Specialized Tricross Elite disc.

[Globalti]

Went and bought it yesterday - must be the first time in over 15 years I've bought a new bike from a dealer rather than build up from parts. I was still hesitating but when I asked if there were any sweeteners the addition of a set of £22 mudguards plus an extra £78 off clinched it for me.

It's raining today so I haven't done more than whizz up and down the road a few times. First impressions are that it's pretty comfortable, the position is good and would be excellent for commuting or touring. The disc brakes will need some bedding in. The handling is slower than my Roubaix and the acceleration much more sluggish. The bike looks very cool and uncluttered with all the cables buried in the tubes, some neat little ports for feeding the cables through and an interesting arrangement at the BB where the cables emerge from the bottom of the downtube, which is actually open! You can look right up inside the tube!

Once I've sorted some pedals, spare tubes, fitted the mudgaurds and got it generally set up I will take it out for a mixed road/off road trip and report back. This is intended to be a winter trainer and all-terrain ride with possibly some short tours with panniers. I am especially looking forward to seeing how it copes with snow, with more knobbly tyres fitted as the ground pressure will be higher than with the fat tyres on my MTB.

Meanwhile, here it is:

 

[potsy]

Looks great and will eagerly await your thoughts as you clock the miles up.
Should be ideal for your intended use.

Interested in how the guards fit and how the brakes feel once bedded in, enjoy

 

[PK99]

Went and bought it yesterday - must be the first time in over 15 years I've bought a new bike from a dealer rather than build up from parts. I was still hesitating but when I asked if there were any sweeteners the addition of a set of £22 mudguards plus an extra £78 off clinched it for me.

The gold nuts & bolts, seat clamp head set cap and skewers have a serious Bling factor - i'm gettign ready for some serious p*55 taking when i take mine out on a club run

 

[Soltydog]

That looks like the smartest tricross yet. Very sweet

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Potsy you will might as well save some money and get one without all the gold bits & bobs coz you will never see them for all the S**t on the bike

 

[GrahamG]

That looks like the smartest tricross yet. Very sweet

+1


That is seriously nice..

 

[scouserinlondon]

Do you think it'll accelerate like road bike with the addition of thinner tyres? The reason I ask is that due to breaking my mech hanger on the roadie I've been back on my hybrid this week. It's a Trek Valencia so disc braked with 32mm tyres. And I'm loving having decent stopping power back, but not as much as I'm hating sluggish acceleration and a heavier bike. I wonder whether a new tricross but with thinner tyres could be the answer to my prayers.

What does it weigh roughly?

 

[Globalti]

Haven't weighed it yet but it feels roughly the same as my titanium/rigid carbon fork MTB, which is 22 lbs. Evans website gives the Tricross Sport as 23.5 lbs so this may be about 24 lbs with those disc brakes.

I had a fast blast around the streets last night and got to feel the ride a bit more. On tarmac it really corners securely, like on rails. The acceleration isn't that bad, I think the sluggish feeling is down to the weight rather than the tyres - bear in mind that I'm used to a carbon frame and Ksyrium wheels. My biggest impression from last night is the stiffness of the rear triangle and the drivetrain; it really feels direct with no appreciable flex in the BB area. The tyres compensate for any frame stiffness though and it feels as if it ought to be great on the worn out roads around here, I won't grit my teeth when I'm blasting over knackered top-dressing or cattle grids.

 

[baldycyclist]

nice colour!

 

[generalblue]

Went and bought it yesterday - must be the first time in over 15 years I've bought a new bike from a dealer rather than build up from parts. I was still hesitating but when I asked if there were any sweeteners the addition of a set of £22 mudguards plus an extra £78 off clinched it for me.

It's raining today so I haven't done more than whizz up and down the road a few times. First impressions are that it's pretty comfortable, the position is good and would be excellent for commuting or touring. The disc brakes will need some bedding in. The handling is slower than my Roubaix and the acceleration much more sluggish. The bike looks very cool and uncluttered with all the cables buried in the tubes, some neat little ports for feeding the cables through and an interesting arrangement at the BB where the cables emerge from the bottom of the downtube, which is actually open! You can look right up inside the tube!

Once I've sorted some pedals, spare tubes, fitted the mudgaurds and got it generally set up I will take it out for a mixed road/off road trip and report back. This is intended to be a winter trainer and all-terrain ride with possibly some short tours with panniers. I am especially looking forward to seeing how it copes with snow, with more knobbly tyres fitted as the ground pressure will be higher than with the fat tyres on my MTB.

Meanwhile, here it is:

 

[generalblue]

Very interested in your experience with the Tricross Elite Disc. Sounds just what I'm looking for.
Where did you buy ? What panniers / rack would you recommend ?
First long ride is likely to be 3 days doing Morecambe to Bridlington (all road ) . Do you think this would be suitable ?
What might be best tyres ? ( fold up ??? )
I would appreciate some advice .

 

[MattHB]

I'm quite up for one of these or the boardman alternative.

 

[PK99]

It's raining today so I haven't done more than whizz up and down the road a few times. First impressions are that it's pretty comfortable, the position is good and would be excellent for commuting or touring. The disc brakes will need some bedding in.

i love mine, just about to get one for my wife too!

you want one of these:


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=1345 - the gold is not quite the same as the bling trim but pretty close!

 

[Globalti]

Well I've been riding it since that first post in October although since the dry weather started I'm back on the carbon roadie. With mudguards fitted it made a very good winter bike, comfortable and steady over long distances. I came out of the winter feeling fitter than last year and it also makes a good turbo trainer bike thanks to the stiff rear triangle.

My longest ride was home to Windermere, about 60 miles, and by the end I felt a lot less tired all over than I did when I took the roadie, though my average speed was about 1 mph slower than on the roadie. The gear ratios are perfect, much better than a compact double. I haven't fitted a rack on it yet but don't anticipate any problem with that. Here's a pic of it with the mudguards fitted; you might be able to see that I had to bend the LH stays a little to get them past the brake calipers:

I also removed the panic brake levers as I never used them and I swapped the BB5s for BB7s at almost no extra cost thanks to Ebay. The disc brakes are good but the front one squeals loudly when wet until it dries out. However they are much more powerful than rim brakes if you are braking from the hoods; really good brakes.

The standard tyres are 32 mm Borough CX Armadillo Elites, which are really tough. I also bought a cheap set of Schwalbe Land Cruisers, which are fine in mucky conditions though dropped down to 40 lbs for off-roading they do bottom out quite alarmingly on the rims on big bumps. I have taken the CX on a couple of mountain bike club rides and it absolutely blasts up any climb that has the MTBs slogging in granny ring, thanks to the stiff frame and lighter weight. It is excellent in soft conditions thanks to the narrow tyres cutting down to find grip and the long wheelbase and stiff rear triangle, which makes it very stable and powerful slogging through mud. However down hill on anything rougher than an easy path it is hopeless; the mountain bikes have a huge advantage.

My only real grouse is the weight of the bike so I am waiting for Shimano to launch their hydraulic road brakes, when I will probably sell the tricross and build myself a hydraulic-braked winter bike/crosser based on a Kinesis Crosslight Pro6, here: http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/products/crosslight/prosix

I bought it from Harry Hall Cycles in Manchester by the way. They were very flexible with the prices as I explained in my earlier post.

I think it would make a really excellent tourer, rugged, reliable, great gear ratios and very comfortable.

 

[potsy]

Nice update Globalti, glad you're still enjoying the bike.
I got mine 6 weeks after you and have clocked up 2200 miles already, most of which have been commuting over winter in all conditions.

If you go for a rack then a disc specific Topeak one fits very easily, took me 10 minutes and I'd never fitted one before, does add more weight to an already heavyish bike though.

I have kept the sissy levers and the BB5's, which also squeal in the wet but stop very well, just put new pads in as the OE's were nearly worn out, but I do more off-road commuting so probably understandable.

Had problems with my tyres after 1000 miles, which were replaced/refunded by the lbs, have since fitted Schwalbe Marathon Supremes in 35mm, I really like them although it does mean I can only do dry off-roading as they are a slick tyre.