reinforcing gussets on the top and head tubes plus a small triangulating reinforcing pipe for the seat tube, it’s not massively heavy. That means you’re not going to rupture your own gusset if you have to carry it when the trail gives up or the gears run out.
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While the Karate Monkey has spent most of its history as a fully rigid singlespeed bike (still available both in complete builds or as a frame-and-fork setup) the new Ops version sports Surly’s ‘Modular Dropout System’, which lets you choose between horizontal (singlespeed), vertical (QR) or 142x12mm (found here) dropouts.
Bolted mounts for a rear mudguard and pannier rack tick the workday utility boxes, and a 44mm head tube makes it tapered fork steerer-compatible. The S-bent seat tube limits how far you can drop the seatpost on steep or rough terrain dramatically though, and the 27.2mm diameter restricts choice if you want to upgrade to a dropper post further down the line.
Serious smoothness
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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