[Closed] CX: Giant TCX SLR 2 or CAADX 105?

Nothing to add but hoping for some good answers as I'm currently looking at both too.

Tough call, both v good frames, light and comfy (I'm a big Cannondale fan and often recommend them hands down)

Unless the promax brakes are slated (I've no idea) I'd get the dale, for the wheels.

Have you ridden them? Not tried the CAADX but the TCX felt wrong to me with the high BB. I'd go give them a try before deciding from a spec sheet 🙂

Quick spins yeah. Test ride always good.

Ok. However I've just read some awful things about the Promax brakes, and seeing as I'll need to add some road tyre son anyway the rons on the giant seem a better buy for CX later on. But the wheels.

you adding CX into the mix as well as TT? 😆

Kryton likes to spread himself thinly 🙂

Have you considered Focus? LBS has a Mares CX 1.0 (Out of budget I know) and it looks delicious. Cheaper ones should be good, too.

Has the Giant got a higher BB than the Dale? I always thought the TCX had one of the lowest BB of the cx bikes??

I personally would go for the lower BB.

you adding CX into the mix as well as TT?

Not really. I might have a go, but I want a more utilitarian bike to mess about with jnr, and as his races will be at CX events from September I may as well ride there with him on an appropriate bike.

I've checked the geo, and they are basically the same as my Defy so still good for winter road, just different gearing.

Got the old TCX 2 with the 10 speed 105.
The wheels are a tad heavy and have changed them for racing.
Recently swapped back to them and have ridden them with road tyres.
They have been going well and have held up to most things chucked at them.
Don't discount it because of the wheels.
Frame is lovely,internal routing,D-flex seatpost,great!

I'd personally go for the one without the BB30 if I ever planned taking it off road and out in wet gritty conditions. I like both brands as you know, but think the BB30 press fit isn't great - ours failed pretty quickly. If the BB is lower on the TCX, I'd take that. Geometry is a little steeper on the CAADX on a size for size basis, but half a degree isn't huge. The TCX will steer more slowly than your Defy though if you go for a Medium.

Oh and I would imagine that those Rons will be wire bead for savings.

So....

I've never owned a Cannondale ever, and it feels like I should do once. But, internal routing on the Giant, the defuse seatpost and the TRPs which review very well. I can get both bikes - albeit the 'dale without the wheel upgrade - from Pedalon and get tyres with the podium points so those are a non issue.

I with you on the BB30 Tired, my Bianchi had had 3. Will it steer slower than my Defy? It's the same HA but shorter HT?

I think I'm swapping a Giant for a Giant....

Whoops. Mrs Kryton isn't happy.

I've had the Giant for over a year (mines the older 10spd) and it's brilliant. Great handling, comfortable, great bike. One grumble though, the stupid seat clamp. Gets a bit of muck in it and creaks badly. Clean it out and start again. It's the one thing that would put me off buying another one

I've been looking at cx bikes too, like the cannondale but as another suggestion I am highly taken by the ridley x-bow range (not that I've even ridden round a carpark on one just drooled over them) one is 899 the other about £1300

Edit: I know nothing about road or xc though so purely going on aesthetics 😆 I think the giant is rank!

A shorter ht makes it steer slower?

Internal cable routing is as plus?

Looks a degree slacker - Your defy is 72.5 I believe and the TCX is 71.5 in a medium, so yes it will steer more slowly. You won't notice off road. But with light wheels, decent road tyres and smooth tarmac, it will feel more like a tourer than your (classics winning geometry 😆 ) Defy.

I'm an M/L.

Why do I feel I'm being convinced away from N+1?

M/L Defy yes, but probably a Medium SLR. I tested a Medium and thought it felt like a gate compared with my Medium Defy - and I'm borderline for a M/L defy as well (medium wit 120 mm stem). I think you'll be disappointed by its road performance compared with your Defy, personally. But off road and on the bridleways, it will be just great.

Yea, you're right. It's become clear I shouldn't sell the Defy. But with 2 MTB's and a forest 4 miles away it rather negates what would be a bike of minimal use without the road element. I also realised also the gearing is too low for my turbo.

Sigh.

I'm surprised you guys say go for the lower BB, Higher BB in cross is an advantage.
Ridden the current TCX and it's a great bike, not ridden the Dale. The fact the Dale has a brake bridge when it's a disc frame makes my OCD itch.

You do know I've got the TCX Adv1 don't you 😆

It's spectacular.

The alloy versions are just as good but clearly spec wise a little different, but hey. Yes the wheels are a little heavy, but bombproof. My set have lasted best part of a year without any tweaks or adjustments, and I ride mine hard.

I've got some rons upstairs that I'm never going to use, have them if you want em'

So, I'm always going to big up the TCX, it's really a bloody lovely bike.

Go for a M, the L is quite big.

The Blue one? niiiiiiice. I've been offered the 2 Pro, silver carbon disc one?

[img] [/img]

^^ 😀

Yup carbon, light 18lbs (even with the wheels) Griffos etc. not much more to say other than its perfect.

I have used Limus in the mud which are ace too and Clem's X'Plor MSO 40's for long distance gravel/NCN type routes but in the main the Griffos are the go to choice build.
I did suffer with SRAM's brake replacement late last year but that's all well behind me now, whilst I didn't have the bike giant lent me a Propel which was fabulous.

Having bought this, my first giant, I will definitely buy another.

Curious choice of bar tape colour but that actually works 🙂

Do like Giants. Would definitely give the TCX another chance before buying (though really loved the Crux.) Just wish Giant would hurry up and get the new Trinity out there!

And in race mode (wobbly helmet fail)

[img] [/img]

Bikebuoy's giant is lovely, the Mrs was looking at one of them but is getting something else.

re the OP I would go for the giant, the mavic wheels are no great shakes if you're going to be using the bike seriously (and cx bikes are pretty addictive :D), iirc they're not tubeless so go for the better braked bike

Bikebouy, don't worry, Kristoff has made lop sided helmets this years must have 😉

Oooof! That is lovely bikebouy. Welcome to the fold. Giant make great bikes at every point in carbon and alloy. Just back from 80k club ride on my new Propel SL - it's still white too. I have missed the road, but that cross bike is just beautiful. Great choice of bar tape too.

Having said I don't like the look of the giants, that blue and orange is mint!

I've taken over this thread, sorry Kryton 😕

But I do have a bit more to say about it. I've done a good few long distance CX sportives on it, raced it in CX events and just generally hacked my local area on it too. All in all it favours singletrack and hard climbs on either slippy shale or mud dust/small pebbles. When it gets muddy it clears very well but on dry trails there is a defined zing about it. It really loves being off-road and it really is its preferred environment. It sort of zings and has a buzz about it.. It's also great for long distance, done 6 hrs in the saddle today, up and over the SDW to QECP, couple of laps of red and back down to the coast and along NCN 2 home.
I've looked hard at changing a few bits, stem, bars and wheels but can't really find anything much lighter for the hassle of changing. I will get a new set of wheels for it and STANS have just released thier carbon vapour at £1600 which look light 1300gms and tubeless ( not that I'll go tubeless) closest other wheels are the new Mav carbon kysiums but they don't seem to be much lighter than the std set on now (1700gms)
I think I'll stop hacking k's thread now 😆

TiRed, good to hear you're back on a Propel. What became of the hit and run perpetrator?

I've taken over this thread, sorry Kryton

Ha Ha, no worries you're making better use of it than I can.

Kryton likes to spread himself thinly

This was ringing through my head at the weekend. I get 6-7 hours in a bike in a week max, and despite missing 11 weeks of training (long winter rides) this year my plan to use road/crits as training and MTB for racing has paid divedends, with me (when all my points finally get uploaded) sitting at 140 in the National rankings so far - who'd have thought.

Plus, I really enjoyed a road ride yesterday, and want to keep banging the long miles in and plan on doing so this winter.

That's a stunning bike Bikebuoy. One I have been drooling over.

The high bottom bracket thing. Isn't it just a remnant of the toe clip era?
I would prefer a low BB to be able to dab a bit easier in corners and mount/dismount easier. The only advantage I read of a high BB is being able to pedal harder around tight corners - but tight bends slow you down so much the bike is pretty upright anyways.

My CAADX 105 was delivered on Friday, and it's really put a smile on my face. Fast on the road, and a hoot in the pine needle covered local woods. Handles beautifully.
Regarding the brakes, they really need a good amount of bedding in to work effectively, but stop well when required.

That Giant looks fantastic. I have the CAADX. I've changed the brakes for Spyres and wheels for Kinesis Crosslight Cx's so it's perfect now 🙂 Not much wrong with the originals but I got them cheap.

The bike is ace though used mostly on road by me

Just ordered a TCX SLR 2, cannae wait to thrash it.

How tall are you Bikebouy? I'm 6ft and gone with a M/L, my tcr is a M/L and fits perfect.

WooHoo, all looking good here for new bikes, I like that !

I do have another couple of points, and I feel sharing is required.

So, you've seen what I do with my bike, I'm planning more with it too..

So recent long CX point to point rides (incl overnight B&B/Hotels) I've done I've been using my camelbak and TBH I didn't like it one bit. You can see I ride low slung which meant the pack would tend to drag my shoulders down and place some pressure on my wrists. After a couple of long sportive s I did I promised myself never to use the thing again and just rely on bottles and jersey pockets full of food and spares, it's worked perfectly. One good thing about these sportive s is you really are not far from a bottle top up or something to eat or even a bit of mechanic tinkering if you need it.
These have been great fun TBH and I would recommend them to anyone whose out for a longer distance organised event with a relaxed atmosphere and the back up you may need.
When I ride P2P stuff I tend to stay in decent hotels and enjoy using steaming hot showers and decent food. I'm not alone in this I think and one thing I've found if booking them tell them/ask them that you are bringing the bike, ask if theres anywhere to store/lock it securely and that they'll either serve food in the room of don't mind you sitting in the corner of a restaurnat in stinky gear. I realry take spare clothing, just a wind/wet proof jersey and a spare pair of socks, If the rides a few daya they I'll post on a set of bibs and get the hotel to post the smelly ones back and they've all been fine with that.
But recently I've bought some bike packs to fit to the bike. Now you know my bikes a race machine, but I do like to extend the use and I've recently bought Aplpidura Compact seat bag and compact handlebar bag for it. This will extend the use and I have planned some really long distance rides using this gear notably the Camino de Santiago. I tried these out yesterday, fitted them to the bike with no bother what so ever and filled them with the normal things I would consider taking.. blimey.. theres so much room in them left.. Riding light is my key here so I'm not suprised. But now I'll plan for taking more stuff and could quite conceivably take spare bibs and at least two jerseys..

Just thought I'd point out that CX'er are not just for CX racing or commuting but riding long distance off road too.

8)

@bikebouy. What gearing are you using for your off road touring?

Sizing first: Mines a M. I tried the L out but it's too big for me. I'm 5.10 1/2 in stilletos' (not really) and 33" inside leg. The L for me was a little longer in the TT and just felt a bit of a stretch. Don't forget most of it's work is hacking my local sngletrack and racing. Therefore I want flicky, light, lythe, compact and chuckable. The bikes perfect for this type of riding i do. I wanted a little more stretch (being an old school roadie) so the 100mm stem got changed for a 110mm but thats it, the rest is standard.
For long distance I'm finding the sizing perfect too, thought I might need to stretch out a bit more but it's bang on for me TBH and keeping the zing feel i like.
Gearing: I ride up hill a lot on my hacks, short sharp and long drags so the std front rings are on 40/34 and the rear I've up'ed to 30/12 (std's 28/11) This gives me an ultra spinny for short sharp 20+%'ers and slippy dust gravel climbs. Racing I normally leave the bike in the small ring and scoot all over the rear, rarely do I use the big ring. If Sportives then I'm normally in the big ring (unless steep climbs) and I'm scooting in the top 4/5 cogs. I bottom out on fast roads or gravel but I'm happy with that, I rarely think I need the 11 on the back.

😀

Any good?

http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Cannondale-CaadX-105-Disc-2015-Cyclocross-Bike_73525.htm

I didn't see it I didn't see it I didn't see it I didn't see it I didn't see it

That there is a Bargain ^^

How can they do it for that price ❓

That's a good price. I paid £100 more from Epic last year for mine. Leaves loads of budget for upgrades 😀

A question:

Has anyone fitted 'guards to the TCX? Its imperative to me as a winter bike, but I notice it doesn't have a bridge at the top of the chain stays, or anything at the fork to mount it on.

What works/would work?

I've just got a CAADX 105 via cycle to work - seemed nice on the 3 mile run to the shops I've managed so far, but can't wait to get it on a proper ride with some off road too.

I have the CAADX. I've changed the brakes for Spyres and wheels for Kinesis Crosslight Cx's

This is more or less the plan for mine eventually - the stock brakes don't seem great but I see a comment above that they need a lot of bedding in...

I was also happy to find that the huge stickers on the wheels come off very easily and tone things down a tiny bit!