One bike to rule them all. Recommend a cyclocross for commute & occassional off road

[Harv]

Looking for one bike to replace the 3 I currently have. Will sell my current road bike, hybrid bike and mountain bike to save space:

My commute is 26 miles round trip mainly on tarmac.

Will also use it on the weekend for offroad. Also looking to do the TPT on it.

Looking to spend around £500 ish

Needs to have disc brakes and also mudguards as will be used for commuting

Thanks for the replies so far.

Additional
I know this sounds strange but I also want the bike to look a bit rubbish.

I want it to be less nick able

 

[ColinJ]

I think £500 might be a bit low. I have been looking for a similar bike and found some good ones for £900-1,000.

If you can stretch that far, have a look at the Cannondale CAADX range, the new Planet X London Road and the Focus Mares AX 5.0.

 

[vickster]

Winstanleys Has the whyte kings cross on special at around £500 as long as it's the right size

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/54026/Whyte_Kings_Cross_Cyclocross_2013_Bike

Otherwise you'll need to up the budget for a decent cx, there's a special on the Forme Calvert @Mike!

There's always second hand otherwise

 

[Harv]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Additional
I know this sounds strange but I also want the bike to look a bit rubbish.

I want it to be less nick able

 

[KneesUp]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Additional
I know this sounds strange but I also want the bike to look a bit rubbish.

I want it to be less nick able

If you want it to look rubbish I will happily sell you my bike for £500.

It's steel-framed and currently has 700 x 37c tryres, although it will take up to 50c. It's tough as old boots and looks awful because I painted it myself. I don't think anyone would steal it.

I made it by putting drop bars on an old hybrid.

Actually it has cantilevers (brand new, mind you) so I can do it for £450?

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Additional
I know this sounds strange but I also want the bike to look a bit rubbish.

I want it to be less nick able

I understand where you are coming from with that!

Perhaps a used and superficially battered bike would be a good idea then? (A slightly dented or scratched frame could reduce the price of a decent bike to under £500, but you'd have to make sure that it was otherwise still in a good working condition.)

 

[KneesUp]

I understand where you are coming from with that!

Perhaps a used and superficially battered bike would be a good idea then? (A slightly dented or scratched frame could reduce the price of a decent bike to under £500, but you'd have to make sure that it was otherwise still in a good working condition.)

Scratched is fine. Even rusty is fine if it's surface rust, but dents can seriously reduce the strength of the frame.

 

[Harv]

If you want it to look rubbish I will happily sell you my bike for £500.

It's steel-framed and currently has 700 x 37c tryres, although it will take up to 50c. It's tough as old boots and looks awful because I painted it myself. I don't think anyone would steal it.

I made it by putting drop bars on an old hybrid.

Actually it has cantilevers (brand new, mind you) so I can do it for £450?

Lol. If second hand I would look to pay a lot less than £500. There aren't many cyclocross bikes on gumtree and ebay unfortunately

 

[KneesUp]

Lol. If second hand I would look to pay a lot less than £500. There aren't many cyclocross bikes on gumtree and ebay unfortunately

£300. I can't say fairer than that

 

[ColinJ]

... dents can seriously reduce the strength of the frame.

I wasn't thinking of big dents in triple-butted frames with beer-can-thin tubing - superficial damage to a strong frame! The kind of dent that a stone getting chucked up at the frame would make. I don't think many people would expect to have to scrap a CX frame because one stone got chucked up at it by the front wheel!

 

[DCLane]

I looked at the Carrera Crixus (I and II) cross bike yesterday - seems OK for £330. Not disc brakes though.

At that price you could have an extra set of wheels with road tyres.

 

[steveindenmark]

I like the idea of a perfectly operational rat bike.

 

[simon.r]

Apart from price, this looks to meet your criteria. Secondhand? http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-de-fer-10-2015-adventure-road-bike-ec073913

 

[Harv]

Looks good but not sure I'll find a second hand one as not many come up.

 

[KneesUp]

Apart from price, this looks to meet your criteria. Secondhand? http://www.evanscycles.com/products/genesis/croix-de-fer-10-2015-adventure-road-bike-ec073913

Or if you can stretch the budget by, er, 40%, you can get a CDa (Croix de Aluminium, presumably) for £700. I think that's a new model for this year though, so no chance of a second hand one.