Saw a crosser in the lbs and randomly fancied a go but what's different theva road bikes just the tyres????
Differant lower gearing. Extra brake levers on the top of the bars, canti/frog leg brakes, much more clearance for the mug/grass combo you get at X tracks.Frames tend to be a little beefier
Frame geometry tends to be more MTB like, higher front end.
Mine will only take Canti brakes, so "normal" road brakes aren't an option.
Chainsets tend to be different ratios.
I've used mine on the road with a smaller cassette and road tyres ( a spare set of wheels makes this so much easier) and found it very comfortable over long distances. Certainly not as aggressive a position as my carbon road bike and it makes my fillings rattle less.
In the old days the geometry used to be different; most road bikes were the same angle seat and head tube, but crossers used to be slacker at the back; giving longer chain stays and a bit more clearance, and a bit steeper at the front to allow quicker steering.
Probably not these days, but a mate bought a Scott crosser last year and the top tube was shorter than an equivalent road bike, I think..