Having previously gone right off the idea of using C2W, following my last companies rather gash version, I’ve come back round to the idea of it with my new employers scheme (it appears to be a better operated scheme with more shops and options available)…

I’m keen on getting an off the peg disc braked, CX bike for use mainly as a road commuter, the only thing I want to change from stock would be tyres (some 25-28mm road tyres), so the stock spec needs to be robust…

Although the scheme allows me up to £1k I’d like to go as far under that as possible (Say £700-£800 maybe) while still having a robust groupset and decent cable discs, I’m not too fussed in terms of frame material so long as it’s a comfortable ride (I guess it’ll have to be steel or Aluminium), I’d like a Carbon fork but I think that might be a bit of an ask given the budget constraint, the major onus is on durability…

Who’s up on these things?

Recommendations please…

Have a read of this.

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/2013-cx-model-advise.111538/

Genesis will sort you out.

Pompetamine?

Road, rather than CX, but I really like the look of the Specialized Secteur Disc.

CDF is the only Genesis below £1K at £900. Not light but does the job.

Look at road/touring bikes with discs too.

Tricross. Had a non-disc version and was excellent.

I like my Whyte Charing Cross, although its a bit long in the top tube. But 14 months in and its holding up well.

I’ve got this, I love it: http://road.cc/content/news/72867-just-merida-bikes-cyclo-cross-4
Perfect for commuting.

Well I’ve had a look about, mostly on the Evans site TBH as they seem to have a fair few CX bikes on there now.

The general impression I get s that under about ~£750 you get 8 speed Sora with Tektro brakes regardless of brand (not keen on Tektro brakes TBH).

Spend £850 – £1K and you seem to get BB5s or BB7s and either Sora 3500 9 speed or at a push Tiagra 10 speed I would be pretty happy using 3500 – 9 speed, I reckon it’ll be as robust/usable as the older Tiagra 9 speed on my current Road bike, 10 speed Tiagra doesn’t really offer much real benefit so far as I can see other than an extra cog…

Genesis CDF seems like an obvious early contender, I did like the look and the spec of the Pinnacle Arkose Two and Three also….

I did notice there seem to be some familiar MTB names having a stab at CX bikes now, I liked the fact that Jamis appear to vary not just the stem but also crank length across their sizing range, to me that’s a nice little touch, Norco have a couple of offerings too.

The Specialized Tricross Sport Disc looks nice but at ~£1k with a spec not much different from certain other manufacturers £850 bikes, I’m sure there’s better VFM options about, is the frame/fork all that special?

The whyte Kings Cross looked like reasonable VFM, but the pictures online make it look like it has a rather Slack HA compared to other CX bikes, is that just an illusion?

TBH I had discounted Disc braked Road bikes in preference for CX bikes as I didn’t think there were many about, plus it’s nice to have the option of fitting a bigger tyres and taking the offroad route to work, but I shall have a bit of a search and see what I can find…

Cheers for all the input…

10s is a bit silly on a crosser IMO. Agree on tektro vs BB5 or 7.

I dunno what’s around in disc-road bikes just thought it would be worth a look for you.

What I meant is, I’m not going to get too caught up in the specmanship of it, if I’m faced with 2 similarly priced bikes on the shop floor with Sora the other with Tiagra, I’ll go with whichever fits better, sod the number of cogs…

I reckon the brakes need to be BB5s or BB7s really (the established benchmark), it seems silly to limit my choice specifically to CX bikes with disc brakes and then choose a bike with a crap set of brakes because it’s £100 cheaper…

Having see the cable Tektros that came on my Missus MTB I think I’ll pass thanks…

I’m really not clued up on Disc braked road bikes, I was under the impression that Proper Roadies really weren’t too bothered by disc brakes, hence manufacturers had largely not bothered making bikes with them as there wasn’t really a market… This bike will spend most of it’s time on the road, but will do so in all weathers and a CX bikes wider choice of tyre options (pun intended) could well tilt the balance…

My Cotic X came in at only just over £1k with a 105, BB7 build. Really good as an allround CX (not race)/commuting/touring type bike. Love mine.

you’d be daft not to look at the boardman. chap at my old work bought one and loves it. all the fixtures and fittings required for a commuter and a carbon fork. wait for halfwits to do one of their deals and sign on the dotted line. think he got he for under 800 with a couple of deals they had on.

Regarding the 9sp v 10sp issue. If going for a 9sp what are the upgrade issues? Will 9sp parts be easy to get hold of in 4 years or will you be looking at a new shifter, mech, chain and cassette combo when the mech goes in 3?

My Boardman Team CX is great, I can highly recommend them!

wait for halfwits to do one of their deals and sign on the dotted line. think he got he for under 800 with a couple of deals they had on.

You get 10% off Halfords with a British Cycling membership.

I’ve had Tektro Lyra, BB5’s and BB7’s.

I would take the Tektro’s over the BB5’s every time but the BB7’s are much better than either.

halfords often do a deal with 70£ off for reserving online.

Then pick up in store and use the 10% off BC voucher – completely legit use.

Joining BC for £13 is well worth it!

Take a look at the Saracen Urban Hack 1,seems to fit your criteria and similar spec to what you have already mentioned,Price is around £899

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Saracen-Urban-Hack-1-2013-Road-Bike_56750.htm

Dont forget to check out the offerings from Salsa.

Go 8 speed with Alfine 🙂

I built this Pro 6 up last weekend. You could try a self build?

You can control your spending and choose your bits and have something different.

UK bike depot are selling both the genesis Croix de fer and day 01 alfine 8 for less than a grand. I am very tempted myself.

Take a look at a Kinesis Tripster. I’ve had mine for a couple of years now – built up with Tiagra 9spd, Halo deep section rims on Novatech hubs, BB5, guards and a rack. Absolutely love it to bits. It does mile after mile after mile commuting on pretty dodgy roads, a little bit of off road, plenty of winter training miles in all weathers and just goes and goes. It’s not that light, but it’s great fun. I reckon you could do a build for under a grand – you can pick up the module (with carbon fork, seatpost and headset too, I think) for £450 from a few places and if you’re tall, there’s a couple of larger sizes of 2011 ones at UK Bikestore for £375. I am mighty tempted by a Pro 6 though 😈

I test rode the Arkose and CDF and went for the CDF in the end. It was a difficult choice as there was nothing much between them. Better groupset/weight vs comfort.

My commute is mostly offroad on bridleways though so comfort is more important for me.

It’s more comfortable than I thought it would be offroad and it deal with mud really well probably because of the narrower tires. Took 15 minutes off my journey time (10 miles) compared to doing it on my hardtail.

Saying that, I wound’t have gone for a disc crossbike if I am using it on road. The only advantage I could see with disc brakes is that I don’t have to change the pads every 5 mins. You wouldn’t need to if you are only using it on road.

Words I never thought I’d write: that Saracen looks lovely.

I got a Genesis CDF for £610 and that is 9 speed Sora & BB5s, and very nice it is too, People will say its heavy but for commuting and a bit of a dive off a bridleway its ace, i will never be racing or shouldering ot much so for what i wanted its perfect

Cheers all some useful comments and yep I have been ummming and arrring over taking the drivetrain and controls from my current road bike and using them to build up a frame set of some sort, maybe a kaffenback or a Croix De Fer but then I’d need to find the time to do that vs waltzing into a shop with a voucher… What are my sub £400 frame set options like other than the two I just mentioned?

Built up a Kaffenback last year for a bit more than the C2W scheme allows, but I started off with a spec below that and applied the same approach as I do with building computers, if the next bit up is not too much more expensive then I may as well (e.g. when I replaced the BB on my hardtail I went for the XT/XTR one because it was only a fiver more than the SLX one which was only a tenner more than the Deore one).

BB7s are pretty good once you get them set up right, wheel choice is tricky though, not seeing too many narrow rim options, I’ve got 19mm rims and the thinnest you can sensibly go is 28mm.

Like I said I’ve got a perfectly serviceable 9spd Tiagra Drive train and contact points that I could take from my current Road bike.

I guess I’d be more or less replacing the road bike with a CX bike anyway so it makes more sense to just cannibalise it and flog the frame/fork/wheels rather than have it sat in the corner of the garage not getting used.

something sturdy and steel appeals to me, perhaps with a Carbon fork though, Kaffenback or a Croix de Fer frame with a Carbon fork could be had for ~£350 I reckon.

Then I just need Wheels and brakes, skinny 29er/700c disc wheelsets? Hmmm, or build something myself… Hmmm.

I reckon with what I’ve got already and a bit of time I could assemble a pretty good, disc brake CX based commuter for between £550 and £700 (depending on how sensible I am).

Yep this thread has strangely pulled me back round to my old, old plan, while there are some great CX disc, bikes about for £8-900, I think I can assemble something on par for a good chunk less, £500-£650

Out of interest has anyone tried Shimano’s Cable actuated disc brakes? how do they stack up against Avid? I noticed the BR-R505 seems to sit between the BB5 and BB7 Road price wise, is road specific (for use with STi levers) and looks like it might use the same shape pads as the XTRs and LX brakes on my MTBs…

Not sure where you’re pricing from but road BB7’s from ze Garmans are very good value.

I had R505s on my Peregrine, with Versa levers.

Couldn’t fault them, I’d happily get them again. Only downside over the Avids is they’re not tool-free to adjust the pads.
(I’ve not used Avids though to compare)

wheel choice is tricky though, not seeing too many narrow rim options, I’ve got 19mm rims and the thinnest you can sensibly go is 28mm.

The Open Pro’s are a brilliant choice for rims which will allow you to run from a 23mm to a 38mm tyre. In fact, some guys on here even run wider tyres on the Pro’s. Pick a nice hub and get your local bike shop to build them or buy look around on the net. They would be a great wheel for a self build.

The only thing stopping me rushing to my lbs and buying that Saracen is that I have no spare space to keep it 🙁

Never thought I’d say that. Ever.

Focus Mares AX 4.0 disc?

I have a Boardman Team CX – fab bike, best value for money I’ve ever had from a bike.
Commuter every day (has rack and mudguard fittings), done the Walney to Wear coast to coast, the 3 peaks cyclo cross race, my local smoothish but fast offroad loop plenty of times, and it managed an adventure race loop in the Pentlands fine.
I’m even considering getting another – one permanently set up for commuting the other for offroad fun.
Got it for £740 by keep an eye out for Halfords online discounts, and by getting British Cycling membership. And despite the cynics on here it was set up perfectly.

Ridley X-Bow disc (BB7 and sora 9sp I think) is £850 if you can find one. Proper cx bike too.

Genesis Croix de Fer – Hilly commute
Genesis Day One Alfine 8 – Not so hilly commute
Genesis Day One Disc – Flat commute.

All three can be obtained for less than 1k.

Yes. I’m a Genesis fan.

I’ve just purchased a Pinnacle Arkose 3 from Evans. They are currently offering a £100 of accessories for free so you can get your self a set of mudguards and a rack for £1000.

It has a pretty decent spec.