Hi

I’m new to cycling and I’m looking to buy my first bike since being a teenager. I wanted a bike to use on the road but with the added ability to go off road from time to time, tow paths etc. so I’ve opted for a cyclocross. I’ve found a few bikes after reading through various forums and other sites. Only thing is, I don’t know which parts are good etc. So, out of these bikes, which would you choose and why? Colour doesn’t bother me. All 2014 models. £1k budget.

Specialized Tricross Sport Disc: http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/bikes/road/tricross/tricross-sport-disc#manuals
Cannondale CAADX disc 5 105: http://www.cannondale.com/gbr/catalog/product/view/id/31120/s/caadx-disc-5-105/category/916/
Planet X XLS Shimano 105: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXXLS105/planet-x-xls-shimano-105-cyclocross-bike
Kinesis FiveT: http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/crosslight/five-t
Boardman CX Comp OR Team
Genesis Croix de Fer: http://m.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-de-fer-2014-cyclocross-bike-ec052633

Things I’ve noticed:

Kinesis – no disc brakes but good parts (apparently).
Planet X – carbon frame but no mudguard holes, most day good for comps (I won’t be doing any)
Boardman – Carbon fork the main difference? Why so cheap?
Specialized and Cannondale – paying for the name but less spec than others listed?
Genesis – a little more expensive but some great reviews

Overall, which has the best parts? And which would you pick and why?

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.

There obviously has to be compromise and that will mean a difficult decision especially looking for a bike that does both.

I’ve a Croix de Fer that’s used only on the road with proper wide road tyres. It’s no lightweight although feels quite nimble but what I like is its bomb-proofness on pot-holed country lanes.

The CdF has cable disc brakes that are nowhere near as good as hydraulic ones. I could almost say that there’s no real advantage over V brakes.

Going back to the beginning, what sort of riding and distance do you see yourself doing with a road bike? Or is it for commuting?

My personal opinion, and lots on here will disagree, is one bike for one job. Any chance you could go second-hand, the Classifieds on here is a very good place to start? You could have some money left over to get a second.

Edit: I’m hoping that Jamie will see this thread as he was using a CdF both on and off road as his only bike.

Here’s mine:

Thanks for the response!

I’ll be looking to commute on it several times a week (9 miles to work or so) on normal roads. But I’d like the option to have something fairly reliable and fast to use on roads at weekends too, for longer distances. I know it won’t be ‘road bike fast’.

I take it, with my budget, hydraulic disc brakes aren’t an option?

I totally understand your point about having one bike for one job, and down the line I might be able to afford to do that but at the moment, being the first time I’ve ridden in a while, I think one will have to do (unless I go down the 2nd hand option like you said).

What made you pick the CdF?

Interested in seeing what this Jamie fella says!

Thanks again

I didn’t think hydraulic disc technology had sufficiently developed to allow them to work with STI levers, so it was basically cable discs with a road bike only

You’re welcome. 🙂

It may be worth checking out aluminium as it will be a tad lighter. A carbon fork can help with reducing road buzz hence why they’re on so many aluminium proper road bikes.

There’s a huge thread on here concerning cx bikes and I know I’ve certainly asked about fitting a hydraulic brake but that means a couple of hundred pounds easily.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/let-me-see-your-cross-checks-croix-de-fers-or-similar

You wouldn’t want to be commuting with cx tyres, I went for 32cc Continental Gator Skins for road use only but you could go for narrower. Being able to use full mud guards is great, as well as it taking panniers.

I bought one second-hand, mainly as it had so many good reviews. My only reason for getting it was to use in Winter when the trails were like bogs due to unprecedented amounts of rain. Didn’t fancy using my proper road bike with skinny tyres.

Will see if I can locate Jamie, he’s probably photo-shopping somewhere!! 😆

There’s an upgraded CdF posted in Classifieds 2 hours ago. No connection.

Just had a thought and although the 2nd hand option is a good idea I think I’ll be getting it via bike to work scheme so won’t be able to make a saving this way, although still might work out the same cost. Definitely something to consider.

Out of the aluminium bikes above (and even the carbon frame), which would you say has the best spec? Is there a big difference between the weight of your bike and an aluminium frame (that you know of)? Would it impact road use considerably?

I bought a Kona Jake The Snake cyclocross bike a good few years ago as my main bike. It has an aluminium frame, and I remember it feeling quite responsive to pedal input when it was new. I did try it ‘off-road’ once on a stony track, and can’t say I enjoyed the experience with the drop bars and skittish tyres. I ended up doing more road riding, so swapped the tyres for slicks which made it a bit nicer on the road. I then converted it to fixed wheel, and used it as my winter bike with studded tyres. I remember the original cantilever brakes being quite poor, so I replaced them with Shimano XTR V-brakes which are excellent. The V-brakes needed ‘travel agents’ to work with the STI levers, but when I converted it to fixed wheel I bought V-brake-compatible brake levers. It’s quite a versatile sort of bike – it’ll do light touring, fast road riding, and obviously the cyclocross stuff. The original gearing wasn’t particularly low for touring or hilly rides. It’s been so long since I rode it with gears and slicks that I can’t remember how it felt – certainly in its current form the handling is a bit lumbering – I prefer a road bike to be a bit more responsive.

I think if I were buying a new bike for road riding I’d look more at an ‘audax’ style bike with clearance for decently wide tyres. The steel Spa Cycles bikes get good reviews. I’d also be tempted by their touring bike model.

OK, had a quick look at your links. Spesh groupset is bottom of the range, Cannondale has Promax brakes – I’ve never heard of them but someone else will, Planet X as you say doesn’t take rack or mudguards, Kinesis has Tektro brakes and again I know nothing of these, Boardman has SRAM groupset and again I know nothing as I use Shimano but it does look a decent spec with carbon fork for £900.

Importantly though and has to be your foremost consideration is the fit of the bike. Now, I would guess that some of these may have a tad longer top tubes than others so really you do need to throw a leg over so worth going into bike shops. That way you’ll get an idea of the weight.

Interestingly no weights have been mentioned in your links!

Edited to say that cx bikes will not feel sprightly alongside proper road bikes!

the term ‘cyclocross’ has been adopted by everyone now, it’s no longer a helpful label.

You wouldn’t want to enter a cyclocross race on a 28lb steel-framed tourer, and you wouldn’t want to go touring on a cyclocross race bike. But they’re all ‘cyclocross’ bikes, even when the label ‘tourer’ would be much more usefull.

having said that, i think you’re looking in roughly the right direction.

i’ve got a Cdf, it’s heavy, but it’s good.

if you’re not determined to have a steel frame, the Pinnacle Arkrose is hard to beat.

Wow. Thanks for all the responses so far. Really grateful you didn’t just ignore my newbie idiocy. I’m going to research all of your responses and read up on the different parts.

The only thing I know about frames is the differences in weight, but I’m happy to explore any type. The CdF could be made lighter in other areas I presume such as as wheels eventually? To be fair, the last time I rode a bike was about 12 years ago and that was a beast of a MTB. So I have road bike experience to base anything on. I think anything I get will be quicker than I expect it to be.

We all have to start somewhere! The CdF weighs over 24lbs and a large part of that is in the bomb-proof wheels. Frame material is heavier than aluminium and it’s worth remembering that disc brakes will be heavier than V’s.

If you look at the one in Classifieds you’ll find that will be light as many components have been upgraded and lightened. If you check the thread that I linked to earlier you’ll see that some CdF owners have changed wheels for something lighter.

It won’t feel like a road bike cos that’s not the point of it! See ahwiles post above. Worth checking out his Pinnacle recommendation.

Nothing wrong with cable operated disc brakes btw. Lots of folk seem to run them ok on MTBs too, I’m preference to hydros.

From your list above, I’d go with the Genesis every time, but the Arkrose wins it!

I’ve got the Planet X and am very happy with it. It is my first road-type bike so I guess I don’t know enough to notice its faults. The roads round me are appalling and there have been a few times that I have been glad I’m not on lightweight wheels as I plunge down a down yet another tarmac chasm. I have commuter tyres on it (Vittoria raddonneur) and they roll well on the road and have never punctured despite me using the bike off-road a lot. I can’t put road mud guards on it but I am using MTB mucky nuts style guards instead and they have been fine. I will be taking it touring but will be using Alpkit frame bags rather than panniers. My hardtail has barely been used since I got it. I think it is perfect for the Chilterns bridleways. To be honest I love it..

If you want hydraulic discs at that price a flat bar option may be worth a punt. Cotic X with flat bars could be nice or some of the Whytes or a Specialized cross trail might do the job.

In my mind, the thing to consider with Cyclocross and the ones your looking at is that they are a lot of money and your not really getting a bike that can do it all well, you are more getting a bike that can do it all… decently ,well if that makes sense. To me it would make more sense getting a full on XC bike as they are great offload but not to bad on the road, (depending on the way it is setup). It depends tho if your finger points more to road, then its probably best getting a roady or cyclo. I have a Giant Anthem and its a beast at everything, I use it for trails and road and it does both great. Obviously it won;t be as good as any of these cyclo’s on the road but overall can do everything better.

I use my bike for exercise so a lot of road sessions with it and when i’m running the Ralph’s its very fast on the road for a XC bike. I would go as far and say its fairly fast even for a roady’s standards.

Just thought i would share my thoughts 🙂

Okay so I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’ve now narrowed it down the the CAADX DISC 5 105, Pinnacle Arkosa 3 and the CdF.

I contacted my local Evans shop to see if they stocked the CAADX and Arkosa but they said they had now been discontinued. Does this mean a new version is on the way or just that shops don’t stock them as I noticed they are still available to buy online? I limited on time to make a decision or do I wait till the 2015 (?) model is out (whenever that may be)?

Oh that’s bad luck. Have you tried any independent bike shops? Post up your area and someone will be able to recommend some bike shops.

You really need to sit on one and take out for a spin to work out whether a cx bike is right for your requirements.

Buying a bike is never simple!

Okay so I’ve been doing a lot of reading and I’ve now narrowed it down the the CAADX DISC 5 105…

Cannondale would be a good choice. I’ve got the older version without discs (bought on Cyclescheme) and it’s a great bike. Considering replacing it with the disc version, (only reason I’d consider anything else is the BB30 bottom bracket, but most seem to have them anyway).
Very light, very comfortable and a decent spec.

Best of luck sourcing a Cannondale. My mates had one ordered since Feb. The last 6 delivery dates failed to materialize, so he’s not too optimistic about getting one at all. 😐

The Genesis would be my preference, but I like steel. Lovely feel to it.
Also, Avid BB7 discs work perfectly. Tonnes of stopping force.

If your commuting, then proper full guards are well worth it, along with a rack.
Won’t win any fashion contests but by heck does it make the job easier.