Croix de Fer

ugo.santalucia

I was after a proper winter bike, rather than a race bike with mudguards, something with proper winter tyres and possibly disc brakes, given the winter we are facing...

So, after searching all over the country for the last remaining size 56, I've ordered one of these

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gen ... e-ec021326

As far as I am aware it is the only cyclocross type bike with disc brakes available in the UK, after Wiggle decided not to stock the Focus Mares Disc 2010.
I've gathered it takes any summer tyre down to 23 mm, can take mudguards with 28 mm tyres of smaller and can take a rack for panniers... I am a bit perplexed about the white... it looks good, but it'll be a nightmare to clean, I assume...

Any happy owners of a Croix de Fer? Any frustrated owners? Any tips?

wiffachip

marin toscana

kinesis tripster decade

these tick the boxes, i think

prawny

jaydubbleu over in commuting has one of last years, he's loving it so far.

I want one, in the flesh the new on is gorgeous, I think it look's the perfect winter bike. The toscana is nice but heavy and I don't want sora levers on a £1000 bike.

Tripster is nice too though.

ugo.santalucia

prawny wrote:

jaydubbleu over in commuting has one of last years, he's loving it so far.

I want one, in the flesh the new on is gorgeous, I think it look's the perfect winter bike. The toscana is nice but heavy and I don't want sora levers on a £1000 bike.

Tripster is nice too though.

I kind of agree, Tiagra was already a bit of a compromise, but it seems quite reliable according to some friends... not sure I want to experiment Sora though...

The Tripster, I can only find the frameset... which is gorgeous BTW and a much more sensible black. But right now I don't have the time to build a bike. I need it now...

The Croix de Fer is heavy too, 23 pounds, but for a winter bike I don't mind too much. I think Evans will have all the sizes in stock in February. Other online retailers in April. I ordered mine at Harry Hall in Manchester, the last one they had... luckily my size...
Admittedly I spent some time at the phone this week...

wiffachip

lets know what you think of it

getting a cross bike through bike2work and it's on my shortlist, along with the Merida and Bianchi

ugo.santalucia

wiffachip wrote:

lets know what you think of it

getting a cross bike through bike2work and it's on my shortlist, along with the Merida and Bianchi

I think if you don't necessarily want disc brakes there are far better crossers than the Croix de Fer. Kona Jake the Snake? I am a bit fed up of changing pads and grinding rims to the bone in the cold months, so for me it is a must.

wiffachip

aye, that Kona could work, looks a bit dull though. Prefer the look of the dew drop

decisions

big cook

wiggle does stock the Mares disc 2010. They'll have to order it in for you though. They are for me. strange it's not on their website though. It's a cracking bike.

LazyBoycp

Kona Honky Inc is an option too (bit late to be telling you now though!). Looks really nice imo. Mind you, top of my list is the Kinesis Decade Tripster, assuming all this snow ever thaws enough for me to get to a bike shop and look at it!

ugo.santalucia

big cook wrote:

wiggle does stock the Mares disc 2010. They'll have to order it in for you though. They are for me. strange it's not on their website though. It's a cracking bike.

I wrote them and they came back saying they won't stock it, so I've given up...

prawny

ugo.santalucia wrote:

prawny wrote:

jaydubbleu over in commuting has one of last years, he's loving it so far.

I want one, in the flesh the new on is gorgeous, I think it look's the perfect winter bike. The toscana is nice but heavy and I don't want sora levers on a £1000 bike.

Tripster is nice too though.

I kind of agree, Tiagra was already a bit of a compromise,

I've only got tiagra, I can't imagine 105 shifting much better TBH, and you don't need 10 speeds do you?

I've not had a problem in 5000 miles of commuting.

ugo.santalucia

prawny wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

prawny wrote:

jaydubbleu over in commuting has one of last years, he's loving it so far.

I want one, in the flesh the new on is gorgeous, I think it look's the perfect winter bike. The toscana is nice but heavy and I don't want sora levers on a £1000 bike.

Tripster is nice too though.

I kind of agree, Tiagra was already a bit of a compromise,

I've only got tiagra, I can't imagine 105 shifting much better TBH, and you don't need 10 speeds do you?

I've not had a problem in 5000 miles of commuting.

I'm not bothered about 10 speed and 9 speed chains and cassettes are cheaper, so bring them on. My issue was about durability, but so far I've only heard good about Tiagra. And to be honest if it looks like 105, probalby it is made of the same alloy and the durability is the same.

ugo.santalucia

Received it yesterday and put it together last night. Change the tyres to 28 mm road tyres and went out for an hour today.

First impressions: it is what I expected, a dead race bike or a very lively MTB, depending which angle you look at it.
Dead in climbing and in acceleration, but very fast and stable downhill, with the discs being a joy in the wet. It's an extremely comfty ride, both in terms of position and in terms of comfort of ride. I felt like riding on some shallow potholes, as I do with a MTB.
It feels really sturdy and I've got the impression with 35 mm tyres it can do 90% of the job a MTB does. Love the double set of brake levers, which allows to keep the hands on the bars at all times.
Tiagra shifts smooth, smoother than my older 105 and my newer Centaur ever did, actually... there was a defect in one of the 50 ring teeth and had to sand it, but it only took 10 minutes.

Look forward to a longer ride on sunday

JamesB

Looks an interesting bike, I seem to recall having seen a Bianchi also with discs for a winter / tour bike? If I ever buy another bike I will definitelty be looking at a winter bike with discs---in past I`ve used an MTB built up to be a hybrid (at moment Giant XTC with Avid BB5 cable discs) and feel much more secure on it in wet / poor conditions on road than my standard winter (Van Nic Yukon), even though it is much slower. One day may get the best of both worlds (ie what you`ve seem to have) so will be interested to hear how you get on with yours

ugo.santalucia

JamesBwmb wrote:

Looks an interesting bike, I seem to recall having seen a Bianchi also with discs for a winter / tour bike? If I ever buy another bike I will definitelty be looking at a winter bike with discs---in past I`ve used an MTB built up to be a hybrid (at moment Giant XTC with Avid BB5 cable discs) and feel much more secure on it in wet / poor conditions on road than my standard winter (Van Nic Yukon), even though it is much slower. One day may get the best of both worlds (ie what you`ve seem to have) so will be interested to hear how you get on with yours

Will update this thread James... tomorrow I'm out for a more substantial ride... 60 miles or so.

If you're after this sort of bike, it would be interesting to try the Focus Mares Disc. Wiggle does not stock it for 2010, but someone earlier said it is possible to order it.

Coyote

I've got an 09 model, 10 speed 105.

Nice bike for bumping around on, a bit dead compared to just about anything other than a cheap Dawes I had a while back.

Discs are great but not happy with the toe overlap. You don't notice it too much on the road but just wait till you try some tricky stuff off road - ruddy nightmare!

Great to see the looks on the faces of the baggy MTB crowd when you go flying past them out in the hills in the middle of nowhere though! "Where the **** did he come from and how is he doing it on a roadbike" type of look!

billy whippet

there's also the fixie inc pure blood... looks amazing, but expensive and doesn't take guards

ugo.santalucia

billy whippet wrote:

there's also the fixie inc pure blood... looks amazing, but expensive and doesn't take guards

Absolutely beautiful! Not sure about a light steel frame on a cross bike, but if it's used as a winter road bike, why not...
And yes, a bit pricey...

ugo.santalucia

Another update...

I've now done 250 miles on it and, although the initial feeling of riding a dead horse uphill remains, I have to say that on the flat, with 28 mm road tyres, I barely notice the difference with my summer road bike. A few days ago I was hammering at 30 mph and it didn't feel like I was on a heavy cross bike with rather big tyres. It is less nervous and responsive, which I blame to the 3-4 kilograms in excess.

I have replaced the saddle it came with (which was rubbish, very squeekey) with a proper gentleman's Brooks, so making the all bike another 2-300 grams heavier, but I love the real man's feeling of riding on a Brooks.

softlad

bet it's nice n stable on the descents though..?

ugo.santalucia

softlad wrote:

bet it's nice n stable on the descents though..?

It seems so... wish I had some proper descends to test it... epsecially the brakes...