Specialized Tricross owners: Tyres?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I get the impression that there are a fair few of us in the forum that own one variation or another of the Tricross, mainly down to that Pearsons £275 killer deal in 2008, although I caught the final bandwagon with a £350 purchase in December '09 from my local Hargroves...

Currently, I have the original (32c?) Houflaize CX on the rear, but have swapped out the front for a 25c Stelvio Plus (after getting a PF visit on the christening pootle round the block, first PF visit in ~2 years).
The bike's primary use is commuting by road, but with the odd leisure gentle off-road rides on bridal paths and alike.

Part of me is tempted to fit the other Stelvio Plus I already have on the rear, effectively making the Tricross a tarmac only bike, with lightish slicks and reasonable PF resistance (while I would get little traction off-road).

Part of me is tempted to have fun removing the 25C Marathon Pluses from the Felt F5C and then having even more fun fitting them onto the Tricross wheels. This would give me a heavier setup, but then MPs can do both on- and off-road with bullet proof PF resistance.

Another part of me is tempted to source some wide (is it 40C maximum for clearance on Tricrosses?) semi-slicks or other all-rounder with good PF resistance, for a cushioned ride at the expense of some acceleration.

So, what tyre combinations do you run on your Tricross?
What terrain do you use your Tricross on?

il_principe

My boss runs continental duraskins on his, primarily used for on road, and nothing heavy off road - just pootling with his kids.

Kieran_Burns

I use 32c Conti City Rides.... tooled up and down the Tissington and High Peak trails with them and no problems at all

Canny Jock

28 Marathon Plus - a pain to fit and heavy, but seem good on the road and pretty bulletproof. I wouldn't like to have to fix a p**cture at the side of the road on a wet night so its a good job they're strong!

Never taken them off road though so can't comment on that.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Blimey, I thought there was a huge crowd in here with these bikes. Don't be shy, tell us your tyre combos

Don't suppose anyone knows the maximum width tyres that can be fitted to the Tricross Singlecross?
Got a feeling its ~40mm, but that a guestimate.

richara3

Ive no idea what the max tyre size is, There certainly looks like there is room for something much bigger than the 32 that mine came with.
I use mine for general comuting duties and 'club' rides and all my leisure cycling up till now. I use either 25c or 23c slicks depending on what was cheap at the time.
now ive bought a 'good' road bike I will keep to 25s or 28s on the tricross so I can run a slightly lower pressure and get more comfort .

If its just gentle off road you do then slicks in my opinion would be just fine. Its surprising the grip you can get.


Andy

msamos

I'm running my tricross on 32mm Michelin City - w/ reflective sidewalls & "protek" layer. Heavy buggers 600g+ each. But, I get a good 4k miles out of them before replacement - and only punctured once (knock wood...) in 12k miles in 1.5+yrs. Many of the miles are on rough gravel/oil mix that is used heavily on Texas back roads.

I've tried 28mm on the tricross - but, the bike felt "tippsy" and nervous - like the tires were too narrow for the bike. I have a pair of Bontrager race lites waiting for mount once we get past the gritty winter here - again, 32mm.

I did run the bike on the Specialized Borough CX tires - they have knobs on the on the shoulders, but semi-slicks on the center. I liked them - but, they didn't seem to hold up to my mileage requirements - my standards for that characteristic is probably higher than most other folks. But, now that I rethink my experience with those tires...They were a great mix for on/off road - and rode quite well...They are a bit pricey...but, I'll give them a double thumbs up. And, fwiw, I've re-mount the Houffalizes for the few cx races I've done...They seem to be a good all around tire...Though, if I was more serious about the cx, i'd get a set of tubies.

Those who are running widths less than 32mm - do your tires have low profiles? I've notice my Michies run a bit on the tall side -- maybe reason for tippsiness on smaller widths.

pottssteve

I ride on-road only and use Continental 4 seasons 28mm tyres, and am happy with these. I tend to avoid riding in the wet if I can. Mind you, that's because the cantilever brakes don't work when they get wet. :shock:

Wallace1492

Fitted 28c Marathon Pluses. Mainly on road, but use it on canal paths too and have no problems so far.

the article don

32c Marathon Plus for me. As many others have said, bombproof but heavy. And an absolute pain to fit - I'm ashamed to say I had to admit defeat and take them to the LBS. :oops:

CX tyres they ain't but if you're only using it for commuting then you're probably not bothered about that.

The Running Man

Contis for me too. Been great on tracks, the Bath towpath and road.

Had the catilevers removed because they were next to useless and it's a much better ride for it.

gs3

Mainly riding on-road with Spesh Roubaix Pro II's (commuting) with the Borough Pro's going on when I don't know what surface I'll be riding on (holiday etc).

.

mudcovered

Whats with all the Canti brake hate. They may be a git to set up but once you've got them tweaked right they give as much stopping power as my disc equipped MTB. This is true even in the wet once a rev of the wheel scrubs the surface water which is true of every rim brake.

While I'm not a tricross rider (I've got the Kona equivalent ) I'm now using Bontrager CXR tyres. A little bit of tread which is useful for the rather muddy conditions of my current towpath commute but not so much that they run like a pig on tarmac.

Mike

kevinn123

32c Marathon Plus for me too

kelsen

pottssteve wrote:

I ride on-road only and use Continental 4 seasons 28mm tyres, and am happy with these. I tend to avoid riding in the wet if I can. Mind you, that's because the cantilever brakes don't work when they get wet. :shock:

same here but in 25mm. What's wrong with cantilevers in the wet? Surely they're much the same as calipers in the wet.

msamos

I replaced the original Tektro linear pull canti brakes with real canti brakes, avid shorty 6's, before the end of the 1st year. BIG improvement. Also, I had experienced clearance issues with fenders - the "J" wire (?) of the linear pull design limited the clearance between tire and brake cable. At least from experience w/ my Expert (Rival shifting, FSA cranks, Roval wheels) - somehow it seemed the original brakes were just substandard to the rest of the great set-up. They should make the shorty 6's standard

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Surprised we have not had anyone post about fitting big tyres yet, in the region of 40s.

I went for a mixed terrain ride on Sunday, where the park/woodland opposite the Woolston end of Spring Road was like a swamp! Despite the conditions, the Houffflaize rear found traction and the front Stelvio Plus did not slide from under me.

I think the Royal Mail Pashley lead weight bikes are improving my fitness, as I found the Tricross 63 GI gearing very easy on the flats, when this used to be my cruising gear on other bikes.

curium

I use mine just for road commuting. I have a pair of 28c Conti Sport Contacts and I'm happy with them.

TJA

Found the Borough 32c very puncture prone.

Switched to Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase 32c at the beginning of summer. No punctures yet, touch wood.

jackthelad

32 marathon plus on roads and canal paths

Zulu dawn

28mm Conti 4 seasons on my Comp. I have swapped out the shimano brake pads for kool stop dual compounds. These have proved much much better. Both durability especially has been improved along with stopping power.
I use mine for commuting across cheshire into manchester rain or shine. So there is a mixed bag of road surfaces and so far for the last four months no P&&&&&&&s and the tyres are wearing very well.

Carlos13

I have the ubiquitous tricross single speed and had the wheels nicked. Just sourcing some new wheels and need tyres. I was running 25mm marathon plus but found them a nightmare to fit, very uncomfortable and too narrow when I occasionally ventured onto the towpath.

What tyres would you suggest given the following requirements:

- Good puncture protection with easy fitting/removal. I'd rather get a few punctures and be able to fix them without dislocating my thumbs.
- 32mm size (700c) so they won't track into gaps in towpath paving
- Not too expensive
- Emphasis on tarmac speed rather than off-road grip

jackthelad

Dales in Glasgow have 32c nimbus amardillo for £20 for tyre and tube.Good protection and roll better than the marathon plus tyres.Not too bad to get on and off the wheels

redvee

Went from the factory fitted Houflaize CX 32s down to Conti Ultra Gatorskins in 25s with a swap back to the Houflaize when the snow came in january and now have a pair of Rubinos sat beside the bike ready for when the Gatorskins go kaput. Only dropped down to the 25s so that I could fit Racerguards with a little fabrication of some brackets.

robocolley

I have Gatorskins on the single speed tricross and Boroughs on the comp (which I commute on, road and canal path at times) but I did switch to the Armadillo version on the back as I was getting too many punctures.

RayJC

The Specialized Tricross is a great bike. It can do light mountain biking and is reasonably competitive with road bikes when 700 x 23 mm tyres are fitted. However, the Borough CX tyres, while light and grippy are dreadfully puncture prone and are wearing rapidly. So, I am interested in the discussion of a 32 mm replacement which is still light and fast, and easy to fit, but is puncture resistant and wears well. I get 10,000 km from the Maxxis Refuse road tyres and wish to find a similar performing tyre for the Tricross.

Canny Jock

Vittoria Randonneurs are cheap and pretty p*ncture proof, there is a cross version as well which would make a good all-rounder. Wiggle have them for about £12. Downsides are they are a bit heavy and can be tricky to fit, but better than Marathon Plus on both counts.

I also ran Bontrager Hardcases (700x28) which are a good road only option.

johnny-marrone

I've given up with the Borough Pros on my Tricross Comp as the tubes now have more patches than rubber. Flint seems to go through the tyre like a hot knife through ice-cream and the novelty of roadside repairs in the cold and rain is just not fun anymore, if ever it was.

My commute is a 30 mile round-trip mainly on single track lanes. I don't have any problems when riding my road bike with Conti GPs and the Boroughs only have about 700miles on them. Enough is enough, I've ordered a pair of Conti Gator Hardshells (25s)which I'm hoping will have the added benefit of being a bit quicker. I thought CX tyres would be a lot tougher than road ones, but not in this case

Project_79

I'm running Specialized Borough CX 32's at the moment. Only had the bike 4 weeks but I've already ordered the Vittoria Cross XG Pro 32's as I have had a few squeaky bum moments round the richmond park sand / mud paths.

Mostly I use it at the weekends, on a mixture of road, tracks and tow path - eventually plan to commute with it once H2 opens up in Soho (http://www.h2clubs.co.uk/).

I have a few long rides planned around Somerset in June (50-70 milers) so I'm already thinking about what tyres to run for the these road journeys. Currently eying up the Conti Gatorskin's

spin_to_win

Ran 35mm Panaracer RibMo's for the last 18 months, not one puncture. used on fairly well maintained tracks and tarmac mostly - ran 35pi through the snow! awesome. Wanted a bit more speed and have gone for some 25c Ribmo's - 3 months now same tracks and tarmac still no punctures.
Nothing wrong with canti's so long as well set with good pads - I run retro M900 xtr with some TRP pads - ditched the tektro levers as a bit spoungy for my liking some BR700 shimano's ( non series ultegra)