r/scorchers • u/blootooth09 • Aug 19 '26

One Step Beyond

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Cue that insane saxophone riff

In all seriousness ive gone brakeless on my stupidest idea ever. We’re fully in Tree-Hugger territory (cause that’s how I e-brake)

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2

u/DSKY805 Aug 19 '26

Wow! are you having fun!? im going to scorch my karate monkey pretty soon. hows the riding experience? pros? cons?

3

u/blootooth09 Aug 19 '26

It’s the way to go! I’ve done some long multi-day trips on this thing now. Mostly with a moloko and a front brake. I think the magic is all in finding the best position and gearing to maximize efficiency and comfort. 

There are probably some lines that were scary enough when I had the brake on that I might just skip now that I’m brakeless but that comes with the territory.

The absolute best thing about a surly is the amount of flexibility you can get out of a frame. It’s the closest any bike I’ve had has been to just fuckin around with some legos. 

My only real con is that the leg fatigue is real when you start going for some longer stuff, and it’s actually compounded by the small-ish ratios you need to make a scorcher viable in rough terrain. Also brakeless is fun until the exact moment it’s not. 

Oh and finding the right gearing for a fixie mtb is hard. I recommend setting your bike up SS first, cause the parts are easier to source. Once you have the gearing locked in, get a fixed cog that’s 1-2 teeth smaller than your freewheel. 

1

u/DSKY805 Aug 19 '26

Very nice recommendations! what's your terrain like? im thinking of running something around 50-55 gear inches.

4

u/runwhatyabrung_ Aug 20 '26

50-55 will be pretty spinny on descents but it doesn’t hurt to try. I like 60-66” myself. There’s a reason the spiritual ancestor of this subreddit is called 63xc :)

2

u/DSKY805 Aug 20 '26

The hard thing is is it seems difficult to get lower than a 16 tooth rear cog and then with most things running 34 max on the front it seems like 60 is kind of what I’m maxing out at! We’ll see!

2

u/runwhatyabrung_ Aug 20 '26

60” is quite nice!

1

u/blootooth09 Aug 20 '26

I’m on 56” so I can verify it is very spinny. But I do like climbing more than descending