Bikes Of 2025: Surly Big Dummy

  It's another end-of-year period on the blog. You know what that means? Yep! Another round of my bikes I used in 2025. 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.

Cycling to recycle

The Surly Big Dummy has been around for a while here at Guitar Ted Productions and while you blog readers do not see much of the bike, I do use it quite often. 

This bike goes on nearly weekly trips to the recycling station. I get a lot of odd looks when I haul all my cardboard, plastic, and cans over the river and to the nearest station to me. I don't mind the stares. 

But I also use this bicycle occasionally as the delivery bike for the Collective. However; this year I only did this trip once as we cut way back on ordering stuff. So, there wasn't a lot of hauling action for this bike from the Collective. 

I did get the chance to haul tools and a repair stand to a nearby bike check at the Public Library. That was interesting! I always find it to be fun to figure out how to carry different things on te Big Dummy. 

The saddest cargo I carried this year, or in any year, was the body of our cat which died suddenly in June. Felix the Cat got a last ride in a long, black "bicycle hearse" with wide white walls. Fitting for a black cat, I'd say. That was one tough ride on the big Dummy. I don't care to ever repeat it. 

Another recycling run

The repair stand and tool box loaded on the Big Dummy.

The interesting thing about the big Dummy is in all the years I've had it, I've never replaced or done any deep maintenance on anything on the bike. I did get a flat tire on the front this year. The first flat ever for the bike. Otherwise, it runs fine, but there are hints telling me things need looked into. 

So, in 2026 I plan on doing deep maintenance on this bicycle to get it up to snuff. It won't be fun to take off the bags and work around the Big Dummy's clumsiness in a repair stand, but it must be done. Otherwise this bike is doing great.