My First Setup - Hopefully Useful To Other Newbies!

[potsy]

Got to agree about that rack Jazz
This is mine before and after, much more stable.

 

[jackthelad]

As A newbie you got it so right, the tricross is a cracking bike,I have had mine now 3 years and the only thing i have done to it is change the rear canti brake.I have several bikes and the tricross is brought out regular,it is surprising how many times you carry stuff for different reasons,commuting,long trips extra stuff,days with the wife definately carrying stuff.The geometry is perfect if you are slightly a bit older in the tooth,a bit more relaxed compared to a road bike,As I said at the start good choice and hope it is the start of N+1

 

[Cyclist33]

As A newbie you got it so right, the tricross is a cracking bike,I have had mine now 3 years and the only thing i have done to it is change the rear canti brake.I have several bikes and the tricross is brought out regular,it is surprising how many times you carry stuff for different reasons,commuting,long trips extra stuff,days with the wife definately carrying stuff.The geometry is perfect if you are slightly a bit older in the tooth,a bit more relaxed compared to a road bike,As I said at the start good choice and hope it is the start of N+1

If it's so good why would the OP need a N+1 lol?!

Stu

 

[vickster]

Better lock needed if you are going to leave it anywhere - nice looking bike (bit grey, need to get it dirty ). Proper solid D lock for the frame and front wheel, cable that you have for the rear - cost you around £70 I'm afraid (about fiver a month at IFC over 12 months)

Enjoy

 

[jackthelad]

If it's so good why would the OP need a N+1 lol?!

Stu

everybody i know that has the cycling bug ends up with several bikes mtb singlespeed touring etc (horses for courses)The tricross is a good bike to start with as it covers a lot of bases but as you progress the bike will become maybe a winter hack and the op will know what he wants more in his cycling,the reason for n+1,if he does not get involved too much in cycling then the tricross will cover most stuff reasonably well.

 

[MrJamie]

Looks good, although im not a fan of the spoiler

Probably worth adding basic tools to the list of essentials, spare tube, multitool, repair kit etc

 

[Widge]

Can't quite see the purpose of beam rack........looks odd/top-heavy so far up the seatpost-what do you plan to carry.............? Does the bike not accept a normal rack? I see it has mudguard fittings on the dropouts and I would rather use these than a beam rack which never seem as practical and can swing around alarmingly. Still......lots of bling going on there....enjoy! Seems a shame to trust it all to a £10 lock though?

 

[albion]

I recommend that all newbies buy a sub £200 BSO.

Its bits will still rust at the same speed unused in the garage.

 

[sabian92]

I recommend that all newbies buy a sub £200 BSO.

Its bits will still rust at the same speed unused in the garage.

Surely the best thing to do is to encourage a newbie to buy a really expensive bike then after 12 months offer to rid them of the headache in the garage by offering them a sum of money so low they don't care because they don't want it laying around.

 

[Jazz]

All right all right I'll get a better lock! The lad in the shop seemed to think the lock would be good... Anyway I'm just going to carry my bag with clothes in on the rack. It does look a bit strange to me but I assumed for the price that the rack would work. Is there anybody else who uses this type of rack and it works fine?

 

[jackthelad]

Jazz I have got 2 krytonite locks and I never used then,now only used to lock the bikes in the garage.I carry 2 £1 locks basically for popping into shops.I think you have got to look at your enviroment and street knowledge and that will tell you if you need to carry a lock.To me they are just excess weight,if I had to carry a lock then it would be a proper motorcycle lock,if I am going to carry weight then i will go the distance .Your rack will probably be ok if not overloaded,but I cant understand why the shop sold you a beam rack when the tricross takes a proper bolt on rack really well,I think I would be questioning the shop.If you do take the rack back and they give you your cash back then another option is the carradice bags, these are getting really popular again and there would not be a lot of cash difference.I can understand why you went for this rack having the choice to easily take it off,you can also do this with carradice, check out utube,sjs cycles and spa cycles.

hope this info helps

jackthelad

 

[Jazz]

Cheers Jackthelad - something positive! haha - well I have spoken to them at Evans and they're happy to swap it for the proper bolt-on rack. To be honest I had already thought about locks - and after the comment about a dimwit at work leaving the bike cage open would be the only instance I'd need a big lock. So that's taken on board, I'll go splash a stupid amount of money on locks now. Can anybody advise where to get good locks cheap?

 

[Jazz]

Looks good, although im not a fan of the spoiler

Probably worth adding basic tools to the list of essentials, spare tube, multitool, repair kit etc

Yeah I deffo need that, next pay day!!!

 

[cyberknight]

Cheers Jackthelad - something positive! haha - well I have spoken to them at Evans and they're happy to swap it for the proper bolt-on rack. To be honest I had already thought about locks - and after the comment about a dimwit at work leaving the bike cage open would be the only instance I'd need a big lock. So that's taken on board, I'll go splash a stupid amount of money on locks now. Can anybody advise where to get good locks cheap?

I only mention it becaue we have a similar "secure" bike shed at work that we have to lock with a massive sign saying that it is our responsibility to do so and if its left open then its basically tough luck.

 

[Jazz]

Just gone on my first ride - 15 hilly miles. Despite playing football twice a week it wore me right out, but I pushed for 15 and actually loved it! :-) Gonna get a toolkit on Thursday/Friday.