MTB For Cyclo-Cross???

steve23

my bike handling is toss, and i want to do a bit of cyclo-cross to try and improve it a bit!

i have no interest to race in 'cross, just ride for my own benefit.

thing is..........ive not got hardly any money to spend on a new bike especially for it!

so i was thinking, what a bout buying a cheap MTB, swapping bars/pedals etc and using it for cross?

would this work? is it worth it?

any ideas/suggestions?

thanks

lfcquin

If you are riding for your own benefit then you could easily get away with riding an MTB. Quite a few people do. I don't think you need to bother converting the bars. A lot of people ride with flat bars - even if they don't ride an MTB.

The hardest part about riding an MTB tends to be the weight when you are carying them up sections that are unrideable. I used my MTB as my 2nd bike at a few races this year and really struggled when I needed to carry it. I also struggled on the really muddy sections as the thinner tyres cut through the mud easier.

If you are considering buying a cheap MTB then why not look for a cheap 2nd hand cross bike? I picked one up off the forum here for £500 a month back and I have seen some cheaper than that. Unless you are planning on using the MTB for some serious off road stuff that the cross bike couldn't handle then I think this would make more sense. Cross bikes are good multi purpose bikes, often with mudguard eyelets that mean they also make excellent winter road bikes.

You have a while to decide. The North West Cyclocross series finishes tomorrow with the last race in Macclesfield. Unless you are prepared to travel (and I am not sure what the calendar is like for the rest of the country) then you have until next September/October to find a bike and prepare for the cross races.

Monty Dog

Whilst you can certainly use an MTB at a cross race (ironically, the MTB crowd specify 1.5" tyre widths to 'discourage' cross bikes in events) - you will probably find it hard going because of the way cross courses are designed - plenty of changes in direction, pace and gradient, plus the obligatory dismounts. I too would suggest that you try and find a used cross bike - it'll probably be more robust than a cheap MTB too. You can also use it as a winter trainer on the road too.