Semi Custom Build: Surly Karate Monkey

Most bikes coming out of Davy Sprocket are built for the customer’s exacting needs: each component hand-picked to meet specific goals, tastes and budget.

Once in a while however, products become available that we just have to get our hands-on – they might be super exotic, completely unusual, or just seem like they’d be really fun to ride. This bike falls squarely into that category.

When purple’s not enough to grab people’s attention, add shiny orange.

When the Surly Karate Monkey was updated in late 2016 as a 27.5+ bike, it was widely acclaimed as being a blast to ride while still being THE do-it-all bike that the “K-Monk” was renowned for – a bikepacking rig, a rigid singlespeed, a cross-country bike and trail shredder all rolled into one.

Modern geometry – long top tube, short chainstays and slack head angle – makes it a dream on the trails, while the fully rigid setup and single speed drivetrain keep the bike refreshingly uncomplicated… think back to the simple pleasure you had as as kid, exploring neighbourhoods and reserves on your BMX – it’s like that… but much more capable.

Hope Tech 3 Levers with aftermarket adjusters.

The Karate Monkey is available off-the-shelf as a single speed for $2100. It’s okay spec wise, but not what we’d call dreamy.

But this is a Davy Sprocket bike.

Using the Karate Monkey frameset (in limited edition Grape) as a basis, we built this bike up using parts best matched to the frame – things that were light and worked incredibly well, but would ultimately be as durable as the frame itself.

Thomson provides the stem, seatpost and carbon bar (the only carbon on the bike – but hey, we’re not masochists!). Brakes, hubs, crankset, bottom bracket and headset are an all Hope affair. Again, these components have been selected for their ability to just keep working without stressing your bike scales.

While a single speed cog may seem completely utilitarian, we’ve specced Endless Bikes’ Kick Ass cog and Fibonacci spacer set. Anyone who’s seen one of these cogs would argue that they’re possibly too beautiful to be used, but their incredibly tight tolerances, wide base and choice of 7075-T6 aluminium mean they’re more than up to the challenge. The Fibonacci spacers allow for fine tuning to get the perfect chainline and quietest possible drivetrain.

Endless Bikes’ Kickass Cog and Fibonacci spacer set.

As with all Davy Sprocket builds, it’s the small details that really make this unique. A 4 piston Hope E4 caliper is used upfront for more power, while the lighter X2 2 piston is used on the rear. It’s a small weight saving, but makes sense given how much harder the front brake has to work. Less performance-oriented details include alternating orange, black and purple spoke nipples, cog spacers and brake lever adjusters.

Alternating purple, black and orange alloy nipples.

And yes, you can buy it. This one-off bike is available for $3800. This comes with the full manufacturers’ warranty and the proprietary Hope bottom bracket tools. And reflectors too. Because we have to (though they will be “removed” at time of sale).

But wait… we did say semi custom. You may not be that keen on fully rigid. You may want gears. You may want a dropper post. As such, the following upgrades are available –

Rock Shox Pike RCT3 Solo Air 140mm +$1200
SRAM GX Eagle 12 speed drivetrain +$500
Rock Shox Reverb Stealth w/1x remote +$500

Of course we’re happy to make any further upgrades to suit your tastes.

Interested? Use the contact form below to get in touch.