Surly Skid Loader First Impressions
Set up for me - and ready for winter.
You had to know if Surly was coming to the cargo bike party, they’d likely be arriving on something that breaks the mold of what a cargo bike can be - and of course, they did exactly that.
To date, most of the bikes available on the market that would self-describe as a “cargo bike” are biased-by-design towards family hauling duties. Bikes designed for use in cities and towns - on pavement - that can carry the kids to school, make the weekly grocery run great again, or handle normal day-to-day errands. Basically, a bicycle version of a minivan with all the convenience features one would want to make these chores easy: Think fenders, chainguards, locks, lights, seatbelts/benches, etc. Most of the cargo bikes on the market are also designed to carry 2+ children too so they necessarily need to be bigger and heavier overall. Surly has a few cargo bikes currently in their range that were getting close to this family-standard while retaining Surly’s well known DNA for off-pavement riding.
We’ve been working in the cargo bike space for more than a dozen years now and one thing we have quietly musing to ourselves over the last few was something along the lines of - where is the smaller family? / single person? / no kids? / dirt curious? / more agile? offering? Why is nobody making this type of bike? Funny enough, I had a convo with our Surly rep about a year before Surly announced the Skid Loader. I was asking/begging him to tell Surly to make my personal dream electric bike that had the following features:
27.5 x 3” tires
Dual battery compatible
Off-pavement focused
Basically, a shorter wheelbase version of the Big Easy
Imagine my surprise about a year later when we found out the Skid Loader was coming :)
Is this the electric bike you’ve been waiting for?
Skid Loader enters the electric bike market as a very unique animal. It’s a capable rigid ATB that can shred dirt trails. It’s an all-surfaces, all season daily commuter.
And it is still a capable family hauler. The rear rack has been designed with some very unique AND useful features for adventurous families. As you’ll see in the images below, the rear rack has attachments for up to 6! waterbottles. It also has a window that accepts a Thule Yepp Maxi EasyFit kid seat. Perhaps the coolest feature of the rear rack is the special ability to attach Burley’s best-in-class trailercycle. Additionally, one could also mount a Thule Yepp Mini up front if required. So, still 2+ kid capable at the end of the day. Why 2+ capable? Because a kid trailer can also be attached if needed. Skid Loader would be an excellent #familypacking machine.
Perhaps you’re favorite past time is fishing or hunting? With Skid Loader you can more easily access areas that are further upstream or deeper into the backcountry. With the bike being more or less the same length as a regular bike, you can put it on an (ebike rated) car rack, drive to the end of the road, unload, and off you go. The rear rack is sturdy enough to carry your fishing gear, bows, and rifles. There is also a hidden talent Skid Loader has: Seamless integration with Surly’s Bill/Ted trailer system. Simply replace the stock axle with their Excellent Adventure axle and the trailer can pop on and off quickly. The trailer X bike combo make it a breeze to bring your harvest back to the trailhead.
Or maybe ebike touring is on your radar? Setting up Skid Loader with a second 500wh battery means your usable range starts approaching 200kms/charge (on pavement). If e-bikepacking is your game, I can tell you from experience 3 things:
it's challenging and fun
you need to plan your routes to recharge at the end of every day
you can cover more ground - and elevation - than on a regular bikepacking bike.
There is a lot to recommend with Skid Loader. It is such a fun bike to ride and really is only limited by your imagination.
