Specialized Tricross v Giant TCX 2

bold_defender

Hi guys,
I can buy a bike on the bike to work, going to get a cyclocross as it will do me for some off road e.g. gaelforce connemara as well as commute and some road at the weekend with road tyres on there.
I've basically a choice of Specialized Tricross or Giant TCX 2 both near a grand so much the same price. Any views on the merits of either bike.

Thanks in advance

blorg

Don't get either. For your intended use, get a road bike (nothing against cross bikes, BTW, I have/had 3 of them.)

mtbireland

I'd go with the Giant... although both are very similar... I find the cross bike the best for commuting on with the roads as bad as they are.

Lumen

It seems a bit nuts to compromise yourself with a cyclocross bike every day for the sake of one race (Gaelforce) a year.

There are a few threads on bike choice for Gaelforce, the recommendation seems to vary from year to year.

RobFowl

+1 with Lumen/Blorg

Have you considered a good touring bike?

I've ridden a Dawes galaxy over roads as bad as most cross races and it's coped well. Would be a far better commuting option as well.

bold_defender

Thanks a lot guys, had really made up my mind to ignore all advice I got saying I should buy a road bike. But if I didn't think I would get good advice I wouldn't ask here.

Anyway I popped in to a local bike shop on Saturday to buy a couple of tyres and ask does he stock cyclocross. Says he doesn't stock them but could build me one. Any how he then proceeds after a bit more chat and questions to say I can do gael force Connemara on my old (~1992) road bike if I'm not aiming to be competitive (which I'm not) and he can build me a road bike which will have better components and fit me better than a production bike.

Reckons that for a couple of hours spin at the weekends the fit of a road bike would be better than the cyclocross.

Now I'm 37, never done any competitive cycling, didn't cycle at all for about of 12 years until I started to commute 9 miles a day last year plus a bit of training for gaelforce. Now I intend to get out evenings and weekends (prob max 4 hours a week with work and small family commitments) over the summer and to make use of a bike I buy. But for a novice biker is getting a bike built for me overkill?

Sorry for the rambling post BTW

Greyspoke

bold_defender wrote: »

But for a novice biker is getting a bike built for me overkill?

I guess a lot depends on how much it'll cost and how much you want to spend. I wouldn't rush into it - get a good idea of exactly what is being offered and compare the price and spec with regular off the peg bikes. Normally a custom build would be expensive because you'd only get it done if you were really into cycling and knew exactly what you wanted. Any good bike shop should be able to advise and fit you to a regular bike and in all honesty that would be perfectly fine for now.

Peter B

Interested to know the main reasons people say stay away from the Cyclocross bikes?

Are they not much more comfortable for commuting compared to the road bikes?
Are the top handlebar brakes not better for getting through traffic?
Can you not throw road tyres on the cyclocross bike if necessary? (but not put bigger tyres on a road bike)
Are the cyclocross tyres not better for slippy surfaces, especially muddy / wet / ice?
They seem to be slightly more expensive but is it not worth it?

I am in a similar position to the OP but will be looking to cycle 10-15 hours a week.

Thanks for the info so far!

Lumen

Yes, they work on the road. Yes, they are better when it snows. Yes, with bigger tyres they have a bit more give over bumps.

However...

The brakes are more finicky to set up (squeal, judder and inadequate braking power are common complaints though not intractable issues). They don't descend as well. Fat tyres are slower; after a while you get used to the bumps but the slowness only gets more irritating. Interruptor brake levers are initially appealing but ultimately unnecessary and take up space on the handlebars you can fill with hands and lights.

I am commuting on one until I can bothered to fix my usual road bike commuter. It makes a pleasant change, but when I have the choice it'll probably go back in the shed until the snow next arrives.

thebouldwhacker

I am the very happy owner of a tri cross and first off I would like to say that you are spot one 100% correct on everything you have said. It is the most comfortable bike I have ridden in years, I use mine as a tourer and I didn't regret buying it for one second since I got it however its slow, I mean real slow.
I am slow but that bike just ant built for going fast. If its a commuter you want and never intend to don Lycra while sitting on it then its the bike for you. If I were moving and had a commute where I wanted a comfy bike, perhaps to bring home shopping after a days work I would use the tri cross but not to do any kind of road cycling on her. My road bike was in the hospital a few weeks ago so I took the cross bike out on a group spin, she got me around no problem (due to the gearing) but in the hammer home I struggled, 2 weeks later, similar spin, same hammer home, completely different story. When I got on the road bike for the first time after the cross I actually lifted the front wheel leaving a round about. They really are very different beasts for very different jobs. A great bike and I love it but if you have any intention of doing road biking then a road bike is the one to go for.

OP, as for getting a bike built up for you as your first road bike, I wish I had!

Hope this helps

Black Bloc

bold_defender wrote: »

Hi guys,
I can buy a bike on the bike to work, going to get a cyclocross as it will do me for some off road e.g. gaelforce connemara as well as commute and some road at the weekend with road tyres on there.
I've basically a choice of Specialized Tricross or Giant TCX 2 both near a grand so much the same price. Any views on the merits of either bike.

Thanks in advance

I posted questions a few days ago on cyclocross choices as I found myself doing three runs of 70km during the week on a Lapierre hybrid. Great bike but I wanted more speed as well that would cope with the roads. I ruled out a road bike on the latter grounds - personal choice. Anyway, today I bought a Giant TCX2 from Cyclesuperstore. I only got out this evening for a 20km spin and was happy enough. I like the wide bars, and dual brakes on the Ds and on the bars. First impressions. Definite improvement over the hybrid in speed. I rang around to check out a Specialized but the two dealers I spoke to told me they weren't expecting their next lot until the weekend or thereabouts. If I had an extra €500 to spend, I would probably have looked at a Ridley and/or a slightly upper end Specialized Tricross. Just my two cents.