The Troll’s geometry is that of a 26" wheeled mountain bike, but it’s unlike most mountain bikes. It’s got ample clearance for 28/38/50t mountain triple chainrings and room for big tires, up to 26 x 2.7". The gusseted front triangle, with its sloping toptube, provides ample standover clearance even when running high-volume rubber. Run a 100mm travel suspension fork if you like, or you might choose to leave the Troll’s fork in place.

Like the frame, it’s made of 4130 CroMoly steel, providing a stout yet resilient, point-and-shoot ride. There are a lot of notable features, like full line guides for derailleur and brake housing, fender eyelets, and disc and rim brake mounts.

Both the frame and fork are equipped with mounts for front and rear racks, and the design allows the use of racks, fenders and disc brakes all at the same time. It’s worth taking a look at the rear dropout area. Similar to our Pugsley and Karate Monkey dropouts, the Troll has horizontal, rear-load dropouts with a derailleur hanger. Additionally, however, there’s a dedicated area for anchoring a Rohloff hub OEM2 axle plate, and Surly included threaded holes in the thick plate material for installing Surly trailer-mounting nuts.

Use it as a mountain bike, as a cruiser, commuter or touring rig. Use it as your go-to utility tractor. Try out different tires or handlebars. Add some racks and gears or strip it down to a singlespeed drivetrain. Take it camping, ride it to the grocery store or session on your favorite single-track. Build it up, ride it for a while, then reinvent it.