Viewing 30 posts - 1 through 30 (of 30 total)
  • Cyclocross bike. Should I ?
  • andy8442
    Free Member

    I’ve had a MTB for years, and a couple of years ago I bought a flat bar road/fitness bike as I wanted to do more miles on the road (Endomondo Challenge). Now I love my flat bar! It’s light, fast, black! but…….. the brakes! They are scary, just plain scary, especially when you spend half your riding life on a MTB with discs. So the thing is (yes I’ve been bitten by the bug a bit!) Cyclocross bikes? should I? They seem the perfect solution, are they? Thoughts please.

    Before you start on the “they’re not as aero, heavier than a road bike” etc. I’m a stone over weight and will probably remain a stone over weight.

    LoCo
    Free Member

    Yes, they’re ace, have one as my ‘sensible’ bike for road stuff, carry the children & commuting.

    TimP
    Free Member

    Go for it!

    I got one thinking it would be everything I ever wanted and it spat me off 3 times in a week, on and off road. I quickly realised it is not a road bike or a mountain bike, so it is slower but very comfortable on road, but the knobbly tires are rubbish in the wet, and off road it is much twitchier than a MTB. Since then we have been getting on fine, I have a bit more respect for it and what it can and can’t do and have since stayed on board every ride. It is not used for much off road, but it does a bit, and it has also been a child carrier, and it is way faster on road than any of my other bikes. Have some slicks which I haven’t put on yet as the 32mm SB8’s seem a decent compromise.

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    MostlyBalanced
    Free Member

    Get one. Then spend a bit of time researching local off-road Strava segments that are reasonably smooth and flat. Even at a stone overweight you’ll pick up plenty of KOMs. Until someone else living near you reads this.

    razorrazoo
    Full Member

    I have a young family and live 30 mins drive from the nearest decent mountain biking. As many will testify this puts a massive dent on the amount of riding I got to do as needed min 3-4 hours at a time. Road bikes have never floated my boat but round my way (Southwest London) we have loads of big parks and towpaths. Got a CX (well gravel) bike about a month ago and it’s brilliant. Not as fast as a road bike, but plenty capable on the black stuff, brilliant for the none paved parts of my rides, and interesting enough on the singletrack sections.

    I’ve now combined this with Strava (new to me too) for a challenge (I am far from quick), but the lack of proper fit roadies on the gravel sections means I can challenge for decent times (first KOM last night) and push myself. My riding time has increased as can go for a 30-60 min blast from the front door and the f/s I normally ride now feels like being on a feather bed.

    Best bike based decision since getting a dropper post.

    So that’s a thumbs up from me.

    ceepers
    Full Member

    They are ace, especially if you don’t have any mtb riding from the door . It’s my cheapest bike and possibly my most used.

    They aren’t as quick as a road bike for pure road rides though

    daver27
    Free Member

    get one, utterly hilarious things. i resisted for years as i thought they were just wrong, turns out i was!!

    absolutely love mine

    ahsat
    Full Member

    Mine has had over 1000 miles in just over a year having sworn I’d never ride ridgid. Very very happy with it. Wouldn’t be without one in my stable and the mechanical discs are decent.

    matt303uk
    Full Member

    I’ve just got myself an Adventure/Gravel bike (Specialized Diverge) so I could do more interesting routes from my home than with just the MTB, only done one ride so far but found it great fun for investigating the local B roads and including the odd bit of tow path or trail normally out of range, even some single track.

    lunge
    Full Member

    They are great for riding “non-gnar” off road stuff and mixed tracks and road type riding, I love mine for this kind of thing. However, if you’re going to stick on the roads you may find a disk braked road bike (Giant Defy springs to mind) a better option.

    growinglad
    Free Member

    You won’t regret it.

    I started with a Rose, used it a LOT, even did a couple of cyclo cross races last year (f me they are quick paced).

    Recently moved the bits over to a Tripster ATR.

    Tripster ATR

    How I had spent so much of my life having not ridden a Titanium frame I will never know….as close to Nivana as you’ll get on two wheels.

    mudsoul
    Free Member

    I love mine and I know I’ll regret selling it to make room for a 29er. Great fun off-road, but don’t try to ride it like a mountain bike.

    cows_in_cars
    Free Member

    My only “negative” I will throw in to consider this is- are you happy with drop bars? Or have you ridden with drop bars that much?

    For some reason I just can not get on with them, I have ridden a road bike and some cross bikes (a lot) for the last 15 years, still find them “annoying” compared to flats, even on the road sometimes.

    I keep experimenting and looking at cross bikes, try one and occasional have bought one but they never last long. I love the kind of riding a cross bike opens up (I like spotting a path from the road and seeing where it goes e.c.t) and I don’t mind a bit of old school carrying/running with the bike. I always wish I was on a mountain bike. Find a rigid MTB so much more fun than a cross bike.

    I reckon I am tempted by a cross bike once every two months, but a short road ride and/or a short trip off road on the road bike always kills the idea.

    dknwhy
    Full Member

    Get one! My cheapest bike but sees more miles than any other. Feels fast on the road and great for caning through parks etc. Perfect for those rides where you just want to mooch about and explore or you’re not sure what you fancy doing.
    I’ll set off on the road and then get bored so cut through a park or a bridleway.
    Proper bike for being a bit of a hooligan.
    Here’s mine in action (shameless plug but you can see the variety of terrain)

    vimeo

    mrhoppy
    Full Member

    You could buy my cotic X.

    andy8442
    Free Member

    Thanks all. Ok i’m convinced, but what do you all recommend? What do you think of Boardman bikes and also how are the Genesis CX bikes?

    chakaping
    Free Member

    They are great for riding “non-gnar” off road stuff and mixed tracks and road type riding, I love mine for this kind of thing. However, if you’re going to stick on the roads you may find a disk braked road bike (Giant Defy springs to mind) a better option.

    What he said. No need for a CX bike if you’re not going off surfaced roads.

    There are now a lot of practical, comfortable disc-braked road bikes if you’re not wanting a racer.

    However, if you do want to ride bridleways and stuff, yes look at CX and adventure/gravel bikes.

    PS. I had a Boardman CX Team, found it heavy and dead-feeling TBH. Roadie geometry though, so wasn’t much fun off road but felt like hard work on road. Maybe it was just me though.

    razorrazoo
    Full Member

    I’ve got the Genesis CDA 10. It’s the entry to their range at £700 but plenty good enough for what I need. Alu frame, carbon forks. The shimano gears are good and TRP cable discs work well too. The finishing kit is all Genesis which seems to go all the way up its CX range, as do the Alex rims, so I’ll assume they are decent if not mega light bits. They also do the little things right like speccing jag wire compression less cables for the brakes. Ride is comfortable now I have the bars set up right and played with tyre pressures.I also like the aesthetic, Booardman and Giant models I looked at are are bit in your face graphics wide for me.

    The Pinnacle models at Evans are also worth a look at that price.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    mrhoppy – Member
    You could buy my cotic X.

    Go on…?

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    I have this same indecision. I currently have a Giant Defy as a winter bike, mounted with guards permantly and it sits on the turo mostly in summer but sometimes get used for school runs with Jnr.

    I want a CX, but am not sure I’s really use it any more off road than the Defy tbh.

    tenfoot
    Full Member

    Out of my 3 bikes, my gravel bike is currently my favourite. It’s great being able to combine road and off road riding, and means I have found new places to ride, combining both surfaces in a single loop.

    Mine is a Pinnacle Arkose

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    You can ride some pretty serious descents on one if you are careful…not saying its fun mind but it can be done.

    Depends what you want tbh
    IMHO they are not that slow on the road – it wont be as quick as dedicated road bike but that is more to do with the small ish weight penalty and draggy tyres than the bike design per se.

    All bikes are fun if it suits what it is local then get it.

    benp1
    Full Member

    Do it

    I’m loving my Pinnacle Arkose 2. It’s not expensive but it’s fun, and with a rack I’m using it for loads of practical stuff like carting kids about, shopping, errands and picking up takeaways. I’ve out marathon plus tyres on for commuting, so sees more road/paved use than anything else

    Still use my MTB once a day with the dog, but I could probably use the arkose for that

    kerley
    Free Member

    You could always get bigger tyres and better brakes on the bike you have as the main reason for wanting a CX bike seems to be better braking (assuming you get a CX bike with discs)?

    cjr61
    Full Member

    CX bike is great. 25mims of road to get to some decent muddy stuff then easy ride home for me.

    Would definitely reccomend some flare drop bars. Got some On One Midge recently on sale and riding in drops has never felt so comfy!

    isitafox
    Free Member

    CX bikes are awesome. I’ve got a Genesis Croix De Fer 10 as a commuter for work, not a fan of drop bars so when I bought it I had some flats fitted. Rode it like that since October and then yesterday I stuck some low risers on and it feels even better now!
    The plus point with this is that you can stick regular MTB 10 speed gear on as you get to use sensible shifters hence the shiny Zee mech awaiting fitment on mine this week!

    stanfree
    Free Member

    To offer another opinion , I have had 2 Cx bikes and ended up going back to a 29 er . I only have room for 3 bikes so for me the perfect balance is a road bike , a full suss and a 29 er Hardtail. Whilst I enjoyed the Cx bikes and they are quick I still think a hardtail is almost as fast and certainly more fun going down anything slightly rough.
    Each to their own though.

    thebees
    Free Member

    How about a rigid 29er ? Fast on the road, fast on the trails and flat bars too.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    I had some fun on mine though mostly because of its awfulness offroad, they are much like a really bad 80s moutain bike- so puts a lot of fun, challenge and terror into riding easy trails. Basically, if a rigid mtb is too good for the job, that’s where a cx bike comes into its own. If I lived somewhere that lacks good mtb routes I’d have another.

    Onroad, as long as it had road tyres on, it was grand. Brakes were fine once I replaced the cantis with mini vs (the cheapest of Vs outperform the very best of cantis ime, provided you don’t have fitment issues)

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