Hi all,

I’ve been riding and occasionally racing mountainbikes since the mid-nineties, and am thinking about buying my first CX bike, with the aim of just getting more bike time out of the back door, and maybe a bit of racing next season. So…

Anyone bought one and not liked it?

Is there much of a race scene in the south, and is it a laugh, or conversely too serious for beginners to CX? I’m in Winchester/Hants so something south central would be good.

Any other horror stories/good things I should know?

Your advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Tobin

Just buy the bike!

Then i can figure out if i want one….

Seriously, couple of useful threads on bikes on here recently which might help:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/which-cyclocross-to-get

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/help-me-what-type-of-road-bike-should-i-buy-cx-tourer-or-carbon-road-god

The actual Singletrack magazine had a CX special pullout in the last edition too, you can have my copy, think it covers the whole ‘how to start out in CX from an mtb background’ kind of thing.

very good cx scene where you are. Try Hargroves in Winchester.

Hi tobin, im near winchester and ride a cx for all sorts and the odd race.
The nearest league for you is probably http://www.wessexcx.co.uk/

but also check out the british cycling website.

its as serious or as fun as you want it to be, some events are better thn others, dont think for a second a fast bike will make you fast though, didnt work for me 🙂

go for it

Oop north there is everone in the race from “have a go” throught “nearly pro”. 1 hour of suffering but good banter before and after. Probably the most social racing I do.

Also the bike is one of my most used. There isn’t any great mountain biking from my door but there is plenty of offroad available. IT is ideal to head off on a ride using old railway lines interspersed with the odd bit of good single track and wooded sections. Very versatile bikes. I can keep up with my local cafe run on the road or night ride with the mountain bike lot.

Did a few races up here (yorkshire) last year and they were great fun, pretty friendly and you just have to remember to get out the way of fast guys. Good support/spectators too, with some good banter.

Aim to ride/race a lot more this year. As said BC website will list local events.

As said above, jonba comments echo my own sentiments. I might have to whittle down to one bike and at the moment the cx is just so versatile it’s hard to see beyond it. Makes dull trails exciting and riding to the woods less of a hamster wheel slog. As for racing, well give it a shot and just expect to suffer 😉