CX – am I missing something!?

Fitted some 35c knobblies to my GT Grade at the weekend and ventured out to get muddy! It’s the first time I’ve ridden off road on a non-FS MTB since I was a kid, and it was bloody awful! Did a lap of my local woods which was pretty muddy, but although the skinny tyres gripped quite well, the whole experience was deeply unpleasant!

I was shaken to pieces on the rooty sections and going fast downhill was bloody terrifying! I rode over a log and nearly went OTB when I popped the back wheel up. Am sure my technique was crap, but even so…

I ended doing maybe 5 miles off road in a 27 miles ride, but came away thinking that CXers are clearly insane and that I’m going to fit some 35C slicks on the Grade and keep it on the tarmac/canal paths where it is fun, and leave the rest to my MTB….

Try running around a muddy field carrying it on your back for the full cx experience. I use my cx bike on roads bridle ways tow paths and the occasional ridiculously technical section at a greatly reduced speed.

I will watch this thread with interest.

In January, I bought bike to use for commuting, but also with a view to using it for CX, and have not yet set it up for the CX bit.

I love watching it, though, so expect I will enjoy doing it, too.

Its much more for BW than for MTB IME

I have minced down the odd technical descent awaiting the inevitable puncture.

It’s for when a rigid XC bike just isn’t shit enough.

It was a good workout – 139bpm average for the whole ride (1300ft of climbing) but 150+ for the section in the woods with a couple of peaks over 160. Still no desire to do it again though…

What he said, horrendous on anything even remotely lumpy.

They’re a good challenge on proper off road stuff. I like it 🙂

Taking what is essentially a road-bike off road reminds me of what mountain biking used to feel like. Grassy tracks that grip onto wide knobbly MTB tyres and reduce you to walking are where narrow CX tyres really come into their own and make you relise that you packed the right bike. A CX bike can also turn otherwise boring offroad tracks into fun and if you live in an area with limited off-roading it means you can cover lots of road miles linking what off-road is there. As ever it’s all horses for courses stuff and leads to owning more bikes.

Suppose if your local biking is shite, they make sense.

It’s a truism that faster is generally better. Rather than hitting every root, you only hit every third or fourth 🙂

Well, CX bikes aren’t really for riding rooty trails in the same way that an enduro bike isn’t really for riding a CX course. Not sure what you were expecting there OP.

I got a gravel drop handle bike in January and mainly stick to the roads and smooth bridleways, it’s unbelievably Fast uphill off-road . I enjoy riding it, but it’ll never be as fun as a full sus on trails, technical or downhill

I did part of the John muir way in the East Lothian a few weeks ago, I had chattering teeth all the way through and said never again

I have a rigid mtb. First time out I was shocked just like the OP. I had been mostly riding a 5. First of my rooty sections I almost broke my wrists.

Howeve I grew to really like the way it pedalled and rode, and just took it really easily on descents. I recently fitted 100mm sus forks to it which really helps on the descents but I am not sure I like it and might go back to rigid.

You need to do different trails on a CX bike. If I had one for example I’d take the fire road round through my local woods instead of the steep rocky tech alternative.

I love cyclocross but a cyclocross bike is designed to be ridden on a cross course anywhere else and i think there is a different bike that fits the purpose

It’s offroad riding minus all the talent compensation features of a modern MTB… What did you expect?

I quite like it TBH, it forces you to read trails betterer, pick a line, think about how to carry some speed to get past that next boggy bit without tumbling off on that rooty flat corner, etc…

And then you pop back on the road and it’s relatively easy work getting to the next bit of woodland…

I’ve found on the road it’s slower than my road bike, off road it’s slower than my MTB but currently I seem to spend more time riding my CX bike than the others and if I could only keep one bike it would be the CX.

Mostly I use mine for longer mixed terrain routes where there will be road sections mixed in with forest tracks, byways, towpaths, etc. I usually ride from home so get to places I’d probably never bother to ride to on the MTB.

If I’m going for a blast around the local woods I’d take the MTB but every now and then I quite enjoy the challenge of seeing what you can get away with on the CX off road and I’ve done a few of the more groomed trail centres like Swinley and Thetford on mine.

I’ve also done a few CX races, some of the courses are much quicker on a CX bike others I would have probably been quicker on my XC but it’s not really in the spirit of it.

I’ve done a few of the more groomed trail centres like Swinley and Thetford on mine

I can recommend Glentress

It’s very terrain-dependant, I think – my local common has a “smooth” route across it that I use to get to the slightly more interesting riding near to me. on a rigid mtb it’s fine but it’s awful on a cx bike; just too many sharp-edged little lumps. I thought all offroad cxing was like this and had given up on the idea but a few rides with my mate in the new forest were MUCH better, even though the terrain looks virtually identical

Still not sure I’m sold on it but not as bad as I thought

Built my Tricross back up after using it as a flat bar hybrid. Been using on the trails recently as a mate just bought a croix de fer and I need to stay with him rather than loose him on the down hills and have to wait.
Its insane. Great fun, but scary as hell on stuff that i’d do on my Epic without even thinking. In the mud its grippy as hell and holds a line, but show it a rock or a root and I throws a wobbly.
Great for honing my reactions mind.
Might actually try racing in next cross season.

This is what mine looks like at present:

It’s all sorts of wrong assembled on a shoestring, and you can tell an MTBist owns it from the silly stumpy stem and 1x drivetrain, but like many others seem to have found, it’s become my most favoured bike now…
It gets more use than the MTB or road bike despite not being as good as either at their respective jobs…

I can’t explain why but CX/Grrrravel/Bridleslayer/adventure (pick your preferred niche label) type bikes are definitely becoming more interesting to me than MTBs… [/runs and hides]

That video is ace! Sort of proves my point though as not many smiles to be seen!!

All fair comments above and TBH, I don’t really know what I expected! Maybe I’ll try again when it’s not so gloopy but for now I think I’ll stick to riding bike on terrain that makes me grin!

I’ve had 3 and recently sold a fatbike that I wasn’t really using to buy another . That said your right when I bought my first one I took it up the lammermuir hills and flew down an easyish descent only to be shaken to bits and struggled to reach the brakes. I’ve done a few cx races which were great fun and I can see why people get into it.
Today I cycled from Dunblane to Killin on the ncn7 and back which was almost all off road and it was the best tool for the job . Add into that that most have rack mounts , disc brakes and can take 40mm tyres they are a useful bike but anyone who enjoys blasting round rooty mtb tracks Is a masochist.

thanks Hugh, you’ve confirmed what I’ve always suspected. I’ll stick with a HT MTB for now.

all the talent compensation features of a modern MTB

Grrrrr

Ive tried it.

I found it was pretty much the wrong tool for the job.

Sure, if you like the challenge of trying to use the wrong tool then its fine. But as a device to cover ground its just pants.

Wrong tyres, wrong geometry, wrong bars, crap brakes etc.

I did a few CX races which were truly horrible and then carried on doing them on my XC mtb. That was much faster and way more enjoyable.

Perhaps you could find some ground where they would be efficient and fun, but normal riding is too varied for a very specialised set up that has a very narrow range of abilities.

I took mine to BIke Park Wales and rode the blues. It was a right laugh. Scared myself stupid. I then swapped bikes with a mate who was one his 140mm FS. It was dull in comparison.

Enter the 3 Peaks CX, then you will understand where they can be used off road and make some sense….if carrying yer bike up a big hill ever makes sense, but a CX bike makes more sense than any other

I like my cx bike ( all city macho man disc ) don’t bother useing it on the road as it not comfy after a couple of hours.

But in the woods and across the plain it’s great fun just keep away from the very rootey bits.

It was dull in comparison

Go faster then! It’s like driving a sports car at 30mph and calling it dull.

It took me ages to be comfy riding mine .
Then I got fitter & stronger and it’s now my fave bike. I’m in the South east where IMO most of the riding is as northwind describes.
It’s perfect here , I wouldn’t ride the borrowdale bash on it in a hurry!
Try the same route with less pressure in your tyres . 🙂

I must admit I really like riding mine on big mixed routes around my local area where the terrain isn’t too rough. They consist of fireroads and gravely/grassy tracks so the bike feels in its element here. It does make me pedal like a loony out of the saddle on climbs as it’s a tall geared fecker. Scary on steep downhills as your body is too far over the front when on the brakes but braking from the top of the hoods is even scarier as you don’t get the leverage and power to slow down quick enough. My summary..they Make boring rides a bit more enjoyable and turn exciting rides into…..Errrrrrrr something a bit more exciting

I’m running tubeless 30mm S-Ones on my Grade Carbon, It’s great for a mix of backroads and flat out fast gravel\smoother bridleways. Which ideal for mixing it up on the commute or taking the long way home (or just more interesting road rides). After owning a crossbike that took 40mm tyres and a more offroad geometry I wouldn’t say the Grade was particularly offroad orientated (but does a great job considering how well it rides on the road).

One interesting thing I found on washboard surfaces is at the right speed and bump frequency it eats the bumps up amazingly well (on the carbon model), that was at sketchy Strava bashing speeds though.

Funnily enough I took my GT Grade Al on some rooty, rocky, muddy trails for the first time last Friday.
It’s on 28c slicks so I had very little grip, that didn’t bother me, the thing that slowed me down was the fear of getting a puncture or dinging a rim.
I’ll probably get some bigger volume tyres but still slicks. For me it’s mainly for back road tarmac riding with the ability to link bits up with towpaths, smoothish bw/fp and farm tracks etc.

Love taking my “road bike” (Kaffenback) off road, great laugh.

Took my father-in-laws hybrid around Castlewellan..that wasn’t fun with toe clips and narrow bars wasn’t fun….

I took mine to BIke Park Wales and rode the blues. It was a right laugh. Scared myself stupid. I then swapped bikes with a mate who was one his 140mm FS. It was dull in comparison.

I don’t get this nonsense, I can only presume you rode the BPW blues as slow on the FS as you did on the CX.

I’ve ridden the White and Dark Peak, including the Beast & Jacobs on a HT with 80mm forks (I’ve ridden some of it on a rigid), I’ve ridden Fort Bill WC DH course on a 150mm FS – this isn’t as brag, I didn’t ride it well!

However, I ride BPW on my 160mm slack Enduro bike and love every minute and still come out of the bottom of every run buzzing with adrenaline (including the blues), knowing I’ve pushed myself.

If you find it dull on an FS, you aren’t pushing hard enough, or you are Danny Hart and I claim my £5

I can only presume that someone who takes a CX bike to BPW is trying to prove some perverse point that doesn’t need proving, or is extremely skillful…

benw – Member

I love cyclocross but a cyclocross bike is designed to be ridden on a cross course

Which is weird because cross courses are designed so that a cross bike works best for them. You’d think the bike designers and course designers could get together and work out some better option.

They are a bit of a handful if it’s rocky, but on mainly earthy or loamy trails with the odd root they are great fun. Tyre pressures are key, I expect to hear a rim strike a couple of times a ride.

CX bikes are great for mixing up general riding. Bit of road. Bit of off-road. Gives you that bit more versatility than you get elsewhere. But it’s most definitely a compromise and I personally don’t enjoy it much on anything technical.