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Chap at work turned up this morning on his new Specialized Awol Elite. 42C tyres, TRP Spyres and 9 speed Sora triple, tubus racks front and rear. Looks cracking.
hmm I had a genesis day one and now have a pro6, would those be CX or adventure bikes and what's the benefits/drawbacks of real CX v faux CX?I think (as has been said) the newer fauxCX / adventure bikes can be great for this sort of thing
Couldn't normally give a chuff about aesthetics but quirrel that giant is absolutely minging.
not as comfy as the day1 I had before but I've done big days on mine and not suffered for it next day.unlike poster higher up i find that all day rides on my pro6 can be a bit of a beat up
I have to ask, how do Spesh get away with speccing 9-speed Sora on a £1.2k bike? I know new Sora is very good, but just seems pricey.
Anyway. So far we have:
Spesh Diverge A1 Sport
Arkose 4
CDF 30
GT Grade 105 (The X really doesn't seem worth an extra £500 for the hydros and full carbon fork)
Giant Anyroad....although it does look like a shitting dog.
Probably missed some.
....and in the probably not suitable camp we have the more balls out CX stuff like:
Giant TCX SLR
Spesh Crux
Cannondale CAADX
etc
I have a Saracen Hack and I have a relatively short body and I'm not very flexible and it's the only drop bar bike I've ever got comfy on - albeit I had to flip the stem over.
It's nice and comfy and the promax cable discs are better than expected - easily a match for BB7 road if set up properly.
There's clearance for bigger tyres than the ones supplied too. Lack of mudguard mounting eyes on the fork is the only criticism - the fork blades are a bit fat for p-clips.
On the smaller sizes (mine's a 54cm) there's a bit of toe overlap with mudguards on.
For off-road I would probably fit a 12-30 cassette.
On the smaller sizes (mine's a 54cm) there's a bit of toe overlap with mudguards on.
Being a bit of a shortarse, I am resigned to always having a bit of toe overlap. Not usually an issue till you make a tight turn.
on the basis of your list, and a quick look at specs, my money would be on the Edinburgh Bike Co CDF 30 with 15% off, and not just because I have one (not bought from EBC though)
Under £1500 with new 105 5800 11 speed and full hydraulics, comfy frame, carbon fork...
This might be wrong, but don't CDFs weigh a metric tonne?
This might be wrong, but don't CDFs weigh a metric tonne?
the older ones were heavy, current ones significantly lighter. My 30 is a size 54 and in standard build, with Time Atac pedals, weighs about 22/23 pounds. When riding the weight is not noticeable. Most of these bikes are a good bit weightier than all out road equivalent as they tend to be a bit 'sturdier' specced.
D0NK - Member......[b][i]unlike poster higher up i find that all day rides on my pro6 can be a bit of a beat up[/i][/b]
not as comfy as the day1 I had before but I've done big days on mine and not suffered for it next day.
in reality nothing that beer and bed couldn't fix just that I have ridden bikes that felt better all day but then again I might have been riding a bit less demanding terrain 😆
bongohoohaa - Member
This might be wrong, but don't CDFs weigh a metric tonne?
sortof...
my cdf frame weighs 2100g, the forks something like 800...
an equivalent alu frame with carbon forks would weigh something like 1400+500g.
so, the frame and forks add a kilo over some of the alternatives. but in return you do get a frame that is more or less un-killable.
The standard wheels on mine are also bit porky (over 2kg), but they're utterly bomb-proof.
Norco search is pretty much aimed at what you want?!
http://www.norco.com/15search/
Maybe cotic escapade too or charge plug
Spa Cycles TI adventure bike £1500 http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s21p3104 can't say I've used one but have their steel Audax and rate that.
Giant Anyroad....although it does look like a shitting dog.
They were hard to find in the UK last year as they were an Asian based bike originally, but a few suppliers did have them.
I think they are now more available.
The higher specced one was good value.
Giant Revolt 1 may be another option, having ridden one I find the ride very smooth.
[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7516/15162936194_49ef15b291_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7516/15162936194_49ef15b291_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://flic.kr/p/p6U1Eo ]Kinesis Tripster ATR[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/52769476@N00/ ]South Downs MTB Skills[/url], on Flickr
I've got HyRd's on mine, they work really well. Better (for me anyway) than BB7 or Spyres
Salsa Vaya?
<img src="http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp125/theswede_photos/IMG_3937.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_3937.jpg"/>
I have this for sale if you are 6 ft plus and are near the Midlands
£550
blades2000 - Member
Giant Revolt 1 may be another option, having ridden one I find the ride very smooth.........I've got HyRd's on mine
and looks like you are using barbed wire instead of brake cable - think that must mark you out as hard 😉
Something odd going on with antigee's post. It's like when 2 posts collide.
I had HyRd's on my Whyte but now I've moved them onto my son's Whyte and put Shimano 685's on mine.
The HyRd's where good but the 685's are way better.
The main problem I found with the HyRd's was that the lever would be back to the bars before the pads where half worn (adjusting the cable isn't an option as the brake cylinder lever has to return fully to let more fluid through). The only solution is to top up the fluid level. I suspect the fluid reservoir is too small.
If you want my opinion DON'T get a "proper" CX bike. By "proper" I mean something for racing like the TCX/Boone/Crux/X-Night etc. I've got a TCX and it ain't stable for what you intend to do with it.
They are all for racing, not that pooling can't be done on them, in that they're all slung low and mean and growl at being ridden slowly.
CFH's Diverge looks the bits for this kinda thing, so too the Tripster or CdF or Trek's Crossrip.
HTH
That was kinda what I was thinking, bikebouy.
Shame, as some good deals on the TCX bikes on Edinburgh CoOp at the mo.
Ok, well, erm.. You can fit guards to the alloy models, but they're still low slung and I still don't think the Geo would suit what you are after..
Had a look at the Charge Plug ?
Define 'low slung'.
I just can't get over the bar height on that Giant.
How did that escape into the real world when you consider how good looking their current road bikes are?
But to the OP - If you're riding 80% road and some unpaved tracks, I'd just get a road bike with good tyre clearance. Maybe a PX London Road if the frames are a decent weight?
F&F = £300
11sp 105 = £280
Some nice wheels = £250ish
Finishing kit = £100ish
Some disc calipers = £no idea
Might come in around £1k or not too much more.
Where's the CAADX in all that up there? £900 from Enigma for 5800 105 version leaves enough over for decent hydros if that's your thing. I'm running Spyres and they're fine. Still enough left over for a pair of Ray Bans to deal with the jazzy branding. Here's a crap pic of mine :
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Define low slung
Can you tie them in a bow?
"low slung" = race geo.
Clearly you can pull the the bars up (fit a + degree stem and shorten it) and I'm sure it'll be fine, you'll be fine on it too.
Best take a look at one eh..
[img] 
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Local shop owner fell in love with my CX bike, and being Bianchi shop bought himself one of these. Its been on display and used for three days and four customers have ordered them/
Lovely looking bike, cx isn't popular here, but the bikes are ideal for the shit roads.
If you ate going to get one, get this Bianchi in the team colour, lovely
Clearly you can pull the the bars up (fit a + degree stem and shorten it) and I'm sure it'll be fine, you'll be fine on it too.
Just shortened the stem on mine, and it has made a big difference, although handling is a bit 'twitchier' I like it.