BluesDawg

Congrats on the new bike. These guys from Gainesville, the Gravel Cyclists know where every dirt road in Central Florida is. I've met several of them at gravel events and they are are good folks and incredibly fast. I expect to see a few of them Saturday when my club hosts the Red Clay Ramble gravel ride and race here in middle Georgia. In fact, one of their team won our race last year. I'm sure they would be happy to share some good routes in your area.

osco53

Ok and about the LTD,, for your consideration..

The Brakes, My LBS's mech had this to say when I asked about the LTD's cable to hydro brakes,, It has a cable system down to the wheel and there In/on the caliper the hydraulics are activated.

I asked why that setup, He said the only reason he could come up with on his own was that cable damage was easy to repair or replace while out touring far from help, a full on hydro system, well you would have to ride to a bike shop most likely with one brake to get It repaired and bled..

So The LTD's school of thought is that you can have most, say (90%) of the wet brake system performance with the simplicity of repair that goes with cable brakes while,,'Out In The Wild'.
He added, a small weight penalty and the need to clean, lube and adjust cables was why He would not choose It.

I agreed, I can always finish the ride with one brake, front or rear so I wanted the full wet brakes of the Rip 3.

And I think the brakes that come on the Rip 3 are a better shimano part.


His other comment was that the LTD's big chain ring Looked as It had some heft to it., and there was something else different that he considered better on the Rip 3, cannot remember what that was...

I think he viewed the LTD that also had a few lower low end gear Inches with It's different cassette as better suited to loaded bike long distance touring.

osco53

10-4 that

osco53

I will but you must remember, I'm 57 and my last road bike was a Raleigh Super Course back In 1972,, do the math LoL

I have no way to compare it to anything, so any review I do will be,,, a Rookie's point of view.

The bike will remain box stock except for my Spd pedals for at least a few months....
Until I cannot stand the 590 gram EACH 700 x 32c H5 tires n tubes any longer..
( My 27.5 x 2.35 XR 3 and $ out front are between 700 and 800 grams btw... )

The rims are TLR So the bike will be tubeless,,say,,, a week, month maybe ?

Bonty Cxo's in 700 x 34 or 38c are around 350 ish grams or less.

I'm thinking 34 on the back and 38c out front..who knows I may like the H5's

cyclintom

Here is what I did in the same position:

I bought a used virtually brand new Redline Conquest off of Craigslist.
This is a V-brake model and full aluminum including the fork.

I installed disk brakes, since I had a set of disk brake wheels.
I installed everything else Shimano XT. There is little difference between the top three lines of Shimano except finish and repairability. And cyclocrash bikes generally break things so badly that they have to be replaced anyway and Deore and XT are a lot cheaper than XTR.

On mine I put a flat bar because I had a new XT rear derailleur and you cannot shift these with drop bar shifters. If you intend to race you have to set the thing up with drop bars according to the rules. This means 105 and a 28 tooth largest cog.

I have a 32 setup on the back and soon discovered that if you try to climb in the bottom two gears it lifts the front end of these MUCH lighter bikes. This causes the bike to spin and, if you're fast, you bail off and catch the bike.

I complained about this problem to my local bike shop mechanic who is an avid rider and he said that the bottom two gears are NOT for climbing. You use the third gear and push over the top of climbs and then drop down into the bottom gears in order to rest between hard climbs.

I tried this and was 20 minutes ahead of my previous record time before I made the mistake of keeping my whole hand on the disk brake levers instead of just one finger. I hit a rut and did an endo right in front of some poor Hispanic kid who was just learning mountain biking with a full squishy. I hope that me dripping blood and then jumping up and riding away didn't put him off.

I am VERY much against carbon fiber bikes as I've argued elsewhere. But Redline also makes CF cyclocross bikes.

Redline is mostly known for BMX but they REALLY know what they're doing.

SkunkWerX

I'm 55, 56 soon. I think your math will be right up my alley.

i have a DS8.5 right now, I would lose the front suspension, which is nice when you need it, but extra weight the other 95% of the time. Thank goodness for the suspension lockout. Looking at the Crossrip as a step toward lighter and faster, without going full on road bike, which won't work for me because I ride multi-terrain, even on a single ride, transitioning from concrete, to pavement, to MUPs, to gravel, to potholed streets. Hopefully the Crossrip will allow travel on all those surfaces, on a bit lighter faster set-up than the DS.

THAT is why I'd like to hear your impression(s).

osco53

And you will,,

And same here, No full on road bike for me for the same reasons as you stated,,all of them

Jake, the wrench at BBW, my LBS will build it, ride it and give me LEVEL drop bars ! 80% of the drop bars we see out there are tilted up, Odd I think... He's been in the sport, has real experience. I will ask him what he see's and feels sets this bike apart and or makes It different.
He even knew I wanted that plastic ring out from behind the cassette before I asked...

BluesDawg

The Hy/Rd brakes came out just before the current crop of full hydraulic road brakes. They were a way to get hydraulic brakes with road levers at a point in time when there were no integrated brake/ shift levers for drop bar bikes that included reservoirs for hydraulic disc brakes. Now that full hydro systems for drop bar bikes are readily available, HY/Rds are positioned more as a pecieved upgrade from mechanical discs and as a lower cost hydraulic option.

My perspective is that mechanical disc brakes work well enough that the half way option is not needed. Go all the way or not at all. Not that the Hy/Rds are not good brakes. I just wouldn't upgrade to them or choose one bike over another because it had them (or not).

SkunkWerX

Osco, for the reasons you stated it would have to be a CrossRip3 for me. I have full wet brakes right now...the LTD would be a step backwards on the brakes. There would be no sense going backward, or staying even.

I have a love/ hate relationship with my front suspension. It has lockout, and use it a good amount. When I know I am nearing a good bump, it's nice to unlock, and soak it up, then lock back out. The extra weight is a downer....and leaving the suspension enabled just sucks the power out of my pedaling.

I am interested to hear how your bike handles bumps and jolts. I still want the ability to regularly ride gravel and trails.
I avoid the jolts that I can, and I deal with the ones I can't avoid.

Pendergast

This has hydraulic brakes and looks pretty interesting for $2K.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-us/bikes/model/tcx.advanced.sx.2017/25918/92579/#overview

osco53

I have a few very experienced road riders who are being kind enough to teach me things....

About your 'Jolts' Issue,,what I'm finding to be true from what these people are teaching me is beginning to make a difference in my riding.

I was advised to work on my Core above all else,, I am learning that a jolt to the front end means little If I am supporting my weight with my core and not my arms and neck

I have learned that riding a full on road bike is not for me.. have been fitted to two different loaners,,one rather hi end and very Uncomfortable, the Other a Trek 1.1, not too bad but so new to me much of my discomfort is from being new at this kind if riding.

ColonelSanders

The Patriarchy is not strong in you.

osco53

Trek Rip 3 Is In the House !

After he built It my LBS mechanic took It out for a first spin, even found a Gravel road
He said It's now added to His next bike short list. My First ride was a typical attempt to learn the very different brake/shifter combo system, but I did find the bike super stable at very low speeds, U-turns were a non Issue and the 105 gear,, Oh yeah ! The 105 stuff was Super Super smooth and silent with quick, accurate shifting,, I like this aspect big time.

As I said before I am a complete Noob to drop bar bikes so all I can say Is I found the bike very stable and easy to steer at slow speeds.
The brakes are not yet seated in so we both used them easy, These brakes had the exact feel I was looking for. They are I am sure going to be very precise.
The 700 x 32 tires did fine on the gravel and did not get crack stuck, we shall see how long I can hold out before going tubeless,,yes the rims are TLR

The tires are 585 grams each and we weighed a tube at 135 so that's 1,440 grams for both front and rear tires n tubes.
I wonder If the above Is why the bikes seems to coast for ever~ I have not a clue if wheel weight counts In coasting.

When I go tubeless I will stick to the 32's and the tires I will probably mount will come In well under 1,000 grams Including sealant. I should be able to chop a pound off my wheels. But for now Ignorance Is Bliss, the bike spins up plenty fast as far as I can tell.

Nice cushy handle bar, thick soft comfy bar wrap, feels good to me. This bar has some built In soft stuff right where the heels of out hands would sit most often. Saddle,,only miles will tell, It may have too much built In give, I don't know yet.

I am 5' 11", 32" Inseam, The 56cm frame is a perfect fit IMO, the 90mm stem is fine.
With the Drop bars level, seat level and forward aft seat position set up I think I will have no fitment Issues at all..
I think the bike Is a good fit right out of the box.
I did put all three spacers under the stem, and It's mounted 'Up' using the 7 degree rise so the seat Is dead level to the top of the drop bar. On the Hoods, I felt like I dropped my torso about two Inches due to the extra reach, It was a cool feeling. The drops,,well, they are drop bars right !

We hung the bike on the shop scale and with Shimano SPD's mounted and all the ugly reflectors plus that stupid plastic thing behind the cassette removed, we got 10.47 kilo's or 23.082 pounds, The Trek site said 10.36 w/o pedals, so close enough for government work right !

So far I am happy.

I will do a better update when the 'New Bike syndrome' wears off ,,
When The bike and I become one ~~

Ok the BS Is getting deep,,,, Later peoples.

09box

Congrats on the score. Crossrip looks like a nice rig!

The D'Back Haanjo Trail looks like a nice bike for not a lot of coin..

mapeiboy

So she did not let you purchase the next bike out of her love for you . I am sure my wife will let me buy Colnago c60 , with electronic shifting , Bora carbon wheels if I let her buysLouis Vuitton handbag .

P_M

My bike hasn't told me if I can get a wife again. I trust my bike.

osco53

I know a guy who knows a guy who has that Haanjo, was told he rides it all over and was very happy with it.