Specialized Tricross - Upgrade?

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plastic_cyclist

Well-Known Member
Location
Angus
My mate kindly gave me his old Tricross bike to get me into the sport, however, since I've been registered on here, I've seen some threads about the OEM "Spez" tyres being of sub-standard condition and its the first thing that people would replace....

If you had this bike passed over to you, what changes would you make to it ? (The seat for one as it wrecks !!)

IMG_3541.jpg
 
Personally for me, I’d change the bars for compact drops and rotate them down so they are flat and not pointing upwards as I like a level bar to rest my hands on; looks like the high seat post puts you in an aggressive position.

I’d also change the stem to a longer one if you can see the axle in front of you, general rule of thumb is the axle should be hidden. It looks quite upright so could be trying to compensate for the long seat post.

Once you have the fit sorted, I would then look at brakes and upgrade them to cartridge ones and possible uprated callipers, then ride and upgrade replace as parts wear out.
 
Location
Essex
I wouldn't worry about changing the tyres just yet. I'd make sure I'd got the items needed to change a tube/fix a puncture by the roadside (tubes, mini pump, tyre levers), possibly something to put them, along with a fiver, a bank card and a phone in - i.e.. a small saddle pack, plus a bottle cage and bottle. Maybe change the saddle for a Charge Spoon then ride the snot out of it. (within COVID guidelines, of course!) Saddles are a very personal thing, naturally, but that looks like the standard Spesh 'body geometry' jobber on there and they can be, erm, oddly discouraging to ride!

There's plenty of videos on bike fitting - I'm a big fan of the 'your heel should just touch the pedal at the bottom of its stroke without tilting your hips' method of setting the correct seat height. There's lots of spacers under the stem and the stem is flipped, so the already pretty upright position of the Tricross is rendered even more so - i.e. there's plenty of room to lower the front end if needs be.

Spend a few quid - it's a freebie, after all - on making you and the bike self-sufficient then when you've racked up some miles, decide what to upgrade first and next. And have fun doing so! ^_^


(If it were mine, I'd rotate the bars upwards so the first section on the curves of the bar tops is horizontal, flip the stem, remove some of the spacers, remove the bar tape, move the brifters further forwards such the start of the rubbers flows almost horizontally from the line of the tops and the levers are easily accessible from the 45-degree section of the drops, and replace the bar tape with something not red... for the princely sum of about a tenner for the tape, but all of that is part of the fit process so entirely personal)
 
OP
OP
plastic_cyclist

plastic_cyclist

Well-Known Member
Location
Angus
Great advice, thanks guys.

Changing the tape - never even crossed my mind, but now its been mentioned, it makes SO much sense ! as it does look horrendous!
I will take on board these tips and hopefully come out with a better version of the Tricross!

Cheers
 
OP
OP
plastic_cyclist

plastic_cyclist

Well-Known Member
Location
Angus
I wouldn't worry about changing the tyres just yet. I'd make sure I'd got the items needed to change a tube/fix a puncture by the roadside (tubes, mini pump, tyre levers), possibly something to put them, along with a fiver, a bank card and a phone in - i.e.. a small saddle pack, plus a bottle cage and bottle. Maybe change the saddle for a Charge Spoon then ride the snot out of it. (within COVID guidelines, of course!) Saddles are a very personal thing, naturally, but that looks like the standard Spesh 'body geometry' jobber on there and they can be, erm, oddly discouraging to ride!

There's plenty of videos on bike fitting - I'm a big fan of the 'your heel should just touch the pedal at the bottom of its stroke without tilting your hips' method of setting the correct seat height. There's lots of spacers under the stem and the stem is flipped, so the already pretty upright position of the Tricross is rendered even more so - i.e. there's plenty of room to lower the front end if needs be.

Spend a few quid - it's a freebie, after all - on making you and the bike self-sufficient then when you've racked up some miles, decide what to upgrade first and next. And have fun doing so! ^_^


(If it were mine, I'd rotate the bars upwards so the first section on the curves of the bar tops is horizontal, flip the stem, remove some of the spacers, remove the bar tape, move the brifters further forwards such the start of the rubbers flows almost horizontally from the line of the tops and the levers are easily accessible from the 45-degree section of the drops, and replace the bar tape with something not red... for the princely sum of about a tenner for the tape, but all of that is part of the fit process so entirely personal)

Just one thing on this comment, what does this part mean?

"move the brifters further forwards such the start of the rubbers flows almost horizontally from the line of the tops and the levers are easily accessible from the 45-degree section of the drops"

Cheers
 
P.S nice Mavic Askium wheelset; your friend is a fool/genius for gifting the bike to you.
 
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