I'm thinking of getting one to replace my trusty old muddy fox explorer, circa 1987. Ideally i'd like a road bike too but cant justify having 3 bikes in the house (read: the wife would probably divorce me). So I was thinking of getting a CX bike, so far I have looked at the Focus mares and Giant TCX 2, I was also thinking about building an Uncle John. It'll mainly get used for pootling about with the wife and kids on cycle paths and the odd commute when the weathers nice. I've got a CX race lined up for next year but I'd also like to do a bit of closed circuit road racing too. If I have a spare set of wheels with road tyres fitted, will it be as quick as a dedicated road bike?

Also any other bikes to consider £500-£1000 budget?

Slower compared to a pure road bike. I did a few of the years reliability trials on mine and I would think to myself the bike feels slow today, then I'd remember it was my crosser and not my road bike.
You wouldn't need spare wheels when you could just swap tyres.

The biggest difference between a road bike and a cross bike is gearing and sharpness of handling.
Ultimately it won't be as fast, but unless you're a Cat1 rider it doesn't really matter.
FWIW I've seen Rog Hammond destroy an E1 race riding his cross bike (does Tony Gibb strike a chord? Cos Rog wasn't behind him).

aP who was that Whyte team rider at the last Hillingdon cross?

I struggle to see the difference between a CX with road tyres / wheels and a road bike?

You can move the bars anywhere you want for aero-dynamics, and put any groupset you want on. The only discernable difference is going to be a lb or so on the frame and non calliper brakes.

The Boardman CX Pro has to be worth a look.

Sold my road bike a couple of years ago to buy a cross bike (Focus) and its great off road and pretty good on it- with road tyres. Just got a new road bike ('nago of course!) and the difference is alot more than I remembered. Road bike accelerates and climbs so much better.
However, I would be happy enough to do long rides, sportifs etc on a decent cross bike with some good road tyres. Just feels a bit dead compared with the road bike
Hope that helps 😉
EDIT geometry is quite differnt (reply to the guy above ^)

Been using a cross bike as a winter road hack for at least the last 4 years. They are fine for club runs and general riding. I have seen people road race on them occasionally, and while the riders have not won they have finished in the bunch.

[not bragging]

I won the road national hillclimb champs as a junior on a 531c cross bike, with purple Ringle qrs no less! Often great for closed cicuits/crits as they generally have a slightly higher BB (more ground clearance for cornering).

[/not bragging]

Biggest problem is the gearing, you'll end up undergeared sometimes. second problem the geometry, cross bikes look similar to road but the angle are a little different and the chainstays longer/ BB higher etc. not a massive problem but they're not as nippy as a road bike, they always look a bit wrong to me with road tyres.

I have won a couple of road races on my cross bike, 1 at Hillingdon and 1 at MK bowl, both pretty flat and gearing was ok athough I've also won a few club 10's on my mountain bike so I'm not sure what that tells you!

I use my cross bike with road tyres as my Winter Hack. It doesn't feel as fast on the road as my Carbon road bike, and the steering feels a bit lazier, but the BB height, wheel base, TT length are all the same. Only problem is that I just can't get a set of brakes to work properly having tried several different Cantis, V's with Travel Agents, and Discs.

I use a cross bike on the road and its def slower, feels more lumbering somehow. Mind you it has some hefty tires on it as I use it for a longish commute and asked the BSG for tires that are guaranteed not to puncture ever.

When I get on my proper road bike it feel silly fast and almost twitchy it's so responsive.

But then I bought a bottom of the range cross bike and a top of the range road race bike so maybe thats the difference !

But yes, CX bike higher, has big old wide bars and smaller range of somewhat sportier gears, not to mention a lot heavier and you need a good couple of days notice to brake.

I'm awaiting a Jake the Snake coming from bike to work scheme, had a confirmation email yesterday to say they have contacted the bike shop to order the bike so hopefully very soon. Going to use it for doorstep spins to get some fitness and do some big rides up the coast. Rather excited considering my dislike for skinny tyres.

Spooky. Only last night I pretty much decided to ditch my old road bike (1989 531c ridgeback) and old HT (1995 Scott) and replace with a reasonable CX bike for general duties (local bike paths which are mostly gravel, bit of commuting, occasional road rides etc.).

Surely gearing is based on what ratios you choose for cassette+rings? With 10sp triple that must give a pretty decent range from MTB granny up to reasonably quick road?

Would like something that doesn't stand out too much, so I can just leave it in the work bike sheds if I get called out while on a ride. prolly 500-1000 budget for me too.

Dumb question time… Do road sti brake levers work with any cantilever brakes? or do i need to find ones with a road compatible pull?

Yep STIs and Ergos work with Cantis no problems at all.

Blazin-saddles who did you ride for?

I run a Jake the Snake with 35mm Speed Kings as my all-rounder commuter and commuter. This week I've done a club 10 mile TT on it, Ridden the summit trail at Nant-yr-Arian on last nights club night ride, and put about 50 road miles in commuting and training rides. My TT time was equal to my opening gambit last season on a road bike, but I've improved as a rider since then. My final time last season was 2 mins faster, so while it will be slower on the road (and this is on 35mm knoblies remember) it's almost imperceivable.

Re gearing, mine is a stock 2010 Jake the Snake and is geared 38/48 up front with an 11-25 on the back I think. I spin out around 32MPH which suits me fine. As for the lower gears, I can get up almost anything with 38/25 but it took a few months to build the strength (but I'm 13.5 stone and 5'7" and only started riding again 14 months ago after a 15 year break).

Summary: I use my crosser for almost everything and it puts a huge grin on my face every time I take it out of the shed. Whether munching road miles or tearing up singletrack decents. On the road it's fast enough, just not quite as aero as a full race bike, but then road bikes differ in geometry a lot anyway. For example, I came across this the other day. A road bike designed for the MTBer

http://www.konaworld.com/bike.cfm?content=zingdeluxe

I would suspect the subtle differences end up adding to quite a lot when you're up at 20mph+. Rims may be wider and heavier, more clearance etc. all means less aerodynamic, and can add up to a fair few extra watts.

I use a kona jake the snake for commuting. Fitted with 25mm tyres it's fairly fast. Over the past week I've been using my road bike, which is around 5lb lighter than the cx bike, because I need to replace the chain and casette on the cx and haven't had time. The road bike is a fair bit faster but not that fast that it would make a massive difference to you. Over my 20 mile commute I'm maybe around 5-10 minutes faster on the road bike

Oh and finally, how about Servais Knaven's Milram Focus Mares built for Paris-Roubaix

http://www.bikeradar.com/gallery/article/pro-bike-servais-knavens-milram-focus-mares-paris-roubaix-25715?img=22&pn=pro-bike-servais-knavens-milram-focus-mares-paris-roubaix&mlc=news%2Farticle

I know my crosser is slower, you can tell when using them back to back.
As I have both I don't really dwell on it, but the slight feeling of slugishness comes from the larger rear triangle I'd say.
My cross bikes as light as the road bike, the casstte is the same as I use on the road and I have zero stack (except I keep a bit back for winter training and the odd events like 3Peaks or HONC.

I have a TCX2 and it's a great bike. You will see reviews on the web that says the TCX does not have mounts for mud guards but mine does.

I got it last year and it ended up being the bike I use most but the enjoyment is really about the speeds you can get up to offroad..if I wanted to pootle around at low speed I would probably get a flat barred bike.

I am sometimes undergeared on the road but to be honest my legs would struggle to push a big dinner plate chainring so I would not change it. I got mine new for £600, it was without doubt a bargain.

Angles etc may make it feel slower, but with the same tyres on it should be as fast as a road bike.

Never seen one in a road race though!

My mate chris mixed it up the front last season in the E12 races at Palace last year:

I've got a Boardman CX pro and commute 25 miles a day on it. Its more than quick enough for me and coming from MTB'ing i don;t think i could push the bigger gears of a road bike every day like i do now. Mine does everything i need it too and more, its the reason i got it and i'm more than looking forward to the c2c on it this year!

I think angles genuinely do have an effect on the bike and ride.

oldgit – Member
I think angles genuinely do have an effect on the bike and ride.

I agree – but not speed.

I would think angles do make a difference to speed – they impact your riding position which has a considerable impact shurely ?? I'm more of a wind catcher on the CXer. (as much as I am anyway at 5 nothing)

If you want some "science" my current record for getting to work on Principia is 1.20. I have never done it any quicker than 1.30 on the CX in the same ideal conditions, dry and no wind on a public holiday.

hels I have to LOL at your highly scientific tests 😉

Reminds me of the theory about Dinosaurs, that they were thin at one end, fat in the middle and thin at the other end.

If your frontal area is the same, your top speed will be the same (assuimg same wheels etc). Many people have a higher front end on their CX bikes though. The angles and wheel base will make a difference in the corners but a high end racing cross bike will often have similar angles to a mid range road/sportive bike.

angles don't really change your position, tt length will.

Don't you say you have heavier tyres on your cx hels?

I can compare my old CX bike that I used as a commuter for a year to my road bike I also commuted on. It did feel slower and the gear ratios were different with 38/48 front and 12/28 back. The bike was using normal road wheels (Ksyriums Equipe) and was as light as the road bike it got replaced with. It did feel marginally slower than the road bike but not by much. Road bike feels a bit more stable at speed and it has a lower bb as well. If You are planning to use the CX properly than it is a good compromise if You are limited to X amount of bikes and Your commute is not only on road. CX bike was fun but my Crosslight didn't have bottle cage bosses which made it a pain sometimes as I had to take my camelbak for longer rides. There will probably be no mudguard eyelets but they do have more clearance anyway so some p-clips will do for winter if You would like to have full mudguards. I sold the CX as I never used it off road as it would probably scare the 5hit out of me with those canti brakes anyway 🙂 Also didn't get on with Campagnolo I had on the bike. Now back to a normal road bike. So if You are limited to two bikes, will be using it to actually ride off road sometimes than it is a very good option (plus You mentioned a CX race) a CX bike will be a good option. I wouldn't bother with two sets of wheels, just swap tyres and tubes and that's it.

Excellent reponses… cheer's folks.
The spare set of wheels was so I could swap quickly and maybe have a lighter set for the road, Like I said its predominately for off road/cycle path use so most of the time it will have the cx wheels on. Think I'll have to stick my old hardtail on the classifieds and have a look at whats about. I'm not too worried about a few seconds and from what you lot have said, it isn't going to be particularly slower especially with a wheel swap.

The Giant is looking favourite so far. I'm liking the fact it will take proper mudguards.
Not keen on buying from halfrauds so the boardman is out, although it seemed well specced for the money.

There were quite a few cross bikes built up for riders at Paris Roubaix but I pretty sure none were riden, they were for if the weather was bad, muddy slippy condidtions etc.

PX kaffenback? Not quite a cross bike and not quite a road bike, might be a good comprimise?

My cx bike doubles as my winter road bike. It's a few lbs heavier than my road bike but having ridden a couple of long sportives on the cx bike, although it feels slower, in reality I think it makes next to no difference though I have always used my road bike tyres on the cx bike when I've done that which makes a big difference over training/ winter tyres I reckon.

Converted one of my old cross bikes into a winter training bike a few years ago, worked very well. Can't say I noticed it being slower than a 'proper' road bike but then with mudguards, lights etc it's going to feel slow anyway.
I've also done RRs (well, circuit races) and TTs on my cross bikes without disgracing myself.
Stick some decent tyres on and the right gearing, and I doubt you'd notice much of a difference.

In response to the op's preference for mudguard/rack eyelets and Giant TCX's
In the range only the TCX2 comes with eyelets. The TCX0, 1 and Frameset have no eyelets. It also has an alloy fork in lieu of composite but the frame is the same grade alloy.

FAO Filthy

The 09 TCX2 is now really cheap if you are "lucky" enough (like me) to take a size small frame.

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Giant-TCX-2-2009-Road-Bike_20234.htm

Thanks eggbox I spotted that one yesterday, unfortunately being 6ft 1" I would need a 56cm.