Which would you buy and why both would be second hand? Looking for my 1st road bike to do some commuting including some off road through parks and local trails as well as some longer road rides.
I'm sure both will be fine. I've got a Pro6 and love it. Rides well on the road with slicks and is great off road too.
Pro 6 is pretty popular with CX racers. CdF is aimed at the "adventure" rider. Which one are you?
CdF is aimed at the "adventure" rider
Glad you put inverted commas round that blatant piece of marketing BS.
the Pro6 is lighter and racier and while it does have mudguard/rack mounts is more of a cyclo-cross bike for racing, the CdF has rack and mudguard mounts too but is more of an all-day over-everything trundler than a race bike
the Pro6 is more me, it might not be more you
Which Croix?
I have a Pro 6 which I am going to be selling soon... in a 57cm.
Its a great bike and does everything well really. I am going for a carbon cross bike now though, hence the sale.
I'd say that it's worth considering something from the Pinnacle Arkose range from Evans. Very similar kind of do-it-all bikes, much better value, and a bit lighter than the Genesis.
Actually it makes a lot more sense than calling the Croix a "cyclocross" bike (as they originally did) because it isn't at all. I guess "multipurpose" bike would be apt but that doesn't sound so exciting!Glad you put inverted commas round that blatant piece of marketing BS.
Which Croix?
mine, the standard 2014 Croix de Fer one in 54cm size 🙂
a lovely 11 month old example in prime condition in Glasgow, c'mon monkeyninja, you know it s a bargain ! 🙂
it may be on the classifieds soon.....
Buy a croix frameset and make a light build out of it - some Kinesis wheels, etc - and Salsa Cowbell bars obviously...
I have just changed my frameset for a Kinesis Tripster. The tripster with 40c types is excellent, but the croix was great fun and slightly quicker steering than the tripster. Nice and springy steel.
The newer croix is slightly slacker so may not be as much 'fun'.
Not fair iainc your not allowed to get involved in this thread... If your in later I'll come up and see you
😆Not fair iainc your not allowed to get involved in this thread... If your in later I'll come up and see you
at a 'school careers night' for junior, so out till around 830 if any good ?
I have a Croix De Fer and although its pretty heavy I really like it. Doubt I would want to race on it but for general road.CX stuff its great.
In case you re still struggling to make up your mind 😉
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Pah 🙂
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Interesting question. I'm considering a Pro6 frame as an alternative to my existing Croix de Fer frame for the work bike. The Croix is a bit of a tank, even for a utility bike, and mine has scuffed up and rusted quite badly around weld holes, cable mounts, etc. I'm not too bothered about how it looks, but frame corrosion is a bit of a disadvantage for a commuter that is getting used year round. A couple of friends with Croixs (different years) have had the same rust problems.
The only question I had about the Pro6 was the higher cross bottom bracket. Can anyone comment on how it handles, compared to a conventional road bottom bracket drop (6cm vs 7cm). Is there any practical difference?
You've just made their choice harder now IainC 😀 Nice shot. You win for scenery but I'm deducting a point for the man satchel under the saddle 😉
kcr - MemberThe only question I had about the Pro6 was the higher cross bottom bracket. Can anyone comment on how it handles, compared to a conventional road bottom bracket drop (6cm vs 7cm). Is there any practical difference?
no
I'm torn between both these bikes... i doubt i'll be doing any racing but i do want to put in some (long for me) road miles as well as offroad, so maybe the croix is the better choice??
[s]yep, good choice[/s] 🙂
oops, mustn't influence your decision 🙂
so maybe the croix is the better choice??
It's alright if you accept it will be a touch heavy, and mud clearance is poop.
Other than that, they are excellent.
I have a pro 6 and use it mainly as a winter road training bike, but occasionally off road with cross tyres and once for cross racing. Compared to my mate's CdF it's lighter and has closer geometry to the summer road bike but it does feel harsh after say 30+ miles of riding on typical British tarmac.
@monkeyninja: If you're after a CDF, Drover Cycles in Hay-on-Wye have an ex-demo 931 (stainless steel) in large, ridden literally a handful of times, for £1250. (Down from £2k). Very nice ride.
This years cdf is meant to have a longer fork
I have done reasonably long road+trail rides on my Croix (80 miles is the longest so far). It's not [i]that[/i] heavy if you replace the stock wheels/tyres which are proper anchors (although I believe that some of the 2015s are specced with lighter wheels?) but obviously it's going to be a bit slower than a proper road bike. Gives me an excuse to ride at a more leisurely pace though with lots of coffee/cake stops!I'm torn between both these bikes... i doubt i'll be doing any racing but i do want to put in some (long for me) road miles as well as offroad, so maybe the croix is the better choice??
Do you live somewhere that takes a real battering from the weather? I have commuted on mine year-round for 3 years and haven't had any of those problems!The Croix is a bit of a tank, even for a utility bike, and mine has scuffed up and rusted quite badly around weld holes, cable mounts, etc. I'm not too bothered about how it looks, but frame corrosion is a bit of a disadvantage for a commuter that is getting used year round. A couple of friends with Croixs (different years) have had the same rust problems.
I think large would be to big for me. The weight doesn't really bother me as i could do with shedding a few pounds myself which is probably easier and cheaper than trying to put a bike on a diet and i'm used to pedalling heavy mtb/dh anyway.
Live in Glasgow so aye its wet...
Actually it makes a lot more sense than calling the Croix a "cyclocross" bike (as they originally did) because it isn't at all. I guess "multipurpose" bike would be apt but that doesn't sound so exciting!
Adbenture nike isn't a bad term but yes "multipurpose bike" or even "bike" syas it better
But the term that Genesis are using that I like are
"Race" for the Volare, Zero etc.
"A road" for the Equilibriums and Volant
and
"B road" Croix De fers
I think calling them "B road bikes" works on well on a couple of levels
I've done all sorts on my pro6. Raced and won CX races, done the three peaks, rode the coast to coast (mostly off road 150miles) in a day, done a couple of road centuries, ride with my local club after the cx season but before the summer bike comes out.
Fantastic bike, real all rounder. Would buy another without question tomorrow.
Having said all that. Cheap heavy steel is good for regular commuting. I ride a pompetamine, it takes a battering and is looking pretty tatty after 2 or 3 years. Might spruce it up with a powder coat. It functions absolutely fine though and I imagine it will just keep on going.
pro6 here - similar decision 3yrs ago when a lot less choice in disc "do it all" bikes around. As someone said above sometimes with the pro6 feel a bit beaten up on longer rides which i put down to the geometry being race orientated but whenever i think about swopping it for something a bit more all day/touring stylee i remember how it is absolutely brilliant on single track - like all drop bar hybrids there is a compromise somewhere.
Voted against the CDF at the time despite its ok to cycle round the world on credentials based on the shop stock model being a lot heavier than my road bike and had steel forks-though not a weight weanie I didn't need something a guy in a hut with only a hammer could fix - think quite a few models in the CDF range now?
Use my pro6 for gravel roads, multi day rides on and off road, road only rides with a set of lighter wheels and 25mm tyres and riding into the city when i have to - one other downside pro6 is on the smallish frame i have is toe overlap (even more so with mudguards) tend to forget about it but then get on some stupid cycle path bridge with sharp U turns and can get a pretty blunt reminder
gratuitous pic'complete with mudguards
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I looked at both and was put off by the weight and ended up with a Rose DX cross. Very happy with it.
FFS - the Croix is not a 'bit of a tank'
I changed framesets from my croix de fer, with straight steel fork, to my tripstr atr, which is titanium and has a carbon fork, and only saved just under 2.5lbs. I also changed the BB7s to TRP Spyre SLCs which may have saved a fraction, but all the rest of the gear was the same, baring a slight shortening of some cables.
The retail Croix was a tank though, but the frameset is not bad.
The retail Croix was a tank though, but the frameset is not bad.
at the time my LBS (which was/is a Genesis dealer) couldn't or wouldn't supply the CDF as a frameset think a much closer call now with it being a range of full bikes - see they are using trp/spyres as standard on some - that would impact a decision for me with the rave reviews