Cyclocross fixed as a road commuter....good idea?

wideboy

Hi im thinking about buying a Cyclocross fixed as a all year round road commuter, but as ive never been on a fixed bike im alittle unsure :?

http://www.pearsoncycles.co.uk/product/ ... _NOW_27499

The benefits seem to be lightness & simplicity less to go wrong.

I was thinking about a hybrid but this seems a better bike for the money..

ANY opinions welcome...

thanks in advance

bornagainbiker

Hi,
The tricross comes as a singlespeed - you'll need to buy the fixed sprocket and fit it to the flip-flop hub.

GrahamGillooly

Hi mate,
As pointed out above, if you were to go for this bike, it would come as a singlespeed, not fixed, so don't worry about that.. And ofcourse having the option to fit a fixed sprocket is also good, or i think you can fit a different size freewheel to give you gearing options?

As for the bike itself, i ordered one lastnight.
After searching around with no luck for a cheap singlespeed roadbike, i came across this sale at pearsons and instantly knew i'd buy it.

I was looking for the same things as you, a year round commuter that's simple and easy to maintain, can accomodate mudguards, and now i can also add to that the occasional offroad venture.

If i were you i'd make my mind up quickly before the stock levels of your size reach 0!

Graham

meagain

I have a Tricross (fixed) so biased - I rate it a good buy at full price, absolute bargain at Pearson's sale!
There is a couple of happy purchasers over in the "Singlespeed Appreciation" thread in Special Interests!

majormantra

bornagainbiker wrote:

Hi,
The tricross comes as a singlespeed - you'll need to buy the fixed sprocket and fit it to the flip-flop hub.

Does it actually have a flip-flop hub? None of the literature about the bike seems to refer to one, it only ever mentions the freewheel side.

Matthew

kevinn123

Yes it has a flip flop

http://twowheeltango.com/page.cfm?pageID=178

- getting used to it as a single speed first though

- bought one myself on Xmas Eve - rude not to at that price - delivered 2 days later

Fab service from Pearsons

gkerr4

i think it would make an ideal commuter

i also think that you will probably need to act fast - that is a bargain and if it is being talked up on this forum then it is being talked up on every UK cycling forum and can't imagine they will last long!

I bought my langster in Aug2007 for £299 and though that was amazing value - but this is an amazing price!

gtitim

I bought one of these a day and a half ago, hopefully it should arrive today. You cannot go wrong for that money. I've heard that possibly the wheels may need an upgrade but with the money you save at Pearsons you can get a decent pair and still have change.

I think it's perfect as a commuter. Go for it (quickly).

Monty Dog

This would make a great commuter - the bigger clearances mean you can fit mudguards and whilst the fitted tyres are OK for offroad, a durable road tyre would be better. The only other similar option would be a Planet-X Pompino

wideboy

Ordered it should arrive today....cant wait 8) 8) 8)

bluecow

The tricrosses are immense commuters. Fast and sturdy. But i use my heap o' crap in the winter cause i dont want to ruin it. Can't speak for fixed (or even singlespeed) versions, but the bike as itself is great. Im almost tempted to take up the pearsons offer and buy another

glenwatt

Picked my Tricross Single up from Pearson's on Sat. Great service!

She's Converted to fixed and now fitted with road tyres, plus mudguards.

She faired well on the ride into London today.

It was my first ever fixed experience which was a tad daunting.

Overall really good just need to get a bit more practice in on coming to a stop at lights and down hill.

Still at least it will all be uphill tonight, ohh the pain. :roll:

bornagainbiker

Hi,
Can I slightly hijack this thread.

I bought one of the tricross singles from pearsons a couple of weeks ago. When I unpacked it I noticed a scratch/scrape on one of the fork legs above the brake fitting ( i'll post a picture when i get home from work). I sent an email with the pictures attached and was asked by Alan to return the forks for a replacement. All fine so far. Its now been over a week since i returned the forks, so i contacted Pearsons to speak to Alan. Unfortunately he wasn't there today so I was passed onto the mail order dept. He had my details an informed me that they didn't have a replacement fork available and that " ALL THE ONES THEY'D CHECKED" had the same or worst scraping to the fork. I naturally found this a bit hard to believe.





So may i ask anyone here who has received a Pearsons Tricross single did you notice any 'damage' around the brake fitting area of your forks?

I'm going to try and contact Alan tomorrow and see whats occuring, but i am very surprised that i'm being - what appears to being palmed off somewhat.

Cheers

PS this is also up on another thread

glenwatt

Well made it there and back all fixed up for the first time.

Enjoyed it overall, had one moment on the way home where I couldn't get clipped in and ended up looking like a rodeo clown on bit of a downhill section. Highly amusing to people watching.

Only managed to get 3/4 of the way up the large hill without lower gears to assist, but thats something to work up too.

The rain was not awelcome addition.

blackhands

How do people find the brakes on cross bikes?

I've got cantilevers recommended for use with STI levers and even with the optimum adjustment I find that they don't work too well - I have tom remember to brake earlier. I've got some mini v brakes on order to see if they are an improvement.

If that doesn't work I suppose the answer is to fit dia compe levers made for canti brakes and bar end gear levers.

wideboy

bornagainbiker wrote:

Hi,
Can I slightly hijack this thread.

I bought one of the tricross singles from pearsons a couple of weeks ago. When I unpacked it I noticed a scratch/scrape on one of the fork legs above the brake fitting ( i'll post a picture when i get home from work). I sent an email with the pictures attached and was asked by Alan to return the forks for a replacement. All fine so far. Its now been over a week since i returned the forks, so i contacted Pearsons to speak to Alan. Unfortunately he wasn't there today so I was passed onto the mail order dept. He had my details an informed me that they didn't have a replacement fork available and that " ALL THE ONES THEY'D CHECKED" had the same or worst scraping to the fork. I naturally found this a bit hard to believe.


So may i ask anyone here who has received a Pearsons Tricross single did you notice any 'damage' around the brake fitting area of your forks?

I'm going to try and contact Alan tomorrow and see whats occuring, but i am very surprised that i'm being - what appears to being palmed off somewhat.

Nope mine is fine, no marks anywhere.

gtitim

No scratches on mine (just got it on monday)

bornagainbiker

Thanks for that So it looks like I was right to query it after all.

Cheers.

ride_whenever

I can't comment on canti's or mini-v's but I rull full sized v-brakes on my pompino, to do it you need v-brake compatable levers. They work brilliantly.

If you end up running it fixed, try just running a front brake and using a single cyclo-cross lever to control it. Properly paired down look.

wideboy

Has anyone changed over to road tyres?

I might be looking for puncher resistant road tyres will Schwalbe Marathon Plus fit?

John.T

25mm is about the smallest you can fit to the wheels. Anything wider will be fine.