NEWS: New UK Spec Surly & All-City bikes

Back in February we reported on the release of two exciting bikes, the Surly Midnight Special and the All City Gorilla Monsoon. We went on to take the Surly for a 200km winter test where it performed brilliantly. With the Cycle Show just around the corner, news reached us that Ison Distribution (Surly & All-City’s UK distributors) had plans to offer the bikes with new UK-centric specifications. Did we want to come over and take a look? See you in five…..

We spoke to Duncan at Ison and asked him to give us the low down:

Duncan and his pride and joy: Surly Karate Monkey SS

Duncan AKA. @dunkcyclist on Instagram.

What was the rationale behind offering the alternative specifications for the UK market?

“Over the years, we worked out that we can sometimes provide better value for money on complete bikes, by building them ourselves. Indeed, on some models, we could even reduce the retail price by using house brand components. In some cases, we could add a few nice touches too.

We originally imported the Midnight Special in the US spec, but after looking at sales of the Straggler UK/ Ison build we figured we’d try a UK build. The mix of Apex 1 Hydro with Rival 1 worked out well and brought the RRP in slightly under that of the US version.

The Gorilla Monsoon, that’s a different story. We bring in’ frame only’ with All-City. This is a test spec for the show to gauge whether it’s worth offering a UK build.

The frames were so popular I had to scrabble around to get this one for the show…”

The UK Spec Midnight Special

What are the respective RRPs and Specs?

“The Midnight Special UK rrp is £2100. It is spec’d with a mix of SRAM Apex & Rival Hydro 1, Halo Wheels and Genetic finishing kit. The Monsoon doesn’t have a fixed rrp yet, but I expect it to be around £2200.

Build wise it’s a bit of a Frankenbike. It has a Rival 1 groupset with TRP brakes and a GX crank. Wheels are from Halo. We have used some monster Schwalbe G-One All-round tyres in 2.25″, and again, topped off with Genetic finishing kit.”

Perfect for riding off into the sunset

When will they be available to buy?

“The Midnight Specials are ready to go and are listed on our site. The Gorilla Monsoon just needs a few details sorting. Readers should come along to the Cycle Show to find out the latest!”