Heres the thing…i havent had a road bike in several years and then it was only for commuting but now i have the opportunity to ride to work for the next few months (either nice road ride or mix of road and trails). Im also quite tempted to get out on some proper road rides with my lycra wearing friends and theres a potential trip across iceland on the cards.
so whats it to be, road, cross or tourer?
If i was to get a croix de fer, would i struggle to keep up against proper road bikes and if i was to get a racer would i be gutted i cant nip off the road.
Any suggestions for bikes, or offers are welcome.
Im pretty tempted with a day one alfine too but i think im just looking at road bikes through mtb eyes and maybe if i want a road bike i should just buy a road bike…
cheers

Cube X Race Comp at the price point. I have the Pro and it’s great. Chuck some slicks on and it would be rapid on the road.

Well I’ll probably be shot down but on a group ride I hard it believe that subtle variations on the drop bar theme will make much odds to your ability to keep up. Tyres matter but they can be changed to suite

Thats what i was hoping ampthill, it means i can get a more versatile bike but not open myself up for serious abuse from roadie mates.
cube x looks nice but i would prefer a steel frame and mounts for racks would be good.

Hi,
I had the same conundrum. I have a couple of MTB’s (it’s my real passion) & was looking to purchase a road bike for a bit of extra road training & occasional recreational use, or a cx bike that I could do a bit of both on.

The guy at my LBS pointed out that “if you’re gonna go offroad, you’ll be using your MTB, so, unless your planning some serious cx stuff, add a road bike.

You know what? He was right. I bought a road bike &, although I don’t use a huge amount compared to the MTB’s, it’s great to do something completely different. With a cx bike I’d be thinking “I wish I was on a mountain bike” or “I’m on the road, why am I using this hybrid?”

Cx bikes are great for exploring and mixed rides. As fast as a road bike with the right tyres, tho gearing would limit you if you got serious but by then you’d get a road bike.

Thats also a very good point, this is a difficult choice.

… this probably proves we all have different agendas … try before you buy eh?

thats the biggest problem, i live miles from any bike shops and even further from any that stock the kind of bikes i like.

been in that situation a few times, just fianlly got rid of the cx bike and back to a road bike. i found the cx bik spent all its time with slick tyres on and so very rarley went off road. Maybe u don;t mind chanig tyres every week if you are going ot ride off road alittle to work and then road ride at weekend, or maybe get 2 sets of wheels.

the genesis equiliriums look lovely for a similar price to the croux de feur.

just my 2p’s worth

my mtb is more enjoyable for sure on the techy trails but the cx can still do them if i want a change of pace.
CX is quite good on weekends when i want to put few miles in on the road reward myself with a bit of woodsy singletrack at the end and then get my head down and cycle back via road.
cx are great for exploring and doing it all, i also have a dable in cx races in winter
if i were joining a road club and doing the miles i’d get a road bike for sure as the cx isnt the best tool for long days in the saddle on tarmac
i’m using a kinesis 5t
decide what your really going to use the bike for and choose wisely 🙂

Surly Cross-Check covers all those bases for me & wouldn’t be without it. Given the state of the roads round these parts it does make for a wonderful road bike!

Good point about the roads “sdsplus” 😉

Got a focus mares pro cx bikein a medium you could have worth 1000 pound you can have out for 750 its 2 rides old and honestly good as new can send you pics latet if your interested. Spec is great for price.

Cheers

29er here takes 2.4 mtb tyres or 35mm CX tyres, love the versatility of being able to “roughstuff” on the narrower tyres, fast enough on the road for me, you won’t keep up with a proper road bike but would make a great bike for touring, especially Iceland

I think everyone has covered most points there, I would probably add that I prefer the drops over flat bars for extended road journeys just because it gives you so many different hand positions.

You have to take looks into account too.. it’s not all about function!

Img challenge 280211 by Sush Kelly, on Flickr

depends how often want to ride serious road with mates versus have a good time off rd – i really like the flexibility of a cx style build – being able to take offroad options is great! but i mostly ride on my own and some of the raod riders i go out with ride a lot more than i do and have bike 3-4x my budget so i know i’ll be on the back from the start
have you looked at the kinesis range? – i considered tripster to replace current bike as want discs and would make a great tourer , not lightweight though – mate has a crosslight and that is pretty much a road style bike with rack mounts (i think)
Considering an Uncle John when On one get back in stock only large at moment

it’s a great idea, i love to be able to do this in the middle of a road ride

the surprisingly battered ride by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr

I should have said

Back in the day I use a light touring bike off road loads, with 25mm slicks

the issue isn’t the bike off road its you being battered. A steel frame road bike with sensible weels can go off road.

I have a Salsa Fargo which i love and although it weighs 10lbs more than my road bike, my commuting times show that there’s very little in it between the two over my 11 mile journey (less than a minute).

I run 2.35″ Big Apples and it rides beautifully and it’s nice to not have to worry about the potholes that i’m constantly looking out for when on the 23mm road tyres.

I’ve run 42mm slicks on it as well but much prefer the ‘ballon bike’ ride of the huge volume big apples. I never feel under geared using my deore touring chainset (48/36/26) and it’s burly enough to pop off down any interesting offroad paths i pass while i’m on the road and it’s also nice to have discs which inspire far more confidence than my road rim brakes. I love it.

I couldn’t live without a CX bike, without a doubt the best decision I ever made. Previous to my recent move my commute was 15 mile round trip and I could do half of it through the woods, the remainder however was road/dodgy lanes. My new commute is 23 miles round, again, half on lanes, rest on bridleway. The CX bike flys, and without a shadow of a doubt the best bit about owning a CX bike is the flexibility of thinking “that looks fun, I’ll scoot off down there”, likewise, if I’m bloody knackered I’ll hop onto the lanes, drop the gears and get home quicker. I wouldn’t describe a Cx bike as a “jack of all trades”, morelike “best of both worlds”.

I just fitted a pair of 700 x 35C Sammy Slick tyres to my CX and they’re the best of both worlds, much more rapid than the 700×34 bulldogs they replaced but with more than adequate grip in the slop.

This…
The CX bike flys, and without a shadow of a doubt the best bit about owning a CX bike is the flexibility of thinking “that looks fun, I’ll scoot off down there”

I love that ability. I still have a road bike and that has it’s place but a cross bike will be fine with slicks on for riding with normal people who don’t continually churn out 25mph averages.

Just bought a(nother) CX bike myself actually. It’s awesome.

dayone5 by Jon Wyatt, on Flickr

I have a proper carbon road bike and on “normal” roads this time of year I would not be without it. Like driving a sports car rather than a nice normal car. Whilst I could probably quite happily keep up with the group I ride with on my cx bike, nothing beats a proper road bike in the right environment – i.e. road racing or similar non competative “spirited” riding. I have a CX bike and would not be without it – but only with copious pairs of wheels. It does a bit of everything. Now I have a hardtail I have to say it rarely does recreational cross but it’s great for mixed routes.

If you are commuting with stuff, I’d never go back to a being without a pannier. That rules out most proper road bikes. Just about everything else would be fine (cx, audax, winter hack, tourer)

If training in the winter, I’d never be without mudguards. Makes you sociable in groups, makes your kit (both components and what you wear) last much longer and proper long wet winter rides bearable. That rules out most proper road bikes – crappy raceblade type things are rubbish by comparison and are only used by those that have not experienced proper guards. More utilitarian cx bikes would do this (race only frames often don’t have bosses for bottles, guards or racks) as would a proper winter road bike (think planet x kaffenback), an audax bike or similar.

Touring is ace – a fully laden multidayer on road so you can travel good distances is such a blast. But only if you avoid main roads. Taking to canal paths and the like is often a great way to bypass cities. 32mm marathon plus for me so I can go off road-lite. Tyre clearance, geometry and load carrying rules out proper road bikes but a proper tourer would be great but cx bike can do it (BB a bit high to be perfect when heavily loaded but never held me back).

CX races are a fun autumn persuit. Can use a mtb but much better on the right bike for the job.

So in your situation – a CX thumbs up from me.

The suggestion from sdsplus for a Cross Check is about the right one. It will, with some minor tweaks, do all the things you want it to do.

You either buy a bike designed for 99% of the riding you will do on it – in which case, a regular road bike will do. Or you buy one that will do everything you want to do on it, even where those areas are compromised – in which case, something as versatile as the Surly wil be ace. Or a Kaffenback.

Remember – and this is something I trot out on each of these threads – road bikes aren’t nearly as fragile as people make out. Just ask Sen Kelly….

Charge Filter mid or Hi.
10/10 reviews and good money too.

brilliant…
too many replies to be specific but thanks one an all! loads of good points and opinions, alot just confirming my thoughts, cx seems to be the answer.
none of my roadie mates are leg shaving athletes so with a tyre swap, sounds like it will be ok. Also like the idea of keeping up with them on a steel and slightly inappropriate bike, they wont like it though!
I am however looking at a friend of a friends bianchi this week, full carbon racer. So who knows!
Also are there plans for an alfine 11 road shifter and how does anyone get along with the ratios and limitations of 8 gears in a can?
ta again…

I’d add a Singular Peregrine to the list too.