Cross bike recommenations(for general off road riding)

Triathlon Forum
1

Okay, here is the deal: I have been a mountain biker for a long, long time. When I was little, I had a red Ross bike with banana eat, and I road that thing all over the place. I eventually broke the frame. Then I bought a cheap used BMX frame(that was probably stolen, now that I consider the guy I bought it from) and built that up into a sweet little jumper. I tried to kill myself on that bike, but to no avail.

Then I got my license.( Ten year pause with no riding. )

In 1993, I bought myself a new bike, a Mongoose Hilltopper, that I road a lot for almost 8 years. It was a cheap steel bike with Alivio components, and in all the time I road it(and I road it hard) I never had to replace anything except tubes. I trashed the derailleur, but that was due to a big stick, not wear.

In 2002, I got tired of my friends giving me crap about riding a POS, and I got a Giant NRS 2. Not what I wanted, but it was about the best thing I could find in my area(according to all the reviews and talk I was hearing.) I wanted a Jamis Dakota XC, but they apparently had no dealers at the time. I bought the Giant, and proceeded to replace chain after chain, cassette after cassette, chainring after chainring, you get the idea. The parts were made to be thrown away.

Anyway, My point(yes, I have one, but I thought you’d like a story first) is that I want to get rid of the Giant and get back to a rigid bike that I can use for all around mountain biking. I was thinking cyclocross because there pretty much are no rigid MTB’s around anymore, and even fewer that are made of steel.

I do technical riding: Roots, rocks, twisted climbs, and occasional descents. I don’t ride solely for the sake of going downhill. I don’t ride so I can drop off of cliffs, either.

I was looking at the Kona Jake, or on the high end the Jamis Nova. One shop recommended the Burley Crosscheck. I have no particularly strong desire for any of them.

So help me out, please. What would you recommend for all around mountain biking in a relatively inexpensive(is under $1,000 too little? Perhaps under $1,500?), preferably steel bike that can handle the abuse I throw at it. I figure that if a $300 bike could last 8 years, there have to be some okay bikes out there that will last a while and ride pretty well.

Thank you.

2

I think you’re mistaken about the lack of fixie mt bikes. I seem to get my butt kicked on a regular basis in mt bike races by guys on them. Of course, my brain is hypoxic at that point, so I can’t remember what they ride (or it’s the middle of the night). I think Gunnar makes one. Also, I’ve never heard anything bad about the Surly karate monkey, and you can set it up any possible way you can imagine - Cx, mtb, ss, gears, whatever. check it out. they’re a tad heavy, but prolly lighter than the NRS.

also, you can just get a regular mtb frame and get the phil wood ss converter hub to turn any bike into a SS (it’s got a reversible hub for freewheel/fixie). That’s what I’d do, personally.

Josef

3

That’s a good idea. Perhaps my desire for an off-the-shelf bike is an issue. I’m just cheap and figured that a custom build would cost more than I want to spend(anything.)

4

Hey something I’ve been obsessing about for to long. In my opinion the options boil down to these for a cyclocross bike.

$700 - $800
Kona Jake
Montbecane Fantom Cross (cant find much about this but ebay new 650+50 shipping - bike direct $800

$1000 - $1500
I would go either Lemond Poprad
or Felt F1X

Then there is the Airborne Carpe Deim ok back to reality ahh but what a bike.

Good luck finding a Jake if your 6’ like me. They should be building more frames in June?

If anyone has comments on the Motobecane please let me know.

5

Kona Jake and Jake the Snake (sora vs 105)
Awesome bikes
.

6

I asked the same thing just a few months ago; below is the thread with suggestions. I ended up with a Redline Conquest Pro.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=329007;search_string=search_string;#329007

7

Thanks. I’ve missed a lot here lately, so I didn’t see that.

Thanks again.

8

PH, How do you like your Redline.

9

j. sounds like you need a 29er mtn bike more than a 'cross bike, bro. as it happens, inexpensive steel rigid 29ers are a bit of a hot sub-niche nowadays. perhaps your LBS is of the modern day strip mall variety and don’t know the score? i am not all that into the two-nine thing, muhself, but suggest you go over and consult the 29er and singlespeed boards at mtbr.com. off the top of my head the surly KM, vulture, waltworks, and more will fit the bill.

10

Since the weather has gotten better I have been spending most of my time on my tri bike, so I only have about 20 hours or so of time on it. So far I love it, fits great (make sure you pay attention to the geometry; very long top tubes), very solid. Does not feel as harsh as I thought an aluminum frame would, but then again I am running 38mm tires that have a max pressure of 65 lbs so there may be some significant cushioning going on. Frame quality appears great, just like most of the reviews I read. I bought it mostly to do some inclement weather training, ride fire roads, etc,; so it fits that bill very very well. I really could not be happier, glad I did not spend more (the Redline is a real value).

11

I have a Jamis Nova, and love it for cross… Great steel frame. Very durable. It works great for the rooty single track stuff in Ohio cross races, but I am not sure I would use it soley for a mountain bike…b/c I am not that adventurous. I like the front shock on a mtn bike. They do still sell rigid mtn bikes, as someone else mentioned.
If you are set on a cross bike, the Nova is a great bike for a great value too…

12

I have a Jamis Nova also, but it sounds like you need a MTB. Either that or a CX bike with a front shock (KHS?). The one thing I dislike about most CX bikes that are not $3k, is the chainring sizes. A 39/52 is to much. 34/44 would be perfect.