Cyclocross Bike Questions

SionnachOghma

Come January, I'll be looking to apply for a new bike on the B2W scheme. I have a decent hybrid, a Felt QX 75, but it can be a tad heavy on a 20km commute.

When I got my current bike on the grant, I was also getting my lock, lights, helmet & panniers. This time I'll be able to use the full whack on the bike, and probably pitch in a couple of hundred € of my own.

I had just been thinking of a lighter hybrid, but I'm wondering about cyclocross bikes. I'm not a fan of racers; the position and lower visibility makes me uncomfortable, and my back would hate me.

I don't really know thing one about cyclocross bikes - can they be ridden in an upright position like hybrids? Also, can I get a cyclocross with the sort of handlebars that would be on a hybrid/mtb, or otherwise just have top-mounted brake levers fitted?

GlennaMaddy

Cyclocross bikes are versatile, a bike for life IMO. If you don't fancy the mucky stuff, but on 28c touring tyres and you have a tourer, or 23c tyres and you have a racer. You can achieve something close to the hybrid position with a 2nd set of brake levers like these

A few people on here hate cantilever CX brakes like those in the image above, they're not as smooth as regular calipers, but there are now quite a few CX bikes that come with disk brakes.

Make sure the CX frame has eyelets for mudguards and carrier brazes for maximum versatility.

nak

SionnachOghma wrote: »

Come January, I'll be looking to apply for a new bike on the B2W scheme. I have a decent hybrid, a Felt QX 75, but it can be a tad heavy on a 20km commute.

When I got my current bike on the grant, I was also getting my lock, lights, helmet & panniers. This time I'll be able to use the full whack on the bike, and probably pitch in a couple of hundred € of my own.

I had just been thinking of a lighter hybrid, but I'm wondering about cyclocross bikes. I'm not a fan of racers; the position and lower visibility makes me uncomfortable, and my back would hate me.

I don't really know thing one about cyclocross bikes - can they be ridden in an upright position like hybrids? Also, can I get a cyclocross with the sort of handlebars that would be on a hybrid/mtb, or otherwise just have top-mounted brake levers fitted?

A cyclocross bike has drop bars same as a road bike. You can have in-line brake levers fitted (think the Giant bikes come with them). I ride my cross bike commuting and find it comfortable, but also race and ride off-road. Would you be riding off-road?

SionnachOghma

You can achieve something close to the hybrid position with a 2nd set of brake levers like these...

Make sure the CX frame has eyelets for mudguards and a carrier for maximum versatility.

That's great; thanks Will definitely be getting one I can fit with guards and a carrier.

Would you be riding off-road?

I'd be on the road pretty much all the time. Couple of tiny patches where said road isn't in great condition, but that's it.

Harrybelafonte

GlennaMaddy wrote: »

Make sure the CX frame has eyelets for mudguards and carrier brazes for maximum versatility.

Are there options if it doesn't have braze ons and a carbon fork?

nak

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Are there options if it doesn't have braze ons and a carbon fork?

Mine has a carbon fork and mudguard eyelets, don't use them though, clip on rear mudguard does the trick for commuting.

Some cyclocross frames don't have bottle cage mounts either, but they are becoming more common.

del_boy13

I have a CX bike that I use for commuting. Fitted with mudguards and comfy 35c tyres. Rose Pro DX Cross-3000.

Switched from a hybrid to this and don't feel uncomfortable on it. great to have the option of the drops on a windy day. You can get inline brakes added if you really want them.

Mine has mechanical discs and they have been great so far in the showers we have been having.

Both mine from Rose in Germany and work facilitated it but there was a bit of messing involved as the payment terms etc were different when buying business to business. No VAT charged which helps with the price. When you are buying business to business you need to go through the UK rep who assists the process. Finlay Paton is his name very good service overall but can take a day or two to get back at times as everything is by email. You spec out the bike online and then send the details to him along with company VAT number.

The messy bit is they require payment in advance which is different from most Irish suppliers who will accept payment on delivery. If you can work this out with your employer then you are on the pigs back.

Whatever you decide best of luck.

Koobcam

A CX bike is a great idea, very versatile. For commuting, get a set of wide road tyres (maybe 28mm) and you'll be good to go. Disc brakes are probably better than cantilever, though depends obviously on the quality. I think hydraulic discs for cx are still pretty expensive, so you'd be talking mechanical, which are fine really. Definitely better than standard calipers that you'd find on a road bike. I have a Canyon Inflite, which has been great so far. I think cyclesuperstore have some nice Cannondale cx bikes at the moment, worth having a look

Chips Lovell

You're essentially proposing to buy a Cyclocross bike and convert it into a hybrid. Just buy a hybrid instead.

SionnachOghma

Oscar Gateaux wrote: »

You're essentially proposing to buy a Cyclocross bike and convert it into a hybrid. Just buy a hybrid instead.

As I mentioned, a big consideration for me is the weight. I compared the basic weight of my QX75 2011 to an entry level CX bike (Trek Crossrip Comp), and mine is coming in at twice the weight. That alone seems worth thinking about to me, and the Crossrip has top-mounted brakes and the mounts for rack and mudguards.

A CX bike makes it more likely I'll go in for our longer distances on my own time, maybe join the cyclist's club at work, which I've avoided before as the folks in it are nearly all on road bikes.

I shot off a message to my bike shop, and with a trade in of my Felt, the Crossrip or something similar is easily affordable on the B2W scheme, and I plan to have some extra cash put away, letting me either stretch a bit, or pay off a chunk of the cost outright so I'm not having my salary garnished for quite as long.

I think I'll definitely be going with a cyclocross.

outfox

You can't go wrong with a CX. You might want to check out the gearing before you buy though. Some of them have a 46-36 up front, which is a relatively narrow range. I find I struggle on very steep hills, and then spin out going down the other side. You could find this a pain in the rear, especially if your hybrid is a triple. You could get the chainring or cassette swapped out in due course.

Koobcam

outfox wrote: »

You can't go wrong with a CX. You might want to check out the gearing before you buy though. Some of them have a 46-36 up front, which is a relatively narrow range. I find I struggle on very steep hills, and then spin out going down the other side. You could find this a pain in the rear, especially if your hybrid is a triple. You could get the chainring or cassette swapped out in due course.

I have 36/46 on the front and an 11-32 on the back on my cx bike. I've actually been doing races & sportives with this for the past couple of months (just club league, the disc brakes are a no-no for open races I think), and I haven't really had a problem with spinning out. 36x32 is a pretty ok granny gear to have and will get you up most hills, while 46x11 is enough to sustain a speed of 60kph on the flat. If you were to get an Ultegra 11-speed set up, you could throw in an extra €110 and get a 52 tooth chain ring-that would work fine with a 36. I think the 46 on the cx is handy though as you can keep it in the big (or should I say medium-sized) ring for longer, thus minimizing the chances of dropping your chain.

SionnachOghma

The CrossRip I'm considering has 50/39/30 on the front, 11-28 back

Raam

Koobcam wrote: »

I have 36/46 on the front and an 11-32 on the back on my cx bike. I've actually been doing races & sportives with this for the past couple of months (just club league, the disc brakes are a no-no for open races I think), and I haven't really had a problem with spinning out. 36x32 is a pretty ok granny gear to have and will get you up most hills, while 46x11 is enough to sustain a speed of 60kph on the flat. If you were to get an Ultegra 11-speed set up, you could throw in an extra €110 and get a 52 tooth chain ring-that would work fine with a 36. I think the 46 on the cx is handy though as you can keep it in the big (or should I say medium-sized) ring for longer, thus minimizing the chances of dropping your chain.

You are racing disc brakes in your club league? They are a no-no for any road race.

Koobcam

Raam wrote: »

You are racing disc brakes in your club league? They are a no-no for any road race.

I did a TT on them-is that ok?

Raam

Koobcam wrote: »

I did a TT on them-is that ok?

I don't personally mind, but strictly speaking, no.

nak

Raam wrote: »

You are racing disc brakes in your club league? They are a no-no for any road race.

I thought discs were only banned in UCI races?

Koobcam

nak wrote: »

I thought discs were only banned in UCI races?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Ah well, the league ended last week anyway and my proper racing bike should be back with me soon.

Raam

nak wrote: »

I thought discs were only banned in UCI races?

If the race is promoted by a club which is a member of CI then it would fall into that category.

nak

Raam wrote: »

If the race is promoted by a club which is a member of CI then it would fall into that category.

It's not in the CI rules (at least I think not) and they don't do random bike checks. Lots of us are probably racing on bikes that would fail UCI tests (especially TT), my track bike is below UCI min weight and it fails the test in the jig thingy due to me being a short arse, but doesn't matter for the track league.

Raam

nak wrote: »

It's not in the CI rules (at least I think not) and they don't do random bike checks. Lots of us are probably racing on bikes that would fail UCI tests (especially TT), my track bike is below UCI min weight and it fails the test in the jig thingy due to me being a short arse, but doesn't matter for the track league.

CI defer to the UCI rules for bikes.