Cross-Check Cosmesis...

Tom—cold-steel craftsman over at the eponymous Palermo Bicycles—has been hard at work on the comparatively unglamorous job of replacing the dropouts on my vintage Cross-Check.

With a new addition to his family, plenty of new frame orders (the guy makes some beautiful bikes!), and my add-on request for rack spool braze-ons¹, time has been short at the one-man, Baltimore-based operation. But the frame repair is now nearing completion. Finish-filing and sanding are done, and a coat of paint is the only task left before the frame is ready for pick-up². Timing is right; I need a change from the bent-over riding position of the more refined Casseroll, which is a bit more delicate over the oft-times pothole plagued streets of DC on the daily commute. Not to mention, the impending cooler weather means plenty of overnighter opportunities hovering on the horizon, and the Cross-Check is ideal for that kind of thing.

Tom ran into a bit of a snag during the repair process. Seems the dropouts Surly uses are Campy knockoffs—inexpensive copies of the Italian bits that still get the job done, but on a budget. Tom wasn't able to locate replacement knockoffs, so he went one better and procured some genuine Campagnolo parts, at no extra charge. Nice.

If you're on the prowl for a custom road or cross bike, or if you have a fractured frame that needs a little lovin', check out Tom's work and be impressed.



Photo credits: Tom Palermo.

1. These are standard features on new model Cross-Checks. They dispense with the need for the pipe-hanger set-up when attaching a pannier rack to the seat-stays.

2. Pix of the finished repair coming soon.