Product Preview – SURLY – Ice Cream Truck Ops

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We’re going on a bender with Surly’s Ice Cream Truck Ops, or Iceratops for short.

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Fat-Bike.com International HQ Photo Shoot

What I’ve always liked about a Surly is that they are simple, solid and reasonably priced. As many of you are aware, they’re now unbelievably priced at a discounted MSRP of only 12 hundred bones. One might argue that Surly isn’t quite as simple as they used to be either. In the past couple years they’ve introduced new geometry, thru axles, symmetrical rear ends and high TPI tires. I can still count on Surly to stick with the tried and true mechanical disc brakes, steel frames, questionable color options and the ability to build a bike with gears or SS. God Bless America!  

Here’s what we’re working with:

We’re sticking to a 4130 Cro-Moly steel frame. My Fave.  

190mm symmetrical ass end. Not my fave, but I’ll give it a whirl.

Fork is a straight blade 150x15mm thru-axle rigid fork.

Fork 2

Chips and no salsa.  Complete bikes come with the Shimano direct mount 197mm thru-axle chips and framesets come with that plus 190mm geared chips and a SS chip set up.

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Mr. Whirly Cranks for spinning a 36/22 set up.

SLX Derailleurs front and back with Microshift 10 spd thumb shifters.

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Rolling Darryl 82mm rims and 3.8” 120tpi Nates.  You can still fit the 100mm rims and the 5 inch Bud and Lou – if you’re into that sort of thing.

Trade in the Jack Frost Blue frame and foil colored rims for black on black…Jack! 

ICT Ops full drive side
A while back I had, what I assumed was, a lengthy and intelligent discussion with Tree Beard and Phil Raitt about what’s the big deal with the original Ice Cream Truck and how could there possibly be a big enough wow facgtor that I would trade in my Pugsley or my Moonlander for one of these new mashable machines. However, this was at SS Worlds, after the ride, at the bar, after the tattoos, and it was probably just some random unincorporated slurred mumblings drowned in PBR and Red Hook. I don’t remember the outcome of said “intelligent” “discussion”, but I know I wasn’t sold on the whole Iceratops idea. Until I rode one. More to come.

Editor’s Note :  Spinner will be back with his full review of the ‘Iceratops’, in about a month. Till then…Felices Caminos Amigos! 

For further information about the full range of Surly’s products visit – www.surlybikes.com

About Spinner 30 Articles
Milk Fed Minnesota Farm Boy, who is now becoming a Beer & Brat loving Wisconsin Bike Boy. I ride bikes and put out fires.