From Lust To Love: Long term review of a 48cm Soma Double Cross

Cassandra, co-founder of Spoke Haven in Madison, WI, didn't need another bike, much less another steel bike. But she had an idea for a fun winter project, something she could build from the ground up. She ended up choosing one of our Gunmetal Blue Matte Double Cross's. Choosing from a mix of new and parts-bin stuff, she ended with quite a fun commuter and light tourer.
The second thing we noticed (the first had to be the tasteful use of purple anodized parts) were the Shimano bar end shifters with Paul Thumbie mounts. ("The Paul thumbies have made me really happy. I used to nail my knees on the bar end shifters mounted on the bar ends")

Here is an excerpt: (For the full review and complete build list please go to the Spokehaven blog.)

Soma has done a fantastic job on their overall bike line up and the Double Cross is no exception. I get tons of compliments on the bike and the color of the frame. The pearly blue is extremely classy looking and the powder coat has held up incredibly well. The logos and the frame badge are also gorgeous. Color me in love with the bike and the Double Cross frame. I should note that the newest color of the bike is more of a gunmetal-ish grey, but still very beautiful.

If anyone reading this is debating between the Surly Cross Check and the Soma Double Cross, I would highly recommend considering the Soma. It does has a taller head tube on it which means it’s not as aggressive, but for the price I think it’s just a slightly nicer frame. That’s not to say I’m not down with Surly. I love them as well and would buy a dirt tourer or one of their many cool fat bikes,  but I just love the Double Cross more if doing a straight comparison. One other major plus, for me, is the fact that Soma uses vertical drop outs and not horizontal drop outs. I know why Surly uses horizontal dropouts and it makes for a more versatile frame, but they can be a pain in the ass when changing a rear flat. I also used to have issues with the wheel pulling to one side no matter how tight the rear skewer was on the Cross Check. I haven’t dealt with that what so ever on the Double Cross.