I am thinking of purchasing a new machine but can’t decide if i should go down the Cx route or Road. I have been using a friends Ribble Gran Fondo recently and have really liked it, however i am intrigued by the Cx bikes. I want to get out on the open road and cover some miles and so the road bike appeals, but i am not sure it will have the same appeal when winter kicks in so the Cx would give me the option of picking up some trails. I currently have a 29er. A few mates are getting into the roadie stuff and am concerned that if i did go Cx i wouldnt be up with them if we went out.
Looking to spend £1k max if you have any recommendations

U have a Giant Revolt 1 fitted with road tyres and love it for getting to work and wet weather rides. Easy to fit full mud guards.

If you’re thinking of winter miles, consider if the bike can fit mudguards – that’ll make a serious difference to your chances of getting out when it’s cold and wet.

With slick road tyres fitted to my CX bike I can keep up with the full on road bikes no problem. Sure, the ‘geometry’ is slightly more laid back but that really doesn’t matter unless you’re some kind of elite rider, makes not one difference in a straight line.

How does the gearing compare with a CX, can you still keep up with the different ratio ?

Gearing depends on the bike. Plenty come with a standard road compact. Some with smaller big rings. If it is a compact then you are fine.

I changed my 50t for a 46t. To be honest it is too big for racing but fine for bashing out miles on gravel and rough roads. On the road I can stay with a bunch under most circumstances. I guess it gets a bit too spinny for me approaching 35mph.

My road bike is definitely faster than my cross bike but only so that it would make a difference racing. When I put some slicks on it is fine and I’ve done 100+ mile rides on it. Where I love it is the ability to easily ride rough roads and gravel. It means I can use some of the long distance national bike path routes near me (NCN68,1,10 etc.) that are often fine gravel and hardpack.

Depends how fast you want to ride. I can quite happily pootle along spinning 34/11 up to 21+mph – I don’t feel the need to really hammer along much more than that so having a 46/48/50 or 52 big chainring isn’t really that much of a difference – it’d be a rare day when the terrain/wind would allow the joys of a big chainring/small cog chase.

Downhill I just spin out a bit quicker than the roadies, but I get into a better tuck earlier and can keep up anyways.

In theory the wider spread of a CX block gives you a couple of ‘gaps’ in the ratios but as a first road bike I think things like that would just cloud the issue rather than being major concerns. If I was a cat 1 racer then, yes, stuff like that would worry me.

gearing shouldn’t be an issue. the difference between 46 & 50 at the front is only one ratio at the back. so when you are spinning out 46:11 everyone else has one gear left.

some CX bikes are stiff, no bottle mounts and no mudguard mounts. others are quite different – there are lots of crossover, trail type CX bikes about. you need to try them and decide what you like/ what you want.

I would choose on brakes: i don’t like cantis so i’d have discs or calipers.

Just get the right bike for the job. Not seeing the point of a cross biike if your 29er leans towards X/C. A nice road bike, with road gearing and mudguards for winter is what you want.

I have a road bike and a CX/winter road bike (and mtbs too, obviously!)

In the summer when the roads are dry, the road bike is lovely but I honestly don’t think it’s significantly faster than the CX bike with the stem flipped and decent road tyres on.

As a bike though, my CX is fantastic and possibly my favourite – CX bikes are absolutely brilliant for mixing up road and offroad that would probably be a bit tame for mtbs (or sometimes not 🙂 ).

In short though, a CX with road tyres and a position that isn’t silly high at the front will be fine on the road – if you’re significantly slower than people on ‘proper’ road bikes then that’ll be down to your legs, not the bike.

FWIW, compact 50/34 and 11-28 will be fine for CX and road riding unless you’re doing lots of 30+ mph timetrials 🙂