# CX bike VS MTB



## User16625 (13 Aug 2013)

What is it like to ride a CX bike off road compared to a full sus MTB off road? My MTB is slow and heavy compared to my road bike and is obviously not as suited to long distances as I tire quicker. I am also getting sick of cars and other nutters I often come across on the road and I wonder what these "off road - road bikes" are like? How much of a bump can they take? I wouldnt fancy the idea of riding up/down curbs on my road bike but think nothing of it on the MTB. I imagine they are nearly as light as road bikes of similar budget.


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## dan_bo (13 Aug 2013)

It's a skinny rigid 29er with too much stem!


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## Venod (13 Aug 2013)

Have a look at this video


View: http://vimeo.com/27292534#


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## DRHysted (13 Aug 2013)

Gravel fine, deep sand get off and walk or (as I did the other morning) expect to keep laying on your side as the front tyre just kept tucking under, which I suspect is due to the weight distribution.


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## Venod (13 Aug 2013)

I find my Cross bike good on & off the road, here's a Strava route from the other day a mixture of road & single track & canal towpath, I wouldn't have got them crowns with the MTB.

http://app.strava.com/activities/74104719


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## gaz (14 Aug 2013)

Anything other than a straightish light gravel trails and the mountain bike will be quicker.

Looking at all my strava segments where I've done off road sections both on the CX and the 29er and my 29er is more than 30% quicker than the CX bike.

I just find the CX bike average on the road, and average off the road. And it's great if you're doing a mix off both (as long as the off road is very light) but why bother, might as well as be a bit slower on the road with the MTB but be fast as can be on the off road.

I had someone suggest on one of my videos that you could take a cross bike on a red run I did. HAHA yeah, if you want to go 2mph all the time and lift your self over everything.


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## Ciar (14 Aug 2013)

I commute on a Cannondale Quick CX4 which looks more like a MTB with happy medium tyres with small knobbly bits, it's quick very quick, before I bought my 29'er i rode it a few times on trails and it did pretty well in the mud and dry on singletracks and open trails, on roads for commutes, i average between 13-15mph somtimes quicker, it's fine for light off road fun, but I now have a seperate 29'er so i can really enjoy crashing into things ;-)


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## VamP (14 Aug 2013)

Depends on how technical the terrain is.


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## mustang1 (20 Aug 2013)

I use the CX mainly on road so 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Supreme are my tires of choice. But I also like some off road stuff and the CX+35mm are great for light trails.

I then ventured off the trails and... got quite bogged down. I think more due to tires and lack of skill from the rider (tho rider skill would be less noticeable if tires were more suitable).


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## Howard (20 Aug 2013)

RideLikeTheStig said:


> What is it like to ride a CX bike off road compared to a full sus MTB off road?


 
Great fun. But: you need to know your stuff. You need good tyres and know how to set them up. You have to pick your lines well. You have to be 'on it' 100% of the time. These are the main differences. Technical trails, on an AM bike - especially a full susser - you can just muddle through. On a CX bike - and to some extent a short travel XC bike - you can ride them very hard, but you'd better be good.

I suspect elite XC riders would not be much slower on CX bikes compared to their XC rigs on technical trails.


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## mustang1 (22 Aug 2013)

Earlier I wrote
"...CX+35mm are great for light trails", what i should have written was:they are *ok* for light trails as IDK what they are like in wet trail conditions (only used them on dry trails).
(Ps: i wonder how you can edit posts).


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## User16625 (22 Aug 2013)

mustang1 said:


> Earlier I wrote
> "...CX+35mm are great for light trails", what i should have written was:they are *ok* for light trails as IDK what they are like in wet trail conditions (only used them on dry trails).
> (Ps: i wonder how you can edit posts).


 
Iirc the "edit" option is next to the "reply" and "like" options. Only appears for a short amount of time. Cant edit old posts.

Edit: Its on the left hand side immediately below your sig.


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## jdtate101 (22 Aug 2013)

I've done two CX sportive's where both MTB and CX bikes take part. What I noticed is that offroad firetrails and dry/loose pack, the CX bike is quicker. Downhill technical offroad the MTB is very clearly superior. On the road and especially uphill on road the CX crushes the MTB.


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## Sittingduck (23 Aug 2013)

I might try CX this winter. Presumably I would be better off on my hardtail than my Audax (if I was to remove mudguards and put 28mm tyres with some tread, on it)?


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## VamP (24 Aug 2013)

Sittingduck said:


> I might try CX this winter. Presumably I would be better off on my hardtail than my Audax (if I was to remove mudguards and put 28mm tyres with some tread, on it)?


 

Yes. On some courses HT is faster than focused CX bikes. The Audax would just cry in fear.


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## RolandsuperX (1 Sep 2013)

jdtate101 said:


> What I noticed is that offroad firetrails and dry/loose pack, the CX bike is quicker. Downhill technical offroad the MTB is very clearly superior..


 
Agree 100% .... Also prefer the more stretched out riding position of a cross bike compared with the upright position of a modern MTB...


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## Richard A Thackeray (1 Sep 2013)

DRHysted said:


> Gravel fine, deep sand get off and walk or (as I did the other morning) expect to keep laying on your side as the front tyre just kept tucking under, which I suspect is due to the weight distribution.


Not necessarily, there was a cross-race that I used to do (Brigshaw School, Kippax, near Leeds) where we went through the long-jump sand-pit every lap.
Push a big gear, sit well back & let the front wheel wander a bit

Watch how the continental riders do it, on the courses that incorporate a LOT of sand


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## oldroadman (3 Sep 2013)

Richard A Thackeray said:


> Not necessarily, there was a cross-race that I used to do (Brigshaw School, Kippax, near Leeds) where we went through the long-jump sand-pit every lap.
> *Push a big gear, sit well back & let the front wheel wander a bit
> 
> Watch how the continental riders do it, on the courses that incorporate a LOT of sand*


 
Spot on. This is how pave is ridden at speed as well. Start gripping the bars and trying to "react/correct" and down you go...


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## Ootini (20 Mar 2014)

I'm not very experienced but I figured I'd put my £0.02 in.

I do a fair bit of commuting on my CX bike and it's fine, I'm running Challenge Grifo tyres at 65 psi and don't get too much rolling resistance. I also do quite a bit of off road, muddy track stuff with a colleague who brings his Scott mountain bike. Basically down hill he can ride much faster than me. Without suspension my CX bike feels like it's trying to smash my back teeth out so I have to keep speeds reasonable (this could just be down to technique). Up hill the gearing on my CX bike, double, means I have to push harder than he does with his triple but I don't mind it so much, means I get a better work out.
I may be wrong but I kinda see my CX bike as a jack of all trades, it's pretty good on the roads but will never match a true road racer, and it's pretty good on the rough stuff, but will never match a true mountain bike. However, for what I want it's perfect and I rarely get limited by terrain.


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## SquareDaff (20 Mar 2014)

Road wise I lose about 1-1.5mph on my CX over my carbon road setup. The CX will easily handle canal paths/loose rock/mud etc. I would probably switch to a full on MB for more technical stuff - but that's down to the limits of my skill rather than the limits of the bike! I suspect there are compromises (like there are on the road) but nothing you couldn't overcome.


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## Brightski (28 Mar 2014)

Years ago when I rode Cross I used to take a cross bike and an MTB instead of 2 cross bikes, for me I always felt safer on the MTB, still love cross bikes now


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## jdtate101 (22 Oct 2014)

Just revisiting this tread. Did my first really muddy race of this CX season last weekend and I noted one thing. When the mud was so sticky that no-one could ride, the CX'ers all got off and shouldered the bikes and ran, whilst the MTB'ers couldn't due to the weight and lack of frame space, so had to plough the front wheel through the fudge. Thus they ended up being a lot slower overall. They did have more grip on some of the slimy uphill bits, but the increased weight meant speeds were about even, or slightly in the favour of the CX machines.


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## deanosabby (11 Nov 2014)

I use a Boardman CX team 2011 model for commutes and for going round the mtb trails in Beecraigs and find it a great all rounder.
I have schwalbe marathon plus for on the road (28) and knobblys for off road (35). The only other change in setup is to TRP Hy/Rd hybrid brakes.

As has been said it is a jack of all trades to a point and can take mudguards and a pannier rack which I have fitted to mine.
I tried a few years ago to rig up my Old Orbea Aqua to do this kind of thing and it was not a great sucess which made me buy the CX.
I have an Orbea Orca Bronze which I use solely for road use.


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## Julia9054 (11 Nov 2014)

Took my Specialized Diverge (marketed as an adventure bike rather than a true cx bike) up to Dalby Forest a couple of weeks ago to see how it handled blue trails. Fell off a few times on hairpins due to toe overlap with my front wheel. In retrospect, taking the mudguards off would have been a good idea. 
I mainly use it for commuting but it is great for rides with a mix of terrain - a go anywhere bike!


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## ColinJ (11 Nov 2014)

Afnug said:


> Have a look at this video
> 
> 
> View: http://vimeo.com/27292534#



All recorded round here, and why I want a CX bike!


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## mustang1 (11 Nov 2014)

Old thread but wth. Last weekend I went mtbing and there is NO way the CX bike could have handled what the MTB went through. On some sections the CX might have been able to keep up for a few minutes but really, for real off road stuff in steeply undulating and extremely muddy situations with roots, rocks and such, MTB all the way. There was a a particularly nasty (for me) section where I just had to mainly let go of the brakes and let the MTB tires and suspension do their thing while I cursed all the way down. CX bike would not have a chance there. The geo of the two bikes are so vastly different that there isn't much use comparing them IMO.

On hard packed trails the CX bike is substantially faster down hill, up hill, and everything in between. 

I've come to the conclusion that you want a new bike, you've decided what you want no you want to justify it. So there's your justification!


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## dan_bo (11 Nov 2014)

ColinJ said:


> All recorded round here, and why I want a CX bike!



Do it Col. Had a lot of fun recently on the PBW and other stuff recently. Berms and whoops on Clayton Vale last night for starters......


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## jowwy (11 Nov 2014)

i did a cx sportive last weekend that was billed as cross mountain - either use cx bike or mountain bike - there was a few who did it on cx bikes as well as me on a cx flat bar set-up.

it was very tough on the hands, wrists and lower back especially on the rockier single trail and downhill sections. the 29er boys lapped it up. so i'm now rebuilding my 29er ready for the next one in january


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## Richard A Thackeray (11 Nov 2014)

jdtate101 said:


> Just revisiting this tread. Did my first really muddy race of this CX season last weekend and I noted one thing. When the mud was so sticky that no-one could ride, the CX'ers all got off and shouldered the bikes and ran, whilst the MTB'ers couldn't due to the weight and lack of frame space, so had to plough the front wheel through the fudge. Thus they ended up being a lot slower overall.


T'was always my big issue, before I has cross-bikes


These were my thoughts, on CX v MTB' for a race that I do ('Harriers v Cyclists' @ Bingley)
It was wrote before discs were common-place on CX bikes 

http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/show...ers-V-Cyclists&p=441137&viewfull=1#post441137


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