Specialized S Works Tricross Frame - or alternatives

AllanT

Am looking at building a winter/hack/training bike, and I want it to be something I can do a bit of crossing on (was thinking about the 3 peaks), plus take up and down farm lanes, through muddy fields - usual sort of rough usage you don't want to take the dream bike on), and maybe even a bit of touring.

I've been looking at frames I can buy to build up, and noticed that most decent frame & fork set seems to be retailing around the £400 mark. Checking out an LBS they said they could get the specialized S works Tricross frame for £600 (including the fork).

Now I've got the tools, and got the capability to build the bike up, got an old bike I'm stripping down (so I don't need to worry about Wheels, Groupset (Campag 10 speed Centaur), bars, stem, saddle, etc) so to my mind as I like a decent bike I can get around on (even though this is going to be a hack/winter/cross bike) it seems a false economy not to pay the extra £200 for a carbon S works frame, bearing in mind it will take the weight down, making the bike more usuable for getting around quickly on (there's a lot of hills around where I live). Should I get seriously into crossing it'd also offer a much greater potential for upgrade.

So has anyone got any experience of the (in particular the S works, but the normal would be interesting too) Tricross frame or bike?

What I'm wondering is can you fit front & rear mudguards (a must for wet & muddy group rides) easily (& easily remove them for crossing if you desire)?

How durable is the frameset? Have you managed to break one, and what sort of terrain are you riding it over?

Can you fit panniers to the frame?

Any ideas for other cheaper all purpose winter/cross/touring bikes? If I could get a cheaper one, say around the £200 - £300 mark for frame & forks it may change my decision - I'd want to know the weight & durability difference though?

Also what would anyone recommend for Canti's? Know that most seem to retail around £40 for a pair.

What gearing would you suggest for mixed on & offroad riding (campag)? Have a 12:26 Cassette which seems to do most road hills over here, at the moments the crankset is a 53/39, was thinking of going compact for this bike - say 50/36

And which tyres would be best for mixed on and offroad riding? I believe you can get some which are slick in the middle for speed on roads, but are knobbly on the sides for offroad use?

bigdaveskinnytyre

A lot of questions there so I've kept your original post so I can keep track.

AllanT wrote:

Am looking at building a winter/hack/training bike, and I want it to be something I can do a bit of crossing on (was thinking about the 3 peaks)3 Peaks entries closed nearly 2 weeks ago, plus take up and down farm lanes, through muddy fields - usual sort of rough usage you don't want to take the dream bike on), and maybe even a bit of touring.

I've been looking at frames I can buy to build up, and noticed that most decent frame & fork set seems to be retailing around the £400 mark. Checking out an LBS they said they could get the specialized S works Tricross frame for £600 (including the fork).

Now I've got the tools, and got the capability to build the bike up, got an old bike I'm stripping down (so I don't need to worry about Wheels, Groupset (Campag 10 speed Centaur), bars, stem, saddle, etc) so to my mind as I like a decent bike I can get around on (even though this is going to be a hack/winter/cross bike) it seems a false economy not to pay the extra £200 for a carbon S works frame £600 will get you the aluminum S-Works, the carbon version isn't available in the UK yet and will probably cost about £1200, bearing in mind it will take the weight down, making the bike more usuable for getting around quickly on (there's a lot of hills around where I live). Should I get seriously into crossing it'd also offer a much greater potential for upgrade.

So has anyone got any experience of the (in particular the S works, but the normal would be interesting too) Tricross frame or bike? I have the S-Works Tri-Cross and it is an excellent race bike, it was pretty much the weapon of choice for many London Leaguers last year

What I'm wondering is can you fit front & rear mudguards (a must for wet & muddy group rides) easily (& easily remove them for crossing if you desire)? There are no mounts for mudguards

How durable is the frameset? Have you managed to break one, and what sort of terrain are you riding it over? Seems to be pretty durable, I'm no lighweight and race it.

Can you fit panniers to the frame? As with mudguards there are no mounts

Any ideas for other cheaper all purpose winter/cross/touring bikes? If I could get a cheaper one, say around the £200 - £300 mark for frame & forks it may change my decision - I'd want to know the weight & durability difference though?

Before the S-Works I had a Planet X Uncle John, a cracking bike that I raced and toured on, a little heavier (but not much) and has all the mounts for racks and mudguards. Unfortunaltely they only sell them as complete bikes these days.

Also what would anyone recommend for Canti's? Know that most seem to retail around £40 for a pair. Either Frogglegs for loads of mud clearance or Shimano makes some cantis specifically for road levers that are pretty good

What gearing would you suggest for mixed on & offroad riding (campag)? Have a 12:26 Cassette which seems to do most road hills over here, at the moments the crankset is a 53/39, was thinking of going compact for this bike - say 50/36 I'd probably drop to a 46 or 48 outer

And which tyres would be best for mixed on and offroad riding? I believe you can get some which are slick in the middle for speed on roads, but are knobbly on the sides for offroad use?Shwalbe landcruisers fit the bill but are quite heavy, it all depends on how much road you are putting in a ride, I like Michelin Muds but I wouldn't want to ride them on the road, consider changing tyres before riding on the road

AllanT

bigdaveskinnytyre wrote:

Now I've got the tools, and got the capability to build the bike up, got an old bike I'm stripping down (so I don't need to worry about Wheels, Groupset (Campag 10 speed Centaur), bars, stem, saddle, etc) so to my mind as I like a decent bike I can get around on (even though this is going to be a hack/winter/cross bike) it seems a false economy not to pay the extra £200 for a carbon S works frame £600 will get you the aluminum S-Works, the carbon version isn't available in the UK yet and will probably cost about £1200, bearing in mind it will take the weight down, making the bike more usuable for getting around quickly on (there's a lot of hills around where I live). Should I get seriously into crossing it'd also offer a much greater potential for upgrade.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, a very thorough & interesting reply indeed, one which will certainly assist me in making my decision..

However I just have to query something you said. You state the £600 will get me the Aluminium S works - do you not mean the Aluminium Tricross which will retail as a complete bike at around £600. I thought all S Works were Carbon, or am I mistakened? What's the difference between an S works frameset retailing at £600 and a bottom range tricross?

Also I was just looking for a frameset, not a complete bike as I mentioned I already have all the other bits I'm stripping off another bike to build this up (with the exceptions), so surely this would have an impact on the price?

Realise I missed the 3 peaks this year, but it's something I'm looking at for the future as I would have to travel over for it.

bigdaveskinnytyre

The Aluminum S-Works Frame and Forks (Columbus E5) and seatpost comes in at £600. The standard Tri-cross (complete bike) is about £700, the frame is (I believe) slightly different less agressive geometry and not as high quality aluminum. It does however, have the mudguard and rack mounts you desire.

rohde

I own an Uncle John frame, and have used it for cyclo-cross as well as touring and normal everyday training. As bigdaveskinnytyre I highly recommend it.
I haven't actually tried ordering one, or contacted Planet-X about order status, so maybe bigdaveskinnytyre is correct - but when browsing their site it seems to be available in all sizes for £200:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.com/road/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=158&MMN_position=355:355

Best regards,
Torben Rohde
Denmark

Hugh A

Another vote for the Uncle John which has all those braze-ons. I bought mine some months ago as frame and fork only.

It looks to me like Planet X are still selling frame and forks separately on their website. As it says there, the frames have no brace between the chainstays for fitting mudguards to so either a bracket is needed for that or I just use zip ties and cut them when I take the 'guards off.

I've got some Vedestein Premiato cross tyres which roll pretty well when pumped up on the road at normal speeds. However, they can feel very stodgy at slow speeds when climbing. I'm not sure if it is the extra weight (370g) - more likely the tread pattern I think which I suspect is designed to dig in a bit at these speeds and get more traction (which they do - quite reasuring on rough tracks) but can lead to feelings that you are getting a flat tyre, which also hasn't happened yet.

maddog 2

AllanT wrote:

Any ideas for other cheaper all purpose winter/cross/touring bikes?

try a s/hand Airborne Carpe Diem? or even a discounted newoldstocker?

ti frame, disc mounts (later models), lugs for 'guards, bottles, panniers etc. Lovely ride.

Have a look a Focus (wiggle) or Racelight, or Planet X (as above)

tatankainlondon

All,

I have a question related to cyclocross, though a little off-topic.
Can someone suggest a fork that could be used both with rim brakes and disk brakes?

Thanks