Supposing – hypothetically – that your office had just been relocated, and a quick [hypothetical] recce this morning demonstrated that commuting on the current road bike is a no go as the traffic is going to be at best a nightmare and at worst fatal, and the cycle paths/tow paths are too poor for 25mm tyres to cope with, would a CX type bike be the [hypothetical] solution?

I'd be looking [hypothetically] at something that will take full guards and a rack for panniers, and as the fun police round here operate on a "one bike in – one bike out" basis, it would need to [hypothetically]double as a winter road bike. Reliability would also be key – looking at 25 miles a day now commuting with a few hills on the way.

The Spesh Tricross and Giant TCX2 have [hypothetically] caught my eye, as has the fug ugly Road Rat. Any experiences or alternatives would be appreciated. And also suggestions on puncture proof, fast rolling tyres that would suit. And what tyre width would be best to go for Sustrans/cyclepaths/tow paths type riding for a clumsy 13 stone rider?

I bought a Tricross for that and it found it pretty good, although I didn't really use it often enough to keep. It was pretty fast on-road and towpaths but also capable of being ridden off-road as well (and very different to a mountain bike on the trails).

Currently I've got a rigid Inbred I'm using for the same stuff but I should have a Roadrat coming – that might also be worth a look.

The Giant would be ideal ( I love Giants some people have a problem with the image) Those CX bikes can be built up or down, and like all Giants they're good VFM and all the kits is hung on a good frame.

Cheers – a guy on a Tricross rode with me for a bit today, which got me thinking, and I'm a big fan of Cotic bikes.

Is the Inbred fitted with rack and guards, btw?

I'm very happy with my Tricross. I have heard reports about problems with the front canti brakes but mine came with mini-Vs fitted and has been fine.
I was going for a pure road bike but found them too fragile looking so plumped for the Tricross and it's been reliable, especially when I did a 100 miler on it last year. My mate on his racer felt quite beaten up at the end but I was surprisingly pain free!

It's not really a cross bike you're after is it? They tend not to have things like rack and mudguard mounts (there are a few exceptions). Of course what you really want is a tourer, but they're so "old-fashioned" that no-one in their right mind would consider one.

There are always hybrids, but they have an even worse fashion rating than tourers.

Oh – anything around 28-32mm tyres will be fine.

Nah! Just ride your Soul to work.
Strange question though? As the guys you occasionly ride with already have a couple of Spesh Tricross and a
Giant TCX.
Why not ask them?

i have a tricross ss that i have bee using for commuting and winter road rides. allows me to ride on crap condition bike tracks instead of roads, i consider this to be safer paticularly in the dark. makes a decent winter road bike too but can't comment on proper off road yet. i have 2 29ers that would do the same job though, but they are too good for commuting on. i need something i can throw in the back of a pick up without worrying about, hence the £350 tricross.

Is the Inbred fitted with rack and guards, btw?

It's got a rack at the moment but no guards yet. I've got some SKS ones for it somewhere (used them on a previous Inbred commuter) but haven't tried to fit them to this one.

It's somewhat of a "bitsa" as it's mostly just bits I had lying around.

Hi,

I have been using a Giant XTC frame with rigid carbon forks for a year now. It is pretty good as road bike and has worked well on CX.

However, bike to work scheme is about to kick in a work so I am going for a Boardman Pro Ltd hybrid. I will swap the flat bars and hydro brakes for the drops (SRAM Rival levers) and Avid BB7s.

It has mudguard eyes (which the XTC doesn't, cable tied mudguards) so is ready to rock as a commuter. Just need to take the mudguards off and fit some 32mm knobblies for the CX (they do fit, tried it in Halfords today).

Regards

I think a Kaffenback would be a better bet than a CX bike.

*waves at coleman*

Can I help it if our busy lives rarely coincide these days? And no TCX/Tricross riders were out the last time I did a ride with you guys!

druidh – I had a a look at a couple of tourers and then I looked at the weight penalty! Though I have to say one or two hybrid type bikes do – God help me – look like they might tick a lot of the boxes….

Just get a Trek Portland – masses of clearance, with stupid road discs and all the rack/guard mounts you could need.
Oh, and as soon as I can get round to ordering a Jtek Shiftmate model 4 mine'll have proper brake/shift levers on it as well.

Kona jake the snake. End of.

I got a Kinesis Crosslight 4T on the bike 2 work scheme. Full mudguards, rack and panniers. Great. I only do two or three days a week but it's fine for what I do – road on the way on, mostly off road on the way home to avoid traffic. The only thing I'd consider changing is going for cable discs rather than cantis, to try to extend the life of the rims 🙂