Anyone use a cyclocross for commu ing

jimmiboy

Before I begin I dropped a cup of coffee on my keyboard his morning and he key be ween s and u is no working.....please excuse and bear wi h me.

I am looking for a new bike for going work on, I like going off road away from raffic whenever I can, I also have access o some nice woods

i use a moun ain bike on road ryes now bu I need a change for mo iva ion. So.......

Does anyone use a cyclocross for commu ing and if so can you give me any advice on choosing one and he pros and cons of ownership

Cheers

Jim

Jay dubbleU

There are some who have chosen the Dark Side - mostly Spesh cross bikes although I fancy the Genesis Croix de Fer

tailwindhome

jimmiboy wrote:

Before I begin I dropped a cup of coffee on my keyboard his morning and he key be ween s and u is no working.....please excuse and bear wi h me.

Best post ever!

ride_whenever

I have cx tyres on my pompino that i'm running fixed gear atm.

It's fine for commuting and quite fun for little off-road jaunts.

always_tyred

Yup, I have a Salsa cx. Took a while to get the riding position right, but now that I have managed that, it feels pretty much like a road bike with 25c slicks on.

I've not tried it with the knobblies on, to be honest. Happy to do a llittle light offroading last summer with 25 or 28c slicks.

manofsteel

I've got a Ridley Crossbow that has been excellent for commuting. I have 2 sets of wheels (road and CX) I use the CX wheels for offroad and commuting (potholes in Carlisle can be spectacular :x ) I use the road wheels for longer rides as this is also my winter road bike.

The Ridley has been really good - just be careful if you decide to get one as not all of them have rack mounts (I use a rucsack so not an issue)

Hope this helps.

daniel_b

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

jimmiboy wrote:

Before I begin I dropped a cup of coffee on my keyboard his morning and he key be ween s and u is no working.....please excuse and bear wi h me.

Best post ever!

Unin en ional geeeenius jimmiboy

deptfordmarmoset

I dropped a eer on my key oard last night and now I'm uggered.

Wallace1492

Hello here, no so good abou he lack of he " " (be ween he S and he U)

Well, I cycle o work on a Specialised icross, i is a grea bike, and would highly recomend i .

Superb is all i can say, never had any problems, changed the pedals and he yres, bu apar from hat, no hing much.

I have even been ouring on i , and it does every ing I wan i o do.

Go for i , ge one and come over o he dark side!!

markp2

Genesis Croix de Fer for me and very pleased with my choice so far. Changed chunky CX tyres for 28mm Vittoria Randonneurs which seem to grip well on wet and grubby country roads

salsajake

Kona Jake CX for me, though with a few upgrades now (seatpost, saddle, fork, headset, cassette, bars, stem) and run it on 25 Conti 4 season slicks. I have panniers on to carry my child seat on days out with my eldest or for my pannier bag for days at work. I find it very similar to ride to my road bike, slightly slower, but not as 'edgy', which makes it ideal for the long hard slog to work (35 mile round trip with 2530' height gain). You will find it a revelation after an mtb with slicks. I've also used it to zip down the canal towpath, including some very rutted rocky sections, and whilst it is a bit skittish, it still swallows it all up.

ravey1981

I've just been looking at my keyboard and thinking...the T key isn't between the S and the U key...infact the S and U key are nowhere near each other....

and then came the realisation... :oops:

Time for bed i think...

cjcp

I'm another with a Kona Jake. Very pleased with it. It's not as quick as my old road bike, and I prefer caliper brakes over cantis (the front brake squeal is a royal PITA), but, as Salsajake says, it's good training.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Picking up my Granit-X lock from Hargroves later, so I will be starting to use the Specialized Tricross Singlecross '09 I picked up for £350 (they still have 54cm and 56cm frames in stock according to website... great deal in light of last 18 months of price hikes).

Very comfy ride, in terms of relatively high front end. For SS newbies like myself, the supplied 63 Gear Inch ratio is relatively generous. Very light bike for money, not much heavier than my Felt F5C (which costs ~ 3 times price at rrp). Supplied pedals (with toeclips) seemed a little naff, so ordered some Wellgo B54s and bear trap pedals along with a selection of tyres from CRC last night (might put these on Pylon8 and fit Time ATAC ROC S to Tricross, but flat pedals will be better for my work safety trainers).

SBezza

I commute on my Focus Mares, with knobbly tyres on. I prefer the position to a MTB, and it still rolls pretty fast, it also means I can go on bridleways if I want to mix my route to work up a bit. I also use it for CX races.

MadammeMarie

jimmiboy wrote:

Does anyone use a cyclocross for commu ing and if so can you give me any advice on choosing one and he pros and cons of ownership

Cheers

Jim

I use a Specialized TriCross Sport (2008 model) for commuting and leissure. Recommended. Is that the Dark Side? 8)

TommyEss

WheezyMcChubby wrote:

jimmiboy wrote:

Before I begin I dropped a cup of coffee on my keyboard his morning and he key be ween s and u is no working.....please excuse and bear wi h me.

Best post ever!

I 's be ween R and Y on my keyboard.

ommyEss

Roastie

I've got a Kinesis 4T that I commuted on for a while. Really enjoyed it for the commute. On 25c road tyres, it was pretty much road bike quick, just with less darty handling. I stopped using it for the commute because I was having to take it places I didn't want to leave it and it was likely to get trashed by inconsiderate people on the train which was in turn making me a paranoid, grumpy sod.

jedster

I commute on a PX Uncle John but it is roadified (slicks, guards, rack) and I never ride it off-road. Very practical work horse though

dexradio

I have a Trek XO2 and although I don't use it to commute (I work from home) I do use it for winter training. I've fitted road tyres rather the the X tyres and mudguards. Nice bike, very comfy, and I can't imagine any issues using a Cross for commuting with.

Dex.

jimmcdonnell

Focus Cross Disc for me, 25 semi-slick tyres. I only use it if it's actually pi$$ing with rain or if it's snowy or icy, and the extra security of the disc brakes is very reassuring.

Actually, as it's 3kg heavier than my day-to-day Litespeed (11kg rather than 8), I also occasionally use it if I've had too many pies and need to put some extra effort in.

jimmcdonnell

And that's 25C tyres, before anyone posts asking me why my bike has 25 tyres...

salsarider79

Spoil spor .

bikejon

I use a Tricross single speed, which was a great, lively ride. This was a surprise as I was expecting it to be a bit of a boat to be honest but instead is a top bike for the money! However, the single speed became a little unsuitable once I added a rack and panniers to carry laptop and other gear (and my racing legs are a distant memory now) so I converted it to a SRAM 5 speed hub gear. This makes it ideal at this time of year as I don't have to worry about derailleurs or chains snapping...or even cleaning the thing really. I also swapped the pedals for tried and tested SPDs.
I was doing the commute on an MTB with narrower tyres as I have about 50% trails on my commute. I went 15 mins quicker with the cross bike on the first ride (1.5 hrs ride on MTB). The tricross is really comfortable and has all the mounts you could wish for so could be used for touring too.
There a good range of cross bikes these days so if your serious then try riding a few first to find the best fit.

salsajake

jimmcdonnell wrote:

Focus Cross Disc for me, 25 semi-slick tyres. I only use it if it's actually pi$$ing with rain or if it's snowy or icy, and the extra security of the disc brakes is very reassuring.

Actually, as it's 3kg heavier than my day-to-day Litespeed (11kg rather than 8), I also occasionally use it if I've had too many pies and need to put some extra effort in.

Are the discs not a bit too powerful for 25c slicks in the wet on a steep hill, or is it just a case of using a different more modulating braking technique? If they are cable discs then i guess its fine as there is so much stretch in the cable but I always thought even a lightly applied hydraudlic disc would be causing lock ups on relatively skinny tyres

itboffin

All the best people do

jimmcdonnell

You're right, the cable discs make the brakes easier to pull steadily without locking. In faact the lever action is much softer than my Dura-Ace caliper setup on my Litespeed, but I can still guarantee stopping in the rain on the 'Cross, unlike the calipers.

By the way, the forum software replaced the '8' in '11kg not eight' with that odd smiley above, in case you were puzzled.

hells

I use a Kona Jake the Snake with rear rack and panniers fitted and also wearing a rucksack. I use it as it came with its cx tyres. It's comfortable to ride and better over bumps and potholes than my road bike. Iv tested it off road on the south downs and epping forrest and it handled well. The only thing I don't like about it are the cantilever brakes. They are rubbish it takes ages to stop compared to v brakes and disc brakes, they are even worse off road once all wet and muddy.

DanielCoffey

I have a Surly Cross Check which I use for short commutes. It is fitted as a commuter/shopper with an Alfine 8-speed IGH, v-brakes, 700x38C nimbus armadillos, flat bars, full mudguards, rack with rear panniers and a nice brooks saddle.

I will say it is not a light bike but it handles the rough roads in the east of Edinburgh with no issues.

always_tyred

jimmcdonnell wrote:

You're right, the cable discs make the brakes easier to pull steadily without locking. In faact the lever action is much softer than my Dura-Ace caliper setup on my Litespeed, but I can still guarantee stopping in the rain on the 'Cross, unlike the calipers.

By the way, the forum software replaced the '8' in '11kg not eight' with that odd smiley above, in case you were puzzled.

Ditto (mine has the Avid BB7's).

They just aren't that powerful. I'd be interested to try them with mtb brake levers.

jimmcdonnell

Always Tyred wrote:

They just aren't that powerful. I'd be interested to try them with mtb brake levers.

But then if you wanted to use mtb levers you could have hydraulics, with their much better power and modulation.

If the 'cross racing authorities would allow disc brakes then someone would develop hydraulic road levers. One day...