Hi All

Trying to sort my son out (he’s 14) with a new bike as he’s now outgrown mine almost. Looking at one of the Tricross as he was keen this year to ride the cross season as well, but as he’s starting to race on the road, I’m not sure whether they’d be any good (with the right wheels on of course) on the road as I have never ridden one.

Whats the thinking guys ??

Cheers
Sean

the tricross is known as being not being very aggressive ( hight front end, long stays etc) so it probably wouldn’t be the best choice if it is also being used for crits.

I would look for something that is more (cx)race rather than tour/towpath orientated. Don’t know what your budget is, but S/H may be the way to go

Cheap ! Second hand definitely the only thing I could get past the missus.

On the specialized fron then the Crux is the more race orientated CX bike now… should be able to pick up some good deals on it too..

I was considering doing this myself as I want a very expensive race CX bike but if I could use it for road racing too on a spare set of wheels then its easier to swallow.

Gearing might be a little low on the road.. but a swap of chainrings and tyres isn’t gonna be the biggest hassle.

Start trawling ebay now as people start selling off their race bikes fromt his years cross season

FYI 14 year old road racing will be on restricted gearing;

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/corporate/06-Rulebook-2010-GENERAL_ROAD_TRACK.pdf

second hand or end of line would seem a good bet as he may outgrow it fairly soon, is he in a club, often a good place to start looking

I’d say for Youth racing it’d be fine – people do circuit races on all sorts but in the vast majority of normal road races there’s too many changes would need to be made to make it worthwhile. Hanging on the back of a roadie clubrun on a CX isn’t a problem usually; being competitive in a road race on one is a very big ask and would require a change of wheels and gearing, dropping the bars etc. not difficult, just a hassle.

Will be absolutely no handicap if he’s got OK wheels and tyres…longer chainstays etc may feel slower but won’t actually slow him down.

Tough one. My sons 14 though he didnt race road over 2010, but we found from 12 up it became so serious to the point that the bike mattered. So I encouraged him to race cross then MTB. And leave road for a few years when he will be more at ease with road racing snd the time and effort it requires.

The Tricross weighs a ton, and the geometry is definitely not ‘racey’. I’d look at a ‘proper’ cross bike, may have to wait a couple of months, there’s bound to be stuff going at the end of the season.

I’d agree a cx is typically a little slower heavier for actual road racing but there are some out there more race orientated. Mine is more a solid commute which I have taken on proper offroad with some mountain bike guys but putting into a road race isn’t about to happen. Kona Jake, solid entry level cross bike. IMHO.

sorry C-L, I disagree with you on the hassle point. I raced on a CX bike when I was 14 with no problems. The only change really required is wheels/tyres. The restricted gear will mean faffing about with those whatever the bike.

My mate Chris Ansell was getting some good results in the E12 races at Crystal Palace a couple of seasons ago on his Ridley CX bike. He bought a road bike with a few races to go and said it didn’t make a discernable difference.

Mate of mine races cross all winter, and road in the summer on his Kona Jake. Suits him fine.

Thomas Frischknecht got the1996 olympic mountain bike silver medal and then rode the road race the following day on his cross bike with just a change of wheels! So it can be done. I’ve got a giant tcx which i ride all the while on road and like the way it handles.Its got several equipment options and compact chainset so that helps with gear restrictions. Go for the smallest size you can and I don’t think it will make a huge difference compared to a dedicated road bike. (I’ve got a madone 6.9 to compare to as well)

I raced cross in the winter on my Jake the Snake and raced crits, TTs, hillclimbs, sportives and circuit races in the Summer on the same bike with a wheel swap. I’d swopped the 46 chainring for a 50 but I ended up keeping this arrangement for the cross season anyway as I spent most of my races in the 36 ring. I’m not that great a racer. mid field in cross league races and struggled to keep in touch with the bunch on the circuits and crits but most of that was down to me and not the bike.

this year I’m building a carbon road bike for the summer season and moving the JTS back to proper cross duties.

You say you need cheap secondhand, then find a deal on a used road bikr. Then perhaps review things later on in the year.
I know pros and elites can manage, but some mortals need all the help they can get. I raced an SCR one year it was dreadful.
Where are you?

Your son will be absolutely fine with a CX bike. Just change the tyres and off he goes. At 14 the differences between lads development is bigger than the difference between a CX and road bike. I’ve ridden with plenty of adults in road races on CX bikes and given the state of our roads it might not be a bad choice once the 2011 road season begins!

Sorry if Ive got this wrong, but is he now without a bike and wanting to race road? If thats the case then a road bike has to be the answer. The cross season is nine months away, he might not fit a cross bike you buy now in nine months.

Thanks for your thoughts guys. Guess I’ll look for the best CX bike I can find.

I can remember Rog Hammond turning up at Hillingdon and destroying the 1st Cats (including Tony Gibb) on his cx race bike. As a pragamatic compromise with careful choices a cx bike can be almost as fast as a reasonable road bike.