cycle cross or road

dust to dawn

hello all.

ok well I have had to road bikes, one GT and one specialized allez,

I am now thinking of a cycle cross or road again as last one was knicked.

in the cylce cross range is the specialized Tricross and sport 2011, one is £660 without tiagra set up and the sport is £850 with. IS THE EXTRA £150 FROM 2300 TO TIAGRA WORTH THE COST. I THINK ANSWER IS YES LOL.

Then there is the kona jake 2011 that has the tiagra set up for £699.

i know my road bikes just not the cycle cross ones.

I will be using it everyday for work and uni and then sunday training rides as well. I carry laptop and uni books sometimes and road bike seems to take the brunt of the weight on london roads and i was thinking tricross would be stronger and less of an impact.

any advice would be great.
thanks

Mr Plum

If you're only going to use it on the road then get a road bike IMHO - and I say that as a happy owner of a Tricross Sport. You can get a very good alu road bike for £850 with strong wheels if durability is your main concern, maybe even 105 if you take advantage of the current sales...

Escadrille Ecosse

Mr Plum

If you're only going to use it on the road then get a road bike IMHO - and I say that as a happy owner of a Tricross Sport. You can get a very good alu road bike for £850 with strong wheels if durability is your main concern, maybe even 105 if you take advantage of the current sales.

+1 unless you plan on riding all it year round and you live somewhere where it rains all the time and there is salt and grit on the roads for five months a year, in which case get a cyclocross disc so you get; consistent braking without having to faff around with toe-in adjusting every couple of days; you don't grind your rims down every year; and you can run cyclocross knobblies or ice spikes when the weather turns snowy and icy. If not go for the road bike.

dust to dawn

thanks for your reply.

do you mean the trek 105?

and yes i live in london and its pretty much rains lol.

i need to go into shop really and have a look.

cheers

roger_merriman

being able to use wider tyres will help on rougher roads, ie smoother, which CX tend to have.

Tiagra is the start of the named groupset, so probably worth getting that if you can.

Mr Plum

dust to dawn wrote:

thanks for your reply.

do you mean the trek 105?

and yes i live in london and its pretty much rains lol.

i need to go into shop really and have a look.

cheers

105 groupset, 1 up from Tiagra.

An audax bike may be more suited to your needs. The Tifosi CX7 and Wiggle's Verenti Kilmeston are worth checking out - the speed of a road bike with the flexibility of a tourer. Ideally suited to commuting on road.

Jason82

I have cyclocross so I also have the option of using the canal towpath which has roots sticking up all over the place aswell as bing really muddy when wet.