Hello, it’s Clint from Yoyogi park store.

The other day we went to Chiba prefecture for a ride. It was really soothing and refreshing to get some good air since we always in the bike pit with a lot of chemicals.

I always forget taking pictures during ride because it’s too fun and this time I only took these 2 pictures above. We do look fun…don’t we??

Ok, let’s get to the topic, SURLY’s gravel road bike Midnight Special. Yoyogi park store has built one for a demo bike so let me write about how it is today. This particular one made me realize the new ground of the frame.*SURLY* midnight special (50) *SURLY* midnight special (50)

As I mentioned before, Midnight Special is SURLY’s gravel bike. They have Straggler which is good at gravel as well but Midnight Special is more specific for off-roads.

[ My previous impression of Midnight Special ]

■Gravel → very good!

■Commute → good

It’s rather abstract but compared to Straggler which preforms perfect on daily commuting, Midnight Special suits better for rocky mountain roads with a drop handle bars, in my opinion. But this commuter style demo bike totally changed my impression.*SURLY* midnight special (50)*SURLY* midnight special (50) I had never imagined that I built a Midnight with a sweep-back handle bars. (I like this angle ↑↑)*SURLY* midnight special (54)
*SURLY* midnight special (46)*SURLY* midnight special (50) Most of the Midnights are built with drop bars on our bike catalog so it was really new for me to see it with this kind of handle.*SURLY* midnight special (50) These handle bars are *RIVENDELL* tosco bar. I have to admit that it was wrong to think that Tosco or Losco are not suitable for Midnight Special. Its top tube length is 540mm for 50size so if the stem is long enough you can install a promenade handles like this comfortably. I was planning to install a rack and decided to choose a big one to match the bike better, so the rack should be *NITTO* Rivendell 52f basket rack. If you have stays and rods like when installing the M-1 rack, you can also attach the 52f rack like this.*SURLY* midnight special (50)

*SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50) The accent of the bike is the combination of the promenade handle and MTB-like thick tyres.

FRONT：*ULTRADYNAMICO* mars tire

REAR：*ULTRADYNAMICO* cava tire

27.5 × 2.3″ for both. It had to be DYNAMICO because I was excited that I finally can use the “blocky front and slicky rear” combination for this size.*SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50)*SURLY* midnight special (50) *OURY* mountain V2 grip for the grips. Although OURY grip has a variety of color selection, this I chose the sand tan V2 grips for the same color frame. I like the black and sand tan by the way. This V2 grip looks sharper than the original one but the grip is still soft to grab, I love it.*SURLY* midnight special (50)

*SURLY* midnight special (50)The olive color *VELOCITY* standalone 001 rim for an accent. I personally like to use colored rims and olive for this time. The standalone rim is an updated version of their cliffhanger. The standalone rim has eyelets for the nipple holes to give higher intensity. *SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50) Installed the crank guard to prevent dirty denim. Shimano 11s GRX for the component to boost the potential of Midnight Special. *SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50)
*SURLY* midnight special (50) Not all the gravel bikes can make sense as a commuter but Midnight Special will be a dark horse.

This bike is a demo bike of Yoyogi park store so if you are planning to come to Tokyo, please visit us to see it. We are looking forward to see you here!

Clint