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What gearing are you running with the CX-1?
I thought long and hard about one of these but went for a shand in the end as it fitted what i wanted a little better. But ive never seen a bad review of one of these
But its not Ti ! (Look very nice though) 😉but went for a shand in the end
'But its not Ti !'
Thats one of the reasons i didint go for it lol
@matts: 40 up front 11-32 out back. Feels fine for most things, but I do run out of high gears on the descents. I might try 42 & 11-36
I had 42 and 11-36 for a long while and it was great for on/off road. Very rarely needed higher gears. Only went to a double because of longer road rides. May go back.
I think I'd struggle with a max gear of 100 inch. That's between a 50/14. and 13.
Would probably be OK for CX.
All in, what do these things generally weigh? (I know you're not supposed to talk about these things, but humour me, go on)
Happened to weigh mine today actually, as a mate has leant me one of those proper bike scales things. Came in at 9.38kg with pedals. Currently got the Kinesis crossmax wheels with 28mm open paves on there. Expecting a delivery of my new Hunt x Mason wheels so once I've got those on with some 25mm contis I think I'll be nicely under 9kg. Not bad for a "winter" bike. That's with 105 (5800).
What are these like compared to more standard cyclocross bikes offroad? Are they still as harsh on your wrists for people who are used to suspension forks?
I rode mine off road today for the first time. Very pleased with the tyres although the pressure needs tweaking. Didn't feel beaten up although the bars need to go.
Didn't feel beaten up although the bars need to go
Could I humbly recommend the Salsa Woodchipper CG
Thanks jobro, others have been recommending the Cow Bells. A bit spoiled as 2 mtb's have carbon bars but was shocked to see the price of carbon roadie bars! Not rushing into anything, a few more rides will help me decide.
Edit: just looking at the Salsa website, those Woodchippers certainly look different!
Ive got cowbells on and i really like them tho its early days. Not much flare but just enough and quite a shallow drop
Thanks jobro, others have been recommending the Cow Bells
Bar choice will depend on the ratio of offroad/road riding you do I would suggest. Cowbell would be for more road riding less off roading IMHO
For me its 75% off road and the woodchipper fits that bill.
I've got some 380mm cowbells 2 for sale... £38 posted.
Got Bell Laps and Cowbells on a 29er and the Tripster and always found them really good off road, especially on descent. Better for me than Midges were..
I've got Cowbells on mine. They're a CX bar, so basically a road setup with more control in the drops due to the extra flare.
If you ride mostly off-road, then Woodchippers may be a good option.
Does anyone know if the Kinesis wheels are compatible with a Sram 10-42 cassette? Thanks.
Doesn't look like it - see here :
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/sram-and-xtr-11-speed-mix-and-match
you can get a shimano XT 11-36 cassette on and use it with 10 shimano brifters - with an XTR shadow 9 speed rd.
Susie, Did you get any joy demoing one ?
Andy, no I didn't. I ordered one from Freeborn because their website said they had stock. I kept the order with them as I didn't want to miss out on the next shipment, but rang and emailed other shops to see if anyone had any. Lovevelo didn't have one in stock and I didn't think it was on to try their demo bike when I was buying the frame from elsewhere. I'm pretty sure the 54cm will be ok for me.
I can't wait. My partner has just become the owner of a Vaya Ti and is raving about how great that kind of bike is.
I've cancelled my Kenesis wheels as I wanted to be able to run a sram 10-42 cassette, but now i'm not sure if everything is compatible. Does anyone know if the following are compatible?
Sram CX1 crankset
Sram 10-42 cassette
Sram force 1 long cage rear mech
Sram force 1 ergodynamic levers
The wheels i've ordered come with an XD driver.
Thanks.
Not sure of answering your question, Susie, but I've just this evening done similar to Turner Guy's suggestion on mine...
I'm off on a 5 day gravel / lanes tour in just over a week, so have swapped the 28mm Duranos for an trusty set of 37mm Conti Travel Contacts on the CX wheels and stuck an 11-36 XT 10spd cassette on the back, matching 10spd chain and an XT 9spd rear mech. Based on extensive tests* it all seems hunky dory, so I'll stick a decent loop in at the weekend to shake it down properly and then whack the bags on and try it properly before I head off on my adventures...
*a quick nip up the road and back in my flip flops.
I was going to do that, but 2 x 10 with a super compact 30/46, but decided this week that I really want 1 x 11. I thought all sram stuff was interchangeable, but thought I'd better check before ordering, but now i'm not so sure.
Just fitted a Praxis 11-40 cassette to mine, the XTR B-Tension screw needed dialled all the way in and the top two alloy sprockets were a really tight fit on the CK free hub which is a good thing as they'll be no movement under torque.
28 tooth front and 40 tooth rear gives me a 19" low gear so it should make the hills easier.
Very nice bit of kit, well machined and shifting is every bit as good as the XT 11-36 i removed, 14g lighter than XT so that will make all the difference 😉
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Stick some suspension forks on and you could call it a mountain bike... 😉
DrP
Long overdue update on mine... It'll hit 7,000 miles next week during another lanes / gravel tour and I've slightly revised the spec...
Off to Snowdonia on a 350ish mile 5 day circular trip, door to door from east Cheshire - Liverpool, Llandudno, Coed y Brenin, Oswestry and back home. There are no huge miles in it each day, but a fair bit of climbing for a couple of them as I'm going straight through Snowdonia. I've used as many Sustrans routes as possible again - if you're a grit.cx subscriber you'll find my piece on last year's little escapade in issue 4, I think. It's a great formula to follow and brings so much traffic-free or low traffic riding to the party.
So - current spec:
New XT 9 speed rear mech, 10spd 12-36 XT cassette and matching chain paired with the original Ultegra compact chainset and 10spd shifters. I've had the latest Kinesis CX Disc wheels on it for yonks, but just swapped my trusty Durano tyres for the 37mm Cont Travel Contacts for the trip. The TRP Spyres are as good as they've ever been and the Bluemels guards work well too. I really rate the fancy-dan Time carbon/ti pedals - especially since I picked up some nice Giro touring type shoes that mean I can wear them off the bike as well as on. Ritchey finishing kit, Spesh Romin saddle, Hope BB - that's about it.
I'll be using an Alpkit Koala, alongside a small Deuter frame bag and a Topeak bar bag. That's big enough for 5 days kit, as I'm staying in B&B accommodation so no tent or sleeping bag! I've actually got more room than I thought...
Tried the new drivetrain out yesterday on a hilly Peak District ride and was suitably impressed that I probably won't go back to the closer ratio Ultegra bits I had on before, even though they looked 'nicer'. Did my first run out with all the new luggage on today on gravel, roads and a few hills and that went very well too, so I think, once I've found my legs, I'm all set 🙂
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At the other end of the spectrum I have put some road pedals, Hunt disc wheels and 25mm tyres on mine. Went out on my personal 20 mile fast paced course into a strong headwind and got to within 1kmp/h of my best time on my carbon race bike. These Tripsters really can do it all, or most of it at least.
Gtth how big do the contis size up a big or small 37? Cheers
Awsome mudguards ctbm also has them for sale cheap too
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I'd say that they're pretty true to size, firestarter. They're quite a square (not rounded) profile on those rims and surprisingly fast rolling - but I guess that's the big centre tread. I've got Duranos in 32 and 28 widths that I also swap and change - as curto80 says, the range of talents these bikes have is phenomenal.
I need some PDW guards in my life!
Awsome mudguards ctbm also has them for sale cheap too
where is ctbm?
I'm after some for my Equilibrium.
Ta
Cheers gtth. I tried to fit a set of halo twin rails in 38 yesterday after a puncture fest but they seem pretty big and rubbed the guards a bit 🙁
ta very muchly, @ that price they seem worthwhile trying
Sounds like a good trip gonetothehills.
Planning something similar with my Tripster in September in my neck of the woods.
Haven't decided yet to stick with my slick 28mm's and stay on concrete paths, or put some treaded tyres on and take in a few more of the gravel options.
Tour de Tripster
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Simon, Rory and I did a smash and grab 22h visit to the Tour on Thursday. All Tripster'd up. Twas a great day :O)
cool pic, a trio of tripsters all with different set-ups
Indeed. All built for their owners desires :O)
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The one sticking out front is 1x11 XTR Di2 with shift buttons integrated into some TRP Hylex hydro drop bar brakes. Rory works at Upgrade needless to say! The shifting was amazing albeit that amazing comes with a hefty price tag. My XT shifting seems great value in comparison!
It was rory @ upgrade i spoke to when i ordered mine way back 2 years ago, Had a long chat with him and made sure as soon as they were available i wanted one sent up to the bike shop where i was working at the time - he mentioned that he was going to get one and build it to his own specification - good to see he did so 😀
What fork is he running?, doesn't look like the kinesis one supplied?.
Still loving this thread Guys n Gals.
So many different set ups and variations in theme and riding destinations..
It's quite possibly one of the best threads on here. 😀
New TRP one. DON'T talk to Rory about it. He will gas for ages about it 😀 This is his third frame but the first he managed to keep his hands on for a build. The demands that good!
Through axle, hose goes through the fork leg via a strengthening tube on disc side only to improve rigidity, blah, blah, blah! Oh and £200 more than the one on the bike!
(looks pimp as and the next gen one will have mud guard eyes. clearance isn't as good as the spec'd one on the frame though)
Ahh, I thought it looked odd as it is matte finish and the skewer is on the [i]odd[/i] side, till i noticed it was bolt through - very nice looking and i lie the internal cable routing, I'd like it even more if it had internal routing on the other side for dynamo cables and up through the steerer tube for usb charging top caps 😀
How does it compare in rake/trail compared to the kinesis version?.
Like I know! It's matt pimp black and looks nice. That's the limit of my knowledge.
I take back my ealrier comment. Call Rory but be ready for a chat. Tea and food by the phone as you'll be there a while :O)
Built some new road wheels for the Tripster, covered just over 5000 miles now, still loving it.
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I've just posted a for sale ad, selling my trp spyre's, 160mm rotors and hardware, off my tripster. I'm going hydraulic. I thought I'd let you folks know straight away, in case anyone needs some for a build.
Just to add to the info pile:
Now have 2 wheelsets. First is the standard issue CrossLights from Kinesis, shod with Small Block 8s (it's summer) - my offroad set, but still pretty nippy on.
Long cage Ultegra Mech, 11-32 cassette.
Second is H Plus Son Archetypes on Novatech from spokesman.co.uk - I'm not sure they are any lighter than the Crosslights but they look awesome and clearly this is the most important thing for the road build. In 'none more black' black hubs, black spokes, black brass nipples etc. Running an 11-28 cassette. Have Clement Strada 12-tpi on there as they looked classic and were cheap in a ProBikeKit outlet sell off. Seem to be good all rounders.
The point was really that swapping wheels is a breeze - that gear difference works (and I set the chain for the 11-28 though I tend to be generous) and I can get away without calliper adjustment. I usually do, as it takes a minute to slacken the bolts, hold the lever and nip tight again to recenter.
Absolutely love this bike, in both guises. Riding with my mtb bound friend he described it as cheating 🙂
[i]ta very muchly, @ that price they seem worthwhile trying[/i]
I bought the pdw guards for £39 free post from Triton cycles last week. Quick delivery too.
[url= http://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/accessories-c11/mudguards-c146/pdw-full-metal-fender-set-p11122 ]PDW Full Metal Fender[/url]
Anybody gone from a Croix de Fer to a Tripster? Having hem tingling thoughts of wanting ti!
Anybody gone from a Croix de Fer to a Tripster? Having hem tingling thoughts of wanting ti!
yes - 54cm 2012 croix to a 54cm tripster.
(bearing in my the 2012 croix is less slack/tall than the current one)
when I first made the switch I missed the fast steering of the croix and found the tripster with its slack fork a bit slow.
I was using the same stem/bars/wheels/tyres on the tripster - and the stem was 100mm.
My first thought was that I maybe should have bought a bigger tripster and used a shorter stem, as that is how it was designed apparently.
But a bigger frame would have meant less standover, and the standover was correct for offroad use.
I gradually got used to the stability of the tripster and took fun out of accelerating out of corners instead.
I then put fatter tyres on (40mm nanos) and now think it is perfect.
Anybody gone from a Croix de Fer to a Tripster? Having hem tingling thoughts of wanting ti!
Yes but I haven't been able to use the Tripster much due to mechanical issues and the set up is ongoing. The CdF felt bomb proof on the back roads, haven't taken the Tripster on those yet.
Truth is I like Ti due to having a Ti mtb.
Predominant use of my CDF is commuting on Tarmac only but tried the canal and loved it so will be coming home that way more I think. It's going to be between the new CDF Ti when it's out and a Tripster. Decisions
Can anyone recommend some decent tyres that will fit on the stock Kinesis wheels designed purely for off-road riding, ideally at least 38c. I repeat - these will NOT be needed for on road, I have both cyclocross tyres or gatorskins for that. Everywhere I look comes up with tyres designed for mixed use. Sorry if I've missed it in this thread - I have read though basically the whole thing but can't find it. I intend to take it as my only bike to the Alps on holiday for both road and mountain (I'll let you know) with some quick tyre changes. Is that mad with 105? Will it survive the bashing - obviously we are not talking downhill courses here, but trails...?
Many thanks.
P.S. Love my Tripster - the stock build with 105 is the same weight as my carbon road bike!? and the magical flare of titanium that you get when you stand up and put the power down is simply amazing! Anyone in the south west want to go for a joint, Tripster appreciation ride?
WTB Nano Race are 38c and can run them tubeless on the kinesis wheels
These on one tyres prolly worth a look too
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TYOOGRT1/on-one-gravel-road-bsc-type-1-folding-tyre
I have a pair of the new Hunt disc wheels for road duties and they just work.
Acyclistforlife; where in the SW are you based mate?
Ah great - thanks for the recommendations cloudnine - I'll have a look into those. Anything you could also recommend for wetter conditions, and do those 2.1's fit with the Tripster?! I thought the maximum was in the 16 region...
curto80 - The Southampton area? You?
Nice one, I'm Southampton born and bred but now live in Winchester. Deffo up for a tripster ride out!
The WTB Nanos seem to be pretty good in the mud and wet
After using the Tripster for my daily commute via the road and farm tracks, I decided it was time to chuck on the spare knoblies and take the scenic route to work. Took me twice as long.....but I think you'll agree...not a bad way to get to the office.
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This bike really is amazing, absolutely flew on the rough stuff and even coped with full on rooty descents.....just keeps putting a smile on my face.
Nice one, I'm Southampton born and bred but now live in Winchester. Deffo up for a tripster ride out!
Could get crowded. Just north of Andover. Sure there's someone on here that's our side of Salisbury Plain, and CG is local too.
Took me twice as long.....but I think you'll agree...not a bad way to get to the office.
I dunno, I mean it's not much compared to sitting in a knackered Pug and queueing off the M4 into Green park is it? 🙂
I dunno, I mean it's not much compared to sitting in a knackered Pug and queueing off the M4 into Green park is it?
🙂
Been there, done that, used to have a round trip of 120KM daily. One of the bike reasons I took this job actually.
Could get crowded. Just north of Andover. Sure there's someone on here that's our side of Salisbury Plain, and CG is local too.
There's no such thing as a crowded Tripster ride, only one that's more fun! Does that make Stockbridge our centre point (you lot in Andover, Winchester, Southampton, Salisbury)? Let's make this happen!!!
And thanks TurnerGuy - I might be getting those then, I do keep hearing them get mentioned...
Stockbridge works for me. Only the diary could get in the way!
When would be good - I've got quite flexible arrangements at the moment?
On my other question, would the Nanos give me the most grip, over, e.g the On-ones (On-One Gravel Road B.S.C. Type 1 Folding Tyre ) recommended, or would something like a continental cyclocross tyre be even better does anyone know?
i have some 42mm conti cross tyres that i bought at the same time as the nanos.
They might not get used soon as I have just bought some more nanos ready for when I have to replace the current ones...
Where did you get the nanos from? I can't find them anywhere....only the 2.1's?
Back from a cracking five day tour to Snowdonia on my Tripster - I'll get some pics up soon on the thread but it had a bit of everything: gravel, singletrack, slate, lanes, 1:4 hills, rain, sheep, loooong descents, isolated sections where I hardly saw a soul, nice B&Bs, cake... All great fun.
Anyway - one of the things I've been thinking of doing (now I've just put the thinner 28mm Duranos back on) is upgrading to the PDW guards that Charlie's got on his site. Has anyone fitted them to their Tripster yet? Forgive me for not trawling back through (though I think I've probably read every page anyway) but I'm pretty sure someone's got them? Looking at the fitting vid, they use various bits that might not be required - QR skewer fitments and a rubber band round the seatpost etc - I can see the use if you've not got the necessary braze ons, but where you have, I guess they'll just fit in ok? It's [url= http://www.charliethebikemonger.com/portland-design-works-full-metal-fenders-set-45mm-9722-p.asp ]the 45mm ones[/url] I'm thinking of btw.
Cheers in advance 🙂
Edit: just seen the PDW thread that somafunk's got them on his - looking very nice too...
upgrading to the PDW guards
Do it.
Has anyone fitted them to their Tripster yet?
Quite a few of us on here* - you may need the longer rear stays if you wish to clear 38mm tyres
*not said in a creepy [i]bike-cult[/i] sort of way
Edit: just seen the PDW thread that somafunk's got them on his - looking very nice too…
Cheers, although the jones bar build does seem to polarise opinions regarding [i]nice[/i], personally i'm not bothered how it looks as it's my child that i've spawned and it's built for a purpose that enables me to keep turning the pedals…….albeit at a crawl so PFFFFFFT 😀
Cheers somafunk - just about to press the button on them 🙂
I have to say that I really rather like your Jones bar build. One of my roadie mates saw my Tripster loaded up before I set off last week and was full of praise for it looking 'fit for purpose' with its bags on - and that's yours to a tee. There's no two ways about it, the original design and concept is superb, but it shines through more so in how everyone's built them so differently. I wimped out of going down the Jones route because I still like to use it as my only 'road' bike and to me, that's got drops on it, but I'd love to give that setup a go...
I'll be sticking the PDW guards on over the 28mm Duranos for now, so guess the standard stays will do? Looking at a pic of the drive side of yours, you've gone for using the mounts from the QR skewers on both sides on the front and then off the braze ons on the rear? Did it fit round the Spyres ok at both ends? Oh - and did you just drill the guard to fix to the seat stay brace?
Thanks as always 🙂
I love mine even more with Jones bars (well Titec to be precise) on it. It allows for MTB gears and hydro brakes that work properly.
It took me time to accept the idea of not having drops but I NEVER use the drop section and can still get stretched out if I want on the front of the Jones bars.
It's good that we're all different. Keeps things interesting.
On the front i needed to use a couple of small spacers from a set of v-brake pads to clear the calliper, nothing on the rear. As for the seat stay brace i just fitted the guards as normal and marked where i wanted to drill the hole for the seat stay bridge - i used brake rotor bolts (ti of course 😉 ) to attach the guards to the bike.
The stays use a teeny grub screw to allow for lengthening/shortening purposes - i recommend you place a small amount of tape over the grub screw heads in case they rattle loose/fall out, i used a teeny strip of silver foil duct tape.
Thanks for the advice (again!) - "fenders" duly ordered. It's a sure sign of middle age to be even getting the slightest bit excited about mudguards isn't it? 🙂 I'll heed the suggestions on grub screws, before they head under the fridge Mint Sauce style, let alone lost along the side of the road. There may already be ti bolts holding the SKS guards on on mine. It seemed a shame not too...
I'm still tempted on the Jones / Titec bars, and you've not helped this at all, Timbur! I guess it means I could use proper MTB gear levers and a 10spd rear mech rather than my 9spd XT that's working with the 10spd Ultregra STIs... More expense... *heads off to garage for a ponder.
Would anyone recommend running a ti post and if so, which one. I want one with a clamp that's not fiddly to set up/adjust. Thanks.
I have a Ti post although it is 27.2 and an old USE one.
Comfort is good but on the road I suppose you could notice it being as little undamped. Some people use carbon with ti frames I think for that reason, although the carbon post I have in my road bike is not very comfortable.
gtth - do it. you won't look back :O)
No fudging, no cable brakes, just good old XT reliability. (other Shimano options are available)
Happy to more pics if you like.