…now I’m not sure if I want it. I got the Defy – of which the cx would take over as the winter bike – out of the shed for pre-sale cleaning and looked at it with its 105 & guards and thought, why replace and go through guard fitting faff again? This could mean that the CX would only be used once in a blue moon and will need to be stored in space I don’t have.

Sigh, never good to realise a dream they say…

You need another shed.

That didn’t take long…

Shed N+1

Ah the joy of buyers regret.

No CX races near you? They really are rather good fun. What about the days when there’s ice or snow on the roads? Take off through the woods or off road paths

A CX doesn’t replace a road bike, it gives you more options……

This from my other thread is ringing my ears:

1) Is it just to ride when training for xc (and so not for cx racing) ?
2) Do you like riding your xc bike ?
3) Do you own a road bike ?

if 3x “Yes”, she’s correct – I’d suggest you’ll train most effectively on road for fitness and most effectively on your xc bike for skillz/familiarity

What about the days when there’s ice or snow on the roads?

I need to ride 4 miles of road to get there. and I have an MTB for that. 3 in fact…

and I have an MTB for that. 3 in fact…

Get rid of an mtb, keep cross bike.

Can you not just return the cross bike then? And write the whole thing off as a lesson in the shallowness of knee-jerk consumerism?

Can you not just return the cross bike then? And write the whole thing off as a lesson in the shallowness of knee-jerk consumerism?

I guess so. I used V12 finance for interest free, so I guess I need to call them before 14 days cooling off is up and/or Pauls Cycles send the bike tomorrow.

I feel a bit of an idiot now. 😐

Dirty reiver entries open on the 1st. Sign up for that. Then you’ll be living on the CX until April, and buying ‘stuff’ for it

I feel a bit of an idiot now.

Oh I dunno, online shopping makes it so easy to buy stuff. If it’s not something I genuinely ‘need’, I try to sleep on it for a few days then go back and sanity check it. Mostly I decide I don’t really want/need it after all.

I think it’s hard because essentially we’re living in a world built on consumerism and there’s a lot of subliminal (and not so subliminal) pressure on us to equate happiness with owning stuff. And look at it this way, it’s better to change your mind now while you can still cancel it with minimal hassle than realise six months down the line that the bike’s sat in your shed doing nowt.

Oh dear, deery me.

Such a dilemma to have placed yourself in.

It’s Xmas soon, give it to a Charity to Auction off, make someone else feel good instead.

🙄

I’d keep it and race CX to prep your fitness and bike handling for road racing.

But given you haven’t even received the bike yet, and you’re not me, I suggest you exercise your cooling off rights and cancel it.

I’ve found the CX bike I bought is upright/short [for road riding]. Which I’m told is fairly usual for CX and the needs of racing, but it takes a bit of getting used to when I ride it on the road having swapped from a bike with proper road geometry. I am going to use it as a winter bike when I get the creaking rear wheel sorted but on reflection I’d prefer something with proper road geometry.

I’d prefer something with proper road geometry.

Like a Giant Defy with 105 and guards for the winter by chance?

Sigh

for road racing.

You must be the only person on STW that hasn’t read the “credible” thread..

Oh Kryton but I have 😉 I think CX racing would pay dividends for anyone even contemplating road racing. I’m thinking of giving some of our local winter/spring crits a try off the back of my CX season.

I also think CX racing would give you all the positives of road racing with none of the angst. I’ve never trained in my life, don’t do any skills/drills sessions and I’m finishing at the pointy end of my category, and having fun and banter with the guys I’m dicing with. It’s as hard and competitive as you want it to be (crossed the finish line trying not to puke yesterday) but low key, inclusive and supportive. I loaned a complete stranger in a different cat my pit bike when his only bike bust and I wasn’t the only one, entirely in keeping with the spirit of the sport.

Except I’m not road racing. I’m committee to MTB XC. For which I have three bikes and two road bikes to train on.

Loving my most recent build Yeti s/s Monstercross – 2 rides in. Don’t think a traditional crossers would be any good for the local off road loops (mild as they are). May say more about my skills. I’d say get shot if it serves no useful purpose.

Not helped by MCTD’s Condor thread either!

… and CX racing in the winter transfers to XC MTB in the summer (I haven’t followed it religiously so not sure if you’re doing a winter MTB series?). The guys winning my races (the sort who are sponsored and turn up with matching bikes they didn’t pay for) are by and large current or ex-elite mtbers not road racers.
Like I said, if I was in your position I’d keep it and race it, but if I were YOU I’d return/cancel it.

My Whyte CX bike gives me so many more options, I was out exploring (lost) on Exmoor today and several of the lanes I rode gradually petered out into bridleway/footpaths that would have been unridable on my road bike. On the CX it wasn’t a problem (apart from my poor tyre choice in one case).
That said not all CX bikes are the same, my previous Orbea CX was more of a race bike and was pretty unpleasant and unforgiving on and off road.

I agree with crash test monkey, keep it and try a few cx races. I think xc and cx complement each other really well. I am undoubtedly a better cx’er from my mtb riding and am sure cx improves my xc. Also you say you have a good start sprint. That is hte key to cx

Keep the cx. It’ll bring you so much FUN.
As well as bringing your local trails alive. 🙂
I reckon it’s a perfect supplement to your mtb xc racing.
Lose a mtb if you must,or use it as a slop bike.

Sorry but IMO cx bikes are the worst of both worlds. I have built up a 29er carbon hardtail and run big Apples…. On my 12 mile commute its quicker and comfier than the cx (actually both of my crossers). Yes I can take the cx through the forest and blue / red swinley etc but why the hell would I choose that over a mtb! I have done a few runs but it’s hard work (kind of fun in a sadistic spanking sort of way).

Cross racing looks fun and all that but if you have no interest in it, I can’t think of a single reason to have a cross bike.

Hey Kryton. 😉

My year currently looks like this:

Race cx until end Jan.
Race mtb until end Sept.
and repeat…

There’ll be some well considered mental breaks during this but racing regularly keeps you fast. (It really does. I’ve studied Friel for years but now I have a proper coach and you don’t have to stop for 5 months a year, believe me!)

You’ve bought a cx bike, is it an actual cx race bike? If so race the thing until it bleeds!
Fit in base miles on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, then hone your top end every Sunday.

Went to Swinley today on my new mtb (binned my plans of racing National Trophy cx as I’ve been ill) and rode for 3 hrs. Unsurprisingly all that top end fitness translated well into going pretty fast for 3 hrs.

Fitness is fitness, bikes are bikes. Cross bikes are ace, especially if you rag the hell out of them and yourself in cross races every Sunday for 5 months.

Racing is all about a complete package. Cross racing is unique in making you focus on your whole body. I’ve done two sessions on a Swiss ball this weekend to help my core strength for next Saturdays regional champs. Cross has made me look at my overall ability in a hard light.

So my advice is; (after that long digression), keep the new bike but only if you’ll ride the thing in anger. There are about 7 races left on the calendar for each region. trust me, it’ll make you faster.

Its a Giant TCX SLR2.

Thats all good, except with me travelling around South for work, evenings are Turbo, and longer rides are done on one day of the weekend, of which the rest of the time is spent juggling the family duties. That day will vary too, it can’t always be the same day. So I can’t commit every Sunday for racing for example. But I do have enough time to make things like Brass Monkeys work with their less frequent commitment.

If I used those weekend opportunities for CX, I’d only be managing about 80k a week – I appreciate the “race” distance is of a different athletic level – and the travelling uses up a whole day, rather than knocking out 100k on the road bike or 3-4hrs MTB from door to door in a morning.

I think I’d be better spending the limited weekend time with some long road miles / intervals or technical MTB in the woods.

If your time is that limited then fair enough. But can’t you get in a long ride weekdays? I head out on a Tues at 7-7.30pm, ride until 10-10.30pm, then eat some dinner and hit the sack. Race training 7-8.30pm on a Wed and turbo approx 9-10.15 on a Thurs.

Don’t go and race it. You’ll end up realising how dull and tedious MTB racing is and how awesome CX is. 🙂

MTFU and ride to the CX race surely

Giant tcx. Nice bike!
Rodger in London x league Vets uses the same bike to win or nearly win every race. (He races a full program of summer xc too).
Steve races spring/summer on the road/TT. He’s consistently the fastest in the SE (Apart from Andy Taylor; I think he’s a Cyborg, don’t know what he does).
There’s a theme here.

But I’d lose my base option, does that work? I’ll give you an example of my world- remember I have two young kids who demand my time particularly stories at 7pm, and a wife that works / had 2 x evening things as well,

From Last week, about 7hrs a week riding/training:
Monday – Leeds (Rest)
Tuesday – Kent (Evening Turbo at 8pm)
Wednesday – Oxfordshire (Rest, Mrs K Hockey)
Thursday – London (Evening Turbo)
Friday – Home (Rest)
Saturday – Club ride 80k + hill intervals & threshold leadouts
Today Sunday – Kids swimming, rugby, ironing, rest 🙂
Monday – home – 90 min Turbo planned at 8pm
Tuesday – Oxfordshire (Rest, Mrs K at Dance class)
Wednesday – London (Turbo 6am)
Thursday – London all say trade show – rest
Friday – home, base turbo or road, or lunchtime MTB
Saturday – Club ride 80k + hill intervals & threshold leadouts

Every day – I get home to see the kids go to bed between 7-8 its the only time I see them. Weekends, 1 day spent on any of the following swimming, rugby, Gymnastics, homework, Ballet, ironing, guitar lessons…

Get the idea? 8)

I did also last year enter and enjoy TT’s mainly as reasons to ride extended competitive training intervals.

If there’s a qualified “you don’t need 100k base, 1 x weekend CX will do” response I’m happy to reconsider?

Wow, you are busy 😆

Have a gap for a pork pie in there ??

No pork pie’s here, it doesn’t fit into my 2065 nets cals per day regime 😀

I might add to the above, the summer evenings do add a 75k 1000ft club hard training ride which gets in all north londons hills.

What size TCX ?

Snap, Giant TCX SLR 2!

bikebouy – Member
What size TCX ?

M/L.

This thread/my angst has literaly given me a headache. 😥

They benefit from a longer stem, probs 100mm on there, I’d stretch that to 120mm if you can or intend to keep it.

And the headaches from a lack of pie.

😉

Kryton you are mental. Wellcome to the madhouse!
Sounds like you are squeezing the most out of life, exhausting though it may be.

The rest of my team subscribes to the 4 months of base concept. Maybe they’re right? Personally I like to run myself ragged which gives me speed but carries risks.

If you’re not going to race the cx bike then perhaps get rid of it. Your defy will fit road duties.

Otherwise I think speed trumps miles. I get duration through chronic exposure to riding. How can training five days a week for 6 years not lead to adaptation to cycling?