Anyone got one, ridden one? Any good?

Unfortunately not, came very close to getting one earlier in the year. Everything I read about it was very positive apart from the fact that you can't race it with disc brakes, which I didn't want to do anyway 🙂

Just got the Vapour and am very happy with it.

Saw a Croix De Fer in an LBS and its a lovely bit of kit. Can't really see how you can go wrong 😕

I got one about 3 months ago and its a great bit of kit. The cable disks can.take a bit of tweaking and its a little on the stout side (but so am I) so no complaints at all.

I came close to buying one earlier in the year. They are on the heavy side compared to regular road bikes – if you need/want the extra robustness then I guess it's not too bad but it did feel a bit of a plodder on road. If I was doing a long road commute in all weathers (with maybe some paths along the way), or planning a tour, it'd be right up there though.

Ended up finding a Kona Haole in the sales which was steel but more conventionally roadie and feels much more eager to accelerate (as you'd expect given it's about 5lb lighter).

dropoff – Member
Everything I read about it was very positive apart from the fact that you can't race it with disc brakes,

You can now tho?

built a couple up, took one for a little test ride. Felt quite good. Pretty solid bike, tougher than some other cyclco cross bikes I've seen.

croix de bois croix de fer si je mens je vais en enfer…

ok ok… IGMC

My mates got one he loves, in fact he reviewed it:

http://www.iseepeople.co.uk/firemonkey/blog/?p=352

There was one a couple of weeks ago, down at the end of this thread –

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-commute-fun-bike-options

He seems very happy with it.

When I nipped down the co-op for a pint of milk on sunday afternoon a chap was just pulling up on one. he looked quite happy with it.
I like the white paint
HTH

Hmm, very tempting indeed. Completely trashing my road bike on my commute and really fancy a CX bike with discs now, my skinny tyres a a bit scary when its snowy/icy too so this looks ideal

Anywhere got them cheaper than £899 at Evans?

Also anything stopping you upgrading to hydraulic discs or do the levers for drops not exist?

There was one a couple of weeks ago, down at the end of this thread –

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cyclocross-commute-fun-bike-options

He seems very happy with it.

Oooh yeah that's me he's talking about 🙂

Yes I really like it, got me back into biking again after a bit of an injury. The brakes are great I am very pleased I went with discs, especially with the weather deteriorating. Used it offroad a fair bit already and it seems to be very capable. For me it's a perfect solution as I didn't want to buy a road bike. I commute on it a couple of times a week.

Was tempted by one but went for the cotic roadrat (ss/discs/drops) instead, which I'm loving, lots.

I've just gotten one.

As others have said, it's a bit on the heavy side – but the geometry is spot on for what I wanted (which was the deciding factor over a Kona Honky Inc).

Rack mounts don't play too happily with the disc mount, and I'm not really that impressed by the Shimano discs – better than calliper brakes, but fiddly to set up in a way where they don't rub against the disc when riding and clamp the disc centrally (rather than pushing the disc to one side). They might be swapped for some BB7s at some stage.

Other than that, I've switched forks, bars, tyres, cranks, saddle, seatpost, and levers on a comfort/lightness/kicking about the house/preference basis.

Wheels are going to be changed too.

Yes, I should probably have just looked for a frameset.

As current RRP on the Croix de Fer is £1100 I would say the Evans price is a bargain.

Aidy, any pics?

As current RRP on the Croix de Fer is £1100 I would say the Evans price is a bargain.

I got mine from Evans on ride2work scheme. Can't lose.

really tempted, its for commuting, but also seen this which looks a bargain, and not very good for commuting!

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Focus_Black_Forest_Pro_2010/5360045265/?referid=Bloggle

Dammit, cant decide between a cross bike and a hard tail.

Ive got a carbon hardtail so I dont need that Focus right? (I wont be commuting on the carbon HT either).

cross bike looks more sensible, but that looks a good deal?

I've got the previous years model and it's been great. Mine's mostly for commuting but it's done the odd cross race – clearances area bit tight in the mud for this really – and a few 4 or 5 hour rides on the road all without complaint.

If you're going to do a lot of riding on the road then something lighter is probably the thing as it's not that much lighter than my Soul, if at all.

Only the rack fitting faff counts against it really. Oh, and the stock tyres. They were bloody awful – slow on the road and confidence draining off it.

Although the brakes can be a bit of bother, you don't have much choice with cable discs i'm afraid, as road levers have different cable pull to v-brake levers. Avid do one, Shimano do one. That's it as far as i'm aware… Personally, i'd rather have cantis as at least they feel nice.

you have out of date info, you CAN race with discs in UCI races now. The rulebook was changed about 2 months ago …

you have out of date info, you CAN race with discs in UCI races now
and you'd more than likely been able to race most races below national series and champs too.

still waiting for mine, bloody on back order… going to be my commuting steed and maybe for doing end to end for my 40th (along with following the tour in the campervan which is 55% finished, climbing mt blanc and the marathon de sables)

i had a CX bike with discs and i'd always go for cantis in future. THe shimano ones especially are terrible and required constant adjustment as the pad wears and didn't seem to be any more powerful than well setup pair of avid shorties. I found they worked better if i adjusted for pad wear using an allen key at the calliper rather than the barrel adjuster. The fork also needs to be beefed to take discs up so becomes noticeable more uncomfortable (regardless of what its made of). Also, as above, it restricts rack mounting and wheel choice quite a bit.

turneround – what size are you after? They are all in stock apart from the 60cm frame.

I have one and it's a great all-round bike. Ideal for scooting along the back roads and diving down lanes or canal towpaths and just generally taking 'alternative' routes that you couldn't do on a road bike.

It is quite sturdy (which is reassuring off-road) but very comfortable. I've had it since November and I have changed a few bits:

the Continental 35C tyres were awful: slow and puncture prone so I have changed to Specialized Borough CX 32Cs which have a slick centre-ridge and so roll much better on the road and can still take some mild off-road, which suits the kind of riding I do. Oh and no punctures.

the drop bars are not anatomic and so you really feel the curve if you ride on the drops. I changed these for Ritchey BioMax 2 bars which are also shallow drop and anatomic. Much more comfy.

The disc brakes take a lot of bedding in and are only really better than a set of cantis in the wet. I have just upgraded to 180mm rotors (from 160mm) and this has helped.

Other than that it's a great bike for the money. I've done lightweight weekends away on it and if I'm heading out for a blast on the roads or to go and visit mates/parents, it's the bike I wheel out of the garage now…

I've built up a SH Ti frame and carbon forks, with 3×9 gears and BB7 cable discs. Very similar to the Croix de Fer. Been using it for 18 months or so – mainly commuting, but also the Three Peaks CX and some Lakes trail riding. It's great, though a bit lighter would be nice.

cheers mister P.. we get deals direct from madison so i'm waiting from them..