Now I know you lot will say get something else, but for a 35 mile round commute, and also for bridleway weekend riding, which one of the above would you lot go for?

Steel vs alu!

Croix de fer – too heavy and dead for my tastes
Charing Cross – that slack head angle put me off. I don’t even like them on mountain bikes.

So neither for me personally, ymmv

Vapour disc.

Should say, currently riding a Reynolds 853 Genesis Alpitude

AlexSimon
Croix de fer – too heavy and dead for my tastes
Charing Cross – that slack head angle put me off. I don’t even like them on mountain bikes.
So neither for me personally, ymmv

This is the truth.

If its for general duties/weekend fun then a Tricross is what your after. Will do it all and you could even race it if that foats your boat.

My Croix de fer is very comfortable for the commute, steel frames are always going to be much more forgiving on crappy roads, not dead feeling in my opinion and I have been riding one for a year on Sheffield’s shitty roads!

Trevor.

Now I know you lot will say get something else,

😀

Peregrine ?

I run mine on 700×34’s (rather than 29×2.n’s) which has been ok for bridleways & farm lanes, and ok on the road. It’s easily the most versatile bike I own, and should such an absurd event ever occur … I can see it being the only bike one could own too …

What Thorpie said. Love my Croix De Fer. My commute consists of about 9 miles each way is made up of 75% wooded paths and it’s just superb. Capable of getting a wriggle on too, just needs a bit more effort to get it up to speed is all.

Would add though that the Spesh Tricross is a great bike too. I had a Singlecross a few years back and wish I’d never sold it tbh

Not buying a Specialized….way too many of them about!

Snob

Would add though that the Spesh Tricross is a great bike too. I had a Singlecross a few years back and wish I’d never sold it tbh

Been trying to get my hands on a single cross for a while. I bought one back when Pearsons were knocking them out for silly money, regret selling too.

Surly Cross-check? Had one for a couple of years. Bit heavy, but great geometry, incredibly comfortable, fast and downright fun to ride. In fact was as fast on the road commute I had as my Cannondale CAAD8. It got nicked and I’m seriously tempted to get another.

Cotic X

Vaya?

Charing Cross – that slack head angle put me off

That just looks bizarre.

erm.. shameless promotion but it’s very nice, honest 🙂

When are they out James?

edit: they look spot on by the way (although there will probably be a lot of competition in 2013)

James, this* behaviour of yours is turning into a habit.

(*designing bikes that tick all my boxes, damn you.)

Thanks guys – listening now

@ Jameso: nice job.
Academic unless they actually ride well I guess, but they seem well thought through.

That just looks bizarre.

that’s what happens when mtb companies try to make skinny tyred bikes to appeal to mtb sensibilities, they usually fail in making a decent bike but succeed in making mtb’ers feel safe and happy.

“35mile commute”? buy a road bike or a cross bike made by a road bike manufacturer not a token gesture towards 23c’s thought up by those afraid of lycra and lacking in flexibility due to middle aged spread.

I’ve got a Charing Cross and I like it. It suits me fine and is far more comfortable than old bits of gas pipe that had been welded together and called aRoad Rat I had before – I found that quite surprising that an aluminium bike would be more comfortable than steel, perhaps its the carbon fork? A further bonus is that when weighed down with full panniers of tins of beans and bottles of booze etc it still rides well, much better than the Road Rat that felt like it had a hinge behind the seat tube when the panniers were full.

As for the slack head angle, I’ve not noticed any handling issues. It feels just fine and rides down steep grassy banks with confidence, but also steers nicely round hairpins on Lakeland passess.

If you were buy the Charing Cross I would carefully check the size and fit as the top tube is bloody looooooooooooong. I’m 6’2″ with only a 32″ inside leg, so I’ve got a fair bit of upper body and arms like an ape and it was too much of a stretch for me. An inline post and a 50mm stem have rectified this nicely.

I can’t speak for the Croix de Fer, as I’ve never had/riden one, but they look nice.

I did look at the Tricross but I didn’t come with a carbon fork at my price point – £1,000 cycle scheme limit.

ahwiles, most of us have the same boxes ) or something like that!

Due in late July with some shipping-related luck. Got some CX bikes due in before CX season for once.. and then said they’re not really CX race bikes.

Surly Cross-check? Had one for a couple of years. Bit heavy, but great geometry, incredibly comfortable, fast and downright fun to ride. In fact was as fast on the road commute I had as my Cannondale CAAD8. It got nicked and I’m seriously tempted to get another.

My Cross Check is the best bike I’ve ever owned. It is also the most versatile and gets used for off road stuff, towpath bashing and riding up and down steep hills for charity. Compared to some of the other bikes I’ve ridden I don’t consider it to be too heavy and it handles beautifully. It won’t take discs but fit some decent V brakes and you won’t miss them. Only downside is they don’t look too good price wise against some of the competition. The Cross Check really makes more sense if you are going to build it up yourself.

I’d be interested in any more Charing Cross feedback…
Many thanks
F

I did my 46 mile round trip commute on a Singular Gryphon on Friday. Not as fast as the Planet X Pro Carbon it replaced but not too far off – and that’s with 2″ tyres on.
Plus sides? Well it’s disc braked and it will take treaded or even spiked tyres so it’s suitable whatever the weather (provided I’m up to it). It has pannier mounts. It’s far more stable when loaded than the Planet X was.

I like it – others won’t.

I got a Charing Cross about 3 months ago and love it. I find it very comfortable, have done some reasonably long rides on it – 100km in the Bucks off road sportive, quite a few 3+ hours rides with a mixture of bridleways, byways and roads plus commuting duties a few times a week.
Had to get the wheels trued, but I have been treating it like my 456 at times – I’ve certainly found its limits! Brakes have a lot of power, SRAM group set is capable enough for the price point, but best of all the paint job is really nice. Interestingly, I am consistently about 5mins slower on my 10 mile each way commute when I’m on the Charing Cross compared to the road bike. I did consider a croix de fer, but the components on the Charing Cross seemed a bit better – it is slightly more expensive though.

IGM – that’s out of my budget unfortunately, but I do love the look of them.
Boondock, do you have any thoughts or feedback on the geometry and head angle?
Many thanks
F

Mmmm this thread has put the cat amongst the pigeons , After riding an old Kona road bike I’ve got the bug and was looking at a new road bike. I’d always thought a cross bike was basically a road frame with mtb gearing so would be slow but the Spesh tricross and the likes are road geared. Whats the disadvantage of a cyclo cross over a road bike then .?

CdF. Bit heavy, its true, but reliable, doesn’t feel dead (to me) and genuinely does EVERYTHING. Mines seen me through two winters of commuting similar distances over roads and moorland. If I only had one bike…

I’d think about going for a singlespeed though.