# Cyclocross bike or Stick with Road?



## Nosaj (16 Oct 2012)

Currently have a Cannondale CAAD 8 road bike and a mountain bike but the mountain bike doesn't really getting used and I am getting a bit sick of head down and bum up pacy must beat my PB rides, so looking to take my riding somewhere different over the winter and next summer and one of these seems to be the perfect compromise.

Budget is flexible but don't want to really go above £ 1,500 ideal budget would be around 1k -1.2k ideally like Shimano 105 componentry or above (or equivalent in Campag/Sram)

What I am looking for is really a do it all bike, competent road, bit of light touring and a something swift ish for the summer months but equally able to handle bridleways and general pot holed roads. Funnily enough it will not be used for

Bit concerened by the slightly lower gearing on a Cyclocross if for example I swap wheels and go for slightly narrower say 25's for the summer will I be running out of gears as I can on my Cannondale which is a compact double.

I have googled and like the look of the Cannondale Caadx, the Cube and a few others but I am really after some ideas as to what people currently have and how they have found it.

Many thanks for any advice

Cheers


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## defy-one (16 Oct 2012)

I just bought a specialized sirrus elite. Perfect for a go anywhere bike. Yesterday i used the roads to get to Langley Park and had so much fun scooting across bridal paths and jumping small streams.
Then back on the roads doing a respectable 13-15mph
The tyres are multi purpose (700 x 28c) but i can change them to suit my intended use (knobblies/slicks)
A top end sirrus or giant rapid will come in close to £1k
More than enough for a go anywhere,do anything bike.


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## Pedrosanchezo (16 Oct 2012)

Nosaj,

They are very flexible! A simple change of wheels and tyres, or even just tyres, can open up so many different options. 
One of the great things about a CX bike is the allowance for larger tyres with bigger tread for off road.
For trail use i run 35's. People tend to run them anywhere between 30-60 psi depending on the terrain. 
For back roads and pothole filled Scottish roads  i use 28 p*ncture proof's. 
You can go all the way down to 23's if you like but i think 25's would be fine for tarmac and training. 
Speed wise, on the road, i only really notice the weight difference. This affects uphill a fair bit but then my road bike is about 7kg and my CX is around 9kg. A fair difference. On the flat it is only slightly noticeable when spinning up otherwise, as many state, the actual times aren't that much different. 
This is all down to the components, the bigger tyres and their weight though. The frames will be only 500 or so grams difference. 

I have the Cannondale Caadx and love it. I bought some shimano rs30's with 28's on and that does great for road use. I kept the original Maddux wheels and put 35's on for trail use. I run 11-28 Ultegra cassette on the shimano Rs30's, for road use, so i get that bit extra top end. The stock 105 cassette is 12-32 and remains on the maddox set up for trail and off road use.


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## Moss (4 Nov 2012)

Hi,
I have a Ridley X Ride, (Ridley Make the Best Cyclo Cross Bike) I had considered selling? to finance the purchase another all-out road bike. I'm glad I didn't sell. I use it as a road bike; and the only thing I changed was the knobbly Tyres for a set of Michelin Lithion 700 x 23 road tyres and tubes. The X Ride is lighter in weight than most alloy road bikes; and fly's along the roads; and hills are easily tackled. The chainset is 48/34, instead of 50/34, not a great deal of difference really, the cassette is Ultegra 12/25, complimented with Ultegra Gears and levers, it has Mini-V Brakes, carbon Forks and 4ZA wheels. This bike is a go anywhere bike that is lightweight and rides like a top end road bike. BTW I also have a top end carbon road bike. The Ridley is truly impressive. 
You can get a X-Ride with 105, for about £1400, Ultegra about £1500


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## Pedrosanchezo (4 Nov 2012)

Moss said:


> You can get a X-Ride with 105, for about £1400, Ultegra about £1500


 
Wow, for £100 extra defo go Ultegra, if that's the case.


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## VamP (5 Nov 2012)

Moss said:


> Hi,
> I have a Ridley X Ride, *(Ridley Make the Best Cyclo Cross Bike)* I had considered selling? to finance the purchase another all-out road bike. I'm glad I didn't sell. I use it as a road bike; and the only thing I changed was the knobbly Tyres for a set of Michelin Lithion 700 x 23 road tyres and tubes. The X Ride is lighter in weight than most alloy road bikes; and fly's along the roads; and hills are easily tackled. The chainset is 48/34, instead of 50/34, not a great deal of difference really, the cassette is Ultegra 12/25, complimented with Ultegra Gears and levers, it has Mini-V Brakes, carbon Forks and 4ZA wheels. This bike is a go anywhere bike that is lightweight and rides like a top end road bike. BTW I also have a top end carbon road bike. The Ridley is truly impressive.
> You can get a X-Ride with 105, for about £1400, Ultegra about £1500


 
Bit of a sweeping statement. I think Colnago, Kinesis, Cannondale, Specialized, Van Dessel, Lembeek and others might feel somewhat slighted by that assertion.


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## Moss (5 Nov 2012)

VamP said:


> Bit of a sweeping statement. I think Colnago, Kinesis, Cannondale, Specialized, Van Dessel, Lembeek and others might feel somewhat slighted by that assertion.


 
Top Pro's seem to use; and make their first choice Ridley Cyclo Cross Bikes! maybe I should have said : One of the Best Cyclo Cross bikes that money can buy! I still rate them as best though. Ridley do produce a quality bike.


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## PK99 (5 Nov 2012)

Moss said:


> Top Pro's seem to use; and make their first choice Ridley Cyclo Cross Bikes! maybe I should have said : One of the Best Cyclo Cross bikes that money can buy! I still rate them as best though. Ridley do produce a quality bike.


 
A top race ready cyclocross bike designed for 1 hour races is unlikely to be suitable for casual riders/ long time in the saddle


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## Moss (5 Nov 2012)

PK99 said:


> A top race ready cyclocross bike designed for 1 hour races is unlikely to be suitable for casual riders/ long time in the saddle


 
How wrong can you be. I ride my Ridley X Ride for 50/60 miles on the road; and it's as comfortable as my road specific bike for 3, or 4, hours riding - even more probably. Also handles nicely. I have set it up for road use.


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## Mark Walker (5 Nov 2012)

Outdoor fitness had a pro rider testing 6 cx bikes this month for approx £1000
Cannondalle CAADX 9/10
Genesis croix de fer 7.5/10
Lappierre cyclo x 8//10
Revolution cross pro 7/10
Scott cx comp 9/10
Sensa fermo 8.5/10
Best in test was the Scott
"the scott performed flawlessly on ever terrain "
I bought the Giant tcx 2 2012 model for £640 at a LBS relay good bike especially at this price.
regards
Mark​


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## VamP (5 Nov 2012)

Moss said:


> Top Pro's seem to use; and make their first choice Ridley Cyclo Cross Bikes! maybe I should have said : One of the Best Cyclo Cross bikes that money can buy! I still rate them as best though. Ridley do produce a quality bike.


 
Ridley make good bikes. So do others.

Top Pro's ride what they're given, at that level all the bikes are immense. The brands I listed are a fair cross section of what you'll see at a Sunday league race.


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## Moss (5 Nov 2012)

"Ridley make good bikes. So do others."

I agree, I'd certainly buy another Ridley Bike; Cyclo Cross or Road Bike.


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## rowdin (7 Nov 2012)

You can now buy the boardman cx pro, in this country for £1499.
http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_pro.html


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## Globalti (2 Jan 2013)

I bought a Specialized Tricross disc about a year ago and have found it very useful as a light tourer and winter bike. You wouldn't really want to race it as it's too heavy but as a "cross-purpose" bike it's excellent; on wet muddy roads, the 32mm tyres are good and puncture proof and the stability of the frame makes it safe and steady. With mudguards it copes with winter filth and with a rack and panniers it's superbly stable. I have even taken it out for a night ride with my MTB cub where it whopped the FS boys up hills, did well on narrow wet singletrack due to the stable handling and efficient rear triangle but was absolutely hopeless on rocky downhills. What I like best of all about it is the disc brakes, they work well from the hoods and it's really nice not to hear your rims being ground away to grey paste. As a trainer it's about 1 mph slower on average than my carbon bike. It has a very upright comfortable position and even after riding 70 miles up the A6 to Windermere I didn't feel as tired as on the roadie on the same ride.


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