Cyclocross bikes…. what are they like to ride off road?

Are they really an alternative to an mtb if the trails are just singletrack, gravel, dirt type trails? Do you have to run them with skinny tyres or can you fit beefier ones for a bit more grip?

Yes – they are really an alternative.

A bigger tyre gives more cushioning but your choice is limited by frame/fork clearance.

I’ve had my CX/tourer down the Blue route at Glentress a couple of times and it’s really good fun.

funny, different. do it..!

They are an alternative. Just like walking everywhere with your winky hanging out is an alternative to wearing clothes.

And you don’t feel like you’re wrists/ass have been beaten up after a ride out?

I really like the look of rigid Swifts and Gryphons but the lack of any for sale has got me wondered if a cyclocross bike would be a good alternative.

it really depends. I would prefer to ride my mtb on mtb trails but I could ride most on my cx. CX bikes lose flow on rocks and roots and for me that spoils a lot of mtb trails.

cx bikes are fantastic for rides with trails that’d be too easy on a mtb and also for linking with road. eg the miles of bridleways and roads that most.of England is blessed with.

They are an alternative. Just like walking everywhere with your winky hanging out is an alternative to wearing clothes.

😆

Great for mixed rides and having a go down that wee trail you’ve just seen, also making dull trails fun again,

Mine is very poor offroad. And therefore great! Simple trails become an assault course of real and imagined peril.

An alternative to an mtb? Yes, I suppose so, but it depends what you mean. It’s not a substitute for an mtb IMO, even on simple paths it’s a pretty different experience all round. But they can definately do the same job, for what you describe, just in different ways.

Or, such is my newly formed opinion. I’m liking it but it won’t ever replace even a single one of my mountain bikes, and I’ll never take it for a mountain bike ride. But I might take it for a cross bike ride on trails I’d usually do on a mountain bike.

They are much better for certain types of off road trail. The sort of trails which are a drag on a mountain bike suddenly can become more fun on a cross bike. You get loads of grip from the skinny tyres, and they’re great in the mud. They are also great on the road and you can ride a long distance to get to some dirt.
They’re great exploring bikes, but I much prefer riding my mountain bike.

Surprisingly capable it seems

(Not my vid, but posted by someone on here a while back)

Haven’t taken mine on anything quite like that yet, but the points above about mixing up road and bridleways and bringing some life to dull trails are bang on.

Like others have said they’re great fun. Not a substitute, and your forearms take a battering, but they make boring trails interesting. I love mine but also love having a hardtail to fall back on for when the mood takes me.

Sketchy, bumpy & fast.

You tend to find you have an inane grin permanently when riding a cx bike offroad.

As others have said… Just an alternative. Just did the part of the Pennine Bridleway from Rushup Edge to Hayfield on mine (as part of a longer ride)… I’ll never complain about arm pump on my MTB again, but the total ride suited for the CX bike more than the MTB.
I love mine and you do get a few odd looks from MTBers and walkers when out on the trails 😆

They’re great – its like riding mountain bikes from the eighty’s – no modern refinements like working brakes, tyres that grip or geometry that handles well.

Seriously though, they are fantastic on bridleways where the majority of modern mountain bikes are overkill.

Great as already mentioned above for killer loops of long road miles mixing in some offroad stuff along the way.

Try it!

I love that video – just sat and watched it again. Reminds me of the way I used to treat my 531 Reynolds Claude Butler road bike like a BMX 🙂

Certainly different, I enjoy riding mine off-road but in hindsight wish I’d just bought a cheap rigid 29er as I’d have more confidence it wasn’t going to snap + disc brakes would have been nice :p

If the trails are smooth they’re great. Teach how not to brake and use your momentum and grip better. Your line choice will improve because it has to. You will be a better all round mtber. IMO

They’re great! You’ll wonder where your sac has gone when you get home and who needs working hands/ears/teeth anyway? But you will have a great big grin on your face when you’re damaging yourself.

Where they’re just brilliant is when you go out for a ride which is a mixture of road/trails/hardcore offroad. You can blast along the road in a chaingang at 25mph, see a little track leading off the road, shout ‘See yah chaps’, bunny hop the kerb and you’re on the gravel. Twist it in and out of the trees, another bunnyhop and you’re back on the road.

point it uphill and climb a girt great massive road climb, peel off at the top and nail it down a proper gnarly, rocky trail hopefully passing fully kitted up Dhers on the way. ‘Morning guys’, you’ll shout. You may actually know these people but you won’t recognise any of them at this stage because your eyes will be broken.

Then comes a nice offroad climb, it’s essentially a fireroad type affair which means you’ll be climbing it at pretty much road pace. That’s going to annoy some of the XCers who are climbing up it but hey, make sure you greet them cheerily as you blast past.

Finally you realise you’ve been having so much fun, you’re late. So it’s back on the road, head down, back up to 25mph and lynch it home slowing only to listen to one of your neighbours how you managed to get covered in mud when you’re on a road bike.

AWESOME!

Here’s my experience: http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/first-cx-ride-a-pictorial-journey

I’ve had a few rides since and on the forest trails here I love mine. And it’s allowed me to do some exploring of some local cheeky tracks I couldn’t be bothered with on the MTB. On the rougher stuff, it’s a bit lively and I wouldn’t take it over a MTB when faced with ‘proper’ rocky trails. But very happy with it.

Big thing for me are the disks, so you can slow down in the mud. My first CX bike lacked that facility 😉

They are great for exploring potential routes.

They are an alternative. Just like walking everywhere with your winky hanging out is an alternative to wearing clothes.

This sum’s it up perfectly. They are an alternitive, but not a viable one for proper off road IMO. Now I love my CX bike, and I mean It’s fantastic but I only use mine for tow paths and disused railway lines, well that and coast to coast crossings, duathlons, road rides and commuting 🙂

They’re actually horrible off road in mountain bike terms unless things are pretty smooth. A bit like riding, oh, a totally rigid mountain bike with very, very thin tyres and drop bars. For normal people, riding rocky, technical stuff is more of a ‘triumph in adversity sort of thing’ than anything else, but you find you can ride most stuff with a bit of nerve and practice – traction from the rear on loose stuff is rubbish as well.

Oddly, I didn’t find riding one off road helped my mountain biking at all. In fact it made it worse, I found when I got back on my mountain bike, it was as if everything was happening in fast forward and it took me about half an hour to recalibrate.

So yes, they’re an alternative, but in the same way that a dust-pan and brush is an alternative to a Hoover. Better on smooth stuff, but not quite so effective on carpet… Or something like that.

Edit: but they are brilliant for linking up easy off road, with stuff like disused railways lines, bumpy back lanes, bits of smooth woody singletrack etc.

Where they’re just brilliant is when you go out for a ride which is a mixture of road/trails/hardcore offroad. You can blast along the road in a chaingang at 25mph, see a little track leading off the road, shout ‘See yah chaps’, bunny hop the kerb and you’re on the gravel. Twist it in and out of the trees, another bunnyhop and you’re back on the road.

Samuri earlier…

but they are brilliant for linking up easy off road, with stuff like disused railways lines, bumpy back lanes, bits of smooth woody singletrack etc

That’s what I use mine for. In time it takes to sort out the trailer, drive to a start point, faff x 2 for return, I can ride from my house, singletrack, bumpy paths, rubbish roads, cheeky cut thrus etc.