Kinesis and the 3 Peaks Cyclo-Cross Race - the enduring double act

There's a long history of Kinesis UK at the 3 Peaks Cyclo-cross race, as well as a long history of the ATR Tripster at the 'peaks. Back in early 2013, long before gravel was a thing, I was lucky enough to see some sneak peeks of the new ATR Tripster. After much persuasion, I was allowed to take the prototype to play out. To me, it's the perfect 'peaks bike.

Back then I thought the 'peaks was 'cross, oh how wrong I was – but it certainly set the obsession with the race. Thinking back to how much things have changed, there were no hydraulic disc brake shifters, you could just about have cable-operated discs. Unless of course you went 1x and used a TRP Hylex. There were no thick/thin chainrings. No Tubeless. Seems mad when it's now commonplace.

I remember my first hotchpotch set-up, Hylex on the rear and a 10spd 105 shifter with a HYRD brake. There were no wide-range cassettes unless you made your own with a Hope range expander and an XT cassette, leaving out a ring. No road links, I had to file down a Goatlink to fit the XT 9spd mech to get the pull ratios to match. I remember being told my 38–11/40 was far too low and I'd just spin it out... To be honest, I read that back and wonder how I ever got round!

But I did, and the obsession began.
And then like many of my newfound favourite things, I made Jo and Mathieu come to play out too. Jo's first race was on the now-discontinued Kinesis Pro6 V2 and Mathieu got himself a V1 ATR Tripster. Ah, we were so young and fit back then!

Catapulting forward to 2024 and the three amigos are back again. Pro6 retired to commuting and replaced with a V2 ATR Tripster with GRX and Sector wheels for Jo. Mathieu's V1 is still going strong although he's upgraded the gearing to GRX and Hunt Dynamo wheels, plus the addition of the Range fork with cargo mounts and thru axles. I'm lucky enough to have ridden the proto to death, then a V1 production (also still alive but with a new owner), the V2 proto, the V2 production with the TRP fork (also still going with my partner Faye), the V3 proto and finally the V3 production. My gearing is now permanently set for the 'peaks with 165 Praxis cranks and a 34 front and 11/42 rear.

Sometimes I wonder which is the greater obsession, the 'peaks or the ATR Tripster!

See you on the last Sunday of September 2025 – in the meantime, enjoy the video of Peaks 2024.

Story and video by Emma Ossenton