Specialized Tricross sport

[Comatosed]

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice on my next bike purchase.

At the moment I've got a GT Outpost mountain bike which I've used to cycle around Orkney and Shetland with all my camping gear etc in two large rear panniers. With a few adjustments it suited the job quite well, but I've found myself cycling around 50 miles a day around Cheshire at the weekends.

I went into the Specialized shop the other day in Chester and the Tricross Sport caught my eye. It seems ideal for me as it should be able to cope with some of the rougher roads around Cheshire and I'll be able to hop on the Trans Pennine trail for a few miles if I like.

I've read several reviews and I understand the issues with the breaks and also the juddering of the front forks on larger frames. I'll probably only need a 52 or 54 though, so I should be ok in that respect.

My questions are:

A. Do you think this bike would fit the job?
B. How will it cope with panniers, and how much weight would it comfortably carry?
C. How would it cope with uphill stretches in the highlands of Scotland?
D. Is it worth buying online to save £100 or so or is it best to buy from a local dealer where the bike can be taken back for it's 6-8 wk service and have components adjusted etc?

Thanks.

 

[Gary D]

My answers (or opinions ) are as follows:

A. For the uses you describe I would say it fits the bill very well. It is definitely an "all round" bike.

B. Can't really help on this one but I know they do get used for touring. I would say the fact they get fitted with rack mounting lugs by the manufacturer is probably a good sign though .

C. As well as, or better than, most "road" bikes. It is fitted with a triple chainset (50/39/30) and a very wide range cassette (11/34). That gives you a very low bottom gear. It is not that much heavier than a lot of road bikes either.
Anyway, the "uphills" are more about the rider than the bike in my experience

D. Personally, I would buy it from your LBS. You will probably find that they will discount it for you anyway and you will have the piece of mind that you can go back to them if there are any problems. Getting the fit right is very important. A good LBS should be able to sort that for you.

With regards to your comments re forks and brakes. Most of the reviews and reports you will have read will be about the earlier models of Tricross and don't necessarily apply now.

Firstly, the brakes on earlier models were cantilever type and weren't that good. The newer models now have mini V brakes which should be a lot better.
I have an '06 model in a 58cm (i.e x large) and have never experienced the fork judder that others described.

It would be interesting to hear the comments of someone that owns one of the newer models (and goes touring on it!)

Hope this helps.
Gary.

 

[Tynan]

I'd be doubtful about panniers if you're carrying anything near heavy

those inserts on the front forks look gimmicky to me and might be to do with the judder

 

[Old Walrus]

I’ve got the 2007 model (large) purchased in June 2007 and used for commuting (20miles) and leisure since.

A.Yes it will cope. My commute is a mixture of good and rough roads with some good hills.
B.I’ve fitted a Blackburn rear rack which has to cope with a heavy load, no discernable effects on handling – sorry never weighed the load, but it’s sometimes heavy!
C.I’ve only tackled some of the short sharp Sussex Hills but no problems, gearing is ideal.
D.For a bike purchase I’d go for the LBS to build up loyalty for those urgent repairs etc

If you fit full mudguards you will get some toe overlap, but once you know it’s there you’ll just get on with it. I have had juddering from the fork but that is only caused by sharp braking which usually means I haven’t read the road correctly.

Would I buy the same again? Yes.

Any specific queries please PM me.

Nick

 

[Comatosed]

Thanks all for the advice.

After a solid weeks research online I think I'm definatly going to go for this bike. I also feel that a good local dealer is the way forward.

I've got my touring gear quite refined now, and although I camp and carry a stove etc I'd say I'm quite minimal. It was quite funny really, on my last trip in Shetland after two days cycling against the wind I thought 'right, enough is enough'. So I stood there by the roadside next to a bin, getting rid of all my toiletries and dumping dirty clothes etc, I drank the beer I was carrying there and then and altogether it made a big difference.

 

[Tynan]

if I need to brake hard, I need to and see no reason why it should judder

lets hope you never need to slap the anchors on going down a steep hill with a heavy pannier ...

 

[Kirstie]

if I need to brake hard, I need to and see no reason why it should judder

lets hope you never need to slap the anchors on going down a steep hill with a heavy pannier ...

My friend rode lejog on one of these and we needed to replace the brake pads after only 5 days! I think the ones that came with it were made of cheese or something! It coped well with panniers, but I wouldn't do any heavier touring on it because it's not really built for it ie is too short a wheelbase, won't take a front rack etc.

 

[jimmygster]

I ride a TriCross Comp 61 and have just begun to experience severe front fork judder, even at slow speeds. It sqeals very, very loudly too. I've been commuting with it for 3 months now, and it's the best bike I've ever owned or ridden. I love it, so I hope I can get this problem solved!

 

[Tynan]

supposedly fixed but was seemingly the larger frames that had it

suspect I call it

 

[DaFuzz]

I've had the Tricross Sport 09 size 56 (Large) for a week now, the front brake is more like a machine gun and is next to useless as it stands, at any speed. Hopefully a visit to the LBS will solve the front brake problem, although its looking pretty doubtful after what i've been reading.

Apart from the front brake its an awesome bike.

 

[John the Monkey]

How rough are the rough roads in Cheshire you're talking about?

I've been over a few nasties[1] on my SCR2.0, and it's coped ok (albeit it's not got a touring load on). A tourer or road bike might cope better than you think...

[1] Sandy Lane in Haslington, for example

 

[Notsoblue]

One of the guys I did LEJOG with had a '08 Tricross and it handled 14 days of fully loaded panniers. With regards to the brakes, he replaced the ones it came with with V-Brakes.

 

[DaFuzz]

Adjusted brake blocks...so far so good, with only a slight vibration during reasonably strong braking.

I'm guessing its more to do with cheap brakes rather than gimmicky fork?

 

[Tynan]

as nsb says, I've read that better brakes fixes this, although I think people were replacing the V brakes on earlier models with something more modern and road orientated

 

[Notsoblue]

It came with cantilever brakes I believe, which I didn't even know were still used if I'm honest. I guess its a requirement for Cyclocross.