I agree with many of ampthill’s comments.
I enjoy the mag and have no problem with the cx ‘supplement’.
I liked Tom’s bike build article and the ride in Fife on cx bikes in particular. There is some level of familiarity of the (perhaps perceived) unsuitability of the cx bike off-road and many an early mtb.
I actually quite like the idea of one as a winter bike but the hassle of selling my Allez road bike and then perhaps my Kona ht, which would both basically become redundant, puts me off.
That said, I do agree that the drop bars would make for a challenge on certain parts of my local riding too but wouldn’t think of flat bars on it so I guess image plays a part over function as mentioned in the previous post.
Seeing Cycling Plus also push the cx bike this month did undermine things slightly though and I can see why, to some, it can all feel a bit marketing driven.
All in all though, I applaud ST for the varied articles in the mag.