Surly Ogre Dirt Tourer

An autonomous fully-featured world-adventurer

This Surly Ogre was built for a local customer from the ground up, as a comfortable-practical-go-absolutely-anywhere tourer. Not many constraints apart from to get it right! The Ogre has become a standard in do-it-all touring and adventure biking, with braze-on’s aplenty, a dedicated slot in the dropouts for accommodating the touring cyclists favourite – the Rohloff Speedhub, and comfortable geometry that is well behaved when loaded up but playful and sure footed in the rough stuff. 

A comfortable cockpit is essential on long outings that may mean many hours per day on the saddle over an extended trip. Jones Loop H-Bars give myriad options for hand positions allowing the rider to move about frequently without getting stuck in a fixed position. This helps enormously with reducing fatigue and adds positions for climbing, getting upright, and battling headwinds. Ergon grips bring further cush and support the wrists and palms.

Seating is from Brooks England. The Brooks Cambium Carved has a similar profile to the classic leather B17, but is more weather resistant (it’s made of pure rubber with an embedded fabric top), and comes out of the box with a ‘broken in’ feel. The cutout helps with pressure relief where it matters!

 

The tourers standard – a German made Tubus welded tubular steel rack. When you’re far from home the last thing you want is all your worldly possessions unceremoniously dumped in the dirt. A steel rack has the edge over aluminium as it can be welded if you find yourself in a fix, and is less likely to break in the first place since steel is more supple and shock absorbing. This model is the Tubus Cargo Evo.

Tubus Cargo Evo steel rack

The Rohloff Speedhub is a marvel of German engineering, providing 14 gears contained in a weather sealed unit capable of many 1000’s of kilometres without need of any attention. The gear range is huge, and since it uses a single cog and chainring and a straight chainline, wear and tear and friction is kept to the absolute minimum. It also has the advantage of being able to be shifted while stationary – very handy on a loaded bike.

Rohloff Speedhub

In the wheel department we plumped for Surly’s new Extra Terrestrial 2.5″ tyres rolling on Race Face (ahem, Easton) ARC 27’s set up tubeless. A solid combo with plenty of volume for soft terrain, while fast rolling on the black top.

The front is laced to a Shutter Precision PD-8X dynamo hub. It has class leading efficiency and the option to run thru axle if so inclined in the future (i.e. with a suspension fork).

The dynamo setup is the powerhouse of this self sufficient rig, providing steady power for the Supernova E3 Pro headlight and E3 taillight. Once you have had a dynamo equipped bike, it’s hard to go back! The dynamo also feeds the Supernova ‘The Plug‘ USB charger. This clever gizmo sits atop the steerer with the cabling routed inside the fork and provides steady USB power for charging/powering phones, GPS units and cache batteries.

Build highlights

• Frame & Fork: Surly Ogre
• Handlebar: Jones Loop Bar
• Stem: Thomson Elite 90mm 10° rise
• Headset: Cane Creek 40
• Grips: Ergon GP-1
• Bar tape: Salsa Gel Cork
• Saddle: Brooks Cambium Carved
• Seatpost: Thomson Elite Setback
• Crankset: Shimano ZEE
• Chainring: Thorn for Rohloff reversible 36t
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano XT
• Chain: KMC X1
• Brakes: Shimano SLX
• Rims: Race Face Arc 27 32h
• Hub Front: SP PD-8X dynamo
• Hub Rear: Rohloff Speed Hub
• Spokes: DT Swiss Competition
• Nipples: DT Swiss Brass
• Tyres: Surly Extra Terrestrial 29 x 2.5″ Tubeless
• Rack Rear: Tubus Cargo Evo
• Light front: Supernova E3 Pro II
• Light Rear: Supernova E3 Rack Mount
• USB Charging: Supernova The Plug
• Bottle cages: Salsa Stainless Steel

If you are looking for something extra special for your next adventure bike, we can walk you through the options and tailor a bike specifically for your needs. Give us a call or email us to find out more and get that custom ride your are dreaming of.