Advice for GF Road or Cyclo X

oddy74

Hi there my girlfriend has been bitten by the cycling bug after buying a MTB last year.
She has now decided she would like a more road specific bike.
I know nothing about road or cyclo x bikes (I ride MTB :twisted: )
My question is:
Which would be more suitable a road or cyclo x, her riding will be 80% road with canal paths and the occaisonal unmade track (if possible)
Im not even entirely sure what the main difference between the 2 types of bike are, from looking on the net I gather road bikes are generally lighter, some cyclo x I've seen seem to have road tyres and others seem to use narrow MTB tyres? Am I correct?
Her budget is around £600 - £1000 so any ideas, recommendations will be gratefully received. Obviously she will want sit on and try before she buys but at this stage we are just trying to narrow down what she needs and make a shortlist of the bikes.
Thanks for your help
Oddy

Pooter

Which is the most suitable kind of bike? Really depends on how important it is to ride the 'unmade track' . A standard road bike can handle most canal tow paths easily.

How cross bikes differ: a shorter top tube to make it more manoeuvrable, cantilever brakes for more mud clearance and because V brakes don't work with sti levers, a higher bottom bracket, more distance between the back tyre and seat tube, easier gearing with perhaps a 39/48 chainset. Yes a £700 cross bike would be slightly heavier than a £700 road bike. Tyres will typically be 700x32 with knobbles on, but you can fit fast 700x23 road tyres on them if you like.

The popular makes are Kinesis, Ridley, Kona, PlanetX. The Focus bikes through Wiggle seem good value.

CrookedCucumber

FWIW I've got a Specialized Tricross, which is marked as a cyclocross bike. It seems to me to be outrageously light -- perhaps not as light as a full-on road bike, but then at 6'4" and 16st an odd pound or two makes little difference. It does have the wide forks, etc., that Pooter mentioned, and 32mm tyres. The tyres were at one time slightly knobbly, but I've worn then slick Essentially, it's a road bike with a few concessions to off-road use.

I bought it because I expected to do a certain amount of off-road riding, and the bike certainly does handle that situation pretty well. But, oh boy, is it harsh. WIth an aluminium frame, carbon forks and carbon seat-pin, riding on an unmade road almost shakes the fillings out of my mouth. I think you'll find that a log of cyclocross bikes will give you a hard ride on unmade roads.

It's good to be able to hand real off-road riding if you have to but, in my opinion, unless you're really going to be off-road a fair amount of time, a road bike would be a better bet.

acorn_user

Raleigh have a new one that looks pretty slick. Edinburgh bikes have a good range too. You should also consider a touring bike like a Dawes Galaxy... this is another flavour of road bike that has been used for this kind of thing for ages. It will also come with mudguards and a rack, which means you won't have to buy them later.

Barrie_G

If the roads are a little rough around where you live the larger tyres of the cyclo-x will also give a smoother ride than a full on road bike will.

Another bike to add to your list is the Felt F1X, I've had one for a few weeks now (rough roads) and enjoy riding it more than the Merlin Malt 4 mountain bike I had previously.

oddy74

Thanks for all your replies, it has certainly given her some ideas. The next step is to go out and have a look.
Thankks again
Oddy

curlyrobert

Bikeradar review of a Tricross It is of the £1200 model, but there is a version for £750ish I think, My friends are touring USA on them and really love them, they are both converted mtbers who also have expensive roadies but don't stop going on about how comfortable and versatile their Tricross is.

As long as she is cycling she will be happy