This is one of the few frames I can see that ticks all of my desired boxes – light enough (for the odd CX race), disc brake compatible (for commuting in the rain) and rack eyelets (for trips away once a year).

Anyone got some photos of a tidy build to give me something ponder over until I can actually afford one?!

have a look on the decade website some nice build in the owners section.

[url=http://kinesisdecade.co.uk/readersbikes.php]looky here[/url]

Thanks. Hadn’t spotted that area before – the one above is the sort of spec I’d be looking at I guess (although CB Mallets?!)

Don’t seem to be many photos / articles around on the net. Is it not a well thought of frame?

well i tried search but as usual failed – was a thread in last few months where someone had a lot of hassle with the semi integrated headset – saying that i think kinesis sorted it ok
quite fancy one as have a cx stylee but would like the confidence of discs – been holding back as expecting with the change in the federation rules allowing discs would expect to see some more frames and brakes that work with sti’s come along
the genesis croix de fer seems to be the stw frame of choice in this category

I have one that I use to race cx on.

Not the lightest thing out there but holds its own.

I would spend some time investigating sizing as I ordered what I thought was the right size and it was massive!

If you are anywhere near Newcastle feel free to come take a look and try the sizing out.

Thanks for the info.

I agree that hopefully there will be more frames with discs AND rack eyelets next year once the manufacturers catch up with UCI rule changes. Maybe I’ll hold off for 6 months and see what is available.

The Tripster does seem reasonable though, and I think I could build one up a bit lighter than a Croix de Fer for similar money (which seems ideal for touring / commuting, but a bit sluggish for the odd CX race).

Antigee – I remember that thread (the only one on STW which mentions the Tripster). The integrated headset does put me off a bit, but as you say, I recall that Kinesis got the guy sorted eventually.

It was me! I had a ‘mare with the headset. It was sorted eventually although I’d still like to know the answer as to why it happened. It seems that Cane Creek have the bottom cup in the frame 7mm deep while other are 9.5mm. If you get the wrong headset, you end up with a gap between the bottom of the headtube and the fork crown that is big enough to expose the bearings.

Not great when a seized bearing might well start gouging into your frame rather than a headset cup.

this might be of interest if you’ve not seen from a month or so a go

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/whats-a-cheap-roadcrosstourer-frame-w-rack-mounts-disc-brakes