Recommend me a CX bike

NGale

I am looking at investing in a cyclocross bike (budget undecided but under a grand) in case I decied to do the London to Paris.

I have been looking at the Edinbrugh Cycle Coop Revolution Cross as a possiblity but sizing may be an issue.

So any ideas for a short, slightly chubby female cyclist with freekishly long legs and a freekishly short body??

roger_merriman

what about the tricross? specialised do make a thing about having bikes etc that ft ladies rather than just having smaller bikes.

while I do like revolution bikes sounds like you should be putting your leg over a few bikes and kicking some tyres.

mudcow007

granted im 6ft 2ish but i ride a specialised Tricross 56cm which is reet for me

ive even taken it off road an it dealt with anything i put in front of it

oh im 16 1/2 stone too an it seems to be ok with that too

NGale

roger merriman wrote:

what about the tricross? specialised do make a thing about having bikes etc that ft ladies rather than just having smaller bikes.

while I do like revolution bikes sounds like you should be putting your leg over a few bikes and kicking some tyres.

Tricross may be a bit pricey for me, but I may just have to make a trip to the Bike Shed and have a look see.

So called 'ladies fit' bikes are a con to be honest, I have always felt more comfortable on mens bikes (with the expection of my current Trek which the Bike Shed fitted to me really well). Also 'ladies fit' bikes tend to cost more money and are excessivly pink!

spasypaddy

have a look at the fuji or the kona jake, or and my personal choice a cannondale caadx.

wish id got the caadx over my current cx bike

el_presidente

look for one with discs

Pirahna

Long legs and short body? If you don't mind second hand and can find one have a look at the older, horizontal top tube, Scott crossers. 2006 or earlier will give you a very short top tube. My wife has one and it's a got a 52 top with a 58 seat tube.

Beware about buying cross bikes unseen, the geometry can be a bit odd with high bottom brackets making for very tall bikes.

meanredspider

I just ran a thread called something like "Which CX Bike" (though, bizarrely, the search engine doesn't find it if you search on CX). I was specifically after disc brakes for the winter.

Anyhow, to cut a long story short, I opted for the Boardman CX Team which, using code NUSAUG11, came in at a shade under £810. I reckon it's pretty much the best value CX bike out there - especially, if like me, you want disc brakes (wet weather hilly commuting).

I see Focus are bringing out a CX bike aimed at around the same price (the Mares 4.0). If disc brakes aren't an issue, the Mares 2.0 with 105 looks like great value. I have two Focus bikes and I've been really happy with them.

Stuey01

Are you cycling London to Paris off road? Why not get a road bike?

NGale

Stuey01 wrote:

Are you cycling London to Paris off road? Why not get a road bike?

I want to get a cyclocross for other cycling too, commute to work, leisure etc. Also I am a bit strange in that I can't use a rucksac when cycling so use panniers and panniers on a road bike just looks a bit wrong to me.

with a CX bike I was going to sort out some slicks for road stuff and leave the knobblies for the trails.

hfidgen

BMC CX02!

But I'm biased - bloody love it. It's basically a lovely road bike, but indestructible. No disc brakes though, if that's going to be a factor in your decision.

NGale

hfidgen wrote:

BMC CX02!

But I'm biased - bloody love it. It's basically a lovely road bike, but indestructible. No disc brakes though, if that's going to be a factor in your decision.

as long as the breaks work I'm not too worried to be honest

roger_merriman

NGale wrote:

hfidgen wrote:

BMC CX02!

But I'm biased - bloody love it. It's basically a lovely road bike, but indestructible. No disc brakes though, if that's going to be a factor in your decision.

as long as the breaks work I'm not too worried to be honest

if your not going off road and or fair weather cyclist then be fine.

But cx rim brakes do tend to have a poor reputation, for being lacking in power.

mudcovered

roger merriman wrote:

But cx rim brakes do tend to have a poor reputation, for being lacking in power.

This is because they are a pain to get set up right and I'm not convinced that bike shop mechanics are familiar enough with them to do it right any more. Get them set up right though and they are just as good as any other rim brake. I do want to get a disc braked CX bike but that's just to cut down on rim/pad wear in muddy conditions rather than for poor braking performance.

Mike

roger_merriman

mudcovered wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

But cx rim brakes do tend to have a poor reputation, for being lacking in power.

This is because they are a pain to get set up right and I'm not convinced that bike shop mechanics are familiar enough with them to do it right any more. Get them set up right though and they are just as good as any other rim brake. I do want to get a disc braked CX bike but that's just to cut down on rim/pad wear in muddy conditions rather than for poor braking performance.

Mike

I fairly sure that is the case as well, certainly cants can be powerful brakes though they do require a fair bit more fiddling to set up, my old MTB with it's pre v brakes was had good braking as long as you got it nicely set up.

mkirby

I recently got a giant tcx 2. Its the most comfortable bike i have ever ridden. Well worth a look at.

mikenetic

A good friend of mine at work has the Revolution Cross Sport as his general commuter, and absolutely loves it, says it's incredibly comfortable and relaxing to ride.

I have a Kona Jake (the bright red 2009 version) that I really like, I have probably stuck in about 4,000 miles on it.

The Tricross is decent too, the smaller sizes seem to have quite narrow bars which may suit you.

Also, agree about Cantis - set up well, with decent pads, they are very good stoppers. Zepnat sell some nice dual-compound ones, which I use on Tektro CR720s

Levi_501

Before I bough the R8, I looked at;

Croix de Fer http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cro ... oix-de-fer

Marin Toscana http://www.marin.co.uk/2011/bikepage.php?ModNo=11TO

NGale

so far my choices are down to

Revolution Cross Sport Boardman CX BMC CX02 (if I can get hold of one)

Still looking at other options, although have ruled out the Kona Jake on account of there already being one in the house belonging to the other Jake

sketchley

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/bikes/q ... cyclocross

Wallace1492

NGale wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

what about the tricross? specialised do make a thing about having bikes etc that ft ladies rather than just having smaller bikes.

while I do like revolution bikes sounds like you should be putting your leg over a few bikes and kicking some tyres.

Tricross may be a bit pricey for me, but I may just have to make a trip to the Bike Shed and have a look see.

So called 'ladies fit' bikes are a con to be honest, I have always felt more comfortable on mens bikes (with the expection of my current Trek which the Bike Shed fitted to me really well). Also 'ladies fit' bikes tend to cost more money and are excessivly pink!

Should get Tricross for same price as the others you mention if not less. I got mine for about £700 2 years ago. Best thing I ever did..... Honest, have a look at it, it is just lovely. Rugged, hard wearing and a joy to be on.

SimonAH

I just bought the Cannondale CAADX 105, and having not ridden any other 'cross bikes I'm not really qualified to rate it in the pantheon however initial thoughts are;

CX bike as an idea - 'king awsome. Fast and light but wil hammer over rough stuff in exactly the same way as a policeman on rollerblades doesn't.

CAADX in particular?

Very light, very stiff, very (in a brutal way) pretty. 105 gears are as slick as you like.

Wheelset a little heavy (but not disastrously so), bars really nicely shaped. Saddle meh, but an easy upgrade.

Only real downside is the bloody cantis. No where near as bitey as the DuraAce from on the fixie and with the head tube down-running cable running between the other control cables as soon as the bike is pointed at more than about 15 degrees then the front brake comes on as the cable is moved sideways. NOT a sensible set-up (how do MTB's get arount that?) Also the hanger visibly flexes under hard right hand braking. 89% in my rating overall.

If you can go for a disk budget then I'd say do it.

cjcp

Si - you have PM.