SURLY Midnight Special 700c – All-Road Bike

Where the Midnight Special fits

The Surly Midnight Special 700c Stainless Teal is a steel all-road bike with a distinctly road-oriented character. Its natural habitat is tarmac, including rough and broken surfaces, yet it can continue onto unpaved backroads and light gravel without requiring a different bike.

It is not designed to maximise off-road capability. Instead, it combines a road-like riding position and handling with considerably more tyre clearance than many conventional road bikes. It suits riders who mix everyday rides, hilly routes, long distances and occasional detours onto imperfect surfaces.

Why choose the Stainless Teal build

The Stainless Teal is not simply a lower-spec Premium Build: it is a coherent build in its own right. Its Surly 4130 Chromoly steel frame and fork retain an all-steel construction, while the 700c wheels and 35 mm Teravail Rampart tyres give it a clear bias towards roads and firm surfaces.

The Shimano Tiagra R4000 2×11 drivetrain combines 50/34 chainrings with an 11–36 cassette, providing useful gearing for rolling and hilly roads. Shimano Tiagra hydraulic disc brakes complete a practical, road-oriented specification.

The steel fork is a deliberate design choice, preserving the Midnight Special’s traditional construction and threaded accessory mounts. Steel should not, however, be taken as an automatic guarantee of greater comfort than carbon: tyres, inflation pressure, geometry and load all have a substantial effect on ride feel.

The Midnight Special and the all-road philosophy

The Midnight Special belongs to Surly’s tradition of bikes that resist narrow categories. The Road Plus approach combines road-bike handling with larger-volume tyres that make imperfect surfaces easier to tackle.

Before endurance, all-road and gravel bikes became such clearly differentiated categories, the Midnight Special already brought together drop handlebars, disc brakes, thru-axles and generous tyre clearance. It remains distinctive because it does not try to behave like a mountain bike: it extends the range of roads a road bike can comfortably explore.

Road Plus: wheel sizes and tyre clearance

This build comes with 700c wheels and Teravail Rampart 700×35 mm Durable, Tubeless Ready tyres . It is a suitable configuration for tarmac, backroads and easy gravel. The casing and tread pattern do not, however, turn it into a bike for deep mud or rocky trails.

Surly specifies maximum clearance at both frame and fork of 700c×42 mm or 27.5×2.35 inches without mudguards . With mudguards, the stated limits are 700c×38 mm or 650b×50 mm . Nominal tyre sizes are no substitute for checking actual clearance, which can vary with rim, tyre and manufacturing tolerances.

The platform therefore supports two broad approaches: 700c for a more road-focused setup, or 650b/27.5-inch wheels for higher-volume tyres. The Stainless Teal complete build adopts the former.

Frame, fork and technical standards

The frame uses Surly 4130 Chromoly steel , Natch tubing, a double-butted main triangle, TIG welding and an E.D. coating. The rigid fork is also made from 4130 Chromoly, with brazed-on fittings and threaded upper, lower and mid-blade rack mounts.

Its standards are well suited to a versatile road bike: 12×100 mm front and 12×142 mm rear thru-axles, Flat Mount disc brakes with rotors up to 160 mm, a 68 mm BSA threaded bottom bracket shell, a 44 mm head tube and a 27.2 mm seatpost.

The fork has a 400 mm axle-to-crown length. Offset varies by frame size: 50 mm on sizes 40–54 and 40 mm on sizes 56–64. This matters when comparing geometry or considering a replacement fork. The bike is not suspension-fork compatible.

There are three standard bottle-cage mounting positions, front and rear mudguard mounts and rack fittings. These make the bike suitable for everyday use and light touring, provided accessories and loads are selected appropriately.

Drivetrain and brakes

Surly specifies a Shimano Tiagra R4000 2×11 drivetrain , with R4000 front and rear derailleurs, R4020 shift/brake levers, 50/34 chainrings and an 11-speed Shimano CUES RS400 11–36 cassette. The chain is a Shimano LG500.

The double chainring setup makes sense for predominantly road riding, allowing gradual changes in gearing while retaining a 50-tooth large chainring. The lowest 34/36 ratio is useful on many climbs, although riders planning heavily loaded tours or exceptionally steep gradients should assess their gearing needs beforehand.

Hydraulic braking is provided by Shimano Tiagra RS405 calipers and 160 mm Shimano RT26 rotors front and rear. The 32-hole Alex Adventurer 2 700c rims are paired with Novatec thru-axle hubs and DT Swiss Champion 14G spokes.

Ride characteristics on road and mixed surfaces

The Midnight Special does not use identical geometry across every size: frame angles, reach, stack, fork offset and cockpit components all vary. The 425 mm chainstays remain constant. The result is a platform that retains a road-oriented character while accommodating wider tyres.

With 35 mm Rampart tyres, its expected handling is closer to a long-distance all-road bike than a gravel bike designed for demanding trails. On broken tarmac, tyre volume allows riders to fine-tune pressure to balance comfort, control and rolling performance.

The stated weight is approximately 11.76 kg in size 56. This is not a bike built to win weight comparisons: the reasons to choose a Midnight Special are its platform, materials, adaptability and riding character, rather than weight alone.

Compared with modern gravel bikes and the Premium Build

This comparison is not an absolute ranking. The Premium Build invests in a different set of components, while the Stainless Teal prioritises an all-steel configuration with a double-chainring road drivetrain. An off-road gravel bike may be more suitable for technical routes, but not necessarily more enjoyable for riders who spend most of their time on tarmac.

When it makes sense – and when it does not

Sizing guide: eight frame sizes

Surly offers eight frame sizes. The suggested rider-height ranges are approximate and overlap: inseam, body proportions, flexibility and preferred riding position may all affect the choice between adjacent sizes.

Do not choose a size solely by matching the number on another bike. Compare at least stack, reach, standover height and effective top tube length.

Bikejamming sizing and product advice

Frequently asked questions

Full technical specifications

Official Surly Midnight Special 700c Stainless Teal build specification. Compatibility information refers to the frame and fork and does not mean that every alternative configuration is fitted as standard.

Frame and fork

Components

Drivetrain and brakes

Wheels, tyres and weight

Official geometry

Measurements are in millimetres unless otherwise stated; angles are in degrees and rider height is in centimetres.

Frame standards and compatibility

Manufacturer’s warranty

Surly provides a limited three-year commercial warranty from the date of purchase against defects in materials and workmanship, for the original purchaser and subject to the manufacturer’s exclusions. Among other things, it does not cover normal wear, improper assembly or maintenance, incompatible modifications, misuse, accidents or cosmetic damage. Consumers’ statutory warranty rights remain unaffected.

Component specifications may be changed by the manufacturer without prior notice.