Soma Double Cross Pulls a Double Duty
hehe, I said “duty”…
Anyhow, I wanted to share my day with all of you. I decided to ride my bike to work today. I have a big project that would have had me working at least 12 hours today. That meant I expected to get off work by the time the sun went down. I made sure I brought my lights just in case I found myself riding my bike home in the dark.
But things got delayed with the project and that lead to the opportunity for me to join Priscilla and a few of our friends at the Fullerton Loop for a night ride. I told Priscilla that I wanted to join her this evening and that I would meet her at the trail head. Lucky for me I rode the Soma Double Cross to and from work, and once I got to the trail, there was no need to swap bikes since the Double Cross is actually a cyclocross bike.
The Soma has been an incredible bike to ride. I ride this frame hard and I doesn’t give any indication that it wants to fail on me. I can actually fly on the trail with the Soma, and check this out. It’s all steel, so that translates to a more comfy ride both on and off road. I can keep up with guys on full suspension mountain bikes, and I can even out climb a few with the Soma.
The fact that the Double Cross can be used as a commuter bike then a cross bike is simply fantastic! I know some guys commute with their mountain bikes, but when you have big fat knobby tires, those can slow you down immensely. However, the 700c Kenda Small Block 8 offers fast rolling for commuting and the traction when I need it on the trail. It’s a perfect bike in my opinion!
I haven’t ridden my mtb or roadie as much since i built up my cylocross bike
Those narrow bars was not a problem for you on the trail? Mountain drop bars in your future?
I’m not a drop bar fan, so I doubt I’d go that route anytime soon. But there are times when I wished for wider bars, especially when I’m mashing it up the hill. However, the current set up I have works petty well. Besides I tried going with wider bars on the Soma, and it looked goofy.
You like the bike. Great. But I think you go a little too deeply into the well to come up with something good and “informed” to say, other than, “I like it.”
Can a frame REALLY want to fail? I mean, aren’t nearly ALL bike frames hale enough to perform the tasks they’re designed for? What mostly distinguishes frames of the same material is their weight. But like the old canard that audiophiles have “better” ears, I keep reading bike reviewers who somehow have a better “feel” for what works.
I have ridden nearly everything under all conditions, and never once did I feel that a new, non-defective frame ridden as intended wanted to crumple under duress. Sorry to pick nits, but sometimes a man gotta call BS.
Jamey,
This was merely a ride report, not a full review. WTF? Why do you have to be an jerk about it?
So you say you’ve ridden nearly everything under all conditions. Good, then you should understand that when you’re riding down a hill, and you see the skinny tange fork flexing a bit anytime it hits a bump, it could be unsettling for the first few rides. Once I became more confident on the bike, I started going faster and faster down the hill and stopped worrying about the fork and frame. I’m at the point where I can keep up with most mountain bikes going down. My first few rides left me thinking the frame set would fail because of the fact that I’m not riding this bike on a “cross” course. I’m riding this bike on a mountain bike trail.
Tell you what man, if you’re in the SoCal area, let’s meet up and you can try out this bike so you can form your own opinion. I guarantee you that you’ll come up with the same response as I have, “I like it.”
So, how is it riding in street shoes with those pedals? There’s basically no platform there, right? Just curious. I’m riding Crank Bros Mallets (big platform) on my Masi CX/commuter. Still need to try some trails with this bike.
Juan,
I’ll wear my regular street shoes if I’m just going to do small errands with the bike. But when I commute to work or ride the trails, I use my riding shoes which are SPD compatible.
Wow.. what is up with Jamey?? possibly from “the other side of the pond”??
Who else would say “hale”, “canard”, or “pick nits”.
WTF Jamey.. WTF indeed.
I appreciate Jamey’s good vocabulary, even if he is being a bit of a jerk.
I use a Soma Double cross with an ENO hub SS for my daily commute, 16mi & 1600′ climbing each way. I love the steel ride, fast steering, long chain stays for a stable ride and ability to take very wide tires. I was hit by a car pulling out of a parking space. She hit exactly on the crank brothers pedals. The force bent the BB enough to dent the chain stays with the carbon crank arms. Frame rebounded and has shown no signs of being out of aliginment, even at 38mph downhils. I love this bike!
@Pdx, seriously? That’s amazing! Did you have to replace the BB and cranks, though?