Trigon XQC-01 Cyclocross

Words by Simon Whiten

The Trigon XQC-01 cyclocross bike is ready for the coming season, though whether the rider is ready is another question. In fact the bike has been ready for sometime now and, long before the start of the cross season, the value of this carbon framed, canti-braked bike has already been proven, just as I hoped it would.

Having replicated my usual road position and by chucking on a set of road wheels and tyres, it was the perfect – if a rather special – training bike over the spring and summer, with the SRAM Force groupset allowing me to make good use of my existing quiver of wheels and their 10-speed Shimano cassettes in a way that a disc braked frame would not have done.

Of course, I was tempted to go down the disc brake route but I could not really justify it. It would have made most of my existing wheels immediately redundant, and require an extra injection of capital to acquire race worthy, disc ready wheels. So the theme of this build project quickly became to use items that have already seen good service over a number of seasons on the road. The benefit of this is that it allows you to focus your attention and budget on getting a decent frame, which is then eminently upgradeable – if not future proofed against any disc brake takeover.

Besides, I may have experienced the upgrading of motocross bikes’ brakes from drum to disc in the early ’80’s, and then mountain bikes from canti to V-brakes to discs in the ’90’s; I may love the way they look and have to admit that the extra stopping power is quite astounding; but whilst I see it as inevitable, I have yet to be convinced of the necessity of discs for either road or cross. Good job then that the Avid Shorty Ultimate brakes work superbly, providing a lot of stopping power, even if they do have to bite against the rims… Read More >