# What is everyones opinion on the Specialized TriCross?



## CaliBuddha (Jan 3, 2007)

Im wanting to get my first cross- specific bike and dont really wanna throw down a ton of money and Ive seen these bikes go for reasonable prices.


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## dr pabst (May 16, 2007)

I've honestly never ridden one. However, you might also want to take a look at Kona's entry level CX bike. I'm not sure what you're price range is...

I ride a Felt F1X, which I bought last year for around 1400 bucks. I raced it in 10+ races last year and think that it is a great bike, and, other than the tires, is race-ready off the shelf.


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## elmar schrauth (Feb 19, 2007)

to expensive and to heavy for the money.
fork is ugly , i say it looks like it has got testicalmumps.
it has shuttering with cantilverbrakes .


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## dyg2001 (Sep 23, 2004)

Specialized should change the model name from "TriCross" to "TesticalMumps"


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## Dajianshan (Jul 15, 2007)

Ouch! You guys just cost Specialized millions in future revenue and marketing to rebrand the Tricross as the non-testicalmumps frame set. It may take years to disassociate it from testiclemumps. I know I wouldn't want a rig someone called testiclemumps. I mean...in the back of my head I'd be wondering if everyone else on the course were looking at my testiclemumps.


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## griffo (Oct 5, 2007)

Good all around bike . Looked at it hard before buying my Redline.


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

Nothing to write home about as a stock CX bike.

Would be more attractive "freeroad" bike if it had a disc brake option.


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## gregwjs (Nov 9, 2007)

+1 on Kona's Jake the Snake. A couple hundred less than the Tricross (in my market) and a nice all around bike. It's been my "go to" bike for the last several months on the road and off.


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## DarkSaturn (May 11, 2007)

I considered one last year, took it for a short ride for a couple blocks around the LBS. Wasn't particularly impressed, between all the reports of fork shutter and a general uneasiness about the relative strength of the fork (260 lbs of me, don't think I trust carbon that much). I ended going for an all aluminum Opus Sentierro (likely not an option for non Canadians). It's not the lightest CX bike in the world, but it does good duty for me as a commuter / fire road machine, I'm a converted MTB rider so the disc's (stock) and beefy magnesium platform pedals (not stock) made the transition nice.


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## LetsGoOutside (Dec 2, 2005)

I own the 2006 Tri-Cross double and for my two cents it is a worthwhile investment. Mine is the pre-carbon fiber rear triangle model but the frame and fork combination have provided a ride that is equally as stiff and wayyy more comfortable than any other cross bike I have ever ridden (which includes the aforementioned models from Kona and Redline and other brands models from the last ten years of riding cross bikes.)

The thing that impresses me most about this bike is it's versatility:
I race a full season of cross every year and run my cross bikes through the ringer for 2 or three races a weekend plus a week full of nats racing every year and this bike never gave me any fits. 
The front fork that everyone seems to have qualms about has had less brake chatter for me than the ec-90s and alpha-q's I have tried (I have ran both Shimano and Avid brakes on it). But the real seller on the fork for me was the clearance, I can fit a Kenda Karma 1.9" tire with plenty of room to spare in the front and have clearance for a 45c tire in the rear. Which can transform this bike into a monster cross 29er rig with nothing more than some new tires.
I also raced some early season road races and did all my winter road miles on my tri-cross, worked just as well as any other road bike and the geometry lends itself to long days in the saddle for me. 

The one downside:
OVERPRICED! If you can get a deal on one of these than it is worth it but I personally would never pay retail for Specialized's ridiculous asking price on this bike. The Tri-Cross was not even on my list of bikes to consider when I started looking because of it's outrageous price-tag and if I hadn't stumbled across a ridiculous deal on a hardly used one I would have never discovered this gem.


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## dc.cyclocross (Oct 5, 2007)

*I like it a lot*



CaliBuddha said:


> Im wanting to get my first cross- specific bike and dont really wanna throw down a ton of money and Ive seen these bikes go for reasonable prices.


I have an all Alu S-works tri-cross and really like it. 

I think the wide fork design is great- fork and rear triangle mud clearance were big pluses in getting this bike. I also like the flattened downtube for carrying.

I don't have a brake shudder problem with my Spooky brakes.

With the semi-compact design I had to change how I pick up my bike- I know lift from the downtube rather than the top tube to avoid a risk of knocking my elbow into my right pedal.

-m


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## CaliBuddha (Jan 3, 2007)

Thanks a lot for the help. Im still choosing between several options. Just looking for something some- what cheap but also still decent. Hopefully under $800- 900.


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## Hippienflipflops (Aug 21, 2007)

im apparently the only one without this "fork shudder" issue?? im not light either, i go about 195.


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## artnshel (Jun 29, 2004)

The fork is ugly.


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## dc.cyclocross (Oct 5, 2007)

*not me either*



Hippienflipflops said:


> im apparently the only one without this "fork shudder" issue?? im not light either, i go about 195.



my s-works with spooky brakes doesn't shudder at 180-195 lbs...

also- I like the fork design since it doesn't clog up with mud- unlike the smaller clearance on my backup bike.


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## hikerdave (Sep 3, 2006)

CaliBuddha said:


> Im wanting to get my first cross- specific bike and dont really wanna throw down a ton of money and Ive seen these bikes go for reasonable prices.


I really like mine, a 2005 Comp Double. I chose this bike over a Redline Conquest Pro because the ride was so much better.

The best feature is the really good tire clearance. I use a pair of WTB 700 x 44 tires on and rode single-track, because I just wore out my 700 x 42s. (It really blows the minds of mountain bikers when they see me, a large middle-aged man, clean a climb that they can't make on their fat tires.)

The bike is good on the road too. The vibration damping on the fork and bars really does seem to soak up that road buzz.

I'd rather have a triple, but instead of converting or just I bought one of Sheldon's custom cassettes for the bike to lower the gearing enough for light mountain biking. I kept the stock cassette on those blingy Roval wheels for road riding.


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## dgearhart (Mar 21, 2008)

*Just Bought a 2006 Tricross Comp*

I bought one used on Friday. I took it out for 20 miles on Friday and a fast road group ride this morning since it was raining. I am a pure road racer who bought it for cross racing and winter training. I am very impressed with this bike as it is smooth on the road. I never get dropped by group rides on the road, but I was off the bike around mile 16 since I was running 700 x 32 tires which slowed me down a bit. However, it gave me a good feeling of the overall handling of the bike. I can say that I didn't feel any fork or brake issues and I got up to over 32 mph going down some hills this morning. 

I would highly recommend the Tricross Comp based on my limited use so far.


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## dc.cyclocross (Oct 5, 2007)

dgearhart said:


> I bought one used on Friday. I took it out for 20 miles on Friday and a fast road group ride this morning since it was raining. I am a pure road racer who bought it for cross racing and winter training. I am very impressed with this bike as it is smooth on the road. I never get dropped by group rides on the road, but I was off the bike around mile 16 since I was running 700 x 32 tires which slowed me down a bit. However, it gave me a good feeling of the overall handling of the bike. I can say that I didn't feel any fork or brake issues and I got up to over 32 mph going down some hills this morning.
> 
> I would highly recommend the Tricross Comp based on my limited use so far.


last year I found a crack in my road bike the night before a road race. I swapped my road gearing and wheels to my tri-cross and raced it the next day! NO problems at all in a road race with speeds over 40mph, though I would prefer road caliper brakes for the modulation over right-angle canti's.

BTW- in the new issue of Cyclocross magazine they list the bike of every winner at Natz. Aside from why the ride them (ie sponsorship) it's clear that a lot of people are doing very well on the tri-cross. examples Natz winners Andy Jaques-mayne (30-34, also 6th in elite), ned overend (50-54), james coats (40-44).


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## aidforosker (Mar 26, 2008)

The shop I work at sells them mostly to people looking to ride rail to trail paths faster. The fork is an eyesore. I once saw one with an alpha q fork I think... it was the sworks model and had the lightning cranks, it looked great! I would say check out cannondale, but that Is my answer to most cross bike questions.


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## gregwjs (Nov 9, 2007)

The comp double (the level of bikes I was looking at) was turd brown. That was a non-starter for me (as stupid as that is...).


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