Specialized AWOL gravel grinder off road tourer

[reohn2]

I agree, though a friend in the club has one as his winter bike and loves it.

I always find this with anything that gets a bad press,you talk to owners or previous owner and there's a loved it,hated it thing going one .
I can't pass comment on a Tricross as I've never owned but the above seems to be the consensus

[reohn2]

easiest way to get a coloured panel is to use self-adhesive vinyl sheet. You can get it printed on or cut out, anything really.

Which could be applied on top of a powder coat finish on their steel and and raw Ti frames,with SPA Touring or SPA Audax in black on it.
That would appeal(to me at least)
Obviously it would be much better if it read SPA disc tour

[pioneer]

I think the Tricross bikes may have been "less than perfect" when out first, but the bike I saw yesterday seemed well sorted. You just know when something looks right.

[reohn2]

I think they may have been "less than perfect" when out first, but the bike I saw yesterday seemed well sorted. You just know when something looks right.

Proof of the pudding,etc,etc.

Some time back I bought a Cannondale T800 touring bike, which by all accounts would do nicely as a rough stuff bike,the price was right to bike looked right and the British racing green colour appealed too .
The ride was cr*p the BB was too high and stand over proved difficult,on the road no problem but when the going got tough it didn't get going
We live and learn

[mrjemm]

Isn't the tri-cross more, well closer to a true cross bike though, and less for day to day use or touring? So great for a ride around or having fun, but less suited for touring, etc. perhaps. If someone in the club was after that type of bike, or it simply suits their application, then they're happy, but if you're after an adventure tourer, or whatever, then you may not be getting the best suited machine.

The Johnny 1 (tm) may be the world's greatest unicycle, but if you plan to use it for taking Esmerelda and Tarbuncle to prep school, you may want to look the other way...

[mrjemm]

Just thinking... I guess an hour or 2 with a polishing wheel on a power drill would solve the scritchy scratchy Spa surface thing that bothered me.

[pioneer]

Mrjemm, I sort of agree about the Tricross. But if you take away the marketing, hype, labelling, the bikes are not actually that dissimilar at all. The tyres might be fatter on one, the brakes different, but they (and indeed umpteen others of that ilk), can tour on tarmac, moderate off road and be fine for commuting and shopping too.

And how many us really head off across unmade roads for thousands of miles around the globe? OK, there are a few, but sadly for most it will ever remain a dream. Though I suppose having a AWOL or similar outside the house is better than an under used and way too big 4x4.

[mrjemm]

And how many us really head off across unmade roads for thousands of miles around the globe? OK, there are a few, but sadly for most it will ever remain a dream. Though I suppose having a AWOL or similar outside the house is better than an under used and way too big 4x4.

All true, but I have the impression that more CX themed would imply less relaxed/comfy geometry, not that I really have a clue about all that, but I'd have assumed that a bike intended for AWOL, etc. type use would be considerably more comfortable (and strong) than one built for sprightly races around a circuit (be that in the woods, valleys or coffee shops).

In mobike terms, the difference between a Motocross and an Enduro/Adventure bike perhaps. But then, like the 4x4s we see on the roads, most of those couldn't do what the hype says, let alone be a good choice for them- an Evoque or Cayenne on the whotsit road in Siberia? Not sure what I am getting at now though, so...

[BrianP]

Hard to believe I know, but latest blog entry on the AWOL site is a picture of an AWOL in Yorkshire.

http://wearegoingawol.tumblr.com

Brian

[mrjemm]

Hard to believe I know, but latest blog entry on the AWOL site is a picture of an AWOL in Yorkshire.

http://wearegoingawol.tumblr.com

Brian

Bleph refers to riding over that way. Maybe it's his.

See the gumf about the project 002- adventure cargo bike? Hmmm. Not that Surly and Kona haven't done something along those lines (Big Dummy and Ute?) but I don't think they actually called them 'adventure' or put the load forward.

Still find the site rather irritating. Hiding the fact it's a Specialised brand for a start, and filling it with very staged hipster pics. Mind you, I'd say the same about the 'Lost Coast' entry in the Salsa Blog that was posted in here not so long ago...

[Bicycler]

Still find the site rather irritating... ...filling it with very staged hipster pics.

Same here. When I buy something I like to think I'm not paying extra for having something fashionable nor buying into somebody else's idea of an aspirational lifestyle.

[BrianP]

Nice to try to imagine what Spa Cycles super cool marketing website might look like.

Great images of cool guys eating at Betty's Cafe in Ilkley.

Fish and Chips at Harry Ramsdens.

Wonderful images of the Dales, Whitby Coast, high Pennines.

Needs doing!

[mrjemm]

Nice to try to imagine what Spa Cycles super cool marketing website might look like.

Great images of cool guys eating at Betty's Cafe in Ilkley.

Fish and Chips at Harry Ramsdens.

Wonderful images of the Dales, Whitby Coast, high Pennines.

Needs doing!

Monochrome pic of the designer riding a prototype up a hill, trendy bandana and all...

[BrianP]

No bandana, not right for a Yorkshire product, would have to be a flat cap.

Brian

[pioneer]

Mrjemm, you forgot the beard! (Sorry Colin!)

I've just had a look at that site. Hmmm, personally I think it's a bit too trendy, a bit vomit inducing. Hey oh, call it like you see it.