Traitor Crusade SS Cyclocross

The Traitor Crusade SS sports some cool features you’d expect to see on a high-priced bike. Stainless steel forged dropouts with built in tensioners, internal cable housing routing in the top tube and a custom Columbus SLX Claymore fork. It’s a frame built for racing, but for a fraction of the price!

The Crusade SS is made with Columbus Life Tubing. Columbus Life gives the frame an excellent resistance to weight ratio along with the superior comfort and reliability that we expect from steel.

Stainless Steel forged dropouts on the Crusade SS will last for centuries and, combined with the built-in chain tensioners, your axle isn’t going anywhere once set. No creaking eccentric bottom brackets or Paragon sliding dropouts here, just simple but quality engineering that has been proven time and time again.

Internal cable routing on the top tube keeps the Traitor Crusade SS “easy on the shoulder” when the pedalling gets tough or, in my case, just climbing the stairs to get my bike in the house.

Supplied with the Traitor Crusade SS Frame is the Traitor Claymore Cross Fork. The Claymore Cross Fork is made using Columbus SLX – an incredibly popular choice for frame builders in the 80’s. Columbus SLX is proven – evidenced by the number of these frames that are still being pedalled today! Stainless steel race dropouts finish off the fork.

My daily commute at home in Australia involved concrete paths, tarmac roads, hard pack gravel, some loose gravel, dirt and grass. Having ridden to work by bike for a few years now I’m well aware that a cyclocross bike is the way to go. The Crusade SS gives you the best of both worlds with an “attack” geometry that will see you pushing through the head winds with relative ease, but enough clearance to allow a tyre that won’t flat as soon as it leaves the road.

When I’m riding to and from work, I don’t want to think about what gear I’m in, I just want to pedal harder for faster, and pedal less to go slower. The Traitor Crusade SS simply offers no options for gearing. Simple cycling! This bike is built tough and reliable. The perfect commuter for me – “I’ll maintain it tomorrow.”

The Traitor Crusade SS comes in four sizes – 49, 53, 56, 59 – and two colours: Cyan Blue or White. Traitor list the frame weight at 4lbs (around 1.8kg), and the fork at 1.6lbs (around 0.75kg) with a cut steerer.

As with all Traitor frames, they offer a 2 year defect warranty, and their awesome lifetime crash replacement.

Frame Specs:

• 1 1/8″ Headtube
• 27.2mm Seattube
• 130mm Rear Dropout Spacing
• 68mm Bottom Bracket Width
• Max Tire Width 35c

Looking to purchase the Traitor Crusade? Evo are currently selling both complete bike builds and framesets for great prices.

For more information on the Traitor Crusade SS or other Traitor Cycles products, check out their website at http://www.traitorcycles.com.

If you are looking for a cheaper frame with similar dropouts that is just as beautiful, check out the All-City Freestyle!