cx bike to 'proper' road bike ?

My current road bike is an 07 Jake the Snake, which is quite light, with mainly 105 kit, Planet X wheels and Gatorskin 28’s when in road guise. Rides are usually 25 – 50 miles, on poorish roads, with maybe half a dozen longer, 60- 80 mile days every few months.

I have a hankering for a Trek Madone 3.5………the real question is whether I will notice much of a difference riding it ?

Can’t really justify it, but might be able to buy in a few months…..

It’ll be a bit lighter, a bit smoother, although smaller tires might offset that, a bit harder gearing and a bit different position. No major changes, and the engine will be just the same…

IMO you could get a better bike for the money, but yeah, you’d almost definitely notice the difference, there will be quite a big gap between the two.

Very likely, even the difference of 23c tyres is noticable. Get a test ride, I’m sure your mind will be made after that 😀

Thanks – this is looking positive ! Realman – I am keen on the Trek partly due to the review it got in Cycling Plus, along with the Ultegra/105 Spec on a top carbon frame – can be had for £1600. A 105 Boardman is £1100 right enough at the moment….

Frame and wheels make the biggest differences -both likely to be way inferior on the Boardman.

al – thanks, good point. I am watching the other road bike thread with interest..

Thanks – this is looking positive ! Realman – I am keen on the Trek partly due to the review it got in Cycling Plus, along with the Ultegra/105 Spec on a top carbon frame – can be had for £1600. A 105 Boardman is £1100 right enough at the moment….

A full ultegra ribble is less then £1200 I think still. Don’t know what canyon prices are like at the moment. But I guess if you’re buying it for the frame..

You’ll notice a difference in the handling too I’d think. Road bikes are sharper in the handling dept.

I bet you will notice a big difference over your current bike. Carbon road bikes are generally much nicer to ride than aluminium.

Should say ,Steel road bikes are generally much nicer to ride than aluminium.

Hi Iain, fellow GMBCer here… I would say, stick with the CX bike, unless you plan to do some proper road training or keep up with the bunch, I went for a CX bike from a nice(ish) road bike and would say that I feel much better, mainly due to comfort and handling and would not look back. My opinion is that being able to run up to a 28c tyre is a big plus, and you can actually go a bit faster over the usually rough scottish roads. That said, there is nothing like a nice light bike, but for my money I would go for a Titanium ‘sportive’ frame – even a van nicolas or similar (see big Al at wheelcraft) – fit it out with light parts and wheels with sensible 25c+ tyres and enjoy a bike for life that will not beat you up or be too skittish on the back roads etc. It will also be less focused than the Madone… thinking the difference between an Aston Martin or a stripped out Porsche, the Porsche would be fun, but would you want to use it over the distance?

Stephen – interesting thoughts in there ! Hope to see you out on the soggy trails sometime soon !

I’d pimp up your cross bike if I were you.

You’ll notice it. As said in other threads concentrate on fit and wheels. I agree about 25mm tyres (particularly if your abit on the hefty side like me) I’ve got all sorts inc CX, steel and my fave ride is the Madone (6.9) with 25mm Michelin Pros.

OrangeChammy.. have you done the Aston Porsche thing? Ive done 911s to Berlin and was happy all the way 🙂

fit 23mm tyres and a longer, lower stem and it’s unlikely that you’d be more than 1mph slower than on a proper road bike. At least that’s certainly my experience and assuming that you’re not riding massive hills where the weight might matter it’s hardly supriding.

Don’t get me wrong, my good road bike feels great and feels faster but the numbers say that it’s not really if I make the Tyre and position adjustments to my cx as I have done for sportives.

A nice frame will sort out poor roads, I mean they’re not that poor surely like off road. No need for fat tires.
Though frames like Cervelos that are built stiff and aero can feel harsh and skittish.
And proper road brakes are a big plus as well.

Aye £1.6K is a big spend on your first road bike but OP seems to want to go there…if he wants to blow it then fair enough.

Def avoid stupid stiff race bikes like Cervelo.

I loved my cervelo (carbon soloist). Taken me through the Alps, through the tour of flanders (165 miles of it) as well as a lot of domestic races and rides. It is extremely comfortable, and wasted very little power.

It is a bike designed to cover distance fast though.

fit 23mm tyres and a longer, lower stem and it’s unlikely that you’d be more than 1mph slower than on a proper road bike.

This. On the flat, you’re only fighting wind resistance and rolling resistance, so get into the same position with the same tyres, and you’re not going to be any slower.

I don’t want to put you off splashing money on a shiny carbon road bike (I did and don’t regret it!) but don’t be under the illusion it’ll make a huge difference in terms of speed.

Not slighting them Picto, they’re corking frames.
I see companies like Giant and Cervelo as two sides of the coin.
Both start out with great stiff riding frames, then I think Cervelo seek the edge by working with aerodynamics whilst Giant go for rider comfort, if that makes sense?

Funnily enough I’ve just read the madons review in cycling plus, sounds like a good choice. As you know Ian I have a jake the snake too but mine is set up for commuting duties so my ‘proper’ road bike is a lot lighter.

You won’t find that much of a difference if your cx is set up for road riding. Sticking a decent set of wheels and tyres on the jake will make a big difference.

Unless of course you just fancy a new bike.

Oh and a plus for buying a road bike is that you then have a road and a cx bike so no hassle changing tyres etc to suit the ride.

I have 2012 Madone 5.9, the Trek carbon frames really are fantastic and well worth the extra over the more budget brands. Obviously you can make do with a CX bike but if you want to really go for the road thing then go for it. Though I ended up loving it so much a barely ride off road now so be wary.

don’t be under the illusion it’ll make a huge difference in terms of speed.

Well I broke all my Strava records moving from a 2005 Lemond to my Madone so I even noticed a difference on that change.

i had a couple of decent cross bikes, empellas and my current one is an sworks tricross that i utterly love, but when i put together a road bike… wow! the best way to explain it is that on one of my regular rides there’s a very short and sudden out the saddle climb that you have to hit to maintain momentum. the road bike pretty much makes it seem almost flat.

Aye £1.6K is a big spend

i’ve got a full dura ace equipped scott cr1 sl, a mix of new and hardly used, cost me way less than that.

Thanks all. just about decided to go for it now. decision to be made between trek madone 3.5 and spesh roubaix elite which are currently both same price. much as i like the look and reviews of the trek i think the slightly more upright geometry of the spesh may suit me better

Given the state of your back & knees, that sounds sensible.

What size is the jake?

Hey downshep ! jake is a 54. spesh sizing chart puts me in the middle of the size range for a 56

Short arse.

Standard sizing for road and cross bikes is that the cross frame is 2cm shorter than your road bike. Its what I’ve stayed with for 15 years since I had my first road and cross frames built for me.
However if you are buying a Trek you’ll probably need a shorter frame as they handle differently to other makes.

Am going to go have a look at them both on wed and try for size. The spesh is winning on looks though. shep – i am keeping the jake !

Thought you might :0)

Thought you might :0)

😆

might punt the BadBoy though….

Desist with your temptations satan!