[Closed] using a CX bike as a MTB

they are stronger than you think you can do loads of mtb stuff on a crosser

No way, you need a full sus and body armour for trail centres, but they're a suitable choice for riding the three peaks.

Yes they can do the job but not on big drops, etc and possible more uncomfy to ride if riding on on rocks all day, great for singletracks though.

You can... In the same way that you can ride a full suss mtb on the road! 😕

Do able and a laugh but you will be way slower and more tired-choose when to do so!

Don't know what a trail centre is but my cross bike was fine around Stanmer and Friston Forest and faster than mates mountain bikes. Got a 29er cause I was sick of coming off when hitting unexpected roots. Still fall off but not cause of roots.

I have a cx bike and an MTB but I have taken my cx around cannock chase and it even coped with all the black runs.

However, it would be advisable to put inline brakes levers on for the tops, as some parts had to be riddin virtually brakeless. Take a couple of tubes out as I had a couple of punctures and you will have to have no regard for mechanical sympathy,as the bike will get battered.

Honestly I can't think of a trail centre you couldn't ride one. You just have to be a little more sensible in some places.

always worth a resurection !

By God that clip is lovely!

tom13 - Member
I have a cx bike and an MTB but I have taken my cx around cannock chase and it even coped with all the black runs.

However, it would be advisable to put inline brakes levers on for the tops, as some parts had to be riddin virtually brakeless.

I have two cx bikes and no mtb done dalby red on mod no probs brakes weren't as good as discs in the wet but I wasn't expecting them to be, plenty good enough in the dry. Faster in some sections slower in others all good fun. Prefer it out and about rather than trail centers tho tbh

Also descents are safer on the drops rather than on sissy levers imho

"By God that clip is [s]lovely[/s]! [b]summertime[/b]"

Also descents are safer on the drops rather than
on sissy levers imho

Not ime. I've found it quite noticeable that I ride technical stuff faster than riders who are comfortably better than me when we're on mtbs. Only explanation I can come up with is the 'sissy levers' (gotta love the narrow minded 😉 ).

Or maybe I'm just an awesome CXer 🙂

To answer the OP a CX bike is quite capable.of riding most trails that most people ride. They will be slower and less comfortable. They also give much less margin for error. For some that's fine, For others it's a hateful experience. I love my CX but I'd much rather ride an mtb at the good trail centres.

due to selling my mtb and then being told the 29 frame i've ordered wont be in for 6 months has left me doing all my off road on the cx and its great, you need to be more alert than on a mtb and the brakes are shocking but it keeps you on your toes!
On my old fixed gear pompino cross bike i rode the north face trail at grizedale in just under a hour but i wasn't so much as fun but more of an achievement, hands wee a bit sore after!

I've used mine a lot around stanmer and swinley. Perfectly doable and a lot of fun. You will be slower though and your forearms and hands will hurt. Not tried a trail centre but sure it would be possible.
Now that I've gotten over the new bike thrill of my crosser I use my hardtail for most MTB stuff but take my cross when the trails are dry and I'm up for a nice relaxed ride.

Definitely doable. It was the only choice we had before the mtb was introduced, but as explosifpete says not so

much as fun but more of an achievement

Well, it is fun but you just ride a bit differently and it's faster on the the smoother climbs.

I still enjoy the occasional singletrack ride on my cx bike.

They're okay'ish. I don't own an MTB either.
My crosser falls down on steep long loamy or muddy climbs. I.e there's a steep non technical sandy climb I always ride out on. The crosser just can't find traction, yet it's no problem on a s/s mountainbike. I have the same issue on muddy climbs.
Also constant knocks are a pain, imagine riding woods that are full of exposed roots. The MTB willl do it without thinking, not so with a crosser.
Basically anywhere where the crossers light weight, fully rigid frame and skinny tyres are put to the test are a pain.
That said my old training partner once said whilst riding his Trance 0 that the crosser was my weapon of choice.

As much as I like my CX bike,I wouldn't be without my P7.

That video is BRILLIANT. That has made me want to go and play on my MTB on fast, dry trails.

Love that vid ... a world away from today's shitfest.

Nice skills though. 🙂

I'd say you could ride trail centres as the surfaces are usually very smooth in between any drops or "features" which can usually be ridden slowly.

CX bikes are a lot less fun on proper off-road trails. It's kind of like thrash metal - exciting for 10 minutes but a bit bloody tedious and painful after a few hours.

"I felt it was better descending in the drops, so the brakes are already in exactly the right place. " Agreed. I've never got this either. anything steep or really rough I prefer to ride on the drops. The tops are just way too narrow to use in difficult situations.

Narrow handlebars, rigid forks, canti-brakes? Thats exactly what MTB's used to be like!

My CX has disc brakes.....

I ride on the tops on 46cm bars using top levers they are fine that way on the 3 peaks cx

My dad used his cx bike as a mtb for about 9 months, did Llandegla and stuff in the Peak district like the Beast, did surprisingly well. Wore out a rim though.

hmmm, currently deciding whether to build a cx bike or a light weight HT

I have limited accessible storage for bikes. So I can store 4 bikes where I can get to them quickly, the rest are in the loft.

Right now I have 2 CX bikes, a road bike and my son's road bike in the accessible stroage. Quite happy with that arrangement for the time being. Proper gnarly offroad being done on the CX bikes there.

They seem to be doing OK although more urban than mountain

They're great round the trail centres once in a while for a change of pace. As your only ride, though - sounds very limiting from a MTB perspective. They're poor on rocky descents, so you'd be mincing down stuff you'd fly down on the MTB. At least that's my exp - deliverance at GT on a cx bike is not something that really appeals a second time.
You do feel quite sat back on them though, like there's little chance you'll go over the bars, so you can at least tackle the steeper stuff.

If your local rides are more of the rolling hills variety then they'd be great. A lot of it comes down to the rigid fork IMO - if you're happy riding a rigid MTB then it'll be no sweat. If you've not ridden a rigid bike off road for 15 years then a cx bike will feel like it's rattling your teeth out over the rocks.

I have a cx bike and a mtb, i mainly use my cross bike more over the winter.On my cross bike i have done cannock chase monkey trail, llangdegla red .
On singletrack, fireroads and muddy bridleways its great .However on rocky descents it really is a boneshaker and can be slow going to prevent pinchflats, but it is still good fun .

I have a cx bike and a mtb, i mainly use my cross bike more over the winter.On my cross bike i have done cannock chase monkey trail, llangdegla red .
On singletrack, fireroads and muddy bridleways its great .However on rocky descents it really is a boneshaker and can be slow going to prevent pinchflats, but it is still good fun .

I've done a few MTB races on the cx bike without issues - in fact it's a lot faster than most mtbs on rolling terrain.

Where I live in South London/Kent borders I ride my cx bike a lot as it's fast on the road for the first 20 minutes and then it makes all the local trails more technically demanding. The same is true for more extreme riding. Sure you're not going to be doing 8ft drop offs on your cx bike but there is a real pleasure and skill in getting your cx bike up over and around things.

If I could only have one bike (instead of 9), it would be my crosser.

I've done a few MTB races on the cx bike without issues

and people wonder why mtb XC gets a bad name

I have taken the CX out on an MTB club night ride and found it much faster than the MTBs on all terrain except rocky downhills, where I was off and walking. It was especially good in mud thanks to the bigger wheels, narrow tyres and the long wheelbase; it just ploughed straight through with great momentum.

Nice vids, now I want a cross bike 🙄

Contemplating a dropper post for the cx bike. Don't think it's been outlawed by the god of 3 peaks yet and it makes real sense if you're into more extreme crossing.

Other thing. I've invested heavily in tubeless for cross. Stans 355 rims (Merlin still have them on sale - and even if you get the white ones you can sand the paint off the rim walls) with a widish (35mm) tyre up front and a narrow tyre (like a 30mm Michelin Mud) at the rear and you're flying. No faff of tubs and no pinches of tubes. Lovely.

whats the biggest cross rubber around?

or the smallest 29er rubber?

You can get a 700x42 tyre I believe. I personally use 700x35 Racing Ralph/Rocket Ron, and think they're really good in mud and fast enough on the road.

I took my first Kinesis Crosslight (on Land Cruisers) on quite a few off road rides over a couple of years. As others have said, they are fine on a lot of terrain, but rocky stuff can be tricky.

It was a challenge, but I was able to descend the Belmont(San Marino)Descent and slightly rough Ice Cream Run more quickly than some regulars from here, they know who they are, riding nice mtbs 😉

My frame's down-tube snapped the following week.....

If you don't ride on rocky terrain, then go for it. If you do, then prepare to replace frames.