Had a bit of a bike cull which leaves me without a HT MTB for general fitness duties (which combined with a liking of nice ale is causing problems with my belly..)

Considering i’m really not feeling much love for getting out on the road in the middle of winter – how feasible is it to convert the road bike to more CX/general use? I know the obvious differences in geometry, but will i just destroy every part of the bike by doing this?

I’m not talking mad off road just canal tow paths and the odd XC route. Racy ally frame, ultegra group and carbon fork. Crap wheel set and I’m pretty sure there’s not going to be much chance of getting big tyres on it – road 25’s would be a push. Will I end up in a heap after the first rock with a snapped fork and a handful of spokes missing?

Will be fine. My CX bike has road kit on it – contact points and drivetrain etc.

The difficulty will be getting tyres with a bit more volume on, however the bike and bits will cope with much more than you think. Take a look at footage of Paris Roubaix to see what road bikes will cope with. I’ve ridden P-R and its genuinely rough territory.

25mm tyres are pretty fragile for any rocks.

If you can’t get in a higher volume tyre you are going to be very limited on your line/terrain choices.

Have you ridden Paris-Roubaix? As long as you’re a rider with some subtlety you’ll be fine.

A CX bike not only has space for bigger tyres it has a bit of mud clearance too inc no caliper brakes. IMO if this specific frame is tight for 25mm rubber it’s not really the right frame for the job. You are not really talking about turning it into a CX bike, you are talking about using a road bike off road as is..

I’ve ridden my track bike on some basic off road stuff, sure you’ll survive. Bit easier in summer though.

with the state of the roads round here am beginning to think I might be better on a CX. Though swapping to some Conti 4 Seasons is helping. Fair to say that the road conditions on this ride were slippery!

I’ve ridden in Edinburgh. It’s about the same. You don’t need a CX bike for cobbles and a road bike with 25c tyres isn’t a CX bike.

Edinburgh like P-R? Hahaha.
Look at the kind of thing that the Roughstuff Fellowship used to ride on road bikes with mudguards.

Hmm I thought the sticking point would be tyres if the frame would take it.
Really can’t justify another one in the stable so now thinking 2nd hand frame and forks and swapping bits for the winter.

Will 30-35 tyres go on 23c wheels happily or is it new wheels too?
Also assuming the brakes are no go can cx canti style brakes be powered by ultegra road levers? Needs to be a cheap as possible conversion!

I think 30 to 32 tyres will be OK on standard rims. I think cantis will work with standard levers.

I think 30 to 32 tyres will be OK on standard rims. I think cantis will work with standard levers.

Get a planet x uncle john and some cx brakes. I run 35mm tyres on open pro rims, so no issue there.
Edit – rear wheel spacing may be different – 135mm as opposed to 130 on road bike. May need new rear wheel.
Get a cheap ss mtn bike to get fit.

Really can’t justify another one in the stable so now thinking 2nd hand frame and forks and swapping bits for the winter.

Why not get a decent CX frame and swap over permanently?

Just buy a cheap frame and forks and swop over. Sell your road frame to get some money back.

Now cx disc is popular cx canti frames are a lot cheaper. I broke even on my trade.

Good luck

I’ve ridden in Edinburgh. It’s about the same.

Having ridden P-R that gave me a massive LOL.