Allright, I really dont want to do cyclocross but I have a lot of gravel trails around here, which I only ride with the MTB and the road bike is for the road.
It seems to me that a CC bike would be a perfect in between bike for rides on both surfaces.
Rather than buy a CC bike right away, I am curious whether it is workable to buy a CC wheel set or tires and use on the road bike.
Questions: Assuming that it can work, what should I look for? Do I need new rims or can CC tires go on 23 mm rims?
I bought a cx motobecane for 500 dollars while I am over seas. I put my powertap deep V wheel that was on my tri bike. There were no problems put a 35c tires on that rim. You might get a pinch flat if you keep the 23c tube in it though(I did, then walked 5 miles back). If you do not want to buy a cx frame, I would just go with a old steel frame, unless you decide to race. Putting 35c tires on a newer road bike will probably result in clearance issues. If you go to http://www.cyclocrossworld.com/ they have a wide variety of tires, tubes, etc. I would make sure you have some bomb proof rims too. Not sure how a 16 spoke wheel would hold up, I suppose it depends on where your riding it.
if your just going to ride gravel trail/roads you can go with something like 28’s. They will be faster, on both the road and the gravel.
You can ride them at normal pressure, or drop the pressure a bit if the trail gets too hard. But if it’s a build trail, i don’t think it will be an issue.
anything large, 32 or 35 are really for rough stuff and grass. Places where you want lower pressure and some float to your ride.
I find 32 dissapointingly slow on pavement/gravel myself.
if your just going to ride gravel trail/roads you can go with something like 28’s. They will be faster, on both the road and the gravel.
You can ride them at normal pressure, or drop the pressure a bit if the trail gets too hard. But if it’s a build trail, i don’t think it will be an issue.
anything large, 32 or 35 are really for rough stuff and grass. Places where you want lower pressure and some float to your ride.
I find 32 dissapointingly slow on pavement/gravel myself.
Thanks. Are 28mm tires sturdy enough to deal with gravel?, I flat enough as it is.
Just make sure you have clearance between the fork and the stays for the bigger tires, and know that if it gets muddy you wont be able to ride without said clearance…even if the tires fit.
Just make sure you have clearance between the fork and the stays for the bigger tires, and know that if it gets muddy you wont be able to ride without said clearance…even if the tires fit.
Thanks, I will make sure.
Time for the stupid question. I have several sets of road wheels. Is it possible to get cyclocross type tires that will fit on those wheels?, my assumption has been that I needed entirely different wheels to accommodate the heavier tires.
Allright, I really dont want to do cyclocross but I have a lot of gravel trails around here, which I only ride with the MTB and the road bike is for the road.
It seems to me that a CC bike would be a perfect in between bike for rides on both surfaces.
Rather than buy a CC bike right away, I am curious whether it is workable to buy a CC wheel set or tires and use on the road bike.
Questions: Assuming that it can work, what should I look for? Do I need new rims or can CC tires go on 23 mm rims?
If not, pls recommend brand, basic and sturdy.
What else do I need to consider?
thanks in advance
first of all…why start with ’ i really don’t want to do cyclocross’…it’s not ballet or something. it’s actually extremely fun and a hell of a workout.
anywho…if your not racing cross (for whatever reason) and just want to ride gravel, you can just get the fattest cross tires your frame can take (important) and have at it.
besides tires, a full cross setup has more to do with mud clearance in the brakes, positioning on the bike and cable routing for shoulder carrying…none of which will be an issue if you’re only riding gravel.
as for rims…i’ve got 32 tires on my cross bike on plain old 23 rims…no problem racing cross, so no problem riding on gravel.
As for stating that I did not intend to actually do cyclocross, it was a relevant piece of information in order to get the best advice for my situation.
I am sure all you cyclocrossers are fine, jolly good fellows, and that cyclocrossing is a wholesome, thoroughly enjoyable activity.
I am simply not interested in it, just as I am not interested in butterfly collecting, skydiving, scrap booking or running with the bulls even though these are also perfectly fine pursuits.
When 'cross season rolls around, it is a refuge to a bunch of burnt out roadies and MTB’ers – they’re at the tail end of their season, and need to blow off some steam. Brains are warped from hours of hot summer sun on asphalt. As a result, 'cross s not a wholesome, thoroughly enjoyable activity. It is 45-60 minutes of mental and physical anguish engaged in by borderline psychopaths. Particularly when there’s a beer tent.
But to answer your wheel question, yes, most rims will accomodate 'cross tires. Just don’t race the super-light, super-fragile rims.
I do mostly gravel riding. There are no cars, speeds are slower (warmer in the winter) and it is good to see the country. I have a Cannondale 'cross frame with a compact crank, but the one I ride most is a Surly Cross Check set up as a single speed. The framesets can be had for about $400 and a lot of people have enough parts around to put one together cheap, especially if it is a singlespeed. Room for at least 700 X 40’s with fenders. I usually run 60 psi.
We have quite a few grass roots gravel rides in the midwest. No entry fee, no support, cue cards at the beginning and at a few checkpoints. You are routed through a town with a convience store every 50 miles or so. Most are 100 miles, the big one is called transiowa and is 314 miles straight through of gravel goodness through the cornfields of Iowa. The winning time is about 25-26 hours, and theyget an engraved rock. These rides are about as far away as it gets from a Type A-clincher vs tubular-Zipp vs HED triathlon as it gets.
When 'cross season rolls around, it is a refuge to a bunch of burnt out roadies and MTB’ers – they’re at the tail end of their season, and need to blow off some steam. Brains are warped from hours of hot summer sun on asphalt. As a result, 'cross s not a wholesome, thoroughly enjoyable activity. It is 45-60 minutes of mental and physical anguish engaged in by borderline psychopaths. Particularly when there’s a beer tent.
But to answer your wheel question, yes, most rims will accomodate 'cross tires. Just don’t race the super-light, super-fragile rims.
Ah, the beer tent. Now it all makes sense.
When 'cross season rolls around, it is a refuge to a bunch of burnt out roadies and MTB’ers – they’re at the tail end of their season, and need to blow off some steam. Brains are warped from hours of hot summer sun on asphalt. As a result, 'cross s not a wholesome, thoroughly enjoyable activity. It is 45-60 minutes of mental and physical anguish engaged in by borderline psychopaths. Particularly when there’s a beer tent.
Sounds like you had a bad experience…but you are incorrect. 'Cross is all about power, finese, skill and riding the rivet. IF you do not have all of these, then it sucks.
To the OP. I ride dirt roads also, and the CX is a nice choice/option. However, the roads are beat to hell in the spring, and I find the wider tires much more forgiving on me and the bike. So much so, that the mtb is the ride of choice. Someone mentioned that the 34 or so tires are slow on the pavement - depends on the tread, but your power output is still the same, so speed is unimportant.
You would be better off with just getting some 27mm Vitoria pave tires. Cross bike would be overkill. I get people who don’t want to race cross. It can seem a bit intimidating to the uninitiated. Sex outside the missionary position and fast cars aren’t for everybody either.
If you are not going to race and don’t need an agressive or wide tread then you would be better off using a road bike with the widest tire that will give you clearance for the frame and caliper brakes. Or what you are describing is really a touring bike. There is a reason why you never see a “comfort” or “relaxed” version of cross bikes. I’m not saying that you can’t be happy riding long on a cross bike, but it is probably your 3rd best option.
Canti brakes can be set up to work great if you have the time and patience, but they can be horrible a lot of the time. High spring tension sucks to pull on after a while. V’s are better, but you need a travel agent with road levers or tektro’s mini V’s. Salsa makes a disc brake cross bike, I’m sure there are others but they don’t come to mind right now.
And I’m not sure where you got the idea that CycloCross is a wholesome activity. Watch this for some dirty, nasty, painful fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXK3eG4Ba70
IMO the Michelin Jet is good CX tire if you want to split riding time between the trail and road. Pretty lite and low rolling resistence. Medocre on a good CX race course though - tread is not aggressive enough.
I’ve run a variety of 35mm CX tires on Open Pros, CXP33s, Ksyriums, Zipp 404s, Ritcheys, and Eastons. No problems for me with CX tires on any of those rims.
Many guys I know get a CX frame and build up with canibalized road parts and LX/XT/XTR canti’s. Makes a CX rig affordable.
…and I’ve yet to encounter a jolly good fellow in a CX race. Most are mean and ugly…and some even smell.