[Closed] Cx Bikes..they make so much sense

but i can now take it on gravel paths, farm tracks, non paved roads and off road as well

That is what I'll be doing on mine tomorrow morning 😀

They make loads of sense if your local MTB stuff is shit.

I guess it depends on your local terrain. I love road biking and I love the odd mountain bike ride. CX makes sense to me taking elements of both of those things I love, but for me combines them in to something far shitter. I raced cx through my 20's for winter training, so have had a real stab at both that and using it for my mtb rides, but just wasn't my bag.

Makes perfect sense now the nights are drawing in after work

I like it as I can have a fun ride from my doorstep and be done within 90 min. If i do that on the road the first part is a 15 min ride through traffic and by the time I reach any interesting country lanes its time to turn back. If I want an mtb ride then I need to throw bike in car and drive up to the hils, which takes 30 min.

CX I can jump on the local canal path, fit in some off road, and be back with 20 miles in my legs, no traffic, and some interesting, if not particularly challenging off road routes.

I also like that whilst its not particularly fast on either on or off road, it doesn't matter. I get a bit depressed seeing how slow I am at the moment when out on my carbon wonder bikes..but with the caad x its not about speed or strava times, I'm not expecing to be fast so bizzarly I enjoy it more.

My caad x cost me 350 quid on bike to work...I can see it making the many thousands of pounds worth of other bikes I own redundent over the winter.

Usually head out on mine in the winter for reason Nobeer stated. MTB not worth the slop here in the winter and CX bikes means no driving and more riding.

Same here heading out on my newly purchased CAADX in the morning also. Heading to the Mourne Mountains, the sheep paths are a great way to get around the mountains, running the Panaracer Gravelking sk tyres for their first shakedown 😀

My CDF hasn't turned a wheel since about May I think. I'd rather either MTB or ride my carbon road bike......however, with the weather turning, it will soon become the most used bike for the next 5 months or so, closely challenged by the HT.

Let us know how the gravel kings get on please. particualrly off road.

The only thing that lets down my caad x is the heavy wheelset so I'm getting some lighter ones built up. I was considering upgrading to the SKs over the standard swalbes that came with it, but so far they don't seem too bad.

They make loads of sense if your local MTB stuff is shit.

This. My nearest passable MTB stuff is about 10 miles away and my full suss is complete overkill for it. I should have [s]bought one sooner[/s] moved.

Sorted it.

I just put slicks and mudguards on mine for Winter. It actually rides really well on the road, apart from the weight, it's not too dissimilar from my carbon road bike TBH.

[img] [/img]

Out of interest what mudguards, my sks ones were a nightmare to fit

Depends on the terrain. Round here the trails are rough enough to make it hard going on a CX bike. Rigid 29er works better.

By the time you've put mudguards on a CX bike haven't you basically got a tourer? Except you can strap some kit to a rack on the latter too.

I am with mole grips on this... Falling out of love with my cdf. Recently got a mk 1 solaris fitted with rapid rob 2" tyres (pretty skinny by today's standards). It's a tiny tiny bit slower on the road but so much faster and fun on anything that's not tarmac. Actually find it better for commuting too as the upright position let's you see around traffic better.

Also weirdly it's much less stressful as drivers (even those that know nothing about bikes) see you riding a mountain bike rather than a "road bike". Definately get more room on passes with the solaris which is very odd (possibly due to the 800mm wide bars?)

Now realising the best tool for the job may be a rigid 29er but hey it's all bikes and I think it really comes down to whether you really get on with drops or not (in my case i tolerate them but much happier on flatter bars).

You can also pin on a number on a cold damp autumn or winter's afternoon & have a right laugh with your mates in your local CX league & really use it for what it's designed for-that's what I'm doing with mine today anyway!

I've been through a couple of hardtails in my quest for an all rounder. I'm now using an NS Rag+ and prefer it for all rounder duties. It's capable of pretty much anything other than proper mountain biking. For that I'll hopefully buy a short travel full suss when money allows, the kids are a bit older and I have more time.

Just fitted a set of cowchippers and I'm saving for a 650b wheelset. Really impressed with the bike so far and getting on with drops more than I thought I would. If you're limited to one bike due to space or for financial reasons (both in my case), then I think this type of bike makes a lot of sense. YMMV

I'm just glad that the world moved on to make bikes that cover a range of uses.

Really enjoy a test ride on a 25mm tyred bike.

Now I have an Arkose with fast rolling 35mm touring tyres. Most of the time it's a road bike. But it some times goes off road for a handy cut through and some times and some times it goes on proper gravel rides

Slower on the road where you need drop-bars , faster-off road where you need MTB bars. Like a nylon tent - too hot in spring/summer, too cold in autumn/winter.

Never having been a CXer I don't have much experience offroading with drop-bars - but I'm finding that my Vagabond on 2.1s seems to want to literally fly when off-road but then has me bricking it on the drops. Does this get easier, or should I be bimbling?

A road bike will more than cope with gravel tracks.

I've got an mtb road bike and CX and the CX gets used the least as it's the least practical.

Having said that it will probably get mudguards this winter and be used on the road.

A road bike will more than cope with gravel tracks.

Rather depends on the gravel, and your expectations of speed.

A road bike will more than cope with gravel tracks

Yep, spent the last year riding fire roads and single track on a track bike with 23c tyres.

However, just changed frames and now using 37c semi slicks and it is a lot better (much more comfortable, more float over very loose gravel/sand, more grip and a feeling that you can ride over anything)