Help Me: What TYPE of road bike should I buy: CX? Tourer? Or carbon road god?

Graham – I’ve done some rides and tours on road and cx bikes around that neck of the woods, with panniers/ trailers and unburdened. I also know the road and off road riding round the NE pretty well and from what you describe in the OP I know what I’d choose in your position, both for that/similar tours and using after and before (commuting down the tyne etc, quick spins locally, and 100 milers round N’land and the Pennines etc…).

Basically I wouldn’t worry about getting the bike best suited for the tour you suggest – there aren’t many really specific demands that roads up there make on kit. Most of them will be fun on any road or cross bike and for touring with friends you won’t be that worried about the negligible difference in pace between racier setups and more relaxed options. Comfort might be an issue, but I’ve rarely noticed it much different on differing bikes over the same course. Personally, I’d be thinking longer term about general use, and for me I’d go for something versatile, good fitting, ideally alu framed, carbon forked, with a compact double chainset. I’d also like discs if using on proper off road.

What would I do in your position? I’d keep the merlin for proper mtb, and get a disc equipped cx bike (boardman or kinesis seem best value at around £1k and would top my shopping list) for everything else. If you have no intention of using it on proper off road ever, then get a bargain road bike from ribble, planet-x, canyon etc., or in the sales and you won’t look back. You don;t need to spend £1k though to have fun though. Whatever you choose, the roads of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross are great, so enjoy!

Thanks bajsycke – “commuting down the tyne etc, quick spins locally, and 100 milers round N’land and the Pennines etc..” is exactly what I have in mind so that’s useful advice.

Boardman or Kinesis are looking like good contenders.

Any suggestions on bike shops round here with a suitable range of bikes to try? So far only Edi Bikes seems to have a reasonable range of CX bikes. Evans only had 3 when I went in.

Personally, I would get the lightest most raciest bike that has mounts for full mudguards and rack mounts. Anything with rack mounts is going to be pretty sturdy surely. Would probably be fine for your commute with slightly wider than race tyres, and fine for going a long way too. Oh and rack mounts gives you most flexibility for putting kiddy seats on it too (plus for doing loaded touring if you want to later).

I have a five year old Trek 1200 which is fine – okay on towpaths and things, can fit a rack and can fit wider than 23mm tyres but I don’t know what the equivalent model is nowadays.

As for keeping up with them, I’ve ridden with a road biker who came on a summer chain gang with panniers and a rack, full mudguards, all his work gear in the panniers. Bugger completely dropped me on my somewhat racier and much lighter bike. If you’re going to get dropped, you will anyway, they’ll just have to wait for you and take it slow. Remember if you’ve got a whole day to do 70 miles, that’s less than 6 hours of actual riding even if you go at a super slow 12mph. The good thing about tours is that you can start early, so you’re not in any hurry. Best thing you can do to avoid being dropped is training, whatever bike you have.

That Boardman CX does look tasty.

Narrowly managed to resist the temptation to buy one myself, but the guy whose secondhand Kona I purchased instead HAD bought one – and he spoke very highly of it.

That Boardman CX does look tasty.

Yeah it does. Only bad points I can see is it comes with BB5 brakes not BB7 – and it has exposed downtube routing which I’m naturally averse to from mountain biking.

Not sure how it would score for comfort either – looks fairly racy.

bb5 brakes are ok. only thing they are missing is the outer pad adjuster. no difference in power

pads are also a different shape and harder to get hold of – i’ve not needed replacements (yet) though…

what about this? http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jamis/xenith-endura-comp-2012-road-bike-ec031744
takes 28mm tyres, guards and rack.

Nice. No disc brakes though.

IMHO i don’t think discs are the correct direction

I think you want a light tourer or Audax bike. Good rim brakes are fine and possible have an advantage as the risk of over heating is less

Either a wide range cassete and or a triple

I’ve decided when i buy a new road bike I’ll want something similar to what you want.

In theory and Audax bike will fit the bill

I tried a bit of googling and came up with this:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tifosi-ck7-audax-veloce-2013/

but I’d need lower gears

or this

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/bbd/road-track-bike/ribble-7005-audax-winter-training?part=BB12RIB7005AUDAXWINT&sub=conf_BBRW&bike=1

with the benefit that you can choose what you want

IMHO i don’t think discs are the correct direction

Yeah, my reasoning there is that the local paths can be fairly wet and muddy so if I want something I can also use on them, possibly as my regular commuter, then discs might be good. And I’m happy to sacrifice a little weight for the potential benefit of stopping power when loaded or in traffic.

I can see others might not want that. Certainly looks “cleaner” without discs.

Either a wide range cassete and or a triple

The Boardman CX comes with 50/34t x 11-28t which seems like a nice wide range. Doesn’t seem to be any option for a triple though 🙁
In fact most of the off-the-peg bikes seem to come with doubles.

Try a double out before you change it, you might be surprised. There will always be good deals on triple chainsets if you want to change later!

If this new (and your 2nd bike) is going to be used for a variety of road related pedalling, I’d personally lean towards a light tourer / audax / cross based bike. They typically have a longer wheel base and are a bit more comfy, as well as the necessary bosses for load lugging / mud guards.

This would offer more scope than a flat out Sunday best CF cafe racer and would likely get used on a much more regular basis.

I see Thorn have already been mentioned and if you were feeling flush, you wouldn’t be disappointed with a Ti frame, such as an Enigma Etape.

Don’t know the area at all but a compact c set and large range cassette should see you up just about everything.

You can always fit an MTB rear mech and an 11:34T cassette if you find you need lower gearing

About to demonstrate my ignorance of all things road:

Try a double out before you change it, you might be surprised. There will always be good deals on triple chainsets if you want to change later!

What is involved in moving from double to triple? Is it just a new crankset? Or new front mech as well?
Presumably road shifters can pull for two or three gears without needing changed?

And what does it do to compatibility?

Another vote for the fast tourer/audax bike option. That would be the most versatile solution for your Scottish trip and subsequent touring, commuting or general riding. I wouldn’t buy a road racing bike for a touring trip. The weather in May could be sunny and warm, but it could just as easily be very wet and cold. You’ll be glad of something with proper mudguards when your pals are getting cold water sprayed up their backsides all day.
Rim brakes will do the job fine, but discs would be my choice for this sort of bike, and are a good idea if you plan to use the bike regularly through the winter for commuting.
One advantage of a triple is that you could use a close ratio cassette to avoid big gearing steps, and still have a good range of gears, with something low in the bag for the occasional extra-steep hill.
The Croix de Fer is no lightweight, but would be fine for a 70 mile touring day. I have not tried the Boardman CX, but it looks a very good spec for the same sort of price, only the BB5s being a bit of a downgrade.

I’m looking at an All City Space Horse.

Ready built or frame only.

http://allcitycycles.com/bikes/space_horse

seems super flexable

I am a huge fan of my Salsa Vaya for exactly the uses you describe. With 25mm tyres on I can keep up fine on a “civilised” road club run.

I use SRAM Apex, which is compact up front and has a 32t cassette at the back. That’s an OK range, although if I do 70+ miles with an overnight bag I start to wish I had a triple.

The Tifosi is available with a triple chainset, they do several models, Halfords do them as well.

50:34 – no need for a tripple

How ever id prefer a triple to a compact.

When I recomended a Audax bike i imagined you doing of road stuff on your MTB. The audax bike would be for road duties only.

If you are replacing your current bike with a bike that will fill the role of your current bike then i see why you would want a disc equiped cross bike.

I’m very un fashionable and still consider a hard tail with thinish tyres an excellent and versatile bike for those on/off road rides

Some bike shops will do a triple conversion for the difference in cost in parts. It might be easier and cheaper to go to an MTB casette and mech.

I’ve only ever done one tour with a bottom gear higher than 1:1. But i have to say I would have loved a lower gear. I ended up walking up a road hill. Hangs head in shame even, if it was hard knott pass

Oh final sideways thought. I have heard that some hybrids have short enough top tubes to be capable of drop bar conversion. Offering a whole heap more disc equiped options

PS. Never by a bike with cantilever brakes!!!!

Sure this has been said already but if you want versatility then go for a crosser.

If you choose wisely it will make a decent road bike with a change of tyres and a good enough tourer. Plus you can also wow folks by riding trail centres with it in cross mode.

PS. Never by a bike with cantilever brakes!!!!

Why?

Sure this has been said already but if you want versatility then go for a crosser.

If you choose wisely it will make a decent road bike with a change of tyres and a good enough tourer. Plus you can also wow folks by riding trail centres with it in cross mode.

though short chainstays can cause issues with panniers, but does depend on make and size.. though proper CX do not have rackmounts etc

issues with panniers…

Which is why I said ‘choose wisely’. You’re right though that a pure crosser would be shite as a tourer.

Road bikes!?…YUK!

Hi Spin, sorry missed the wisely!

Yer that is why I havebeen looking at The Space Horse looks like a good all rounder, shame no disc option as it looks better than the Vaya though Salsa and All City are owned by the same company so doubt they will compete with each other.

as for the OP check out Triton cycles – they have some great deals on Salsa Vaya and other multi use bikes

Just don’t believe anything the Triton website says about stock levels….

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/rose-pro-dx-cross-3000-randonneur-compact/aid:611492

the whole rosebike cx range is great value.

What is involved in moving from double to triple? Is it just a new crankset? Or new front mech as well?
Presumably road shifters can pull for two or three gears without needing changed?

Cchainset
Front mech (though sometimes you can get away with it)
Left hand shifter – SRAM don’t do a triple shifter at all, Shimano come in double or triple flavours IIRC and I think Campag used to be triple compatible but not 100% about their newer shifters.

Possibly rear mech too…

So it’s not just a case of dropping a triple chainset on 😀

Just don’t believe anything the Triton website says about stock levels….

No but I got Evans to price match to their stock level on a Cannondale Road bike!

If you’re keeping your mtb for your usual commute, then get a proper roadie if you want one and you think you’ll use it. Better than some sort of compromise.

If you want it to replace your mtb then get a crosser.

As for this trip you’re doing, anything would do. Doesnt sound like you’re carry much, I’d imagine you could fit on one of those seat post racks or a handlebar bag thing?

What I wouldnt get is a tourer or audax bike due to heavy weight, boring geometry compared to a road bike. You may aswell get a crosser, at least you’ll be able to take it off road.

Also, be wary of cheap, heavy, flexy steel frames that might look nice but probably ride poorly.

Dunno about disc brakes. If you’re using it on the road with road tyres, I cant see the point since you have no grip to brake with anyway.

If you want a crosser then maybe they’re worth it.

Any bike will do for this trip. I think you should decide what you’ll mainly use it for afterwards.

Oh yeh, dunno whether these are any good but saw one the other day and they look nice!

http://www.tokyofixedgear.com/products/196-Tokyo-Fixed-Frames-2012/5174-Tokyo-Fixed—Wide-Open-2012/

HTH

If you’re keeping your mtb for your usual commute, then get a proper roadie ….
If you want it to replace your mtb then get a crosser.

That’s really the crux of my dilemma.

On one hand it would make sense to get a bike suitable for my commute and other pootles round the bridleways etc

But as my mate astutely pointed out, I already have my mountain bike for that so why not get a pure road bike?

BUT.. I’m unconvinced I’ll get time to do long road rides…

Think I’m erring towards a CX now. The Boardman definitely seems good value but I’m heading to Edi Bikes today to look at the Whyte and Specialized options.

I’m in the process of swapping my Cotic X for a Kinesis Pro6. Its the first time I’ve swapped a steel bike for an aluminium one, but I under estimated the difference that the heft of steel would make, and carbon’s a bit too vulnerable for the sort of use the bike will get.

I really like the Cotic. It’s very comfortable and pretty, but its a tad small for me and its a bit heavy. The Pro 6 looks like its going to fit the bill for me as a considerably lighter, slightly racier allrounder for winter road riding, commuting and the odd bit of off road too. It takes guards and a rack, and only has a slightly longer wheelbase than a proper road bike for equivalent top tube length.

Dunno if this is any help – I’m not planning to go touring on mine – but some of the thought processes are similar.

?

Arkose 3, £1000
BB7s + top levers, 105/FSA – with BSA bb. Full carbon tapered fork. Easy to mount guards and rack

One my faves of the range. The £900 version (tiagra/BB5) won Steve Worland’s CX bike test in C+.

+1 boardman carbon team comp just stunning value and great bike is my work horse. TBH I looked at cx but in th end as I have MTB I went for road no regrets. CX is fine bike just that I would spend most time on commute and off road is MTB. Ive used my MTB on CX events

IMHO opinion Canti lever brakes are harder set up than v brakes and less powerful

Combined with the cross style hanger on the bars they can be a recipe for disaster as fork flex affects the amount of braking

Some one said you can’t ride a tourer off road. Oh dear. Things were so much easier before bikes were tightly pigeon holed be marketing people

I recommend the New Ribble Sportive carbon bike
a very comfy ride for commute bike

+1 for the Audax stylee bike. I rode a cross America a couple of years ago with a Roberts Audax frame fully loaded, when I reached Oregon I rode Cycle Oregon, a 500 mile, week long ride. Nearly everyone else was on their bling road bikes. I had no trouble keeping up, indeed after a 4300 training ride I was flying and even embarrassed a few 8)

Arkose 3, £1000

Looks interesting. Local Evans didn’t have any in when I went there last week.
Bit heavier than the Boardman and Whyte but good spec (105 and BB7s)

Giant Defy 1. Road geometry, sportive comfort, ability to take a rack (Tubus Fly) and guards. As mcmoonter says, the bike you seek is a “clubman” or an Audax bike. The Defy is really Giant’s take on that. The extra weight of a cross bike will leave you dissatisfied if you want pure road riding. At your price point, I’d avoid carbon.