Mrs CS is considering one as her do-it-all bike, mainly bikepacking, and light trail riding around Calderdale. Mainly because of its versatility, and also because we’re riding the Baja Divide presently, and might be able to get a frameset in US dollars for what we’d pay in pounds once we’re home. (We’ve a Crosscheck and a Pugsley presently, so are familiar with the Surly ethos and common sense approach, also that as entire bikes they’re not the best value for money.)
Real-person reviews of the current (?) version are a little sparse it seems, and wondering if the geometry is still comparable to other contenders such as the Kona Unit X etc. Experienced opinions welcome! TIA.
nice enough to ride but they're heavy.
I have a 2018 km, bought as a frameset.
can’t fault it, it manages everything.
iv used it with big apples, 29x3.0 surly knards, and narrower trail tyres.
I’ve used it with bikepacking bags, with front and rear racks, and unladen.
I don’t find it heavy, possibly because my other mtb is e powered.
The only negative i can think of is the rear rack, the only one that actually fits properly is the surly one and it cost £175.
I would buy another.
Definitely a bit portly but absolutely wonderful bikes. I did the badger divide on mine set up 27.5 x 3. Easy enough to set up 29 x 2.3 with a 29er fork for trail duties it's such a versatile little thing. I do find the sizing quite conservative though, I'm 5ft 5 and went for the small but have always felt I should be on a medium. The small is very small- great fun though.
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I have a Krampus (which I ride rigid) and a friend of mine has a KM upon which he has a per of Pikes/dropper etc.
I adore them both. I have never really cared about weight but I love how invincible I feel on both, big tyres, low pressures and inserts.
Damn pricey for what they are, but the quality is nice.
I have one, 2023 (?) salmon pink. It's heavy but you dont really notice it. I use it for all rides from home and plan to do some bikepacking with it when the yellow orb appears in the sky again.
Thanks for your thoughts so far. Definitely food for thought. Mrs CS is a nervous mountain biker and likes to feel well-planted. I guess the chunky tyres will help with that, but any thoughts on how confidence-inspiring the older school geometry is? Do those short chainstays make keeping the front end on the ground difficult on steep climbs? How sure-footed is the ride? She’d size up at top of small / bottom of medium. Thanks again.
It’s really well planted. You have sliding dropouts so have some leeway on cs length.
although it’s old school, it’s not like the KM of say 2010, it’s not out there but it’s not upright and uncomfortable. I’d say the geometry is pretty perfect for mile munching off-road.
im running 2.4 from and 2.3 rear (I think) as a lot of local routes are quite boggy for 9 months a year, plus I have a lot of road to link it.
Bought to replace my gravel bike as prefer the riding off road and don’t regret it at all.
Pic (hopefully) 
