What's with the 132.5 spacing on the Cross-Check?

[bmw]

The site says so you can run road or mtb hubs. But the frame doesn't have disc brake mounts so why would you want to run mtb hubs? If you're building from leftovers and have a mtb wheelset it's not going to have brake tracks needed for the rim brakes. There's got to be something clever here that is going over my head.

[johnny the boy]

versality, breh.
it's what surly is all about.
and since when do "leftover mtb wheelsets" not have brake tracks?

[GrampBredo]

Not all mtb wheels are disc only. I used xt hubs when i built mine for the better seals (and price). The new ones come stock with deore hubs too.

[seat_boy]

I really appreciate the "gnot-rite" spaceing on mine. It lets me run just about any 700c wheelset I have banging around my garage.

[bolandjd]

Amen to versatility - the CC's forte. The flexibility in the steel stays allow for the 'tweener spacing, so why not? CCs can be built up anyway you want - roadie, trailbike, single speed, fixie, racer, commuter, tourer. Maximum hub choice is nice.

[CS2]

You can still use disc hubs without using disc brakes as long as you rim brake rims. Good luck

[johnny the boy]

You can still use disc hubs without using disc brakes as long as you rim brake rims. Good luck

or you can use regular 135mm non-disc mountain hubs.....

[Saul Lumikko]

You can use a flipped disc hub with a bolt-on cog for fixed riding.

[bmw]

thanks guys, these are things I didn't think of...

non-disc mtn hubs, rim brake mtb wheelsets, bolt-on fixed cogs

I guess those aren't common setups but that is why they call it versatile.

[johnny the boy]

non-disc mtn hubs, rim brake mtb wheelsets...
I guess those aren't common setups but that is why they call it versatile.

since when?

[dfltroll]

Shimano no longer makes XT non-disc hubs. They still make Deore and LX.

[Flat Again???]

Why not just use XT centerlock hubs without the rotors? Am I missing something?

[dfltroll]

Why not just use XT centerlock hubs without the rotors? Am I missing something?

Yes--aesthetics!

[CS2]

Yes--aesthetics!

And I thought I was the only one who cared. It's getting tougher to find high quality 135mm hubs without disc mounts. Which explains why Surly used 132.5 spacing. There is no shortage of 130mm high end road hubs.

[dfltroll]

And I thought I was the only one who cared. It's getting tougher to find high quality 135mm hubs without disc mounts. Which explains why Surly used 132.5 spacing. There is no shortage of 130mm high end road hubs.

Surly has been using the "gnot right" spacing for years. I think the idea was to make the bike as versatile as possible and easier to build up with spare parts. But yeah, it's getting harder to find those hubs. Or rather, cheaper ones. Hight end 135mm hubs from Paul and Phil Wood are still available but those hubs cost as much as a Surly frame. XT hubs were a great deal.

Years ago, Grant Petersen at Rivendell Bike Works talked about wanting to produce a 132.5mm rear hub that could be used in 130mm or 135mm spaced frames.

[hunter006]

It's worth noting that other makes, like Cotic, have been doing this for ages as well, taking advantage of the "one size up or down" advantages of steel and 132.5mm spacing, for the same reasons mentioned by dfltroll.

[Thor29]

In my experience, you gotta run a pretty strong QR if you try to use road hubs on the Cross Check. I had problems with the rear wheel pulling out of the dropouts when I tried to run 130mm hubs. Horizontal dropouts plus 132.5mm spacing and a 130mm hub is not a good combo in my opinion. Sometimes versatility comes at a price.

[johnny the boy]

i ran an ultegra rear hub for about 3yrs on my old xcheck....never had it slip once.
i weigh 260, so i wasn't exactly easy on it either.....

[CS2]

In my experience, you gotta run a pretty strong QR if you try to use road hubs on the Cross Check. I had problems with the rear wheel pulling out of the dropouts when I tried to run 130mm hubs. Horizontal dropouts plus 132.5mm spacing and a 130mm hub is not a good combo in my opinion. Sometimes versatility comes at a price.

You should be able to use extra spacers on the axle to get it at 132.5mm That way the QR isn't doing all the work. Or you could just get a replacement axle for a 135mm MTB and space it at 135mm either way will work.

[bolandjd]

I've had my CC, with a 105 rear hub, for almost a year now with no rear wheel slipping problems. I also weight about 260 (maybe a little more with Christmas here and all ), and I hammer out-of-the-saddle pretty hard going up hills. Shimano QR skewers are pretty good. I like the internal cams. Maybe that's why I don't have problems. But really, any decent skewer should hold, as long as you put it on properly (imprint on your hand, and all that).

[Leopold Porkstacker]

Shimano no longer makes XT non-disc hubs. They still make Deore and LX.

But PLEASE, people, PLEASE avoid the Deore M525 rear hubs unless you don’t mind having the freewheel seize up or fail while you are riding.

[johnny the boy]

But PLEASE, people, PLEASE avoid the Deore M525 rear hubs unless you don’t mind having the freewheel seize up or fail while you are riding.

i hear this a lot but i myself, as well as several folks i know have these hubs and have had zero problems. maybe there was a bad batch. i've built many wheel sets up using this hub, and have had nothing but success.

[Leopold Porkstacker]

i hear this a lot but i myself, as well as several folks i know have these hubs and have had zero problems. maybe there was a bad batch. i've built many wheel sets up using this hub, and have had nothing but success.

I’ve been on two rides with friends whose M525 hubs failed on the ride. First rider was trying to ride up a not-so-steep 10% grade and the hub was acting as if the chain was skipping, so he had to walk it up the rest of the way (and limp back home). The other rider had just completed 1,500 feet of climbing, and was making his way up a roughly 28% grade when all of a sudden the bike made a sound as if the chain was breaking… within a few minutes we’d concluded his bike had transformed into a fixed-hub multi-geared bike. Fortunately he was able to ride the 20 miles back home.

In both of my instances, first one was on a Surly Big Dummy cargobike, and it started the chain skipping simulation up a slight incline (roughly 7% grade), and the second instance was on my Surly Pugsley when the thing just pretty much exploded (no power to the rear wheel WHATSOEVER)—I had to walk my bike home. (relaced the wheel to a Hope II Pro hub and have never looked back)

[CycleAddict]

thanks guys, these are things I didn't think of...

non-disc mtn hubs, rim brake mtb wheelsets, bolt-on fixed cogs

I guess those aren't common setups but that is why they call it versatile.

Exactly. Cross checks come set up pretty standard as complete bikes but custom builds are all over the place. Surly makes some of the only production frames that make these
Unorthodox builds possible.

[chefmiguel]

The Cross Check picture thread is a true testament to how versatile the frame really is.

[simpson4130]

I should be getting my cross check soon and I'm not sure what hub I'm going to use yet. I like options

[WMBigs]

There are spacers available to widen a hubs width. This may work better on solid axles than skewer type axles.

[johnny the boy]

I should be getting my cross check soon and I'm not sure what hub I'm going to use yet. I like options

XT 6 bolt disc.

[Ilikemtb999]

My cross check is 12 years old and was originally built when rim brakes were still an every day sight on the trails; so it makes sense why they'd just keep around the versatility of the 132.5 drop spacing. Cross checks really haven't changed all that much since mine (well 1 1/8 threadless, cable mount differences and tubing changes).

I'm hoping one day they'll come out with a disc cc so I can upgrade!

[bbbr]

Having the 132.5mm spacing means I can use my old American Classic 130mm road wheel in the trainer while my Check is stuck indoors till the spring and keep my Dt Swiss 340 (135mm spacing) in storage. For whatever reason, my trainer eats hub bearings and I'd rather not rebuild the hub if it can be avoided. It'll also be helpful in the spring when I build up an Ogre and be able to swap the wheels between the two bikes depending on what I want to do without having to worry about incompatible parts.

[ecodoug]

My cross check is 12 years old and was originally built when rim brakes were still an every day sight on the trails; so it makes sense why they'd just keep around the versatility of the 132.5 drop spacing. Cross checks really haven't changed all that much since mine (well 1 1/8 threadless, cable mount differences and tubing changes).

I'm hoping one day they'll come out with a disc cc so I can upgrade!

Ooh, do you have the first generation threaded headset cross check? Could you post a picture or a link to one? Thanks!

[Ilikemtb999]

Ooh, do you have the first generation threaded headset cross check? Could you post a picture or a link to one? Thanks!

It was a navy blue but the paint was falling off so I had it powder coated last winter.

[ecodoug]

Very nice. I thought I saw a navy blue CC a few years ago in Syracuse, but they were going the other way and I didn't get a good look at it.

My experience with the 132.5mm spacing has been pretty good so far with a 130mm Ultegra hub and skewer. You just need to make sure it's clamped down solid, more so than on a bike with vertical dropouts.

[girlonbike]

I like the looks of that threaded headset with the Salsa stem.

I've also used a road hub in a 132.5 spaced Cross Check. No slipping but yeah, you kind of need to clamp it on tight which you should have learned a long time ago before those damned lawyer tabs got people to not pay for that mistake. FWIW, those cheap Shimano skewers are awesome.

Here's more info on the history of skewers with a nice reference to a Sheldon Brown page regarding the same: Black Mountain Cycles: Quick, release...