cyclocross bike – good choice?

Just about to get a CX bike – a Cannondale CAAD 9 (105) which seems to be a great bike, anyone got one – does it ride as well as it looks?

Replacing a road bike and need something that does everything… long commute (22 miles each way), light touring, training and maybe a few light trail sections/cycle paths (I have a good MTB for rough use). Did consider a Trek 69er (geared) which seemed light enough to be an all rounder – but I did like the road bike although always felt a bit overwhelmed on the UK’s cr*p roads!

Also looked at Genesis croix de fer and discounted (too heavy – heavier than a light MTB!) and a Specialized Tricross – seems versatile but didn’t light my fire as much as the ‘dale did!

I had a Kona Jake which was great, the tricross is a real all rounder and I really like the criox de fer. The Focus bikes at Wiggle and Pinnacle’s (Evans) take on the cross bikes are pretty good.

sounds like to need to stop looking at cross bikes and look at a nice tourer instead, i know it won’t be as cool but would suit your needs better

I’ve just bought a Planet-X Uncle john with the intention of building it up for commute style purposes, but with the extra in reserve if I do want to go off road. V-Good price.

I’m now in the process of sourcing disc compatible forks for it. More difficult than you may think though, possbily due to the UCI rules which don’t premitt the use of disc brakes for cross races, so I’ve been told.

I guess it depends if you want to go self build or not.

Good luck.

😉

CC

Touring bike would be a good option but it will give you less choices, lots of people do go for cx bikes as they are quite good jack of all trades.
Quite impressed with the Scott CX bikes, if you do go for a touring bike then Dawes and Cannondale seem the most prolific.

I’m ioo young for a tourer!!! (I hope!)

By touring I mean light and fast… small rucksack, staying in bunkhouse that sort of thing, not a load lugger. Mainly road use on rather poor roads and long rides with a wee bit of light off road. Kona looks nice but I am drawn to the ‘dale… always wanted one – don’t know why, seems to be a really well made frame.

Want something light and agile too – did look at a few tourers and they were heavy.

OC.

If the Dale is sending you the right vibes, then do it. Nothing is forever.

😉

CC

A proper ‘cross bike isn’t really a jack of all trades, as it’ll have no bottle bosses, be very stiff in the back end and probably have some pretty steep angles.

If you’re getting a crosser for touring, commuting etc, make sure you’re not getting a full-on race bike. There are some that are more versatile, Kona Jake, Uncle John, Croix de Fer etc.

My Lemond Poprads got all the bottle and mudguard bosses I require on it, I use it for quite similar stuff to yourself, I’ve even used it to join the evening time trial series around here with a quick change of front tyre and change of back wheel for a closer ratio gearset.

Lovely looking bike and if I had to go down to just one bike it would quite likely be the Poprad that would stay.

Fair enough Gingerflash but most of the bikes he’ll be looking at have bottle bosses and would be fine, Kona, Cannondale, Scott, Felt etc all have bosses and since he’s looking for using it for quite a few different purposes I don’t think anything will be perfect, CX bike seems like the best compromise.

I got a Pinnacle CX bike a year ago for use as a commuter/winter road bike and maybe even offroad…. I’m really happy with it.

Trek FX range? 7.9 looks good

A proper ‘cross bike isn’t really a jack of all trades, as it’ll have no bottle bosses, be very stiff in the back end and probably have some pretty steep angles.

A cross bike will actually have relaxed angles. And, I’m not sure that there is any point in being pedantic about the bottle bosses etc- my XO2 has bottle bosses and eyelets, and was ridden to the National Champs win(unfortunately not in my hands).

since he’s looking for using it for quite a few different purposes I don’t think anything will be perfect, CX bike seems like the best compromise.

except that

Mainly road use on rather poor roads and long rides with a wee bit of light off road

sounds like a tourer to me. But then it sounds like this is more a justification of a choice already made ;o)

the Wheelbase lads on the Cannondales seemed to be doing ok yesterday, even with bottle bosses. 😉

The Cannondale has bottle bosses but doesn’t have eyelets for mounting a rack. The Trek X0 that was mentioned above does have eyelets.
The Cannondale is supposed to be a very nice bike but I do wonder about how little mud clearance it appears to have through the chainstays. Still, as terrahawk says, the Wheelbase lads always seem to do alright on them. This probably won’t be a major worry to you if you are not interested in racing.

I’d agree that an Audax or lightweight tourer would be the best option on what you describe.

I got a Genesis Vapour in the summer and a pair of road wheels, at first I wished I had god a full road bike or audax but after taking it off road a few times recently I’m glad I chose a (versatile) cx style bike. I’m never going to race on road and I can keep up with everyone on their full road bikes so it’s a good choice for me.
If you’re only going to use it on gravel path an Audax might me better but only has the advantage for not having cantis which are a pain.

Salsa casseroll is want you want.

When I had my cx frame built for me in 96 I specified it to be built with rack and mudguard eyes to make it as versatile as possible, I used to race it, used to train on it, toured on it and ridden centuries on it.
It’s been very versatile and I’ve ridden tens of thousands of miles on it and still works just fine although I’m tempted to upgtade from 8 speed Mirage now to something I can get spares for.

I just bought a jake the snake for the same purpose and I love it. You know that great feeling when a bike just feels perfect and fits perfect? ONly weird thing is those STI shifters, is there any way to reduce the throw so i don’t have to move them so far to shift gears? its so far on mine (105 equipped) that I keep pulling on the brakes by accident!

I use a jake the snake for my 20 mile each way commute and it’s perfect for me. Tried my road bike and mtb but the cx bike just feels more stable in traffic than the road bike and abvioulsy faster than the mtb. Been using it for the last 2 years and done around 12k miles on it, its surviving well and seems to be tough as old boots.

Got this just before Christmas.

I just wanted something different from my MTBs. Good fun… has rack and bottle mounts… I’ve even used it in a proper CX race.

he rides up and down our road on it perving through the windows of my sheckshy next door neighbour.

http://www.alpinebikes.com/shop/cannondale/cyclocross-sl-105-2008/

A few left…

he rides up and down our road on it perving through the windows of my sheckshy next door neighbour.

Black panties on Saturday!

I have used a road bike for 4 years and an audax bike is not an option, dont get me wrong – proper road bikes are OK but not enough space or cash for loads of bikes so need something as an all rounder – already have a great hardtail MTB but its set up with pikes, saint etc. so not an all rounder.

I have settled on idea of a cross bike as it seems to cover most bases and think will be fun and fairly light – also good for winter techy muddy type rides, mixed with road for some secret training!

Looked at the uncle john crosser – but after further research think it is the Cannondale for me – very light and a lovely frame, want to keep it light and nimble. It has bottle mounts and eyelets for guards so a rack can be fitted if required using an adapter. Nothing else seems to float my boat enough!

Cheers all