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I'm considering getting a cross bike through the cycle to work scheme
How good are they on the road?
Can you do decent distances on them?
depends on the cross bike - 'proper' ones are designed to be ridden fast for an hour and tend not to have comfort etc as a high priority.
Why not just get a decent touring bike if you're not after an out-and-out road race bike?
They're fine, they just have slower handling compared to a fast road bike. I've ridden numerous (imperial) centuries on mine and toured in the French Alps on one with no problems. I rode 60 miles on Sunday morning on mine just to see how buggered it was after the 3 Peaks, and now I know.
I have a Kenesis one and it is fine. Use it throughout the week, tyre selection is the main issue, fast rolling for the tarmac or nobbly for the off road diversion I can take. Don't think the geometry is much different to a 'normal'road bike really.
Ridden 120 miles in a day on one. no different from a roadbike hth
I've got a Radley Rodwell with bull bars and 105 integrated shifter/brakes. In terms of geometry and comfort it's totally fine for me. The lack of braking from cantilever brakes is something I'm still getting used to though. My previous commuter was a RoadRat with (old) XTR V-brakes and that was a world apart in braking power. I've only ridden a normal road bike once on holiday but I seem to remember the caliper brakes being better than my crappy cantis...
changed the tyres on mine to road tyres and did the fast winter club runs on mine (80 miles)
only immediate difference from my road bike was the higher BB height but soon got used to that.
Fine my cross bike was used as a winter get to work bike with no issuses mate.
Bb's a bit higher,chainstays a little longer & head angle a little slacker. Nothing your average schmo would notice ;0)
In my limited experience they're not as fast handling, think of it being more relaxed/stable, etc. My Kona is comfy enough on the cross tyres, but might be a bit harsh on normal road tyres, due to the stiffer frame
Got a Focus Mares (cross) and a Cayo (road). The cayo is a nicer ride on the road but probably because it was 3x the price of the cross. The cross is fine though. Happy with it for all but road racing. Watch out as some models don't come with bottle mounts as a pure cross bike is for an hour race and you need to get it on your shoulder.
Commute on mine (trek x0-1) and did Great Shakespeare 100km on it earlier this year, doing Devon coast to coast in a couple of weeks, it's fine. I have two sets of wheels so I don't have to keep changing tyres
It's not the lightest compared to a carbon road bike but it's lighter and faster than my (very expensive) Ti hardtail and perfectly comfortable over long distances, is always going to be a compromise though
Ridden south Lincolnshire to Reading and back on one (140 miles each way), absolutly fine, no issues with comfort. Much better in the wet than a road bike too, as the brakes are, not good exactly when you are used to hydraulic discs, but less bad.
Used touring bike style tyres on it for ages, much more puncture proof than normal road tyres.
Depends on the bike - angles, BB height, etc. but if your not a pro you will hardly notice. I run a Cannondale Caad 9 CX bike and it feels better than my specialized allez, it's about as light as a similar alloy framed road bike and has benefits that I can run a wider tyre which actually helps comfort over long rides - a 28c rear/25c front combo would be impossible on a regualt road bike. It also takes proper guards for winter too. I reckon I will eventually buy a 'proper' road bike as my special bike for sunday rides, just because they tend to be cheaper for same spec. But I will keep the crosser for everything else. However if you want one bike - buy a CX (or a audax/tourer if you will never go off road as they are cheaper but still more versatile than regular road bikes).
Another thing, watch what CX bike you buy - go for something light but an all rounder for long rides - i.e Cannondale, Kona, Trek or maybe a Ridley. Avoid disc equiped bikes at the sub £1200 level, still too heavy and MTB like, and also watch for proper race CX bikes like the Kenesis - it has no bottle mounts etc!
I've been looking at the cotic x, genesis croix de fer, and specialized crux
Not sure if any of them are classed as 'proper' cross bikes
I'm thinking of something I can use on farm tracks for when its really muddy as I'm not really up for hosing myself down with cold water in the back garden in the dark after every ride
On-one Pompino? Loads of room for mudguards and fine as a commuter...
Not sure if any of them are classed as 'proper' cross bikes
There's a review of the Crux over on road.cc http://road.cc/content/review/45774-specialized-crux-elite
Definitely does the job as a proper CX bike. I've got the older S-Works Tricross which is a really good all-rounder. Slower than the road bike certainly but really versatile, comfy and reliable. Great for winter training or for long roads with mixed road and off-road.
How good are they on the road?
Did a 150 miler day trip on mine without any bother .
Had a laugh sprinting for the 30s with the rest of the roadie crowd ,and wasn't at the back 😉
Super stable on the big hills ,which I quite enjoyed.
Did the same loop recently on my carbon road bike and didn't think it was that much better.
I mostly use it as a Winter bike for work, and some touring.
Only thing I don't like about it ,is faffing about with the brakes when getting the wheels on and off. I might swap to V-brakes next .
I've got a Croix de Fer and it's a nice bike but it is very much on the heavy side. And compared to the 6 year old Trek 1000 it's noticeably less nippy. It's solid, pretty comfy and been fine for everything from proper cross races to 80 mile runs on the road. It doesn't excel at any of them but it does them well enough. If you're looking for something that will do a passable impression of a proper road bike then I'm not sure it's for you.
It was a great commuting bike for me 'cause it meant I could ride it all year round, could take it off road and it was still reasonably quick.
It's worth noting that the way the discs are mounted means you might have issues fitting a normal pannier rack.
I've got one of the first Genesis Vapours. It's my only 'road' bike. I never noticed how poor the brakes were until having a go on a Giant TCR in the summer.
Since we're willy waving I've done 210 miles on mine in one go on a tour of Northumberland in a day 🙂
[i]Since we're willy waving I've done 210 miles on mine in one go on a tour of Northumberland in a day[/i]
curses!
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/499978094_cc14d86eb1.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53067724@N00/499978094/ ]miles[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53067724@N00/ ]Jon Wyatt[/url], on Flickr
What fixed gear ratio did you do yours in?
My next bike will be a cross bike to replace my ageing road bike. Best of both worlds init, ride on the tarmac and then go off road all in one ride!
Generally I'd agree, their geometry us often a bit more relaxed than true road bikes and hence a bit slower to get moving. Fit slicks definitely and you'll probably have as near as damn it a great bike that can do a bit of everything.
Samuri - mine was GPS miles, my sigma said 220 😉
Fixed gear - darned shorts and patched shirt? Oh, I see what you mean. You win you mad so and so!
I've had several, they've been alright, but not as good as a 'proper' road bike, and I never bought into the 'disappearing down a trail mid ride' thing, so I went back to road bikes. My Dura Ace calipers are better than any of the sets of cantis I tried (admittedly nothing super expensive), although I guess the increasing prevelance of disks will address that.