Educate me on Surly ride quality

So, Surly released the Midnight Special:

https://surlybikes.com/bikes/midnight_special

https://surlybikes.com/blog/road_plus_brought_to_you_by_the_midnight_special

https://www.bikerumor.com/2018/02/17/surly-midnight-special-rides-in-on-road-plus-and-modern-standards/

Now, they list it as "pavement", but with those tires I see no reason it won't handle gravel quite well also.

I am after a bike that will likely see most of it's miles on pavement, but many of my rides will get me to some sweet singletrack or gravel roads, and I want to be able to take them more comfortably. 

So, I don't know much about the ride quality Surly frames offer. I love steel, but I know you can overdo it and make steel too stiff, or too flexy, although I have never experience too much flex myself. 

My issue, is this could be too stiff, and I know it is unlikely anyone has ridden one, but what is the general consensus on how Surly's ride? They have been doing this long enough that I would imagine they have goals for how their bikes feel. 

And I know this one has geometry closer to a road bike, and that is exactly what I want. I have never ridden a bike that was too twitchy, but I have ridden ones that had unnecessary stability, so I am not overly concerned on that end. 

I would be buying a frame and building it up with parts I already have, so the complete bike spec doesn't matter in this case.

Any thoughts? 

I had a Straggler, and while I enjoyed the bike, it didn’t have that nice, springy feel that I’ve had on some other steel bikes. That’s just my experience, who knows how this new bike will compare,

I've had a Moonlander and a big dummy and have some Pugsley experience. They've all felt dead to me. I won't buy another Surly personally. \n \nI have heard that they're more tuned to heavier riders. When I had the Moonlander I was around 175.

Well, that is unfortunate to read, but I am glad I asked! Thanks guys. If anyone else has opinions, I would love to read them.

Most Surlys are overbuilt by design which is why many people describe them as 'dead' feeling.

However since this bike is described as a descendant of the Pacer it's speculated that it might be less overbuilt than the more offroad-focused frames. So it could be more like other manufacturer's steel frames. We won't know until either Surly blogs about it, or someone runs one into their garage door and cuts it open. If you're interested in its other features, it might be worth a test ride to see how it feels.

I was up in the mts tonight and a guy was riding a Surly on the trails I wasn't he bike had Monkey something on it.


karate monkey

Zman