Ridgeback Flight 02 vs Specialized TriCross

mr_shinobi

Hi

I am considering getting a decent commuter bike. 75% of the time I will use my bike for my 15 mile per day commute (year round); but I will also need it for family bike rides (off-road) and to be able to tackle reasonable hills etc (i.e. no fixed gear!).

I have been considering the Specialized TriCross as it is widely reported as being a decent commuter bike. However, at my LBS, the salesman also suggested the Ridgeback Flight 02. In his words, £100 cheaper, but with better componentry. Does anyone know much about this bike - can't find much on the web....

Thanks in advance for any comments!

supersonic

Have you got links to the two exact bikes?

Usually it is a case of what fits and feels best. How hard will the offroad stuff be?

mr_shinobi

Here you go:

Ridgeback Flight 02
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/rid ... gn=froogle

Specialized TriCross
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... 20tricorss

Thanks

kelsen

The Tricross has Shimano 2300 road groupset (entry level) whereas the Ridgeback has a mixture of Shimano mtb and road components. There are bits of Tiagra and Sora on the Ridgeback so I suppose it does have slightly better components. Using them on a day to day basis, I doubt you would notice much difference.

The main difference though is that the Tricross is a cyclocross and the Flight a road hybrid. Both would serve the purpose that you intend to use it for, though I'd say the Tricross is a bit more versatile as it can be set up for commuting, touring, clubruns, cyclocross, etc.

Also it has drops so that immediately makes it cooler than the Ridgeback!

pastasauce

I have a Flight02 and I recommend it as a very fast hybrid.

I hack over central London every day and its geometry make it great fun to ride.

But, for a 15 mile ride I'd be a lot more comfortable on the drop bars of the Tricross. It also has the Zertz system to comfort the ride.

its the most flexible of the two bikes as well, so will be good for off road, touring, etc ...

i used to go mtb'ing with a chap on a Tricross and he was faster than me until it got technical.

You'll also get a great resale value on the Tricross should your circumstances change.

supersonic

I wouldn't like to take either too far off road lol.

Also look at the gearing - is it low enough for the steeper bits? They are geared quite high.

mr_shinobi

Thanks for your comments all. Sounds like the Specialized is teh favourite.

Supersonic, (apologies for the amateur question!) how do I make sense of, or understand, the gearing from the specs I posted? I'd like to compare that to my Marin Palisades Trail bike, which has gearing low enough for me - plenty to get me up Dtichling Beacon on the way to Brighton (and I doubt I will do anything much steeper than that very often)!

Thanks

supersonic

The lowest gear on the Palisades I am guessing is the 22/32. The lowest gear on the Ridgeback and Spesh is 30/25. The MTB wheels are smaller, but the tyres deeper, so for this gearing comparison we can just look at the cog ratios.

So:

0.6875 vs 1.2

That is a significant difference in the low gear, some 60% higher.

Of course you can change the gearing.

rhext

Also worth comparing tyre clearance. My Tricross is getting on a bit now, but it's got tons of clearance for mud etc. I use mine almost exclusively on the road and I have to confess it's a bit of a boneshaker on bridalways. But it's still a cyclo-cross bike: fatter tyres would make a big difference to comfort offroad and there's plenty of room to fit them. I've seen people riding these (with knobbly tyres) at full-on MTB offroad events!

Kieran_Burns

The lowest gear on the Tricross is 30/32

Chainrings:
52/42/30 tooth chainrings

Cassette:
Shimano HG50, 9-speed, 11-32 tooth range

the same as my 2009 model. Looks like the components have taken a step down in quality though

supersonic

Hmmm, the site I looked on said it was a 12-25, though it does say 11-32 at evans lol.

supersonic

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBC ... 5&eid=4670

Unless I made a mistake with the model.

Kieran_Burns

Ahhhh They have a new base level model :?

The link appears to be to the Sport (which mine is) which has 11-32, you're looking at the Triple (which I didn't know about!) which looks like it stops at 25....

and Evans doesn't say which theirs is (but the description fits the Sport)

mr_shinobi

Evans has separate entries for the Sport and Comp. Looks the they have priced the 'base' model correctly, but used the Sport spec. Pretty sure the base model doesn't have Zertz on the forks.

I also read somewhere that 2010 components have been downgraded vs 2009 model.

niblue

One of my colleagues recently got a Tricross Sport on bike to work and I've just checked his bike and it's definitely an 11:32 on the back.

I had a Tricross from before the Sport came out and I found it's gearing (11:32 with 30/40/52) worked fine both on and off-road.

kelsen

mr_shinobi wrote:

Evans has separate entries for the Sport and Comp. Looks the they have priced the 'base' model correctly, but used the Sport spec. Pretty sure the base model doesn't have Zertz on the forks.

I also read somewhere that 2010 components have been downgraded vs 2009 model.

The 2010 base model uses 2300 groupset which is a new addition to the Shimano range. Obviously not as smooth as its stablemates but perfectly functional in my experience, and seems to be fairly robust. The only issue I have is the thumb lever for the down shifts rather than the inner lever found on the higher end.

I think the supplied cassette is 12-25. Coupled with the triple, this should be plenty for climbs like Ditchling Beacon. Pretty easy to swap to different cassette if required though.

steveal

I would have thought that the Specialized Sirrus Elite was a more direct comparison to the Ridgeback Flight 02?

Steve

mudslinger

I use a Tricross Sport for commuting & it gets me over the Beacon just fine. It's a great versatile bike.