New Crosser - Canondale CAADx v Ridley Xbow v Dolan Cross

conradski
conradski Posts: 18
edited November 2010 in Road buying advice
I'd like some opinions from the BR (thats Bike Radar not British Rail) community on pros and cons of my short list of X-bikes. Will be doing cross races (7 in total) but she will also double as my winter trainer

Like the look of the 'Dale, Ridley's Cross reputation is fantabulous and the Dolan looks nice and is cheaper but does not have a flattened top tube underside to help with shouldering the bike.
Any comments to help me decide??
May the Spokes be With You

Comments

  • ShutUpLegs
    ShutUpLegs Posts: 3,522
    Why are the Focus bikes not on your shortlist?
  • FHKJ
    FHKJ Posts: 151
    Cannondale for sure...
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    If you're planning on using the bike as a winter trainer, consider something with more road bike geometry ie. conventional BB drop of around 65mm whereas many true cross frames have higher BBs which can make handling on road a bit more tricky. Also look at Planet-X or Kinesis.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Agreed on the BB height, I've been sweating over CX bikes for 2 months and have crunched numbers on BB height and CS length. It's not easy to choose from numbers so I've done some test rides but getting the right size isn't easy to tell you the truth. I really want to test ride the CAADX or SuperX but no shop has them at all! The Cube is hard to get except from mail order. It's like buying Cinelli or Masi frame in the 1980s!

    Buddy of mine has the Dolan Cross and as I said in the other thread, it's like the Genesis Vapour - it's more of a heavily built road bike but it's good if you don't want to race and just commute/hack etc.

    Agree on the Focus - another clubmate has the carbon model and as Peter Griffin would say "it's freakin sweet".
    When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.
  • Phate
    Phate Posts: 121
    Picked up my new Cube X-Race Comp last night and loving it already! First ever time on the drops and felt totally natural after about 2mins on the bike! Handles the terrible roads and cobbles no problem with very little road buzz!
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