dersan

Hi i am planning to buy a tricross.But i am very concerned about its carbon fork.I will add a front rack on the bike but i have some serious doubts about its structural integrity.İs it wise to buy a alliminium fork bike or do this bike can handle front rack and weight at least 10kg

sci_femme

1. Have you seen a fork on this mama, up close? It can take a direct nuclear hit.
2. Specialized has developed a front rack specifically for its Tricross line. However, for real heavy-duty loads there are bosses at the front dropouts too.
3. As far as weight limit - consult your LBS or contact the manufacturer. I personally hauled home a watermelon held by bungee net on a front rack.
4. Did you pick it for commuting duty? You chose better than you can imagine. Give yourself a high five.
5. Due to higher BB, frame sizing is different from road machines. Get fitted.

Have Fun and Ride Safe

SF

Saddle Up

No worries





The racks most important ****ion...

dersan

Thank you for your answers.I like the last photo I want to use this bike mainly as a commuter and for weekend trips and maybe long tour to iran and pakistan.I live in turkey istanbul.This bike is very expansive in here nearly 2400 dollar and i dont have the luxury to have 2 bikes so i am going to sell my scott sportster p5.If somehow this fork gets broken can i find a new fork for this bike from another brands or should i stick wtih the current brand

Chris_W

Depending on the size and year of the bike, the fork on this bike could be a bit unusual because of the 51mm of offset/rake, whereas most aftermarket forks are 45mm. I've recently been looking into doing this, read this thread. However, the stock fork does seem pretty tough, and the carbon doesn't start until below the brake mounts. Therefore, if you use a rack like the one pictured above then there should be no problem with it. However, I still wouldn't want to put as much weight up front as I would with a strong steel touring fork.

knobster

I've read on here about someone putting a fairly high end low rider front rack on a tricross. The post was here, but it was linking something off of www.crazyguyonabike.com. Try doing a search and see if you come up with something. I believe it was a Tubus. This person did a fully self supported tour around Europe with it and had no issues. That fork is designed for cyclocross and it's quite beefy and well able to take on the weight you'd put on the front of a bike during a tour.

As far as changing it if you damage it, I'd really stick with the stock fork as, from what I've read, it's not exactly standard as far as rake is concerned.

sci_femme

Oh, boy! You are ambitious one. And brave.

Below pertains only for long tour duty

Assuming that you are still intent on getting a Tricross, for this kind of use I would stick with entry-level Sport. At least it does not have carbon seatstays. Everything above this model does. Again, trashing carbon seatstays is not a death of this particular frame, they designed to be replaceable, problem is how fast and how expensive would it be. In your part of the world I would not take a chance. Granted, locals are resourceful as witnessed by pre-1978 Afghanistan invasion Volga's still hauling @55 around, but carbon fiber is a different matter.

Forks are specific to the year and size and were a bit off to begin with. For a tour I would get a spare, it does not weigh much.

In photo #2 you see mid-fork bosses and there are bosses in the front dropouts. Bosses in the fork blades are reinforced.

All said, it is one thing to fly down tarmac in major city somewhere in the US, or abuse the bike on cyclocross course with vendors, caterers and ambulance on stand-by, and it is totally different to be broken down in the middle of nowhere. I would opt for entire cro-moly frame in unassuming paint job and brand name as inconspicuous as possible.

Ride Safe

SF

dersan

in my part of the world everything is expansive so i search for the best.As fro your answers i will look after for steel fork bikes but there is no brands like fuji surly or vs vs in our country only giant trek scott and specialzed and their bikes are all carbon forks
Maybe i concern alot indeed this is made bye specialized they probably make this thing better than anyother thing around.I want to buy the red sworks one cause i love its colour.For the silk road tour i thing i will buy a very cheap bike otherwise they will steel my bike

stevage

Careful of the Tricross fork. I hit a pebble once.

dersan

sorry for your bike.Damn i am confused bye this photo now.What should i do now

jtgotsjets

If you're worrying about the carbon, why don't you just buy a nice, lightweight steel bike?

dersan

thats the problem there is no steel bike around my country it seems that they just bring the carboned ones there is no steel in scott trek giant or specialiezed only the carbon models.Maybe i should stick with my p5 hybrid

Chris_W

That must have been much more than a pebble, the front wheel looks extremely warped as well as the fork being broken. Also, the break in the fork is in the alloy section, and not in the carbon section, so it is not due to it being a carbon fork. It appears that this kind of failure would not be related to whether or not a front rack was being used, and so shouldn't affect the OP's purchase decision.

If the OP does wants a good quality tourer, but only has access to the major brands, then (s)he should seriously consider the Trek 520, which is a tough CroMoly frame and fork, with most of the components suitable for going on tour. I've had a Trek 520 for more than 6 years now, and am still very happy with it - it is ideal for fully-loaded touring. I got my Spec' TriCross just this summer, and have been using it to explore backroads and trails and going lightweight touring (medium-size rear panniers only), which that bike is ideal for. However, if I was doing a full tour, with front and rear panniers, then I would always take the Trek 520 and leave the TriCross at home. There's about a 3kg difference (9.5kg vs 12.5kg) between my TriCross and Trek 520, but I've changed some parts on the TriCross, and the only parts of the Trek that haven't been changed in the last 6 years are the frame, fork, and seatpost, so my weights are not very accurate for the stock setups.

knobster

Dersan, some people on bikeforums post idiotic statements like stevage. He hit something much, much larger than a pebble. These bikes are designed to be extremely tough and be ridden offroad. The carbon fork will be more than strong enough to do touring. Many people have done it and still do it on these bikes. I would also recommend that you get the Sport or even the new Triple model. Both should have the right gearing for touring and the wheels are built a little stronger to carry extra weight. Not to mention they are the cheapest models.

As you can see by this post, he hit a car. https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ated-a-toe-wtf
The part he broke was not the carbon at all, but the solid aluminum crown.

Saddle Up

^ +1

stevage

>Dersan, some people on bikeforums post idiotic statements like stevage. He hit something much, much larger than a pebble.

Heh, sorry for the confusion - I thought my sarcasm was clear. I thought I'd posted the story enough times, but obviously not. I ran into a car last year. If you thought the bike looked bad, you should have seen the car - written off. And has been pointed out, it was the aluminium part of the fork that snapped, not the carbon.

The Tricross is an awesome bike, and I love it to bits. When that one got damaged, I immediately bought another one with the insurance money, then got that one rebuilt. I've taken both for several full days of hard singletrack riding with no fear whatsoever. I also do loaded touring, commuting, day rides...everything.

The real downside of the fork is that apparently it's hard to get a rack to fit it. I'm sure there have been threads in the touring forum about that.

knobster

No, not you. I need to learn to loosen the F* up.

Wow, I would have been very proud of myself if I destroyed a car with my bike! I'd feel like a bad ass that's for sure.

stevage

>Wow, I would have been very proud of myself if I destroyed a car with my bike!

It gave me a lot of satisfaction But I will regret to my dying day the fact I never saw the car after I hit it. Well, to be honest, I didn't get a very good look *before* I hit it either

Nikon Rep

I have a 2008 tri cross with a carbon fork and I have absolutely beat the sh*t out of this bike and its the toughest bike I have ever owned. I race it regularly, I do a lot of off road downhills and I have dropped it off my car rack twice while driving over 60 mph.

Still runs great.