cyclo cross bikes...

Unknown
Unknown
edited June 2007 in Workshop
ok so its supposed to be summer, but im looking ahead.

first off if im a 52cm road bike will I still be a 52cm cross bike??

Also the Focus Cross Expert - looks a bit too good to be true at that price/spec - am i missing something (heavy etc..?)

Comments

  • Monowai
    Monowai Posts: 329
    as long as you only want one bottle cage, the Focus is ideal ;) Planet-X and Kinesis do similarly well-speceed and priced models. I'm awaiting delivery of a nice shiny new Uncle John Cross...

    Cake makes me happy
    Cake makes me happy
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I have the Uncle John, it's superb

    My bikes - http://flickr.com/photos/82587774@N00/

    I want one of these !! http://www.ciclicasati.it/italiano/foto_laser.htm
  • monty_dogcp
    monty_dogcp Posts: 382
    Cross bikes generally have a higher bottom bracket and you'll probably want extra stand-over for the rough stuff and the need to get your foot down, so dropping a couple of cm to a 50cm would be ideal. Because most people still run cantis and the need for a rear cable hanger, traditional horizontal frames still dominate.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    to be honest Id love a salsa, but for a 1st x bike cant justify that price for a frame for the price of an ultegra specced bike[8D]

    Monty the 52cm is classed as XS, looks to be the smallest size they do, with a higher BB will this then give me no standover, or does the frame design take this into account, similar to a compact??
  • monty_dogcp
    monty_dogcp Posts: 382
    Worth checking the Salsa website, but their frames go down to 44cm - so 52cm doesn't appear to be XS. It's always preferable to have a slightly smaller frame - you never know when you might benefit from the extra clearance - unless singing castrati is another of your ambitions! Too-big a frame will feel ponderous and unwieldly, whereas a smaller frame will feel nimble and agile. Salsa have a great reputation - I'd splash out extra on the frame as you can always upgrade components when they wear out. Worth checking out their website as they list all the geometries and dimensions, but generally 52cm would refer to traditional geometry
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    apologies onthe focus website the xs is 52cm, which does seem a bit big for xs!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    I may go the focus route for the first year, and then upgrade the frame next year (using the focus components) if we've still got a london season in 2008/09 (wow that sounds a real long way off!)
  • urbanfatboy
    urbanfatboy Posts: 193
    I have a Crosslight and it is lovely. Another route is the Paul Milnes, well priced and you can choose the spec.

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