Cyclocross - Specialized Tricross 08 vs. 09?

I'm just about to buy a Tricross Sport for commuting etc., and have ridden both the 08 and 09 at my LBS. They've changed three things this year, 1) crank set, 2) headset & stem, and 3) brakes. My main concern is the brakes; the 08 model had linear pull brakes and the 09 has "Tektro low profile linear spring cantilever" brakes (they look like center pull cantilevers). The 09 also now has little red cable tighteners on the lever brakes. The 08 linear brakes work great on the one I rode, while the 09's didn't feel as responsive and grippy.

So my question is: are the new brakes considered and "upgrade"? If so, how?

Are the other changes also upgrades (crank, headset & stem)?

Link to 08 specs (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=32209)

Link to 09 specs (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=38443&eid=123)

BTW, I think the Brown/black/silver paint job is very cool!

Thanks in advance!

Interesting you should ask. I bought an 08, crashed it into a car, and replaced it with an 09. The 08 originally came with V-brakes, but when I complained about them (you had to set them really close to the rims), the Australian distributor replaced them with cantis. The 09 came with a different style of cantis.

Now I've read a bit about this issue and gotten conflicting information from the interwebs and several LBSs. My experience was that the original v-brakes felt ok (possibly different from the advertised "linear pull" ones), but were just unmanageable - as soon as your rim was out of true, you had to back them off, to the point where you couldn't actually fully brake. The 09 cantis work fine for me. I have plenty of clearance, and can still lock either wheel from the drops if I need. I don't find the cross levers give quite enough leverage though - it takes a lot of force to lock a wheel.

The little red knobs supposedly make it easier to get wheels on and off without disconnecting the brakes, but I haven't had much success with them. The way they're supposed to work is that as you wind them, the brakes open, but if you apply pressure to the lever, they instantly snap back to normal - a safety feature. In practice I just change the wheel with the tyre deflated.

Re: headset and crank, I couldn't tell you. Just had a look out of curiosity, and the cranks are certainly different (the 08 was branded "Vero" and the 09 is Tektra FSP(?)). No idea what the diff is.

>BTW, I think the Brown/black/silver paint job is very cool!

That's the one I have. I actually preferred the all black 09, though this is probably safer at night. :p

My 08 came with cantilever brakes. They must have changed them later. I wonder how the v-brakes work with the road levers.
I don't think that the crankset and stem will make a noticeable difference.

I've got an 09.

Interesting that you talk about the brakes as they are one of the reasons that I bought the bike; those brakes are really strong.

IMO they don't work well with road levers, though, as I found I had to run the pads very close to the rims to reduce brake lever travel, which made removing either wheel difficult, or I could run the pads farther from the rim, making wheel removal easier, and brake lever travel worse.

I ended up getting Problem Solvers Travel Agents, added them to my v-brakes, and now they work great. Strong breaking, good modulation, easy wheel removal.

However, other people have bikes with road lever and v-brakes and opine that it works fine.

I can't tell you how well the cantilevers work on the Tricross.

I don't think the crankset difference will matter, either. They're both low-end FSA 3-piece cranksets. Nothing special there.