I’m trying to buy my first cyclocross bike, but less for cyclocross races and more for a good gravel grinder, indoor and outdoor trainer bike. I can’t seem to make up my mind on what to do. I bought the Planet X Cyclocross Carbon which appeared to be a great bike but their 58 fit me much smaller than I thought it would and I sent it back. Unfortunately they don’t have a larger size.
There is a 2012 Ridley X Fire Ultegra Disc 58 that is on closeout at the LBS. It is $2699 on closeout.
There is also the non disc version for $2299 that is a 56. I believe they were both over $3200-3400 originally. Ridley’s geometry specs are truly different. The 58 with them has a top tube of 600 while the planet x had 565.
I also seem to be drawn to the comfort of the Crux series. I love the new Crux Evo Elite which I believe is designed more for gravel grinders.
I’ve never even had a disc brake on a mountain bike, so I don’t even know if it is worth the money for what I’m looking for.
I’m reconsidering if I even want carbon. If it was going to be my primary road trainer and let my current P2SL rest until race season, maybe carbon would be worth it.
In terms of ride quality for say a gravel grinder, how much difference can I tell between aluminum and carbon. I’m wondering if going with aluminum, say a no name motobecane for instance for $1200 with a FACT carbon CG-R seatpost, or one of those other suspension seatposts would solve the comfort problem.
Not against spending the money if it is worth it. At the same time my true passion is tris and I have the itch to go to carbon from my p2sl next year and would like to have the funds saved to make that jump.
You’ll probably get used to anything. Perhaps a Motobecane Ti frame is worth consideration…the price, ride quality, components, and durability may meet all of your criteria.
You’ll probably get used to anything. Perhaps a Motobecane Ti frame is worth consideration…the price, ride quality, components, and durability may meet all of your criteria.
Ridley’s and Giant’s have very high bottom brackets. Which is great if you plan to ride in a lot of muddy/sandy cross races. But it does very little good if you are doing gravel riding. You want a lower bottom bracket that will give you a better center of gravity.
For comfort, aluminum’s worked fine for me on gravel, including a few century races. The extra cushion from the wider tires (35mm) definitely helps out on the gravel. I say better to save the $$ for a carbon road frame.
The Crux was a great bike for when I was doing CX. I preferred the cantilevered brakes myself, due to the typical heavy mud many of the courses were riden on. I’d just be concerned with the heavy mud build-up on discs and the extra weight for when barriers were crossed.
I have a buddy that just loves his old-school Ridley too. Lasting him a long time!
I’d be deal and fit driven, less so frame material, if all else lines up (ie geo, parts you want, etc). I was perfectly happy with a aluminum cross bike for my first one - no real disadvantage honestly. I would look at geo more as I prefer more road style (ie lower) bottom bracket heights than the aforementioned Ridley particularly if it will double on the road and its more from gravel road than a cross course.
That being said, many times a carbon frame is a little more compliant than the aluminum counterpart, so if you can get a good one for decent cost, I’d consider it.
Lastly, if you do plan to use it on the road quite a bit, I would lean towards carbon due to the weight savings and use a secondary wheelset with road tires. I have some very basic Neuvation wheels with road tires I pop into my cross bike and it’s really nice. It’s like having a second very decent road bike in the garage because essentially that is what it is. And, the Neuvs. double as pit wheels during cross season.
Oh, and Ridley’s have a very unique fit per size as you noticed, so be careful (ie check with an experienced fitter) if that is the direction you plan to go.
Crux is a nice also so you laid out some good choices.
Not too confuse things, but I have been happy with my redline conquest pro (the carbon one) and around this time of year, you can get some nice deals on prior year cross models.
With everything going disc, I bet there are plenty of excellent deals on canti models right now. I think Performance was blowing out some decent looking Fuji’s for example a few weeks back…
I definitely felt “tipsy” when getting on the Ridley. As weird as it sounds I felt the 58 was maybe too big. Then I looked at the specs and realized why. I also wondered about the higher bracket height having to do with that. I felt like I was leaning a little too far forward than what I was going for. The 56 felt better. It is weird for me to say that, but when I looked at the top tube measurement it says it is 600 which is closer to my traditional 61 cm frame. Very strange.
The Motobecane Titanium would be my first choice, but they are sold out except for a lone remaining 58 and that appears to have the geometry of the 58 I just returned. They won’t restock until the end of Oct.
The Crux’s are confusing with name changes. It doesn’t sound like I need to be looking at disc for what I’m doing so I will cross that off. Performance did have a great Altamira Cross Carbon for $1784, but it says it can only be sent to the store, but their road Gran Fondo Fuji can be shipped. I don’t quite get the restriction. I was wondering about this Fuji on the Bikes Direct website also vs. this Specialized Crux I found at JohnnySprockets. I’m curious if it is eligible to be shipped as well. I don’t know what measurement to look at to see if the bike has a lower bottom bracket for more traditional riding or shorter or longer chainstays, etc. I know on the Crux the new Crux Elite Evo was designed with Gravel Grinding in mind with a larger chainring, but is also $3200 and out of my price range. I’m also 220lbs so I’m wondering which wheelsets and cranks are better than others.
All appear to be on sale for good prices. I would like to grab a set of planet x road wheels or Rols for the road. It sounds like that is a pretty easy switch?
BTW, I’d like to say how much I hate being a larger rider, when it comes to visiting LBS. The only true XL/XXL frame for a 6’3 guys in my entire market is the Ridley I originally mentioned. Out of 6 bike shops I’ve visited with large inventories, nothing. Hence, why I end up buying online or possibly in this case the Ridley or Crux. I’ve still yet to get to sit on a Shiv, which I know I absolutely need to with its stack and reach. At least I came across a p5 that was a 61, and it fit great and then I realized I’d be broke if I bought it. No other “superbikes” though to even sit on. GRRRR…
The nice thing with size 15 mtb shoes is you go to Amazon and you have two choices. That makes life not so difficult. Haha.
I have a Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro and a Crux Apex Disc. For CX, I like the more upright geometry of the Crux. However, the Fantom is my favorite all around bike. It has pretty standard road geometry with a short head tube. I’ve raced dirt RR’s on it, CX on it and both my son and I have done Tri’s on it (the stock seat post can be spun around for a forward position). With cross tires on it, it’s smoother than my carbon tri or road bikes. It’s also lighter than the Crux. For the price, you can’t go wrong.
I just picked up the Fuji Altamira 1.3 from PB during their double rebate sale a couple weeks ago and it’s incredible. I went with a carbon frame because I’ll be riding this thing to and from my dirt/gravel rides - meaning rough chip seal for 11 miles both ways. It soaks up the buzz with aplomb - I’m very happy with it. The only thing I wish they did differently was route the rear brake cable internally and not on the top tube, but that’s kind of a minor quibble…
I also liked the Crux Apex disc, but it was also almost 60% more expensive.
I’m over 6’4" and I ride a Ridley X-Ride disc (Aluminum), in a 58 (!!) . I specifically chose aluminum and turned down a deal on the X-Fire as I didn’t want CF. Comfort wasn’t a factor for me given those fat tires and low pressures, and at my size I didn’t care about the small weight savings. I felt it was worth saving the cash and putting it into components/upgrades/my pocket.
Due to the BB height, the Ridley does feel like a big bike. Given my stack/reach numbers I’d actually fit a bit better on the 60 though I’m fine with my setup on the 58. (Unfortunately last year the published Geo numbers were incorrect on the 60 and weren’t changed until after I bought)
It was/is my first cyclocross bike and I love, love, love riding it. Have fun!
I have a Surly Cross Check, you would have to build it up as the completes aren’t specced well, but it’s a great frame. It clears up to 29x2.0 tires so you can use it for anything, I raced it at a 100k Leadville qualifier a few months ago and now have it swapped to singlespeed with cross tires and will be racing SSCX all fall, also commute on it. It’s not light but realistically if you put the money saved on the frame into the wheels and drivetrain it will be the same as a mid level aluminum bike.
Thanks everyone for their advice. I realized that I was probably going about this the wrong way since I wasn’t going to do cyclocross races much at all and I forgot how much more forgiving the ride will be on aluminum with these bigger tires. Anyways, I found a great bike I think and one that most people won’t have. It was the only one they had left. http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_cxx.htm I got the last CHROME one. Has everything I was needing and it is steel which I think is cool. The other great thing is that
now I have a lot of funds left to buy a road bike trainer or replace my P2SL for race season.