CX Bike as Winter Bike - Confused?

Secteur

Hi all,

I had firmly decided that I didnt need a dedicated "winter bike". My current (only) best bike wont take proper guards but will take SKS Raceblades which are clip on / off "semi"guards.

However, wet leaves & slippery wet roads - got me toying with the idea.

I just wondered how a CX bike would work out for exclusive road use.

The Boardman Team CX looks great, but will the fat 35mm knobbly tyres be more of a hindrance than a help? But the disc brakes would probably be better.

Really, the question I am asking is what is the best tyre for the winter, and I will build the bike around that.

I am not sure that I would ever go off-road.

sloppyschleckonds

It didn't rain much last winter, and the leaves will be gone in another month or so

If you're not going off road i'd forget about buying a cx bike

markos1963

Secteur wrote:

Hi all,

I had firmly decided that I didnt need a dedicated "winter bike". My current (only) best bike wont take proper guards but will take SKS Raceblades which are clip on / off "semi"guards.

However, wet leaves & slippery wet roads - got me toying with the idea.

I just wondered how a CX bike would work out for exclusive road use.

The Boardman Team CX looks great, but will the fat 35mm knobbly tyres be more of a hindrance than a help? But the disc brakes would probably be better.

Really, the question I am asking is what is the best tyre for the winter, and I will build the bike around that.

I am not sure that I would ever go off-road.

Perhaps I'm stateing the bleeding obvious but why don't you buy the bike and change the tyres if you don't like them?

solboy

You dont need disc brakes just get a bike with Avid Shortys they are awsome!

cookdn

markos1963 wrote:

Secteur wrote:

The Boardman Team CX looks great, but will the fat 35mm knobbly tyres be more of a hindrance than a help? But the disc brakes would probably be better.

Perhaps I'm stateing the bleeding obvious but why don't you buy the bike and change the tyres if you don't like them?

I've ordered a Boardman CX and a pair of 28c Continental Gatorskins. The CX tyres may eventually get to see some use on trails with the family, but as I plan to use the bike predominantly on the road the tyres will get switched as the bike comes out of the box. I'm not suggesting that the Boardman CX is necessarily what you want/need but a £40 pair of tyres on an £800+ bike isn't a deal breaker.

Best regards

meanredspider

I got my Boardman CX because ice tyres are essential for me and the narrowest available are 35c which certainly won't fit on my Cayo. The disc brakes are awesome in the wet too. It'll almost never go off road but will cover more miles than your average "proper" CX.

cougie

I love my Planet X Uncle John CX bike. I've done 100m+ sportifs on it and triathlons up to IM distance and 2 Adventure races on it.

To me its as fast as a road bike - I've some Type B wheels with skinny tyres for the road stuff, and some sturdier heavily spoked wheels with marathon plus 35mm on for the rough stuff. But lately i've been lazy and riding the road with those tyres. Slightly heavier for starting off but fine when up to speed. I dont have to worry about potholes quite so much and I can take short cuts off road too. I love it.

Only thing is my CF race bike hasnt been out to play in a year now.....

unixnerd

I got my Boardman CX because ice tyres are essential for me and the narrowest available are 35c which certainly won't fit on my Cayo.

Which ones are you using? Might need a set myself this year.

meanredspider

unixnerd wrote:

I got my Boardman CX because ice tyres are essential for me and the narrowest available are 35c which certainly won't fit on my Cayo.

Which ones are you using? Might need a set myself this year.

Marathon Winters this year - they are really heavy, mind you. Last year I used Ice Spikers in my MTB - they are fantastic - just too knobbly and slow for the commute. The Marathons are relatively smooth.

Monty Dog

FWIW CX tyres are designed for mud and softer, off road conditions. No tyre is designed to cope with wet leaves on top of tarmac IME, just best to avoid them.

passout

It will be fine although you can get guards and wider tyres into road frames with 57mm long drop brakes e.g. the Pinnacle Dolomite or some Genesis bikes. I just bought one of these:
http://www.realcycles.com/m37b0s283p246 ... er_10_2011 for my commuter / winter trainer.

The only real downsides with an CX bike is that you'll probably need to change tryes. Also personally I don't like cantis. The bottom bracket is higher (which can mean a little less stability), and for their weight they are not cheap - personally I don't see these two last crticisms but I have heard them made before now.

Of course if you wanted less limited off road ability, you'd get an MTB....just saying!

So, yes it will be fine but there are other options.

unixnerd

Also personally I don't like cantis.

I have cantis on my tourer and they're useless no matter what pads I try or how I set them up. In the wet they're scary. Discs are the way forward for tourers and CX bikes.[/quote]

passout

Yes, I had cantis on a cross bike and they were useless despite hours of tinkering - even regular road brakes are much better IMO. Shimano V brakes are alright & obviously discs are great...might be overkill for general road duties though. I'm a big fan of the shimano 57mm long drop brakes, if we are talking winter trainer - I don't understand why all winter trainers don't have these.