PLEASE: Someone tell me what the deal is with
CX? road bikes that go in mud, just don’t get
it. ..

Simply put, because they’re fun. They’re bikes that work pretty much anywhere. In the UK most areas are blessed with miles of trails that would be too tame on an mtb and also linked with sections of road. On a CX bike that’s a great combination as it’s surprisingly capable off road but spices up trails while the road sections don’t feel like riding through treacle like on an mtb.

I class ny self as a mountain biker so tend to be a little heavy handed with my bikes.
Road bikes feel too fragile to me especially when I’m taking cheeky shortcuts bunnyhopping curbs and speed bumps etc.

yeah you’re probably right, you can’t do that type of stuff on a CX bike

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxC7rgeTGck[/video]

Robsoctane what samuri and clubber said. The two bikes I showed are now my only two bikes I own I don’t even have an mtb any more. Last year I had a turner five spot, surly karate monkey, ragley blue pig and a Sabbath September ti and sold them all as I realised all I needed was my crosscheck for what I rode I kept pompino too tho lol the pomp is always ss and cx tyres but my crosscheck changes from ss to fixed to geared from road Tyres to cx to 1.8 29er tyres some times with racks and guards sometimes not great bikes for all sorts of riding 😉

Solarider, if you’re trying to make me jealous it’s working- Pegorettis, Sevens and now a Speedvagen, very very nice collection.

tollah – didn’t he say ‘road bike’ though? 😉

Why CX? Well, I’m not sure a road bike would handle my commute: country lane
but the CX does and it’s bridleway so not really techie enough to warrant a MTB. Plus I’m always late so CX bike speed helps!

how come you sold the pig firestarter, you had a couple of skills days with ed didn’t you? Back on track, i have a dew drop for my commute , mix of road, canal and bridleway and it’s brill. I also went out on Thursday night on it offroad, suprisingly good, although some proper cx tyres would better for cornering. 😳

Here’s another couple including an obligatory ‘on a pile of logs’ shot

I did wors but just decided I prefer the types of rides that I can do quicker on a cx and have more fun doing them. Tbh most of this year has been spent on modding and riding motorbikes lol

Lads, thank you all for helping me understand. I thought that they were nothing more than road bikes with different tyres – never seen one in the flesh you see. Now I can see that they must make em tougher than they look. They do seem fun. I wouldn’t mind trying one down my way on local trails for comparison purposes.

Why the canti brakes anyone?

Nice to see a couple of pictures with actual mud on them!

Colnago World Cup, altho sadly mismatched tyres :-/

I had this for a year or so:

Jake first ride by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

Which I sold when I bought a road bike, but now I definitely want another cross bike. I’m going to buy it on (my own) b2w scheme, and definitely want disks. Right now, this is no.1 on my list

I’m just off outside for a dribble…

why cantis?

historical reasons really but…

for racing and some riders or trails they’re good enough. of course part of that is simply because only cantis work directly with road brake levers and that’s all that’s been available.

Now that discs have been allowed for racing and the manufacturers are starting to make road/cx specific discs they’ll gain a foothold. obviously some will always resist change, sometimes with good reason, but as more people try them (rather than just blindly dismissing them) they’ll become increasingly the norm.

Big Ted – making me jeleous with his colnago again…..

We are all waiting for Shimano or SRAM to announce the first hydraulic road brake lever. That’s when the shed bodging will really get going.

Whyte hybrid commuter/CX bike

I’ve been finding this rather good – It’s not a traditional CX bike, very long, lots of stability, quite handy for muddy Essex tracks.

I’m not sure it would be the best bike to race on, but it suits me for pootling around.

Having recently tried a CX bike I have to say… LOVE IT…

The main thing for me is, zipping down the road at many, many miles per hour looking for the next little dirt track you can find… then seeing where it goes. Fab bike for exploring.

@ Daisy_Duke… thought I recognised that bike, I was in the shop the day you picked it up! Nice ride!

Forgot to include a photo… just before it’s maiden voyage:

Hunting down mountainbikers 😈

Been looking at getting a cx bike lately, Had my eye on the Cube Crossrace but looks like theres going to be a long wait for them. Whats the general consensus on the cannondale caadx bikes? much prefer the look of the black tiagra model, but obviously the 105 model is better specced for not much more.

Caad road bikes are very well thought of, so I should imagine their cross bikes are also worth looking seriously at.

Take a 105 groupset every time.

Bit of a shite pic my Ti On-One CX

My KHS – lovely bike, great fun to ride.

khs1 by Team Shortbread, on Flickr

[/url] Columbus X Wing by greyhoundjim, on Flickr[/img]
Now has diferent post/saddle, and a chain

If you can try before you buy a CAADX I had one a few years ago and they use to come up very large.

Posted it before but that’s my Kinesis Tripster. Not strictly a cross bike but very much ‘on trend’ at the moment. Used as my commuter bike all year round (for some interesting lanes & surfaces) and my winter bike for what feels like almost all year round. I absolutely bloomin’ love it. As a few have said before – it’s a bike that just about does everything – like how we rode bikes as kids.

On the ‘why canti brakes’ question – I believe that prior to discs (that thankfully are now being seen more and more as a result of the UCI ruling) they were the only way to get a wide tyre on a wheel – there’s just not enough clearance on modern dual pull road brakes. The BB5s on the Tripster are light years better than the cantis I had on the Genesis before it.

Still my favourite do it all bike,,

just got back from Paul Milnes with a Paul Milnes SL, carbon fork, tyres & some adjustable frogleg cantis for £300!

nice one! pictures please…

globalti – Member
We are all waiting for Shimano or SRAM to announce the first hydraulic road brake lever. That’s when the shed bodging will really get going.

huh? surely that’s when the shed bodging will stop.

my pic

Singular envoy Mario at the Italian SSCX champs on Friday

heres my kona. Love it.

MikeWW – those Formes look great. Would you mind sharing any details on what spec you’ve built them to? I can feel a project in the offing! Cheers

An aging major

[/url] IMAG0176 by shaun244, on Flickr[/img]

Rock Lobster on the MaryT by BeateKubitz, on Flickr

Trusty Rock Lobster on the Mary Towneley Loop yesterday.

Just had this delivered, Rose Pro DX Cross 2000. Not set set it up properly yet.

New bivi spot, access and parking by steverile, on Flickr

That a 58? (the Rose)

60cm

got one!

not been on my mtb since – simply awesome!