Same as tlr and roughly the same distance, i am concerned about how they will survive winter but ive saved some money away in case i need to replace them.

With the alloy nipples, could you squirt drops of a dry lube such as Squirt onto them to stop them seizing through a winter of salty road rides?

Has anyone put anything other than drop bars on theirs? I know Somafunk put Jones bars on his. Interested to hear of others experiences?

Cheers

Sanny

I think the squirt would come off, but a slightly messier solution could be LPS-3

http://www.lpslabs.com/product-details/612

which is a thick and waxy spray that gets used for airframe protection.

Oh dear, I appear to have purchased a 2nd set of the excellent Kinesis wheels for mucky duties 😀

(As I shamefully couldn’t get the tyres on the other (Tubeless) set I brought in the mean time….. :oops:)

They will be going on the classifieds shortly then

Would any of you tripster owners who sold a road bike as this covered all basis ever go back to a road bike? Dithering for when new batch of frames come in but use would be 80% road, 20% exploring.

Dom – what wheels are they? Could be interested.

I cant see me ever going back to a road bike no, this is all the road bike I`ll ever need and then some.
I can ride in the group I want to on club rides, ride all day 100 mile sportives etc and go exploring if the mood takes me.

I can do all of this in total comfort with rack and guards if needed.

I`ll get some wheel details later (I brought them off a mate locally, they are 700c, 6 bolt disc hubs and tubeless) I got them to run until the Kinesis ones were back in stock, couldn’t get Tyres on them 😳 and have not needed to so didn’t try again 🙄

Ok, ta on both counts although the kinesis wheels are mighty tempting.

(These will be half the cost if that helps 😉 )

How usable is it offroad?

I’ve got a Cotic x that I use for child towing duties, all terrain touring, cx sportives and making the easy woodland riding more interesting. I also had a giant defy that was used for Audax, sportives and evening blasts until it got stolen. I was hoping the tripster atr might be able to replace both but I was interested in people’s thoughts on how robust it is for offroad singletrack?

Very useable off road, i’ve taken mine round Dalbeattie 7 stanes but avoided the slab for obvious reasons, managed all of Kirroughtree and not a problem on any part of the trail, same goes for all my local trails in Galloway, running 40mm tyres obviously.

Was up at Aviemore earlier this April (stunning weather for a week) with my Tripster and my Cove Hummer with 140mm of Fox Talas and i think i rode my Hummer for one afternoon only, but on that afternoons riding i constantly wished i was out on my Tripster instead.

The following day after i had my Hummer out i rode the same route on the Tripster, for sure it was far slower down the rooty descent and i had quite a few comedy dismounts into the heather but for the other 80% of the 30km route it made far more sense (and fun) to be riding the Tripster.

Rooty descent

Gotama – mine’s used for 95% road duties. Admittedly bumpy, mucky, crappy road in places, but it just makes sense to be riding something that’s light, fast, comfy, stops and goes, refined, versatile… I don’t really miss my carbon road bike. I’ve kept up with the occasional group ride in about as mediocre fashion as I used to on the 16lb ‘race bike’ so I can’t really see it. Maybe if I had endless funds I’d stick a fancy Colnago disc road bike in the garage, but it would only be for high days and dry days and the Tripster is good enough for that anyway… I’d rather not complicate things.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/q3vVGD]Kinesis Tripster ATR[/url] by South Downs MTB Skills, on Flickr

Got both my new wheels on at last….

I ride mine anywhere I would ride my MTB on the South Downs and Surrey Hills. As Somafunk said above you might not get down the hill as quickly, but it’s still doable. It trains you to look where you are going!

Hi Mrhoppy

I have to say I really am struggling to find fault with my long term Tripster test bike. I’ve already given it a shakedown on some pretty techy and rough mountain bike trails and I keep coming away impressed by how capable it is. Admittedly, I do run a 1.8 tyre on the front and a 42c on the back but I don’t find that set up to be much slower than the stock WTB cross tyres. I switched to Woodchipper bars which give a bit more width and to my mind, more control off road. I may fit a shorter stem and raise the bars a little next to mimic my Fargo set up as that too is ace off road. On road, I can confidently drive into corners on steep descents on the drops, something I struggle to do on any other road or cross bike I have ridden in the past. Part of me is tempted to fit a dropper post for sh#ts and giggles. Is it robust enough? Hell yeah based on my experience so far! I regard it as a bike for the Zombie Apocalypse that seems to do everything really well. Road riding? Change the tyres. Same for cross and off road action. I reckon it’s a great example of Titanium being used to best effect although even in steel, it would still to my mind be a very good design indeed. I am reserving final judgement until I put a lot more riding in but thus far, two thumbs up from me!

weird – just fitted a new ultegra chain and ultegra 12-30 cassette , and it’s super tight on big to big even though i sized it big ring around big ring + 1.5 links.

running an ultegra compact chainset 50/34 – any ideas folks ?

it’s still running the standard short cage 105 mech.

TLR. Mine’s very similar to that set – Ultegra 12-30 with an Ultegra compact chainset and an Ultegra 6700 short cage rear mech and it’s working fine. I didn’t really have to fettle the B screw much either when I moved up from a 28.

Just ridden the 32mm Duranos today and am pleasantly surprised with them. They’re obviously much faster rolling than the 37mm Travel Contacts but they still felt pretty comfy and supple. Let’s hope they stand up to some sort of puncture resistance as they might just be what I’ve been looking for.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pMrrJ8]image[/url] by Birdage, on Flickr

Yep they are real bog masters, mine was going great guns through the swamp until I hit something and got thrown in a slurry, pond. And if that isn’t fun enough you can then join the road and overtake a few carbon roadies. Hilarious.

@hummer, how did the grails build up? First thoughts on them? Looking at them to replace the crosslights.

They built up easy enough, though the front one went together easier than the rear, I guess to do with the offsets, though I built the front with a dynamo hub, which did have an odd offset compared to a regular one. The front one went up tubeless OK, the rear was a no go as the tyre had a hole in it!

Anyway, no complaints so far….

Exposure Revo hub by South Downs MTB Skills, on Flickr

Stan's Grail rims by South Downs MTB Skills, on Flickr

Bought some Clement 35c X’Plor USH 120tpi from probikekit
http://www.probikekit.co.uk/bicycle-tyres/clement-x-plor-ush-clincher-road-tyre-120-tpi-black/10961846.html

They have had a few flash 15% off sales in the last week and have been itching to get some tubeless tyres going. How are the kinesis rims for setting up tubeless??

@hummer – What do you think of the Haven post? Does it compliment the frame?

cloudnine : You may have better luck than i did if you wrap a few lengths of tape around the kinesis rims as the clement tyres are a little baggy on the rim, i tried it with one wrap of gorilla tape and the USH tyres were impossible to set up tubeless – i could fit and remove them without a tyre lever with ease – more rim tape may have helped but i had ran out so i took the huff and fitted tubes.

cloudnine – that’s the wrong pic in that link isn’t it? The pic’s of the mso

Well My new Conti 42mm tyres have turned up 😀 has anyone managed to get these to work tubeless on the Kinesis rims ?

Jim – if you flip your rear light over, it’ll point ‘up/backwards’, instead of down!

DrP

Can we export this thread as a PDF or soemthing, if my frame ever turns up I’m going to need it..

Hi brassneck, fyi the next Tripster consignment/backorder is due in tomorrow according to upgrade’s website (yesterday and this morning – now back to 4 weeks + again as they’re all presold).

So if your retailer has had a backorder in for you it should be with you this week! 🙂 woohoo!

Nooooo! – Just ordered mine. Was hoping I might get lucky and snag one of this shipment.

Still, I have to get the wheels built, and build kit sourced.

Looks like it might be a project to keep me away from the in-laws over Christmas. 😀

mines just turned up !!!

@matts seatpost is fine, it’s in there as I had it lying around and it was the right size! Ideally I’d like the Ti U.S.E. one

Lucky fella dmc, I am still being told mid December before mine arrives in UK. Anyone know where to get Shimano RS 685 pre-ordered as dont want to wait any longer than necessary for parts when the frame arrives.

@hummer – Cool. I was thinking of the latest Haven or maybe an EC70. I have an EC70 in my race bike which has been good.

@bugcab – I ordered 685s + 2 calipers from Bike24 as they have already landed in Germany. It was also less than any pre-order I could find in the UK. They still show as in stock on their site – though they have gone up a few Euros since the weekend.

@bugcab – I hadn’t noticed when I posted last night, but I got a dispatch notification yesterday.

I also got a dispatch note against my frame order this morning, which got me a bit excited. 😮 Sadly it was just for the Thomson seat clamp. 🙁

Sad panda. Just been told by Winstanley’s that ETA is Jan 5th.

Just an update from me using the X’Plor Clements 40c’s on my CX’er.

I chose a set of these for winter whilst I steer clear of bogfest season, chose them for the good reviews on this thread and just wanted to share.

Now, I do a lot of hard CX riding, be it long or short distance and have been using Griffos for racing. I’m now hacking longer Gravel courses so these X’plors have been fitted and the first ride was today doing a section of NCN2 near me. Well they feel way different to the Griffos, way more supple and supprisingly grippy for a semi tread pattern. I’ll be playing about with pressures and types of course including some favorite loops I do.

Just thought I’d pop in with a bit of “user” info as some of you have enquired about them for your Tripsters..

Cheers matt, I am on same Winstanley waiting list. Looked at bike 24 but could only se the Di2 kit (also available on bikediscount.de). Strange that the Di2 comes in at same price or less than sti version.

Yeah. They’ve gone from the site now – Very odd.

They must’ve had ’em though, as they just turned up!

Shame I have no bike to fit ’em to…

Shame I have no bike to fit ’em to…

I’ll take them off your hands for a tenner. Basically doing you a favour, as you’ll be reclaiming draw space.

8)

Hi brassneck, fyi the next Tripster consignment/backorder is due in tomorrow according to upgrade’s website (yesterday and this morning – now back to 4 weeks + again as they’re all presold).

So if your retailer has had a backorder in for you it should be with you this week! woohoo!

#isexcited

It’s been on order since September and been assured mine is on this order.

ust had a great ride home on mine tonight on back “c” class roads, skimming crap tarmac, riding over road debris, dodging cars and making “progress” through the urban sprawl before hitting the country lanes….
want to make a recommendation, if you’re commuting, go buy a bridgestreet.cc saddlebag – mines still going strong despite daily use for the last 6 months and some close shaves. great bit of kit that complements the adventure nature of the tripster.