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Surly bike range culled

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Mike Ayling:
Following Thorn's example Surly has culled its range.

ECR
Long Haul Trucker (Disc Trucker continues to be made)
Pack Rat
Pugsley
Troll
Big Fat Dummy

Mike

PH:
It's an odd comparison, not just the size of their ranges but also the volumes and intended market. 
That aside - How many models have Surly introduced in recent years?  Wednesday, Midnight Special, Bridge Club, Ice Cream Truck, Lowside... I don't think any of those have been around long.
And what of Thorn?  The Raven and Sherpa have gone, but the MKIII Nomad is different enough from the MKII to be considered a completely new model, just sharing the name (And heritage).  Time will tell if the one versatile model is a true replacement for three, I don't know enough about it to have an opinion.  Maybe they have other models in the pipeline, or did, the pandemic has put lots of people's plans on hold, if you can't meet demand for what you do, there's little point trying to do more! There was an intriguing 29'er style bike for sale a while back, so obviously they've been trying things out. And what about E-bikes? It's the largest growing sector, it does seem to favour the bigger players, but again prototypes show it's been looked at.
Who knows?  Those who do are unlikely to tell us ;)     

WorldTourer:
The culling of the Long Haul Trucker and the Troll is mainly down to 26" wheels being seen as antiquated. I don’t think QBP would have got rid of these framesets unless they were getting strong signals from other manufacturers that they would be gradually winding down their production of quality 26" tires and rims.

In the case of the Troll, I greatly benefitted from it being discontinued. One bike shop immediately discounted its remaining Troll frames. However, the Troll frame will also fit 650B wheel just fine (never officially endorsed by Surly, but true nonetheless) and I could help a friend build up her first touring bike cheaply.

PH:

--- Quote from: WorldTourer on September 13, 2021, 10:14:23 pm ---The culling of the Long Haul Trucker and the Troll is mainly down to 26" wheels being seen as antiquated.
--- End quote ---
Certainly that's part of it, but I'm not sure it's the main reason. I think largely there'd simply become too much overlap.  Then in the case of the LHT I think the main reason would be the popularity of disc brakes. If anything, I'm surprised the Crosscheck is still offered. Among Surly fans there's also an opinion voiced that the Disc Trucker has lost some of it's expedition credibility. Though IMO there's other bikes in their range which can fulfil that role better.   

Mike Ayling:

--- Quote from: WorldTourer on September 13, 2021, 10:14:23 pm ---The culling of the Long Haul Trucker and the Troll is mainly down to 26" wheels being seen as antiquated. I don’t think QBP would have got rid of these framesets unless they were getting strong signals from other manufacturers that they would be gradually winding down their production of quality 26" tires and rims.

In the case of the Troll, I greatly benefitted from it being discontinued. One bike shop immediately discounted its remaining Troll frames. However, the Troll frame will also fit 650B wheel just fine (never officially endorsed by Surly, but true nonetheless) and I could help a friend build up her first touring bike cheaply.

--- End quote ---
When I got my Trucker in 2007 the smaller frames came with 559 wheels and the larger ones with 622. They could have gone to 584 as Thorn has done but I think it was the lack of appetite for rim brakes that did it. You can still get a disc trucker.

Mike

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