I bought a Croix de Fer a few months ago with doing some mixed riding and gravel races. Whilst i am over the moon with the smooth ride and flexibility i find myself doing more and more road rides and sportives. I went on my first club ride last week and although i managed to keep up i couldnt help noticing how light and nimble the others road bikes looked and as a consequence left me wondering whether it would make a big difference if i were to get a carbon road bike for sportives and club rides and then put bigger tyres on my croix de fer and use it for more varied rides and a bit of touring, I had my croix built with mavic aksium wheels and 105 groupset, currently running with 28c continental GP 4 seasons tyres.
Any comments would be much appreciated
Cheers
Yes a proper road bike will be better for road than a CX bike
it will be considerably lighter which is the biggest gain
Horses live in stables
Bikes live in sheds, garages, dining rooms, kitchens, sometimes even bedrooms!
And yes, a road bike is always a good idea
What mboy said.
Just be warned, I had a lovely gravel bike which I took a lot of time setting up just how I liked it, but it never really got a look in compared to the road bike, I think just the convenience and speed of the road bike won over every time, the gravel bike would have only made sense if I was going away for big epics at weekends, which I wasn't.
I have a horse in my stable, bike is in the shed 😀 as mboy pointed out.
Always a good reason to get another bike whatever it might be.
Although despite saying that a croix de fer sounds like it would be a pretty good road bike for the winter - ride it and enjoy it then you could always treat yourself to something lighter and more road orientated for the spring.
We have bikes in our stable...and horses plus a World Champion
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Thanks for the replys, looks like i'd better start researching road bikes before breaking the news to the missus 😕 Im off to let the horse out of the shed to make some room!
definitely a nice road bike for road riding!
CX bikes are great in their element but the geometry (high BB, slack HA) and lower gearing, plus extra weight in frameset and wheels can make them feel like a dog on the road compared to a decent road bike
plus extra weight in frameset and wheels can make them feel like a dog on the road compared to a decent road bike
In which case you will also be needing a kennel.
I use my cx bike with 28c tyres on there. The club I ride with has different road groups on different nights (vary by pace), and I can keep up with the gang on it. (Thursday "slow" group)
Why do you need a full road bike - are you struggling to keep up ? Is the bike the weak point ? I continually look at what I am doing and if I can improve ( I can, I have a long way to go) before I need a new bike
Cx tyres will be useful in the winter here, the road surfaces are terrible, riding at night on a mid week club ride around the ayrshire lanes I will be going back onto continental speed cross or similar.
When I test-rode a CDF I found it heavy and sluggish so I didn't buy it. My Roubaix OTOH is satisfyingly fast and smooth and I love riding it. The convenience of riding straight from your door and coming home cleanish and having given yourself a good beasting can't be underestimated.
Road bike for riding on roads. Seems easy to me.
Simple yes. Road riding is just as much fun as a proper session on an mtb it better sometimes.
Your current bike is a road bike, you will notice very little gains with a new road bike
One steed is never enough, giddy up
Nahaayayay (geddit?) 😆
Neigh bother but don't nag us about it. Etc.
And yes
I'm in the same boat. I've got a steel, disc all-purpose bike, which gets used on fast-paced group road rides and gravel jaunts alike. But it's 22.5lbs, while my companions' carbon road bikes are all sub-19lbs. It doesn't hold me back, but I would like to be first to the top now and then, and shaving a few seconds off my Strava times would almost be worth the outlay. So, I'm tempted but the perfect bike hasn't yet appeared (hydraulic discs, clearance for 28mm tyres, thru-bolt axles, pure road geo with short chainstays, no special features that will be obsolete in a couple of years…). I'm fairly sure my ideal bike will be available in the next year or two but I can't help looking at the deals for Roubaixs at the moment!
Your current bike is a road bike, you will notice very little gains with a new road bike
LOL 😆
Last time you saw someone racing a cromoly steel adventure/tour/gravel/CX bike in the pro peloton was...?
CX bikes are great in their element but the geometry (high BB, slack HA) and lower gearing, plus extra weight in frameset and wheels can make them feel like a dog on the road compared to a decent road bike
This...
To be fair the CDF isn't even a proper CX bike, it's a gravel bike from before gravel was even a niche, or more properly, it's a crossover that's aimed as a bit of a do it all (including touring), but not only that, it's a weighty beast.
Take it from someone who was once a die hard MTBer that vowed never to touch road bikes, the difference isn't just in having a set of narrow slick tyres fitted. A genuinely good road bike is a thing of joy to ride, for all the same reasons as a good mountain bike is. Generally speaking, the faster you're going, the more you'll appreciate and enjoy a good quality road bike. My winter road bike is very comfortable, and if I had to do a LEJOG tomorrow it's the one I'd jump on, but at 10.5kg with very sturdy wheels, an alloy frame and Tiagra groupset, it's a world away in terms of enjoyment from my summer road bike (which is 7.2kg, runs on Reynolds carbon wheels and a full SRAM Red groupset) as the speed ramps up. Yes, I'm probably only a couple of percent faster on my summer bike vs my winter bike if push came to shove, but if I'm out riding with people in a group that requires 100% of my effort not to get dropped, that's where the difference can come in.
Besides, cycling as a passtime (rather than transport) is largely pointless and indulgent anyway. Why rationalise a purchase and enfore sensibility if you can afford to spend a few quid and enjoy it?
So, I'm tempted but the perfect bike hasn't yet appeared (hydraulic discs, clearance for 28mm tyres, thru-bolt axles, pure road geo with short chainstays, no special features that will be obsolete in a couple of years…). I'm fairly sure my ideal bike will be available in the next year or two but I can't help looking at the deals for Roubaixs at the moment!
There's a few out there now that can tick all but the short chainstays boxes... There's a reason for that too though. Road bike groupsets have been designed to work well on a 130mm back end, put them on a 135mm back end with a sub 415mm chainstay and the chainline in certain gears becomes critical and you won't be able to use all the gears effectively. My GF has just got a KTM Revelator Sky which is the same geometry as their non disc carbon road bike (save for an extra 10mm in the chainstay) and it's a superb bike. Getting a Saracen Avro for my new "winter" bike, which has very racy geometry for a disc road bike save for the 420mm stays (you can fit full guards with 28c tyres though which is a bonus for me). Then there's bikes like the Focus Cayo Disc, which are just as racy as the non disc version (and Focus' are pretty aggressive bikes generally speaking) save for 415mm stays vs the standard bikes 405mm.
True, plenty of disc brake road bikes have very long head tubes and slack angles, but there's a good few now that are closer to racey geometry. If you wanted 28's and tyre clearance on a conventional road bike anyway, you'd not get that on a bike with 405mm stays as it is, so you'd need at least 410mm anyway (so you're only gaining 5mm with a lot of disc braked bikes).
Agree on the thru axles thing though. Glad that there's enough manufacterers out there that have taken the lead and fit them as standard already...
Sorry, is the op racing? Is he a pro
@corroded......
https://masoncycles.cc/shop/categories/definition-bikes
@ the OP
As above posters have noted, the cdf will be perfectly fine and comfy to ride for distance on the road. I have a charge filter that is very similar albeit with a slightly cheaper build. I've ridden 50 plus on road miles on it easily plus the usual mixed media on/off road rides.......
BUT part of the joy for me in pure road riding is feeling like I am and actually going FAST, on my own against strava and with roadie mates in a chain gang or racing up hills (of which exmoor provides plenty!) This is a million times more enjoyable on my 7.5kg carbon road bike. It is noticeably faster to ride and against the clock, it feels more direct to pedal and more confident downhill. I just did 4 days in the alps, 233 miles and 34,000 feet of climbing. There's no way I'd have enjoyed that on the steel cx bike!
I'm obviously not a pro or a racer hence he reason I'm asking for thoughts of more experienced cyclists. I'm getting hooked and doing more road miles than expected so wordered whether the difference a proper road bike would make justified the purchase. Thanks for all the comments, answered many of my doubts
i've got a lovely barely used 2015 Genesis Volare 20 for sale if you are interested in keeping the Genesis loyalty going!
Echoing what others have said, a road bike is a wonderful thing in its element, a gravel/adventure/crossover bike is a jack of all trades, master of none.
You came on a cycling forum asking if you should buy a new bike?? 😯
Sounds like your mind is already made up 😉
Get a carbon road bike, it will improve your fitness considerably and increase the inlets of pleasure.
While I'm sure your bike is very nice for bridleslaying, it will undoubtedly be a bit pony for road rides.
Whereas a nice road bike will make you feel like a thoroughbred race horse, even if you still ride like a donkey.
On a more pragmatic note:
There is no doubt a good road bike will improve your enjoyment of road riding over the CdF. I went from a heavy steel road bike to a low-to-mid range carbon number and noticed a huge difference. With a bigger budget I'm sure the difference would be even greater. Only you (and your dependents) can decide whether your enjoyment justifies the outlay on another bike.
I was in a similar position as you i.e. it was when I started riding with others on club rides that I felt I "needed" a new road bike.
It's a slippery slope though. Road riding can be as addictive as mountain biking. You'll soon be torn over which bike to take out and when and in 2 years you'll be flicking through the magazines looking at upgrades 🙂
Great comments thanks. Exactly answered my doubts, now to convince the missus. Carbon road bike it is. Thanks all, very much appreciated
Oh dear. You've been lost to the darkside. You'll be wondering just how high up to go when shaving your legs next...
Like any riding, get the best bike designed for the job you want it to do, that you can afford, ride it lots and you'll be happy
As if i wont have enough explaining to do, now she'll want to know where her ladyshave has gone! 🙄
I have a 2015 Croix De Fer 30 that I use a lot for touring, winter road, gentle off road. I also have a carbon Giant Defy. Love them both, quite different rides and uses. Complimentary bikes IMO.
Carbon road bike it is. Thanks all, very much appreciated
How tall are you? Just so happens I'm selling a rather nice one at the moment! 😆
Mboy- great statement and very true.
Besides, cycling as a passtime (rather than transport) is largely pointless and indulgent anyway. Why rationalise a purchase and enfore sensibility if you can afford to spend a few quid and enjoy it?
Im 5ft6 so will probably need stabilisers 🙂
Im 5ft6 so will probably need stabilisers
Probably not...
But you will need a smaller bike than mine sadly!