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My original intent was to order a custom freeroad bike. As its time for build neared I happened to browse the Specialized website and became interested in the tricross offering. The specs and geometry were oh so close to my proposed custom. The LBS clued me into a 2011 tricross sport triple. Living in Iowa has many benefits, among them rail trails (limestone surface), gravel roads (you read that right Virginia), oil-covered rock, lot's of dirt single-track, as well as the traditional asphalt and concrete. Being the adventurous type, a freeroad/'cross bike was a natural. And the tricross delivers. Boy does it ever. It's relatively light at 22lbs, including pedals with a tiagra groupset (I am not into racing just yet) on an alloy/carbon frame and fork with internal cable routing. I have found the new Riva saddle on the carbon wrapped seatpost very comfortable, especially on longer rides. The gel padding on the handlebar tape is cushy and absorbs road shock very well. The Burough CX pro tires (32mm) with smooth center tread and grooved sides roll well on tough mavic rims regardless of surface. The tiagra groupset shifts crisply and smoothly. Not as well as shimano's racing sets, but more than adequate for the long haul. Handling is pleasantly neutral. It's surprisingly stiff and moving the hands on the handlebars is no problem given how vertically compliant it is. Throw it off balance and it snaps right back on line. It's not the fastest bike but given the terrain cruising at 19-22 mph is as fast as I want to go on gravel. Road rash is not my thing. Is it the perfect bike? Sadly, due to UCI regulations, the optional mechanical doping battery has been discontinued by Specialized. Oh well!? Nonetheless I can highly recommend this bike to those looking to get off the road whenever a short cut presents itself.

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I bought this bike back in may 10. It has been a beast! I have about 1000 miles on it and it still feels brand new. It is slightly heavy and I can feel it on the way home from work. Still I like to test how fast I can get it. I blaze past the MTB and test the roadies on their 3000 dollar bikes. Yet I cant keep up too long with them I can push them for a while. I ride 12mile to and from with about 3 miles of complete city hurdles. Very decent bike!

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Wrote the first review down below. I now have 4000 miles riding on it. Still like it it lot. Replaced the chain twice. 1 new rear cassette (think I am ready for another). Got lots of flats on the section of the Platte that I ride with the stock tires (goat heads, staples, glass)(even with tuffy liners). Switch to some Armadillo (all condition, 700x28). Not one flat since. Rode it all winter (as long as it was at least 10 F and not too much snow). Crashed a several times on the ice, no big deal. I'll get some stud tires next winter. Shifting does not stay very smooth for very long after a tune-up and getting new chain\cassette. But, maybe it's just how I ride and not the components.

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I use this bike mainly for Commuting and am VERY pleased with it so far. Bike is comfortable, and quick, and it even looks great with it's silver, black, and white color scheme. The flattened top bar makes it very easy to carry on shoulder. I have nothing to complain about on this bike yet. But will update review should I find anything.

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It's a good bike. When I first bought it I was in love with this bike- it seemed to do so well as a commuter. It has plenty of clearance for fenders as well as studded snow tires. The components are good, and the riding position for commuting was surprisingly upright, so I liked it a lot. The deal breakers for me were the fact that even though I took it to two different bike shops, neither one could get a chainboard (SKS) or generic chain-cover to fit it. Mine has the triple chainring, and even after trying to put on a single chainring, it just wouldn't work. That in itself wouldn't be "that" big of a deal, but I commute on it every day and I don't always want to carry a change of clothes in a bag or pannier. That chain was ruining my clothes even though I had a velcro strap on my leg. The amount of toeclip overlap was significant as well, and I know a lot of people don't find that to be a problem, but for me it was an annoyance. It's a good bike, but if you are a commuter only, don't expect it to be the best for commuting. I would say it's a very versatile, wide-ranging bike but not a specialty commuter by any means. The only reason I wouldn't recommend it to a friend is because all my friends are commuters (they ride Breezer bikes, which I am shifting to as well).

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I use this bike for road use and light trails, commuting 50 km/day, recreational rides 50-100 km. Good comfortable geometry. Unfortunately or just unlucky, but I have had to replace the wheels after 1 year (the bearings/cones/races rusted out with maybe just 3 rainy rides). Bottom bracket creaking now and more repairs on the way. Perhaps after 2 years it is ready for the scrap heap!!!

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I love this bike. I just bought this to commute to work. I wanted something with drop bars that was a little more durable than a normal road bike. Compared to my old bike, this addresses all the reasons I wanted a new bike. It is very stable down the hills at higher speeds. The carbon fork and larger tires make the bumps smooth. It has a wide range of gears making going up and coming down the hills more fun. I had full fenders mounted and now its a great bad weather machine. I have run it through gravel, hopped curbs, and cruised super fast on the downhills. I seems to do everything pretty well. To be fair, its not exactly light. It's tough though. It's not as fast as a road bike, but it is wayyyyyy faster than a mountain bike. The parts are good, but to get great parts I would have had to pay alot more, and these work just fine so far. Again, I love this bike. Great commuter.

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I just returned from a trip to the beach and rode my new bike every day. The seating/posture is comfortable (I'm a big guy), the ride is smooth on pavement and paths with fine gravel base. I like the dual brake handles and gear switching. I did notice the front brake often caused a severe vibration when applied in a certain way - hopefully, this is just a break-in process.

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Just started commuting to work. Riding the S. Platt trail about 11 miles or so (each way). Rode twice so far. Have not rode a bike in about 10 years. Bike feels very stable, sturdy, and good. I am a pretty big guy. 5' 9" and 225lbs. I like this bike a lot.

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I have riden this bike on many different types of rides and it handles well on even easy single track.