Specialized Tricross Sport '09

HTMLHugo

Morning

im buying this bike with my C2W scheme and now have £250 to upgrade it, from reading reports it appears the brakes are crap and ive been recommended to buy some v-brakes, i also think i should get some gatorskin tyres.

what else would you upgrade?

alfablue

Doesn't the new Tricross come with mini-V's? (Specialized branded). Full V brakes may not work too well with STI shifters.

I wouldn't touch Gatorskins - puncture prone despite the hype. I have used Specialized all conditions pro's totally puncture-free for 6000+ miles.

Jamey

My Tricross Sport (2008 instead of the 2009 you're getting) came with V-brakes but I haven't seen the new one in the flesh yet. Worth double checking.

Is this the brown one, by the way? Personally I think they should have kept the old colour. I'm glad I managed to get one of the grphite-y ones before they went.

HTMLHugo

i dont mind the brown maybe because i havent seen any other colour

to be honest i have no idea what v brakes are but regurgitated info from the web with regards the bike having jittery braking and these being the answer.

The reason i say the gatorskins because the tyres that come with (Specialized Borough's) are supposed (net) to be very easy to puncture. I ride mostly down country lanes which are ropey (potholes, badly aligned grids etc) and dont want to have issues with the tyres.

If somebody could confirm the v - brakes thing that would be cool.

What about pedals btw? i have a specialised globe sport and the pedals that came with that were plastic and broke after about 4/5 months, maybe down to the way i rode them or the weight of me

Jamey

Brakes:

There were two issues with the original brakes - stopping power and judder.

• Stopping power - this has been fixed since they started using V-Brakes. I'm 99% sure that your bike (the 2009 Tricross Sport) will have V-brakes as standard.
• Judder - this is still an issue but it's not a massive problem, just a little annoying sometimes. It only happens when you're going very slowly (eg crawling up to a red traffic light, hoping it will turn green) and then you have to stop. That's when you notice a small amount of judder. I think it's because of the Zertz insert in the front forks but whatever the reason it's not a safety issue, just mildly irritating.

Tyres:

• If you're mainly commuting and you don't mind taking a slight drop in performance then go for Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. They are (by a wide margin) the most puncture resistant tyres available. Have a search online (or elsewhere on this forum) for them if you want more opinions. Obviously if you're planning to race your bike or train seriously then they aren't the fastest tyre around, that's the price you pay for puncture resistance.

Pedals:

• I changed these at the time of buying my bike so I've no idea how strong/good the standard plastic pedals are but I guess they won't be great. Pedals are one of those areas where bike manufacturers skimp so if you find your C2W voucher has £25 left over after you've bought everything else (as mine did) then bung some new pedals onto the bike.

doog442

I have a 2008 tricross so may be of some help (or may not). It has V brakes, only one incident of shudder at low speed. The pedals were the same as fitted to my 2005 spesh hardrock MTB so they can take some abuse . Ive replaced with SPD's

The tyres are awful, slow and noisy, got a puncture on 4th ride so replaced with 25mm Bontrager race lite hardcases at a tenner each- these are meant to be bombproof..

Richard_D

I have a Tricross 2008 with V brakes and regularly suffer from judder. I never feel out of control but the first time was a bit scary. On the whole we liked the Tricross som much that as a family we now have 4. 1 sport 2008 with V 1 Comp2008 with dual cantilever I think and 2 sport 2009 with dual cantilever. I am the only one who suffers from judder so my guess it is a combination of bike and rider weight. I am the heavy one.
As to what to update the bike with work out what you need if you are using it for C2W. mudguards, paniers, rack, good quality lights all come to mind.
I have replaced the tyres on mine they were starting to look worn after 1000 miles of road and forest track. The other half is thinking of replacing her's. She wants a bit more grip and a bit more puncture protection and is happy to sacrifice the speed she has another back for speed

smithers

Question to any Tricross Sport 2009 owners...

Do the extra brake levers fit OK given the taper on the oversize bars?

Thanks.

BUICK

I have the '07 Tricross Sport and the braking performance really let the bike down - and yes, there was terrible fork judder at times. I took the bike into the LBS and had wider 'frogleg' style Tectro brakes fitted (an upgrade I'd read about in the CTC mag). It sounds like they have addressed the problem for the '09 version anyway?

I've got Gatorskins on as of this week - I'm surprised at the variable press they are getting. I'm keeping an open mind. They feel better than the standard tires the bike was fitted with on the road. No sudden losses of tire pressure yet!

smithers

smithers wrote:

Question to any Tricross Sport 2009 owners...

Do the extra brake levers fit OK given the taper on the oversize bars?

Thanks.

I can answer my own question as I have now taken delivery of the bike from Halfrauds after they built it up (I was told that Specialized insisted on the bikes being setup by a recognised specialist). The levers have a rubber sleeve underneath so they grip the bars nice and tight - so doesn't seem to be a problem - the mechanic phoned me saying he couldn't get them on earlier today!

One thing that has surprised me though is that it has come with Tektro Cantilevers NOT mini Vs. Have to wait until Thursday now before I can take a test ride in the daylight to see if I suffer any crap braking/judder :?

BUICK

I might not be correct here but don't the Tricross bikes have cantilever style brakes for clearance? As I said earlier, there are better cantilever brakes out there if the ones fitted aren't up to the task (they weren't really good enough a couple of years back) but you may find that they are improved now.

Pedals: I have been using the doublesided m540 spd's. Really easy to clip in and out of and lots of clearance. You can use them with shoes that allow you to walk easily too.

John.T

My singlecross came with V brakes. No problem with judder at all. The judder seems to have been caused by flex in the steerer. This gave variations in the brake cable tension as the brakes were applied. You don't get this with Vs.

JohnnnyH

Have had a 2009 Sport for about a month and I'm loving the flexibility this bike gives me. However I'm now suffering from the front brake judder when I apply the front brake. It has the tektro cantis on it. I've read various theories about to the problem but nothing definitive. Ideas appreciated esp. if you have the 09 model.

Cheers

John

duckfoot1606

I have an 07 Tricross Sport 56cm with Tektro Oryx canti's, which from a braking point of view were as much good as dragging your heels up the road. Front fork juddered like crazy too.

Both issues totally resolved by using Kool stop dual density brake pads (Tektro Oryx canti's use V brake pads, by the way), much cheaper than changing brake systems etc.

The fork judder seems to have a number of possible causes, personally I believe the OE brake pads are too hard.

AP

kieronymous

I have the 2009 Sport (i.e. 3 chainrings). 56cm frame. Serious judder. I'm around 95kg (15st) so fairly heavy.

The most plausible theory I've read is that the flexible (carbon) fork combined with the canti brakes (cable stopped at the top of the head tube) causes a positive feedback loop, thus:

The initial braking force causes the fork to flex backwards, like an archery bow. The fork flex increases the distance between the brake bosses and the brake cable stop at the top of the head tube. This results in greater tension in the brake cable and therefore greater brake pad pressure on the rim, causing the fork to flex back even further. The loop is broken when the force stored in the flexed fork is enough to overcome the brake pad friction, and the fork springs forward to repeat the process. This happens at a frequency of approximately 10-20Hz.

From what I've read on other sites it appears that the more honest responses to complaints from Specialized (though they have also been known to deny it entirely) cite this as the reason, and that mini-Vs sort it because the cable tension doesn't vary under braking (although one lucky chap got a brand new S-Works fork as a warranty replacement!).

I've also heard that the larger frame sizes are worse (presumably due to longer head tube - greater distance between brake and cable stop)

Some folks I've talked to say V-brakes aren't compatible with road levers 'cos they don't pull enough cable, but apparently (again, opinions vary) this is less of a concern with mini-Vs (shorter lever arm).

Of course, if there's folks getting judder from Vs too, then the whole theory's out the window innit. In which case it could be distortion in the fork that's causing the pads to release. I like the mention of the Zertz inserts BTW - didn't think of that. Hmmm...

Jamey - IMHO I reckon it is a safety issue. The handling is seriously impaired, as is the braking, and maybe there's a risk of the fork snapping, especially if it's resonating (not a materials engineer though). I'm going to complain for sure.

Otherwise, top bike. Near perfect for my purposes. Can't recommend it right now though...

airborne_warrior

The V's on my 08 TriCross are fine. They aren't mini V's either.

passout

I've got a 2008 Tricross and the brakes (if using the drops) are fine. If you want an upgrade consider better pads. I'd leave the brakes.

I went for Marathon Pluses on this bike but I've used Gators before and find them OK. If you are using this bike on the road then I would change your tyres to something slick though.

mattsccm

Mine came with mini v's (its a single speeder) and they are nothing special. Even my 1983 vintage Campag brake blocks on my old bike are better. Swapped the v's to LX cantis which were kicking around . Mildly better but I suspect I am fighting a loosing battle as the leverage on both sorts seems to work best with levers that feel spongy and come back to the bars . I like brakes that feel very solid with no travel so probably I am on a hiding to nothing. Live with what you have until you can actually try something else. Ask 10 different people and you will get 11 different answers.

John.T

They seem to come with all sorts of brakes. My Singlecross came with Tektro V brakes and levers. They are very good and have a firm feel. I fit the extra cross lever to the front one as I find it usefull descending on fixed. This is a bit spongy but is OK. These brakes are rather more powerful than Dual pivots.