Made of double butted 4130 CroMoly steel, with an old-fashioned lugged and brazed steel fork with real rake, this classic affair also features a horizontal top tube and down tube shifter braze-ons so you can use down tube shifters if you wish (a great solution if you decide to just run a rear derailleur and want matching brake hoods instead of a brake/shift lever on the left and a traditional brake lever on the right). Its feel is lively but its geometry is relaxed enough that it can be taken out on long rides; heck, you can take it touring if you wish, though Surly also sells a touring specific model (the Long Haul Trucker) if that's your emphasis.
Maybe best of all the Pacer's frame is made to accommodate large volume road tires. It comes stock with 28mm Continental Ultra Pro tires and can handle tires that are even wider than that - we haven't placed 32mm wide cyclocross tires on the Pacer yet but it sure looks like it could take 'em.
As for the components the Pacer now comes stock with many parts from the Tiagra component group and other decent spec's throughout. In other words it's spec'd with components that are good but not too costly. This brings the whole bike in for a respectable $1650.
Of course you can still purchase the frameset on its own and build it up as you wish, but if you're interested in the complete bike we've got one in stock right now.