Converting a road bike to a cross bike.....

Edwinsprint

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After looking in a local bike shop and seeing 2007 Kona Jake reduced from £650 (the cost of the 08 edition) to £450 my appetite has been wetted. They had it in my size only.

I live in Marlborough, (near the Ridgeway) near lots of bridle paths hard packed and muddy (very muddy) and no rocks.

Alternatively I can spend some money on converting my roadbike a Specialized Allez or can I? I have previously put a compact on and can put a 34 on the back with MTB derailleur. My wheels are Mavic Aksiums which I believe can handle off-road.

I am mainly worried about

1. clearance for thicker knobbly tires

2 clearance for bottom bracket

3 the brake levers for the drop bar tops are cheap but how do I attach them with the normal drop brakes? Do I have 2 cables running to the same cantilever?

I would be really grateful for any advice, many thanks
Ed

aracer

There's no way you can convert a standard road bike like an Allez to be a cross bike. It simply doesn't have the clearance - you won't fit a standard cross tyre through the frame forks and brakes. If you can get one narrow enough it will leave no space for mud.

At that price for the Jake, if you can afford that I'd say go for it. You can of course never have too many bikes.

andrew_s

Edwinsprint wrote:

3 the brake levers for the drop bar tops are cheap but how do I attach them with the normal drop brakes? Do I have 2 cables running to the same cantilever?

Just one cable.

The inner is continuous to the brake caliper, but the outer is split at the bar top lever, which applies the brake by forcing the two sections of outer apart.

You will have to take the inner mostly out to allow you to cut the outer. That may mean a new inner if the end isn't tidy enough to thread back through the outer after cutting (or long enough to trim back). You may also have to move the bar tape a bit back from the stem.

maddog 2

geometry would be all wrong too. Far too twitchy.Crossers have slacker angles and longer wheelbases. You'd spend much of the time eating dirt instead of cycling through it.... :?

Edwinsprint

Many thanks for the advice. All makes alot of sense.

Ed

craigenty

The cable holder on the underside of the top tube just next to the seat tube will make a little hole in your shoulder.

Craig

Steve I

The Kona is a bit of a bargain at that price. I bought one a year ago for the full price! I've tried mine off road, but to be honest, I prefer my Marin East Peak full sus. for trails, towpaths and general cross country stuff. The Kona is a bit faster on smoother sections, but 35mm tyres are relatively small for off road and you get rattled around a bit on lumpy stuff. My average speeds are just as high on the Marin with 1.95" semi slicks. Also, there's no way of fitting a front mudguard like you can on a suspension fork, so, if it's wet or muddy, you get pretty dirty from the crap the front wheel flicks up at you .

My Kona isn't wasted, I've got mine set up with nice, wide full guards and 28mm road tyres. It's nearly as fast as my road bike but much comfier, great for all day rides or audax.

Don't let any of this put you off though, A cross bike makes good sense for off road commuting. There's no complicated disc brakes or front and rear suspension and the maintenance issues that come with these.

aracer

All depends what you're used to - you mention towpaths, and I'd say a crosser is ideal for that - in fact to come back to the original point I did actually use a road bike with narrow cross tyres for a race which involved mainly towpaths many years ago when I was a poor student and only had that roadbike (which was considerably cheaper than that Kona). Whilst it might not be as fast as a full-sus MTB on some of the other stuff, that only matters if you're racing, and if you're not it gets you back to basics a bit more - and definitely feels better for routes involving fair amounts of road. Have actually raced mine in a Trailquest on Cannock when everybody else was on MTBs, and don't think it was much if at all slower - you just have to get used to the difference in handling. All in all, a cross bike is a lot of fun!

Monty Dog

A cross bike with road tyres can be ridden fast on the road and with knobblies, they're fast on paths and hard-packed trails. Riding a cross bike off road requires more skill too as you can't rely on heavy bouncy bits to compensate for poor handling. Apart from technical downhills and really soft stuff, I can ride as quick as an MTB on a crosser - for mixed road and trail riding they're a blast.