Fifty Plus (50+) - Components

I am new to bike shopping, Can anyone tell me if these are a decent set of components on a 700 dollar bike
Components
Component Group Road Mix
Brakeset Alloy Linear Pull brakes, Specialized linear pull levers
Shift Levers Shimano Deore Rapidfire
Front Derailleur Shimano Deore
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore
Crankset Sugino XD500TG w/chainguard, 26/36/48 teeth
Pedals Composite
Bottom Bracket FSA BB-7420, 122.5mm spindle
BB Shell Width 68mm
Rear Cogs 9-speed, 11 - 32 teeth
Chain KMC X9

A couple of years ago you would have gotten Deore LX on a $700 bike, but this set is good for 2008 dollars.

A couple of years ago you would have gotten Deore LX on a $700 bike, but this set is good for 2008 dollars.

Tom - we were just discussion this in another thread, here we go again, cheap no-name brakes & levers on a cheap bike. It may be OK for a $700 bike but in general it is throwing good money after bad. Spend a little more and get some decent components.

Those are very good and reliable components (including the no-name brakes). I hope you enjoy your Cross Trail Elite. ;)

This seems a solid bike for someone beginning seriously to ride. As you increase your mileage and make more demands on yourself and your gear, and as you find what style of riding suits you best.....then your needs, both imagined and real, may dictate an (for many of us) inevitable and sometimes endless process of upgrading. This stuff will get you out on the road and not hold you back in any way from getting hooked on riding and seeing great benefits. From there, who knows where you'll end up. Have fun.

Most of the components here are solid. If you try the brakes and don't like them, then you could replace them a lot cheaper than going up to a more expensive bike where all of the components are brand name. But otherwise the Shimano Deore components are good & the Sugino crankset is solid.

I don't like that they don't list a name for the rear cassette. But those cogs may still be fine.

It's too bad the component quality levels are dropping at every price point, but with an increasingly weak dollar, that is going to happen. A lot of bikes are going up by 10%-15% in '09, after 10% increases in '08.

Good time to look for '06 and '07 closeouts. Get a discount on a bike with better grade gear on it.

But in this case, this bike wasn't built in '07.

Components wear out. Ride them till they wear out or break and replace them with something better.

Tom - we were just discussion this in another thread, here we go again, cheap no-name brakes & levers on a cheap bike. It may be OK for a $700 bike but in general it is throwing good money after bad. Spend a little more and get some decent components.


I agree with you about some uprading, but when we started looking at the crosstrail we were initiall looking at the 450 dollar base model, we then looked at the 600 dollar next up model and decided we could upgrade to the 720 dollar model, In your response you act as if money is not an object to some most people, The next leve up in the cross trail is 1100 dollars and we are buying 2 at the same time. We are talking about 800 dollars more here, I know I do not have 800 to throw at something when I think from most of the opinions here we should be getting a fairly decent bike.

If you're new to the sport, $700 likely seems like a LOT to spend on a bike. ;) (I know it did for me).

If biking gets in your blood, get ready for the N+1 syndrome. (You can never have enough bikes).

Just curious, what brand is the bike you're considering? (not that it matters).

Hmm... I seem to have a thing going for parentheses today..

It is a 2009 Specialized crosstrail elite.

It is about a normal component fit for a Specialized bike. Most entry to mid level bicycles from the LBS brands like Specialized, Trek, Giant or GT etc are going to have a similar fit. To hold down costs, they are going to use Tektro built brakes, less expensive wheels and chains. The stem, bars, seatpost stuff is going to be house brand..........ie factory badged parts made by this seasons factory of choice. All of it works. Typical upgrades (as BD says, "after you wear out the originals") will consist of better brake pads, perhaps better wheels, better cables and a better chain.

In almost all cases, more expensive parts are just lighter. If the brake arms don't bend or flex and if the return springs are ok, then weight and the choice of brake pad installed is about the only detectable difference to the average rider.

The bicycle industry has changed over the last few years. The Tiawan factories are general purpose machine shops that can make almost any part better or cheaper than anyone else. Because of this, the manufacturers buy their parts there. The parts can come with a badge or not. Some factories specialize in certain types of parts (Tektro for example is the house name for a factory complex that builds most of the brakes sold on bikes.) Some of their brakes have the Shimano label, Some are Specialized, many have no label at all. Some are very "inexpensive" and some are very trick full race parts suitable for the highest level of racing. Other factories make frames, gears, chains, carbon fiber parts etc. Each will make any design you give them.

Politically, its interesting to see that many Tiawan factories have slowing business as their owners invest more heavily in mainland China locations. (I know, it appears that the two governments don't like each other, but business is business) Brand names like Tektro come and go and change to other names depending on the marketing and importer presently in favor.

Bottom line, buy the bike that you like and can afford. It can all be improved on or repaired with better parts in the future as the originals wear out.

Well, my impulse is to tell you to not get anything less than Shimano 105 and get a road bike unless you are going to ride off road.

But I was at the Florida Bicycle Safari this year. It is 6 days with 2 centuries and plus 50 miles on every day. A lady I know rides this. She rides a little hybrid that cost her the princely sum of something like $350. She was happy as all get out with it and rode distances on it.

So get what you want. If it is not "good" enough, buy a new bike.

I agree with you about some uprading, but when we started looking at the crosstrail we were initiall looking at the 450 dollar base model, we then looked at the 600 dollar next up model and decided we could upgrade to the 720 dollar model, In your response you act as if money is not an object to some most people, The next leve up in the cross trail is 1100 dollars and we are buying 2 at the same time. We are talking about 800 dollars more here, I know I do not have 800 to throw at something when I think from most of the opinions here we should be getting a fairly decent bike.

The time to upgrade parts are when you are buying a bike. Problem with most of the cheaper bikes is on the components---Including the wheels.

But when you set yourself a limit and stick to it- For one of many reasons- It will not matter. Not only is it possible to upgrade parts as they wear out- It is possible (Though rarely done on this forum) to sell bikes to get a better one at a later stage. The first serious bike you get serves only one purpose and that is to tell you what your second bike will be.

There will be a learning curve and you are starting on respectable bikes. Just don't be surprised if next year you hanker for a Full offroad Dual suspension Mountain bike to enable you to do the Gnarly downhills that currently you can only do at half Throttle.

Deore offroad components are roughly the equivalent of Tiagra road components. These are very good performing components for most if not all of the riding most riders will be doing. They may not hold up very long in racing conditions, but very few of us are racers.

Many of the more frequent posters on this board have much better bikes than they really need. Why? Because they can afford them. But the bikes that most of us can afford may not be as prestigious as others, but they are certainly capable of being ridden for many miles in many ways to the absolute delight of their owners. With good basic maintenance, these bikes will be very reliable, in some cases more reliable than the more expensive bikes. Today's cheaper bike parts are in many ways better than what was on the expensive bikes several years ago.

I appriciate all the responses and think they have been very enlightening( Can't Spell worth a damn) Blues Dawg you have surprised me and your words in the majority of this post do mean a lot to me, Tom, from the posts that I have read of yours I really respect your opinion. BD again I have to say your words are well received, In the short time I have been on this forum I was thinking you were a typical smart a&&, but you do have a conscious (again the spelling).

I appriciate all the responses and think they have been very enlightening( Can't Spell worth a damn) Blues Dawg you have surprised me and your words in the majority of this post do mean a lot to me, Tom, from the posts that I have read of yours I really respect your opinion. BD again I have to say your words are well received, In the short time I have been on this forum I was thinking you were a typical smart a&&, but you do have a conscious (again the spelling).

BD a smart *****??? :D

Blues Dawg you have surprised me and your words in the majority of this post do mean a lot to me, ... BD again I have to say your words are well received, In the short time I have been on this forum I was thinking you were a typical smart a&&, but you do have a conscious (again the spelling).

If you had been around longer you would know that I am a very atypical smart a&&. ;)

Being a smart a&& has made BD an expert on saddles.

Here are the actual list of componants from the Specialized web site, the previous list was from bikepedia.
FRAME
Specialized A1 Premium Aluminum, formed TT, ORE DT, forged dropouts w/ replaceable 98954020 hanger, integrated kickstand mount, chainstay disc mount

REAR SHOCK


FORK
RST Neon Pro ML700, 75mm, Hi-Ten steerer, 28.6mm stanchions, 1pc. alloy lower w/ disc mount, coil/mcu w/ preload adj., spring type seal

HEADSET
Specialized 1-1/8" threadless, loose ball

STEM
Specialized forged alloy, 2-bolt, 25.4mm, 15 degree rise

HANDLEBARS
Specialized alloy riser bar, 25.4mm, 25mm rise, 620mm wide, 8 degree back sweep, 8 degree up

GRIPS
Specialized Enduro, closed end, 130mm

FRONT BRAKE
Alloy linear pull w/ adj. housing, 1pc. pad

REAR BRAKE
Alloy linear pull w/ adj. housing, 1pc. pad

BRAKE LEVERS
Specialized linear pull

FRONT DERAILLEUR
Shimano FD-M530, 31.8mm clamp, top swing, dual pull

REAR DERAILLEUR
Shimano Deore

SHIFT LEVERS
Shimano Deore SL- M531, 9-speed, rapid fire

CASSETTE
Shimano HG-50, 9-speed, 11-32t

CHAIN
KMC X9 w/ reuseable Missing Link

CRANKSET
Sugino XD500TG w/ chainguard

CHAINRINGS
48A x 36A x 26S

BOTTOM BRACKET
FSA BB-7420, cartridge bearings, 68mm x 122.5mm for 47.5mm chain line

PEDALS
Composite body, 9/16"

RIMS
Specialized/Alex Crosstrail, 700c, double wall w/ machine sidewalls, 32h

FRONT HUB
Specialized, forged alloy, double sealed, polished races, 32h, steel QR

REAR HUB
Specialized, forged alloy, double sealed, ground race, cassette, QR, 32h

SPOKES
1.8mm (15g) stainless

FRONT TIRE
Specialized Borough XC Sport 700x45c, 60TPI, wire bead

REAR TIRE
Specialized Borough XC Sport 700x45c, 60TPI, wire bead

INNER TUBES
Specialized schraeder valve

SADDLE
Specialized XC, Body Geometry, 143mm width, front and rear bumpers

SEATPOST
Specialized alloy two bolt, 27.2mm

SEAT BINDER
Specialized forged alloy

NOTES
Chain stay protector, derailleur hanger, clear coat, owners manual

I notice that the equipment fit for the Crosstrail sport is not significantly different other than the 8 speed components in the drive train. (same wheels, tires, fork, etc) If you are buying 2 and the budget is a squeeze you might go in that direction after all. The cassette, chain, crankset and even the derailleurs are not bad, just 8 speed vice 9. The 8 speed shifters are not my favorite but will function well.

If the money saved will get you and your wife riding.........good.

If you're comparing the 2009 Crosstrail Elite with the next level down (Sport?), I believe one of the key differences is that the Elite front fork can be locked down (for riding on pavement). That is one of the reasons I'm looking to step up to get the Elite. The Sport fork cannot be locked.

Just depends on what your needs are.

If you're comparing the 2009 Crosstrail Elite with the next level down (Sport?), I believe one of the key differences is that the Elite front fork can be locked down (for riding on pavement). That is one of the reasons I'm looking to step up to get the Elite. The Sport fork cannot be locked.

Just depends on what your needs are.

That is the main reason we did go with the elite over the Sport, also the 9 speed over the 8 was another.

To be honest- Unless you are riding on rough terrain- You do not need front suspension. I know some trails can have broken surface- but if the trails are smooth- The front suspension will not assist you much. And at this price point- you have to watch out for suspension that is more like a Pogo Stick.

And unless hills are involved-8 speed will be just as effective as 9. All the 9 gives you is a lower gear for those severe hills.

We live in the foothills right at the edge of the blue ridge mountains so we do have our fair share of hills and we do ride a few mountain bike trails.

But like I posted in the riding with my wife post it all seems to not really matter now for the next few weeks since I broke my right ankle at work today. Was going to get the bikes on friday, was hoping for a good weekend of riding that is all for not now.

Ouch. I hope you heal well and quickly. Good luck.