(I did post this in Grit.cx but I think the forum needs a bit more time to get going)

I’m on the lookout for a new CX bike up to an absolute maximum of the usual £1000. If i can i’d like to get something on sale that’s now a decent chunk below the 1k mark. Has anyone come across any good bargains recently in the CX world – something a little more race inspired rather than commutery although maximising bang for my buck is the most important factor.

Low end felts look very good for the money.

just been ogling the Merlin sale section, and they seem to have some big savings. Think there were some decent cx ones..

edit. upon further inspection, not a massive range

Edinburgh Bikes sale starts this Saturday. Including their Revolution Cross Sport Disc for £600.

The pinnacle arkose bikes at evans look good – the One for racing (2*10) or the Two for commuting (1*10, but doesn’t take a full front guard)

I’ve just bought one of the Norco Threshold a3’s from Evans, cx bike Not had a chance to ride it yet and won’t get a chance til next month.Pros and cons; the frame (bar the fork)looks the same as the other Norco cx alloy bikes up to £1k, 135mm rear end and it has sora gears and lowish gearing but the saddle looks dodgy / cheap’n’nasty and the wheels are heavy this seems to be the norm for bikes at this level.
The Mrs has the ubiquitous Boardman, the Norco looks a bit more stealthy and doesn’t have those centre brake levers which is a plus in my book. I bought it for to try cx rather than commuting or road work and the initial reason for looking at it over the cheap Boardman was a lack of larger Boardmans but on balance I’d probably have gone for it anyway.

A guy had a pinnacle cross bike out on our club run a few weeks ago, shockingly badly built rear wheel, snapped spoke and loads of really loose spokes, if it weren’t for the bikeshop in Peaslake he’d have been on a train back and he was only using it on road for a couple of weeks.

I’ll caveat this with the fact that I know nothing about cx racing but I’ve been impressed with my arkose two so far. Used for a mix of road and blatting around in the woods when I don’t want to go out on the mtb. Frame seems stiff under my 99kg bulk, single front ring works for me and the 105 rear mech with the microshift seems to work quite well once you’re used to it. Brakes are excellent as well. Only negative is that the wheels seem quite heavy although that is mainly in the hubs and spokes according to interwebz. To be expected at the price though and they are by no means bad, just something to change when finances allow.

My excellent condition CdF will be appearing in the Classifieds soon. It’s a 52. 🙂

Apologies for jumping into this thread. 😳

Lovely bikes CG, but at 6’3 I don’t think a 52 will be too comfortable. thanks anyways though.

Anyone have any thoughts on the Cannondale Caadx7 Sora. Some deals on that at the moment for around £650. Worth considering?

Do like the look of the Arkose though.

My excellent condition CdF will be appearing in the Classifieds soon. It’s a 52.

CdF or abbreviated croix de fer (if you see what I mean)?
52 too small for a 5 foot 8 and a bit giant of a man?

Apologies also of course 😳

Similar questions here, I have £850 worth of C2W voucher in my desk draw at work, struggling between the Arkose 3 and a couple of others. Was kinda hoping I would get back off my hols at the Arkose would have dropped a bit more in price with the new range due out.
The Caadx 7 looks pretty decent.
Need to get a shift on as the first payment comes out of my wages this month and I’ve nothing to show for it.

any limiting parameters other than size? Some of the cheaper offerings are rim brakes, I wanted disc brakes on mine. I had a Boardman CX Comp reserved when they had a promo on (so was £720 down from £900),

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/boardman-cx-team-720-with-current-promo-anything-better-for-the-money

but ended up getting a 2013 Saracen Hack 2 reduced from 1100 to 650.

The 2014 model is cheap here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SARACEN-HACK-2-CYCLO-CROSS-BIKE-SHIMANO-TIAGRA-CARBON-FORKS-FREE-DELIVERY-/111421984144?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19f1448d90

and it is a proper CX bike (angles, stay length, massive clearance), but marketed as an urban warrior and shod with slicks as stock.

Heavy wheels but par-for-the-course, keep making myself step away from the £240 Kinesis CX wheels at Freeborn as the whole idea was scratching the n+1 itch cheaply!

BC members get an extra 10% off at halfords, so combining that with a bike promo could net a real bargain.

Quite like the look of the Hack, just been looking at the Whyte Sussex down to £675 in the Edinburgh Bicycle sale this weekend.
I love riding bikes but when it comes to shopping around for a new one I’m hopeless, to many choices.

How did you get onto grit.cx? I’ve registered but can see anything other priorities Han the jog in screen.

alloy fork blades on that whyte – carbon fork was the other stipulation for me. And its got 9spd Sora not 10spd tiagra. I’d expected the promax brakes to be terrible but so far no complaints.

Early days but v happy with the Hack, just trying to avoid spending $$$ upgrading it because I’m a natural bike tart.

Giant tcx £1000 and i love my mine its a great bike

Now that does look nice, but got to stop looking at stuff and make a decision. Personally banned myself from looking at the Tripster thread cos its real nice to look at.

The kinesis Pro 6 is just a bit over 1k at freeborn, and other than having soft paint is highly rated and nicely specced.

It is a bloody nightmare. Buying a new bike should be a pleasure but I find it stressful. I like the Caadx but not sure about the sora stuff on it. Seems a bit too low end but for £670 what should i expect?

I keep getting drawn back towards the Boardman cx team, on paper it seems very very good value but well… It’s a Boardman.

The hack seems pretty good too. Also found a Bianchi d2 zurigo for a very good price but a gamble as its a 58cm, which should be about right normally but bianchi’s size guide recommends a 61 so guessing bianchi’s come up a bit small?

Fervour – what’s wrong with Boardman ?

Ive got a 2012/13 CX Team and its a brilliant bike, rides very well. If it didn’t have a Boatdman badge I would have said it cost a lot more. I’m also not a badge snob.

Those Kinesis wheels are a bargain upgrade. I keep hovering over the buy button too!

but well… It’s a Boardman.

Don’t be a douche nozzle, there’s nothing wrong with Boardman bikes.

For the record, EBC have released a price list for their sale that kicks off tomorrow.

Here’s just the cross bike deals…click to make biggerer or the full .pdf is here.

Paul Milnes cycles have some good cheap CXers. Have a look at the Forme bikes, they look raceable. Spend a few quid on decent brake blocks, a sensible sized big ring (44 or 46t should do) and you’ll still have enough left over for a spare pair of wheels and a bunch of race entry fees.

Don’t be a douche nozzle, there’s nothing wrong with Boardman bikes.

You’re quite right and I was going to say that my problem with Boardmans is completely unfounded bike snobbery based on absolutely nothing frankly.