http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light en-US Wed, 30 May 2012 01:18:16 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://singletrackworld.com/forum/search.php http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121582 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:45:21 +0000 west kipper 1121582@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Oldgit, I think that one broke halfway round. </p> <p>My own feeling is that its the weight distibution/ ride position and drop bars of crossers that makes them faster, not the tyre or wheel size. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121551 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:36:58 +0000 oldgit 1121551@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>They did once. How it faired I don&#39;t know, clues probably in the word &#39;once&#39;<br /> <img src="http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/bianchipez2.jpg"> </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121523 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:30:11 +0000 oldgit 1121523@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>This isn&#39;t going anywhere is it. There are exceptions, but in general cross bikes are quicker in cross races and MTB&#39;s are quicker in XC races.<br /> Put both types of bike in everyday non race situations and there isn&#39;t a lot in it. </p> <p>Bedmaker. I remember a test being carried out at Sandwell park (the old MM venue) some class riders went out and did some laps on hardtails, then went out on short travel sussers (possibly NRS&#39;s or Sugars) they all said their first laps on the hardtails were quicker, but they weren&#39;t they were quicker on the sussers. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121449 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:09:16 +0000 west kipper 1121449@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Bedmaker, I generally run my CX tyres at less than 50psi, thats not rock hard is it?<br /> If a lightweight FS bike is so efficient, then how come they dont get used in races like Paris-Roubaix? </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121380 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:51:29 +0000 bedmaker 1121380@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p><blockquote>Yes, but why do you think those aspects make it fast? Out of those things you expend power on in cycling, which are you now expending less power on?</p> <p>I&#39;ll note a few points for you:<br /> Typical CX wheels and tyres are only 3% bigger in diameter than a 2.1&quot; tyre on a MTB wheel. About the same difference a 2.3 makes.<br /> Studies have shown that high pressure in narrow tyres off-road has more rolling resistance.<br /> Weight makes no difference on the flat (it&#39;s also possible to build a hardtail lighter than most people&#39;s crossers - there&#39;s little between my FS and my crosser!)<br /> You can lockout suspension when you don&#39;t need it and unlock where it makes you faster.</p> <p>Also worth pointing out that when they&#39;ve done comparative studies of speed between hardtails and FS everybody always thinks they&#39;re going faster on the hardtail because the extra impacts make it seem faster, even when the FS has actually been faster. </blockquote><br /> Thats exactly what I couldn&#39;t be bothered typing.</p> <p>High volume, lowish pressure bald tyre (well worn RR for instance) is much faster on easy forestry track type stuff than a rock hard CX tyre IME. Much comfier too. Ive got a pair of Vittoria 32c, used once <img src="http://singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bbcode-buttons/default/icon_wink.gif" title=":wink:" class="bb_smilies" alt=""/> going cheap if anyone is interested.</p> <p>That said, I do enjoy taking my old road bike with cow horns and touring tyres off road for all the reason people have mentioned above. It&#39;s <em>meant</em> to be fun remember. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121361 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:46:37 +0000 oldgit 1121361@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>That&#39;s like the mixed bike event I did. For a while I was well up on guys I KNOW are quicker. Then we hit this section, like a mini Mangrove swamp and I just fell right back. It&#39;s the one thing you just can&#39;t do on a crosser, constantly having to hop stuff and stay fast. The guys on MTB&#39;s were just cruising through.<br /> What crazy legs hinted at up there is how I train over winter, road/off road/road. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121341 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:38:17 +0000 west kipper 1121341@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Out of interest, Ive had my cross bike round Glentress black, and didnt find it bad, the climbs (with a non-purist wide ratio cassette :oops:) seemed easier in fact.<br /> I&#39;ve also had it on a few routes such as Glen Tilt, and the MTBers I was with were getting a bit annoyed at me pulling away all the time (trust me, this wasn&#39;t down to fitness)<br /> BTW, oldgit, pished at this time of the day? I am liking your style <img src="http://singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bbcode-buttons/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" alt=""/> </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121325 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:33:22 +0000 crazy-legs 1121325@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p><em>Cross bikes win on the versatility front, every time. </em></p> <p>Mr Agreeable has it in one. Sure there are situations where a MTB is going to be &quot;better&quot; (faster, easier to ride, whatever your definition of better might be) but there are also situations where a CX will be &quot;better&quot; (same definition).</p> <p>I could do 20 road miles on mine out to an off-road area (trail centre or similar), do a lap of that and ride 20 miles home again without being completely dead. Try doing that on an MTB - you wouldn&#39;t, you&#39;d just drive out to the trail centre. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/3#post-1121294 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:26:36 +0000 oldgit 1121294@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Exactly Mr Agreeable. That&#39;s the &#39;cross&#39; bit. The cross in CX has a different meaning to the cross in xc, or am I drunk. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121287 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:24:24 +0000 west kipper 1121287@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>cynic-al, that could be turned round the other way as well; On a typical mountainbike many less technial offroad distance routes would be &#39;absolute purgatory or, I suspect, at least a lot slower&#39;<br /> .<br /> For me the few minutes that I might lose on certain downhills, or techy sections, are more than made up with by the speed elsewhere. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121272 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:21:19 +0000 Mr Agreeable 1121272@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p><blockquote>many technical trails would be, I suspect, unrideable</blockquote></p> <p>That&#39;s when you pick it up and carry it, doye. <img src="http://singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bbcode-buttons/default/icon_wink.gif" title=";-)" class="bb_smilies" alt=""/> </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121271 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:21:18 +0000 Jimbo 1121271@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p><strong>Yes, but why do you think those aspects make it fast?</strong></p> <p>For the same reasons a road bike is faster than an MTB on-road. Maybe there&#39;s not enough &quot;Mountain&quot; in yer&#39; typical XC course/in the South to call upon the supposed advantages of a &quot;Mountain Bike&quot;... </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121254 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:16:29 +0000 cynic-al 1121254@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p><blockquote>Made it much more fun since a relatively untechnical area became so much more interesting - as clubber says, skinny tyres, pinging off roots and blasting through the singletrack. </blockquote></p> <p>And many technical trails would be, I suspect, unrideable, or at least a lot slower. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121243 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:13:09 +0000 west kipper 1121243@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>I have my CX bike set up with the bars, saddle, cleats, the whole position, set up similarly to my hardtail, and there&#39;s no mistaking that on most surfaces it kicks the MTBs bottom. I&#39;ve yet to conduct a scientific trial of why exactly, but I dont worry about it, I just ride and accept it! </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121213 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:06:24 +0000 clubber 1121213@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Based on riding the HONC a few times on my CX bike (and other years on my mtb), it&#39;s noticeable where you&#39;re suddenly much quicker than mtbs that you were riding about the same pace as before.</p> <p>Specifically fireroad type trails when climbing and grass in all conditions up, down and flat. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121212 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:06:15 +0000 Mr Agreeable 1121212@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>I had a very similar experience to Traildog in the last CX race I did. It was a tight twisty rooty course with lots of singletrack, partly mud, partly frozen, and I was suffering from a dicky shoulder so I though I&#39;d try riding the MTB for a change. I managed to hang on to my usual mid-pack placing for about a lap, then I shot out the back like excrement through a goose. I don&#39;t normally excel at racing, but that time I got completely schooled.</p> <p>I&#39;ve also heard people making similar comparisons between cross bikes and light racey MTBs before. Thing is, to get a XC race bike that would be as in the same weight bracket as a cross bike while still keeping the advantages of suspension, you&#39;d need to spend a lot more than the £6-700 you can get a decent beginner cross bike for. You wouldn&#39;t want to tour or commute on a blinged-out MTB either. Cross bikes win on the versatility front, every time. <img src="http://singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bbcode-buttons/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" alt=""/> </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121186 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:00:32 +0000 oldgit 1121186@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>aP<br /> Possibly meeting up with some of my old roadie mates in the next few weeks, I&#39;ll mail you but we&#39;ll probably head out of NW London to Amersham way&#39;ish.<br /> Other than that see you at the 2010 CX races <img src="http://singletrackworld.com/forum/my-plugins/bbcode-buttons/default/icon_smile.gif" title=":-)" class="bb_smilies" alt=""/> </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121144 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:51:13 +0000 aP 1121144@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>Oh, aracer - where did I say it feels faster? I wrote that it was faster.<br /> If I could be bothered I could go and dig out some Garmin data with average speeds, HR etc, for my typical rides which tend to be about 4-8 hours, but TBH I can&#39;t as I&#39;m just surfacing every now and then from reviewing and commenting upon stair run off distances on a project. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121116 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:45:06 +0000 traildog 1121116@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>aracer, what do you want to know? I was racing a cross bike which is probably not much lighter than my lightest, fully rigid mountain bike. Unfortunately, that bike was taken away from me so I had to then race on my mountain bike. I was consistently about 10-15 places down from where I was, and I was completely dead at the end of races. Gearing was the same on the mountain bike.<br /> I did run some 26&quot; CX tyres on it, but found these didn&#39;t roll well enough so I put some bigger semi-slick tyres on. I felt the wheels still didn&#39;t roll as well, were smaller and heavier. I guess the position on the mountain bike didn&#39;t help although I had this as low as I could.</p> <p>On each acceleration, I would lose slightly and it was just killing me hanging on the back of fast groups.</p> <p>I was glad to get another cross bike.. </p> http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-bikes-ive-seen-the-light/page/2#post-1121071 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:34:35 +0000 Surfr 1121071@http://singletrackworld.com/forum/ <p>The cheapo SPDs (M550s?) which came with it. If I upgraded it would only be to 520s which I use on the ST4 too. </p>