I got the ok from the mrs. to buy a new bike this fall. Currently ride a Saber (and a mountain bike occasionally in the winter) and am looking to buy either a road bike (probably titanium) or cyclocross bike to ride throughout the fall/winter. Here are my thoughts on the pros/cons of each. Input appreciated…
cyclo: +better for winter conditions, rough roads, big city riding, etc.; +potentially more durable on trainer?; + still swift on road, but can venture on gravel paths if necessary; can use for commuting to work; can pick one up used relatively cheap ( <$1500) / - may be tough to use on roadie group rides and keep up; - don’t really ride off road much if at all; may decide I need a road bike too (-:
road: + faster/more comfortable; +titanium is durable enough for rough roads; may be better tool to improve riding; + more appropriate for roadie rides, centuries, etc. / -midwest winter tough on bike; -if buying road bike will get good one w/ dura ace, etc. so likely > $3500 even if used; too nice to ride to work
I got a cross bike to ride to work. I prefer it to a road bike because I can hop curbs on to sidewalks, or hit some easy trails on the way home to blow off some steam.
If you want to ride with roadies you “could” just put on some road wheels and go ride, but your acceptance will be determined by the snob factor of the group.
Plus, if there is a fall cross series near you, it’s a BITCH of a workout!
I have both - but ride the cross bike in the winter (too much dirt, salt, sand for high-end road bikes). once cross season is over i’ll put regular rings back on (53/39) and road tires. A cross bike should be very close in size to a road bike so it makes a perfect winter training bike.
if you spend $1500 on a used CX you should be able to get a very good bike with decent wheels and Ultegra on it. This should keep you in with almost all road group rides - and unless you live in pro-training central (san diego or boulder) you’ll get MORE respect keeping up on a crosser… one piece of advice: don’t buy the cannondale with the headshock unless all you want to do is ride to / from work and on some light trails. it doesn’t transfer over to road riding very well.
Buy both? A cross bike is for racing cross. On road, they are durable, but they aren’t that great for a lot of pavement action. The set-up for a cross bike is also different and not set up to spin in a pack. The brakes are great in mud, but dry stopping power is nothing close to dual-pivots. That is, if you run typical cross brakes like Spooky or Empella. It gets dicey in traffic when you are use to the stopping power of dual pivots. It’s not a weight issue either. My cross bike is 17lbs, road bike 17.5lbs. The bb is higher, the front end ususally set up 1cm shorter, the shifters get set up all high and dorky like the Postal boys, and the gearing is stepped down, or just a single 42T front ring. For commuting I’d recommend a road bike with lots of clearance for fenders (SKS raceblades) and larger tires like the Conti 4season tire. Then swap out to skinny tires for the group rides. If you are thinking of racing cross you’ll likely love the sport and have a blast, but for commuting, not so good.
As for ‘too nice to ride to work’, the only concern is secure storage. Otherwise, why not enjoy the miles?
Where is winter for you? If you live in a real winter area,a cross bike can be fun. If you are in FL or Southen CA and don’t ride cross, go for a road bike.
I don’t agree that you can’t keep up with real roadies on a cross bike, it’s all rider and very little bike. I’ve raced many times in the Pacific Northwest where lots of riders are on cross bikes because they make sense for wet conditions.
Canti brakes not as strong as Dual Pivots? Come on, why do tandems use canti’s? Avid 4’s on up and you’ll have plenty of brake, wet or dry.
The Redline cross bike is one to look at. Under $1500, disks, room for fenders, 105 gear. You could slip on some 23’s and ride with any group.
Winter for me is Illinois/Wisconsin so I’m facing wet, slushy conditions and some rough roads much of the year. Commuting is not that important - can do that on the mountain bike. My thinking is that when the weather is nice I’m likely to ride the Saber (tri bike), so maybe a road bike is not the best use of my $$. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a road bike for centuries, group rides, etc… Maybe a ti road bike can work reasonably well during the winter with some beefier tires?
Tandems historically ran canti brakes for the clearance and because back in the day, they were stronger. It was also pre-dual pivot days. The lightweight canti versions we race cross on do not have the same dry stopping power as a basic dual pivot. Specifically DuraAce dual pivot vs the Empella canti on my race cross bike and the Spooky canti brakes on my pit (backup) cross bike. But what they lack in dry stopping power is more than compensated by the mud clearance and function through all sorts of crap. We tend to think of them as more ‘speed controllers’ than brakes.
I’m not saying one can’t keep up on a cross bike, it’s just that of the two bikes, the road bike is going to be more fun in a pack, unless the cross bike is set-up for road riding and not cross, in which case why not just buy a road bike.
I’d agree that for out of the box value, it’s tough to beat Redline’s cross bike, or a complete bike from Kona. Although I’d stay away from disc brakes. It doesn’t look like the UCI is going to allow them any time soon.
If I lived where you live, I’d go cross in a heartbeat. Wet roads equal wet a$$. Cross bike with room for big tires and fenders will be heaven. You’ll look forward to winter rides when on the right bike.
Don’t sweat the group and century rides, you’ll be fine. You ride that thing all winter and the guys who get fat in winter won’t even be able to see you.
I disagree with those who indicate you can’t ride a CCX bike with roadies or for high miles. In Oregon, we’ve got the Nation’s largest Cyclocross Race Series (www.crosscrusade.com) with nearly 500 racers per weekend participating.
In Oregon, MOST race CCX in the fall, most own CCX bikes for winter training, many train on CCX bikes during the summer, and a fair number still race them in the summer road racing scene.
With the new CCX bikes, you can get a very light bike, carbon fork, light race wheels, and all-day comfort comparable to a road bike. Yesterday, I saw a 16.5 lb complete steel CCX bike with DA-10 built by Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles (www.vanillabicycles.com) It was gorgeous.
My recommendation…Buy a very good CCX bike (ultegra, Chorus, DA, or Record) with training wheels and then add a pair of race wheels for road racing.
As a reference, I put 4,000 miles on my CCX bike last winter/spring and still rode it a bunch until June (when I sent it back to the builder to get some work done).
By the way, I have MANY bikes, but my CCX bike gets more miles than all of the others (by a large margin). It is used for all my base miles, all my commuting, mid-week rides, and CCX racing.
Jeff, go test ride and decide for yourself. You can see from this thread how geographic preferences factor into the decision. This time of year the local group ride might have one or two cross bikes out of 60+. The rest of the year, not one. I’ve yet to see one in a road race either. Maybe they do things differently in the Pacific Northwest. I do have to give them some credit, they ride on the roads rain or shine all year round.
If you do go custom, Sacha makes a sweet ride. So does our team sponsor http://www.sycip.com/
I bought a CX bike to commute on a few years ago. Then someone told me to do road races. I started doing those and had fun. The comments you get at a RR with a CX bike and a rack on the back are priceless. When I raced my CX bike during the summer RR I was in the top 10 in all but one of my races (I flatted in a break and ended up 12th). I upgraded to a real road bike and now enjoy riding that for training and racing, but still do group rides on my CX bike sometimes. As long as you put on a 52 or 53 big ring on the front and some slicks, you can ride with any group (assuming you have the fitness). Heck my CX bike weighs around 22lbs, but then so does my buddies road bike and he is competitive Cat 2 racer.
The CX bike has mounting holes for my racks and I can race in the winter in the local CX series (having a 44T is better than the 52T). It is a multi purpose bike, and was a great first bike as far as I was concerned. I have raced with guys that run 6 speeds with down tube shifters, road races and CX races. Buy what suits you, but try out all the options and make a decision.
jeff. you should get a road bike that is designed with decent tire clearance. lower end say a surly long haul trucker or new kona sutra, upper end a rivendell, middle-o-the-road a heron or atlantis or gunnar.
problem solved.
compared to a cross bike you have a lower bb so it does not handle like a SUV on the road as all 'cross bikes do, and compared to a road bike you have actual utility, and give up nothing save perhaps a little weight.
the number of people that would be better off on these styles of bikes but do not even know it or know they exist is staggering, as evidenced by the posts so far . . . . . .
Dre / TTN: The Gunnar Crosshairs might be a good choice. Are you familiar with this bike? Is Gunnar owned by Waterford? Is a 4lb frame pretty typical for this kind of bike?
jeff. dre’ is the proud owner of a sweet new green crosshairs. i own a few gunnars, and have ridden the c-hairs myself. gunnar is waterford’s production tig welded line of bikes. compared to most all production middle range 'cross bikes the relatively lower bb used by w-ford and sweet ride of the 853/ox plat frame of the crosshair make it a superbe choice. compare to something like a redline or K2 enemy or similar and there is actually no comparison, ride-wise. you may want to look at the gunnar “rock tour” or the “sport”, also, for your stated purpose. the weight is quite typical - it is a good honest weight and build. worry not - when is the last time you worried that a 1/2 full vs a full water bottle was slowing you down? same diff.
you live in wisconsin? you should ride a gunnar - swing over and watch it being built if you like, it is cool.
Live in Illinois but ride alot in Wisconsin so I consider it home turf. Want to support the local brands if possible…and Crosshairs sounds ideal. Thanks again!
I have several bikes…and my CX got MANY more miles than all the others this year. (Felt F1x) I built it with full ultegra and use velomax circuits for road…and a 105/CXP set-up for off-road.
Plain and simple…my F1X rides as nice as my F1. I don’t do my “road races” on the F1X, but I do all my long “rides” or group rides on it. The CX is a little bit stiffer ride, but it’s probably due to the entire set-up. I started enjoying the F1x so much, I was thinking about installing clips, but there’s no room with the sissy levers. I did one sprint tri on the CX while my bike was being shipped to LP. And…scored a 3rd (my best place of the year) Go figure…
Net result. If you’re looking for an all around trainer, buy a nice CX with carbon fork. If you’re looking for a road race machine, buy a road bike…
