Flandry

After a less than stellar experience with some Freddy Fenders i ordered for my new Tricross, i'd like to get some input on what racks are best for this frame before buying blindly.

This Jandd was said to work well in front:
https://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FRLOW
as well as the Tubus Duo
https://www.thetouringstore.com/TUBUS/Duo/DUO%20PAGE.htm
but i haven't seen any information about the rear rack except that several people had a lot of trouble with theirs.

Please tell me what racks work for you...

BlueDevil

My wife and I both have Blackburn EX-1 rear racks on our '08 Tricross Sports.

The LBS put them on for us when we purchased the bikes (the racks came off old bikes) but they didn't seem to have any issues, and the racks seem to fit great.

jchabalk 

Hi there - i have a tricross and have tried a couple of different racks on it and used it for a couple of different things so hopefully this'll be helpful

i'm kind of large (6'3"/235#) so your experience couple possible be different.

When i first got my tricross i put a Jandd "standard" rack on it. It fit perfectly but didn't allow me enough heel clearance with my panniers so i returned it for the expedition rack. I wanted to use the bike for occasional runs to the grocery store as well as my normal small riding-around-trunk-bag.

The Jandd expedition rack fits perfectly but maybe looks a bit out of place on the bike as it's big, squared off and kinda burly. Perfect in my book , and the heel clearance issues were gone.

Two loaded panniers on the rack (on any rack i presume) is not this bike's sweet spot. in fact it's rather dangerous, or was to me. It sagged a little (frame flex) just with the weight on the rear and trying to get home was an interesting experience. I then knew what people speak of when they talk about a bike riding like a noodle. This was a noodle that had been soaking for a few days. Anyway, that was the end of that.

I removed the Jandd Expedition a couple of days later and replaced it with a Topeak Explorer rack which also fits the bike fine (and doesn't look super out of place either.) I picked up a small Topeak trunk bag with these zip down "panniers" and will only use it on the bike. It's not big enough to put too much weight in but can still cause noodling.

Bottom line, and this is just my experience: i'm pretty confident that any rack designed for a 700c tire will fit on the rear of the bike - the braze-ons seem to be good quality and i got nothing but a secure fit with all of the racks i tried. But be careful with the amount of weight you plan on carrying with it. For me a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of beer and some clif bars are the limit on the weekends and a pair of pants and a shirt will do it for me on the weekdays.

Don't know if it matters or not but the bike is an '08 TriCross Comp (Alu/CF) in a 58cm

Flandry

Thanks a lot for your replies. I'm about #150, so i'm not too worried about the "noodle effect". I have noticed that the braze-ons are not symmetrical, something that has been mentioned a few times in other threads, and it seems that would lead to problems getting rear racks to center properly. Is this something you observed?

It seems to be one of the many problems that have prevented me from installing the Freddy Fenders i bought -- they won't center. Do you have fenders installed with/independently of your racks, and if so, what model?

I'm also concerned about "heel strike". What size shoes do you wear, ichabalk?

jchabalk 

i didn't notice that the braze-ons aren't symmetrical. Which frame are you riding? I believe that the seat stays on the Comp are different than the Sport for instance but i'd be surprised if they weren't correctly placed. When I get home tonight i'll try to put a picture or two up of my TriCross Comp with the Topeak Explorer rack on it.

As far as i can tell most every rack (and definitely the 3 that i've tried) have 2 physically attachments at the seat stay (left and right) and it's definitely possible to install it in a way where it's not even. I always use a level on the rack to place it left to right and back and forth and some blue thread-lock on the bolts. Torqued properly i've never had one move. (torqued improperly i've had them move around a lot so i'm kind of anal about it now )

I do not have fenders so i can't be of any help there.

As far as heel strike i wear a size 12US, i think that's a 47 or 48 in the rest of the world. I've found that carrying a large set of panniers on a "standard" rack is impossible for me. I need a rack that sets the panniers back a decent amount. The Jandd Expedition works, the Topeak Super Tourist works (although that one's pretty impossible to find in the US and the Tubus would work. Because the rack pannier is set back pretty far the rack really needs that additional dogleg shape that keeps the pannier off the wheel - if you have that you shouldn't have an issue.

jchabalk 

Hi there - here's a picture of my Tricross Comp with a Topeak Explorer rack installed. The Jandd racks both fit on in exactly the same way and go on without any issue at all. Let me know if you want to see anything else (cell phone pix but they should work)

Leo1903

I'm also in the market for a rear rack for my Tricross Sport /07, so this thread caught my interest. Just thought that you might be interested in a previous thread that speaks of the Tricross's suitability for touring and discusses racks as well.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=181807&page=2

Perhaps you didn't know that Specialized makes a front and rear rack specifically for the Tricross. There is a pic on this thread showing these racks installed but the user doesn't seem too pleased with them, as he comments that he'd prefer to have gone with the Tubus instead.

Coincidentally on the same thread, there is another Tricross owner who has posted pics with the Tubus racks.

There isn't a lot of information on that thread to help you make a decision but thought it might open the discussion a bit more to discuss pros and cons and other possibilities.

So far, I'm undecided.

Flandry

Thanks, Leo

I did indeed read that other thread -- even before bidding on my Tricross. I was also bidding on the Specialized racks on Ebay a while back but dropped out early due to those comments. I would love to fit a Topeak Super Tourist DX. That rack has the advantage of taking a Topeak trunk bag with its handy quick release design but also has lower side rails for mounting panniers simultaneously and more stably. Alas, as with so many eminently affordable and practical bicycling products, it's not sold in the US -- only the Disc version is available here.

At this point i've decided to buy a CoPilot Limo child seat that comes with, and quick-releases from, a Blackburn EX-1+ rack. It's the most useful purchase for my bike at the moment.