So we’ve decided to expand our Surly line by bringing in the Ogre. It’s Surly’s 29er touring bike, and one of our most requested Surly bikes after the Long Haul Trucker and the Cross Check. It carries weight really well, like pretty much all the Surly bikes do. Surly’s great at making bikes that keep a neutral handling once you’ve got a bunch of cargo on ‘em. You could ride that thing no-handed, if you’ve got it loaded right.

Photo credit: Mark Lighthiser, USA

The Ogre’s got all the strength you’d ever need for Tahoe-style jumping-off-rocks mountain biking, & disc brakes to stop you in all kinds of weather. It fits a cartoonish number of bottles & racks. It’s not much heavier than a Disc LHT, but it can go more places with the fatter tires (29x2.5”!). And if you need a cargo bike, the Ogre can haul almost as much as a long tail cargo bike (like the Big Dummy) can, but with more versatility than you’d get with a long tail.

The Jones “Loop” handlebar is going to give a really comfy angle for a lot of folks. It’s got a lot of different hand positions to offer, but it’s still an upright bar. And the front arc section would be great for anchoring any kind of handlebar bag or randonneur bag, or slap a flat-top front rack and a cargo basket on there for around town.

Pretty neat, man!

Oh, and by the way, for shorter folks, the Troll is a great option that gets you more standover clearance. It’s basically the Ogre with 26” wheels, and the XS has one of the lowest standovers of any hardtail out there. Yay!

-James Hill
Long-time Missing Link Member