Friday, July 20, 2018

Specialized Tri Cross

Made my first bike purchase in over a decade when I picked up a 2011 Specialized Tri Cross from Kijiji. My venerable Norco hardtail is showing its age and I was reluctant to sink any monies into a bike that is on the small size and is not the most comfortable fit.



The stars kinda aligned for this purchase considering the window of opportunity was closing as my (forced) semi retirement after 32 years of service was fast approaching. With my role going offshore I doubt I will see October as an employed individual. If I was buying it had to be soon. I could not justify a new bike so used it would be. I was looking for a better commuter considering my next job could be farther from home and also something in a gravel/cross bike genre.



Spotted the Tri Cross on Kijiji from a seller close to home and it was both my exact size(56) and within my budget. Unfortunately there was another buyer ahead of me so I figured it was gone. To my surprise the deal collapsed so I did not hesitate and made the buy.



It is a used bike but showed well. Since it will be my commute/groomed trail/all weather bike I didn't care if it had some "scars". Less appealing to thieves. It is a comfortable bike-the relaxed geometry makes for a more upright position compared to my Giant TCR Advanced road bike. Perfect for my intended purpose. It has some weight being the " Sport" version but rolls well and feels solid under me. I'm thinking it is more suited as a commuter than cross bike but could be used for cycle cross in the "just for fun" category.



The fit is near perfect for me. I dropped the seat post an inch and tweaked the handlebar position a tad but otherwise it was perfect. The bike has the suicide brakes which is perfect for city cycling and a beefy carbon fork with old school cantilever brakes. That may be the only weakness so far....when you get up to speed the heavier bike is surprisingly fast so sudden braking requires a herculean effort on the levers.



Real happy so far after a couple commutes and a jaunt upon the BLT and Power line trails.

No comments: