Crockett 5 Disc
Review: Crockett 5 Disc
By Scott Mares | Published Jul 11, 2020Road Test Ride
- Snappy
- Lively
- Stable
- Predictable
- Limited road gearing
The gearing starts to spin out at 25 mph and finally tops out at 37mph. Now you might be thinking that would ok for road racing. Nope, it’s not. The 37 was the max for like 1 or 2 seconds and the RPMs were in the 140s which means that is not sustainable at all. So on a decent your going to get dropped. In a fast crit, you will find yourself surging and burning matches from the RPM matchbook.
Dirt Test Ride
We took the bike out to our favorite testing area. I’m lucky to live in a city with a big 500-acre park with trails that vary from single, double, and fire roads. Its called Powell Bute Park. This park offers lots of options to test bikes out for different situations. Climbing, descending, and gravel are in abundance at Powell Butte. Really the only thing missing is some sand. You just have to be careful as there are people and horses out there and lots of blind corners. The bike performed very well and had a really good temperament. Here are the things that we noticed about the Crockett 5 Disc.
- Good acceleration
- Stable steering
- Good drive train function, no dropped chains
- Love the Hydraulic braking system
Race Test Ride
We have had this bike for a bit. We were actually racing this bike before the COVID lockdown. So what’s it like to race? Its a lot of fun. We were able to race it at the local short track races and for some of the early season cyclocross races. We did not find anything funny about how the bike handled or performed in the mud and sand. I have the opportunity to have a few bikes to race on and I can say that the difference in the Trek Crockett 5 and my carbon (more expensive) steeds is not a lot. The main difference is in the wheels. Otherwise, someone would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between them performance-wise.
We Liked
The Crockett 5 is packed with features so I made a list of them.
- Shape tubing
- Anodized electric blue
- 1X11
- Generous tire clearance
- Carbon fork
- Internal cable routing
- Chain Freak Chain keeper
- Love the blue anodized with silver accents.
We Didn't Like
So what’s not to like about this bike? Well, you don’t have the option to run a double. The way the frame is made there is no cable routing option or a hanger for a front derailleur.
Second and he is just my personal preference. I love a clean bike in the sense I like all of the cables hidden. I think it makes the bike look really clean a sleek. The other reason I like it for cyclocross bikes is that external cables tend to collect mud and grass. The bike does a pretty good job right up to the bottom bracket then the cables for the rear derailleur and rear brake dropouts and runs along the bottom of the stays. Now I would think you could run it through the bb through each of the stays. But this might be a little difficult getting it through.
Lastly, Before you buy take a tape measure and check out the frame. We were sent a 58cm frameset and one of the first things that we do is verify that what they sent me is the correct size. We get out the sizing chart and our bike should have a 57 effective top tube. Well, when we measured it we found that our Crockett has a 56 To tube. So we remeasured 3 times and then had someone else measure it. Same thing. So I’m thinking that they sent me a 56 because the 56 has a 55.8 top tube. The seat tube checks out at 55cm. But there is no sticker for the size and the wheelbase is 102.8-103 depending on how you hold the tape. So it’s a 58 with a 56 top tube. But I would do this with any bike you plan to purchase.
Upgrades
There are only two areas you can really upgrade on this bike. The first area would be the bar stem and seat post. These three items are Trek’s house brand and a quick upgrade would probably make the scale needle go down. This would be the easiest and cheapest upgrade. The next biggest upgrade would be to get a set of high-end race wheels for the bike. But you probably already have that.
The Final Say
Over the years Trek has committed to cyclocross. The brought on Sven Nyse on board and with his, input Trek has produced top of the line cyclocross bikes. The top in stuff has trickled down to the lower end bikes. Trek has also streamlined it so you have two choices Carbon (Boone) or Aluminium (Crockett). The great thing about the two choices is that they are both good choices. The Crockett is the less expensive version of the Boone and at $1,500 cheaper you can literally buy 2 Crocketts and still not pay for a Boone. The 2020 Crocket 5 is a great value. For the money, you get a great 1X11 drive train with hydraulic braking. The frameset is made from a 300 series Alpha Aluminum. The tubing is shaped and has Invisible Weld Technology to give a very similar ride as its more expensive carbon sibling. The fork is Trek’s own ISO speed carbon fiber. It has a flat mount disc brake mounts, extra tire clearance so you can run big tires if you’re not chasing UCI points or just live in someplace really muddy like Belgium or Portland OR. Bottom line the bike is a thoroughbred for the money. You would be hard press to find another bike off the shelf that offers all of the features handles like a Ferarri but doesn’t break the bank.
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Scores
- Weight
- Components
- First Impressions
- On the Road
- On the Dirt
- Race Performance
- Overall
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Vitals
- Manufacturer
- Trek
- Model
- Crokett 5 Disc
- MSRP
- $2,399.99
- Website
- Crokett 5 Disc
- Sizes
47,50,52,54,56,58,61
- Geometry
- Frame
- 300 Series Alpha Aluminum, Invisible Weld Technology, tapered head tube, Control Freak internal routing, 3S chain keeper, flat mount disc, 142x12mm thru axle
- Fork
- Trek Cross carbon, tapered carbon steerer, internal brake routing, fender mounts, flat mount disc, 395mm axle-to-crown, 12x100mm thru axle
Components
- Bars
- Bontranger
- Brakes
- SRAM Rival HRD FM
- Bottom Bracket
- Praxis
- Cassette
- SRAM PG 1130 11-32
- Chain
- SRAM PG 1130 11sp
- Crankset
- Praxis LB Alloy, 30mm spindle, 40t Alloy Ring (170mm, 172.5mm, or 175mm)
- Front Derailleur
- None
- Rear Derailleur
- SRAM Rival 1, medium cage, 36T max cog
- Headset
- FSA integrated sealed cartridge bearing
- Saddle
- Bontrager Montrose Comp, steel rails, 138mm width
- Seatpost
- Bontranger 27.2 alloy
- Shifters
- SRAM Rival 11 Spd
- Stem
- Bontraner
- Tires
- Bontrager CX3 Team Issue, aramid bead, 120 tpi, 700x32c
- Wheels
- Bontrager Affinity Disc, Tubeless Ready, 24-hole, 21mm width, presta valve