Bikes Of 2023: Surly Big Dummy

 It's another December here on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2023. This round-up will not include some of the bikes I did not use this year much, or at all. I focus only on the bikes that played a big role in my riding during this year.  

As always, any changes or future plans for any bike I feature will also be detailed. I hope that you enjoy this year's round-up.

This bike has been a real workhorse for the last couple of years.

Several years ago I had obtained an Xtra-Cycle attachment to convert my Schwinn Sierra into a cargo bike. That turned me on to cargo bike versatility and eventually that fueled the desire to get a "real" cargo bike. Then I came across a local rider at the time, Mike, who had a Surly Big Dummy, and he asked if I'd like to purchase it from him. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

The Big Dummy has found a home in my everyday cycling routine whenever I have anything pretty big to transport by bicycle. That role expanded in 2022 when I started working at the Cedar Valley Bicycle collective. Our orders from our supplier come to a local UPS Store, and I have to pick them up there. Why not do that with a bicycle? I mean, I have the perfect one for the job, right?

Well, it was made even more perfect with the addition of a Surly kickstand this past Summer. While these are expensive kickstands, they are worth every penny, as this addition makes loading and unloading the Big Dummy far easier to do. Now I can easily carry big, heavy boxes of supplies from the UPS Store to the CVBC shop and not have to have some circus act moves at the ready for the loading and unloading process.

Besides the kickstand the only future changes I can foresee here are maintenance related and at some pint I'll have to get tires, but I hope that doesn't happen for a long time. I like my XR1 whitewalls!  I could see doing a wheel set for Winter with dedicated  tires for Winter, like a studded set up. We will see....