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'cross bike is the ideal 'do anything'

 ultra-versatile machines that can be turned with a tweak or a change of tyre or wheel into something completely different. The once constant being that however you build them up they are really good to ride.

 The Tripster's frame geometry is based on the Kinesis Crosslight frame and in true cyclo cross style features a high bottom bracket – not a bad feature at all in a fast commuting bike giving better cornering clearance and keeping the bottom bracket area well out of the way of high kerbs and the like. 

 the Tripster has a longer headtube for a more upright riding position. The top tube is fairly short too our frame had an effective horizontal length of 53.6cm the next size up gives a tad over 55cm.

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Description

The concept of the DECADE range is based upon innovation, detailing, high quality and above all adaptability. The new Tripster is a unique frameset, designed as a ‘fast commuter’, but it can be built in a number of different ways to exactly suit the riding style of the individual. Use it with 700c wheels, road tyres and drops see here, or 26” with road tyres see here [we recommend 1.5 minimum, 1.9 max. to keep the BB height up] and flats, or 700c and flats see here, or set it up with 33x700c ‘cross tyres as a weekend racer or real on/off road commuter!

• ED'S COMMUTER CAST:  Ed from greatrock wanted ‘Not a Mountain Bike’, so we served him up a Tripster and this is what he did with it… video here

• READ A REVIEW here.

http://road.cc/content/news/4135-exclusive-just-kuk-tripster

The 7005 series alloy, double butted frame has it’s geometry based on our extremely successful Crosslight frames, but with tweaks such as longer head tubes to make it more ‘commuter friendly’. The frame has an ‘inboard’ mounted disc brake to keep it cleanly out of the way and the cables all run along the down tube, adding to the uncluttered look and feel of this frameset.

[Avid cable operated calipers are ideal for this frame or Tektro ‘Lyra’ if you are on a budget].

There is plenty of clearance for larger tyres, 700c x 42 and 26” x 1.5 fit fine. Disc brakes mean swapping wheels sizes is not a problem.

Specially designed dropouts [135mm hub spacing] have seperate rack and mudguard mounts and there are eyeletted bridges for proper attachment.

For 2011 the new carbon DC37 fork is lighter, has disc mount and mudguard eyelets and the re-profiled chain stays give greater crank and heel clearance.

Included in frameset price: Frame/Carbon DC37 fork/Kuk alloy post/clamp/headset.

SPECIFICATIONS

Material: 7005 series, double butted alloy, UltraSmooth Welds, with carbon bladed fork.

Weight: 1700g for 54cm frame [see geom. chart for all frame weights].

Colours: Aqua Blue. Supergloss Black.

The frameset is a great base to start building your perfect all round bike from

The option of running either 700c, 29er (which is basically 700c anyway) or 26' is a bonus, giving a choice of wheels and tyres depending on your style of riding or terrain. The huge clearances allow up to 47mm tyres with 700c and 1.5' on the 26' diameter.

http://road.cc/content/review/59634-kinesis-decade-tripster-frame-and-fork

Wheels

As mentioned above, you can either go for 700c, 29er or 26' wheels though its recommended you use a minimum tyre width of 1.5' with the 26' wheel to keep the bottom bracket height the same. The Maxlights here are pre-production models of Kinesis's 29er's, tubeless ready 32 spoke rims mated to disc hubs. Production weight is said to be 1800g per pair which is pretty good for such a strong looking wheelset.

Touring tyres are from Freedom in 700c x 37mm size with a decent enough tread to handle the likes of hard packed gravel tracks as well as tarmac. They are good all-rounders coping with everything thrown at them. Obviously specific tyres for the terrain you're on will benefit but these rolled well and showed no signs of marking or cutting.

The ride

The type of kit you decide to adorn your Tripster with is going to reflect your riding style and what you want out of the bike but one thing is for sure is that you'll receive a responsive ride from the 7005 series alloy frame. With the tyres pumped up hard for road use the feedback is of a stiff frame that has enough compliance to take out the worst of the road buzz.

The 150mm long headtube gives a sensible seat to bar drop for all day in the saddle or an extra bit of visibility in traffic. The Freedom saddle is surprisingly supportive for such a plush looking perch and adds to the all day comfort. The longest stretch I put in was 5 hours of continuous riding and when I got off there wasn't a single ache or pain anywhere.

Strip the Tripster back to just its necessary components and give the pedals a poke and it'll respond accordingly thanks to the shared DNA with its stable mate, the Crosslight. Obviously the 10.5kg weight of our test bike means it isn't a sprinter but once rolling, acceleration is brisk. Stick on a set of slicks and there is no reason you can't fling it about like a race bike.

Even fully kitted (12.1kg) the Decade never feels sluggish, a little more relaxed maybe, but that's the beauty of the frame. Ride it to work all week with the mudguards, rack etc. taking in the lanes or the traffic filled city centre and it swallows up the miles easily. Come to the weekend, strip it down and head for the hills or local trails and play about with it.

Part of my commute allows the use of the towpath at the side of the Kennet and Avon canal and this is where the Tripster came into its own. Hard packed gravel track full of potholes and puddles sees the Crosslight influence comes through and the whole journey was done at speed, hammering through the holes and loose gravel as fast as possible. The carbon fork takes the impacts well and absorbs a lot of the bumps and jolts even with the tyres pumped up to max, keeping the steering direct without being twitchy and easily controllable if traction does start to break.

Loading up the Tripster sees very little change in the handling. I stuck a child seat onto the rack and strapped in my three year old daughter and even with the added weight over the rear axle the only noticeable difference was slightly lighter steering. It was still as confident and predictable as when unladen.

Braking was a bit of a mixed bag though. While I can see the benefit in discs for all weather braking and saving your rims I didn't find the TRP's had either the braking power or control of a well sorted rim brake. The front lacked the real bite I was expecting and the rear was way too easy to lock up.

The Microshift Xona gears were a pleasure to use and the slightly clunky feel of the changes suited the Tripster. Moving the chain across the 11-28 cassette proved no bother whether under load or not and the indexing stayed in tune. That decent spread of cogs plus the 48-34 on the Truvativ Elita chainset makes for comfortable in the seat climbing. There's no point getting out of the saddle on the climbs as it won't respond, so sit down, spin the pedals and it'll cruise on up any slope.

The Maxlight wheels are certainly strong using a 32 spoke three cross build. With 200 miles a week commuting on potholed back lanes and using the canal path these wheels took a real hammering. Hitting every pothole and rough surface I could resulted in no loss to trueness or tension. Even a trip to the woods trying to keep up with a mate on a full suspension mountain bike as we flew downhill hitting every tree root I came across had no effect on the build.

All in all the Decade Tripster is a cracking frame for £499 allowing for a one bike does all if you haven't got room, funds or need for a fleet of bikes. As a commuter the Tripster really shines though as whatever the weather you're going to make it to work and back.

There are no real downsides either; if I'm being picky the tape wrapped round the fork leg holding the brake hose is a bit naff. Other than that the frameset is perfectly designed for its intended use (or uses) allowing virtually any bike style to be created from a single frame. The paint stood up to being pelted with small rocks and gravel from the trails and the balanced feel from the geometry means you can ride it as hard or easy as you like and it always responds the same – no surprises.

Being able to just grab the Tripster and ride wherever I wanted regardless of terrain or weather was the deciding grin factor. It was decidedly relaxing to ride off into the unknown on my wide knobbly tyres.

Verdict

The frameset is a great base to start building your perfect all round bike from.

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