so i'm not after an out and out CX bike for racing, it'll be for riding a bit of road, spotting a trail and having the option to explore it, so i'd like comfort (not head down roadying) and disc brakes as i had enough of those in the 80's and 90's.
so far i'm looking at Cotic X and Singular Gryphon, has anyone run a Gryphon with 35-40mm tyres? i can only find pics of them MTB rubbered up
views and alternatives welcome
The Genesis cross bikes (Crois de Fer, Vapour, Day One Alfine) sound like the kind of thing you're wanting.
Maybe a bit of an alternative view rather than a recommendation..
I think a cross bike is a different thing, it's not really a mountain bike lite, it's further along the spectrum towards a road bike. In fact, a lot of the stuff that I ride on my crosser could be done almost as well on a roadbike if it was dry.
Because of this view, I would say that you appear not to want a crosser in any real cross sense, and would maybe be better off with a racy hardtail with skinnier tyres on.
If I've misread that, and you do want a cross bike, I think you have to accept that part of the whole thing is a certain head-down roadying approach, which as you get used to it is a lot more fun and challenging than it sounds.
Wellhung - That's nice!
I have a Croix de fer, I love it!
the WTF styling does apeal to my contrarian side!
You'd enjoy it RD...
You ride a rigid Clown Bike already..
Nah, in all honesty I think you'd enjoy it...
From my experience I would have to agree with Crikey. I got myself a Major Jake and it did not seem very fast on the road (even with slicks on it) in comparison to my recently acquired Planet x Ti Pro Road. I don't think it was much if any faster then my geared Tinbred with either slicks or 1.5 conti cross country's on it.
For the riding you are suggesting, I would say just stick with a racy hardtail with some skinnier tyres on it.
After recently putting together my first cx bike, a Kona Jake so nothing flash but with some nice parts I think a cx bike would be perfect for what you describe. Similar to your requirements I wanted something robust for use as a winter / training bike with 700x35 tyres that handle winter better than 23's, less punctures etc. I also find myself riding more interesting loops that contain bridleways that a full on road bike would not cope with and if you set it up right could also be an all day comfortable tourer.
And when spring comes and the carbon comes out I will lose 8lbs instantly!
i'm not worried about being fast on the road, but i also don't want to ride 20 miles on tarmac with mtb rubber and then the same off road, but you are right and i'm sort of already doing what you suggest using this
day touring lite Swift by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr
but would like to use this fr SS MTB duties really
Looking at what you are currently riding I can't see what you would gain except for making this frame available for singlespeeding. Given the options I would have thought you would be better off looking for a different frame to singlepseed myself.
Hope that helps rather than muddies the water
Salsa Vaya? Just got one a couple of weeks ago for exactly the sort of riding you describe. It's definitely not a racey bike but is great on the road and smooth trails. The spec on the complete bike is good too.
Check my post history for pics and detailed comments...
GB
I agree with Gee on the Salsa, Its a lovely bike to ride,
Rode a little demo on one.
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