Skipjacks

That last 4 miles or so going North to the PA line kicked my butt. I forget what the actual incline is but it's like twice as much incline in the last 4 miles as it was for the first 15 or something like that. It gets noticeably steeper. I was averaging about 6-7 mph for that last stretch and it was starting to hurt.

So it's super fun when you turn around and head South from the state line and suddenly you're in your top gears going 20 mph and can barely feel yourself pedaling for about the first 4 miles back.

taz777

Has anyone changed the grips on their CrossTrail? If so, how easy are the stock grips to remove? I'm looking to change them for Ergon GP3 grips. On a previous bike I had to cut the standard grips off, but would like to avoid this on the CrossTrail.

Scooty Puff Jr

They should be clamp on type, there's 2 little hex screws, one on each side of the grip, loosen them and they should just slide right off.

timgriffin2

Does anyone have a pic of their Crosstrail with a rear lightweight rack mounted?

travbikeman

Hey timgriffin2, is this what your looking for? Not sure if you can consider this a lightweight rack mount though:

timgriffin2

Thanks - I'm trying to see out the way the racks look and how they mount on the Crosstrail. Also what I can mount there and how, so your pic is great for all of the above.

timgriffin2

I took my Crosstrail Sport out for my furthest trip yet on Saturday - 19 miles. I had just swapped out the saddle for a Selle Royal Respiro and had no issues at all with any kind of butt pain. That's a first for me after many years on a stock Trek 7.2 FX saddle and then the stock Crosstrail saddle and was unexpected. I also suffered no numbness or pain in my hands with the stock grips still on. On my Trek I had to add Ergon GP1 grips and then added some bar ends in my quest to alleviate the numbness so figured I'd have to do the same with the Crosstrail. I WAS searching for different hand positions at times and used the inner section of the stock handlebars and it worked okay. TI may be looking down the road at bar ends but was really surprised with the comfort of the stock grips!

taz777

All sorted now. On my CrossTrail grips there were actually two tiny Torx screws at the outboard ends of each grip. Once they were loosened/removed the stock grips twisted off fairly easily.

The grips also had an extender at the inboard end of the grips of around 1.5cm in width to increase their effective overall width and to allow the levers to butt up against the grips (probably to remove any gap between the inboard end of the grip and the brake lever. This extender is a separate piece to the grips but fits snugly against them.

Be careful with the screws - they are very small - perhaps something like just 5mm in length so easy to lose.

themp

I bought this one for my Crosstrail.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/116814

It came with a bracket to attach a rear light and this broke off after a period of time from a stress fracture at the bolt connection. I had to make a thicker one to withstand the jarring.

dslteck

Bought this for my Crosstrail and Absolutely love it. Its from Topeak. The bag locks into place and the sides unzip to unfold panniers for a ton of storage space!

travbikeman

I'm planning on getting that Topeak next year. My Transit bag looks sloppy compared to how nicely the Topeak looks and appears easier to use.

dslteck

It's very nice I'm sure you will not be disappointed! The was the panniers fold out and attach to the bottom bracket is pretty slick too. The upper portion of the main bag also unzips and "accordions" upwards to allow for about 3 more inches of space!

taz777

Has anyone managed to adjust the reach of their brake levers? I could do with adjusting mine closer to the handlebar by 2-3mm if it's possible to do so.

Scooty Puff Jr

There should be a small hex head screw located on the inner brake lever housing that’s made just for adjusting reach. I will try to get you a pic soon unless someone else can beat me to it.

taz777

^ Thanks I’ll take a look later. Does anything have to be recalibrated/adjusted after the brake levers are adjusted?

Scooty Puff Jr

You might have to adjust the cable barrel adjuster at the handle a little bit, just depends on how far you move them in.

taz777

Thanks for that. Is that just for the level of free-play in the lever?

badger1

I think you're looking at the reach adjustment for a cable-operated brake (rim or disc) lever in that photo.

Most hydraulic discs these days have a reach adjustment for the lever right on the lever. You have Tektro/TRP brakes, so that adjuster is probably located as you see in this illustration (not specific to your brake):

https://www.tektro.com/products.php?p=229

or on page 6 of this: https://www.trpcycling.com/wp-conten...ate_manual.pdf

The lever reach should adjust independently of other adjustments (e.g. pad bite-point).

Scooty Puff Jr

Ah, I didnt know that bike came with hydralic brakes, thanks badger for clearing that up . Still works on the same principal though, just do small adjustments at a time.

badger1

Absolutely!

taz777

Perfect! Thanks @badger1.

badger1

Welcome! Correction, though: the little 'adjust' diagram is Fig. 6 on pg. 10 of the pdf I linked (not page 6).

taz777

I've just located the documentation pack that I was given by my Specialized dealer. In there there I found fold-out Tektro manual. It looks like I need 2mm hex wrench to adjust the reach lever and the adjustment looks very straightforward.

Something else I noticed for the rear derailleur: there's a small lever that needs to be moved to the OFF position before the rear wheel is removed.

Scooty Puff Jr

You probably have a XT derailleur, that switch is for the “clutch” which is basically a tensioner for the spring in the derailleur, it helps keep the chain from slapping on the chain stay when going over large bumps. Very good derailleur, I have one, and yes you have to switch it “off” before removing the wheel because if you don’t the chain and derailleur will be very tight. Also it doesn’t hurt anything to run it in the off position, it actually makes for slightly smoother shifting on smooth roads.

taz777

Probably a dumb question: when I’m freewheeling on the CrossTrail, I don’t hear any clicking noise from the hub. My previous Roubaix SL4 made quite a loud clicking noise when freewheeling.

Is the CrossTrail supposed to make that noise?