New Cross bike, which one?

richfumo

Having had my usual winter commuting MTB stolen, I've decided a cross bike may suit my needs better for the winter months. I've narrowed it down to three possible bikes. Anyone any experience of these three?

Cannondale CAADX 105

http://www.cannondale.com/2012/bikes/ro ... -105-21567

Cube Cross Race

http://www.cube.eu/road/cross-race/cross-race/

Boardman CX Team

http://www.boardmanbikes.com/cx/cx_team.html

cheers

Rich

iandennis

I'd be very interested in anyones anwer to this thread, as i've narrowed the choice to the same three.

Personally for commuting I would pick the Boardman- mainly for the disc brakes. The prospect of dealing with Halfords is however not appealing. Guess once you mail order the bike and get a proper LBS to assemble it should be ok but replacement parts seem to be a issue - See the boardman owners thread over on commuting chat.

If i was going to race and wanted a multi purpose bike then the Cube would be my choice, 105 and seems a reasonable spec.

sungod

have to confess i'm not familiar with these three, but i'd go for the boardman simply because it's got disk brakes, for winter/wet commuting they are just so good

from a quick look at the specs, i can't see any of the commonly replaced parts that'd be hard to get, groupset and brakes are all standard stuff, headset is fsa

otherwise, how about a croix de fer? http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... r-12-45683 slightly better brakes than the boardman, steel, bit heavier though i think

iandennis

MeanRedSpider had some problems getting Halfords to order in a new gearhanger when his broke, hence my comment about parts.

sungod

iandennis wrote:

MeanRedSpider had some problems getting Halfords to order in a new gearhanger when his broke, hence my comment about parts.

ahhhhh, yes forgot about those, can be awkward bits to get, although there does seem to be one on the halfords website, maybe it was just halfords being clueless!

but then i waited the best part of a year for one i ordered from cinelli 'just in case', they seem to operate on a completely different timescale

richfumo

My MTB that was stolen was a Boardman. Was a nice bike to ride, but not without the usual issues from Halfords. Within a few weeks I managed to complete buckle the middle chain ring. This was only just AFTER I had took in for it's complementary six week service. They hadn't tightened the ring bolts properly and when I put the pressure on a particularly steep climb it gave in! Took it to a proper bike shop and ran great after that. The lesson? Boardman's are great bikes, but get it serviced in your reputable LBS after purchasing.

They have the Croix de Fer in my LBS which is only a few hundred yards from my house, it looks great. Might see if I can give it a test run.

kentphil

I'd go for the Cube. looks like a really nice bike. I plan to get one for my next bike purchase.

bendertherobot

Cube is missing rear guard eyelets

Boardman APPEARS to be missing front ones (thought they had them myself)

CAAD has all present and correct.

So, for commuting etc, mudguards, racks, Cannondale best bet.

zippypablo

Caadx Tiagra 2011 models are available for £700 depending on your size.
Might be worth a look.

spasypaddy

cannondale. no question.

best aluminium frame on the market.

bails87

bendertherobot: The boardman has front and rear guard eyelets.

dave35

Glad someone bought this up
I'm in the market for a cross bike,just packed up racing after 25 years to pursue something else.
Got around £900 to spend-what do people recommend for me.
Just going to have an al rounder to use all year round,may have a go at cross racing at some point

BelgianBeerGeek

Pinnacle Arkose Two from Evans?
Ace bike, fittings for guards/rack, disc brakes, 105 kit. When I bought mine, they were discounted by £150, which swung it for me. Not sure I'd like to shoulder it in a race - but then, I don't race. Great for commuting, which for me is a mix of track, awful country road and B roads covered in cow sh*t.

rjsmith

I've got a 2011 Cannondale CAADX and really like it for winter training. Got some full SKS mudgaurds on it with loads of clearance obviously. Rides very well.

amclinden

I got a CAADX5 105 2012 last month, done everything on it (CX races, road and longer rides) very good bike, wheels average but not a problem. Go for it

amclinden

And to be honest, I doubt that you will notice an awful lot difference with disc brakes if they are not hydraulics....

richfumo

Cheers all, decided to go for the Cannondale. Looking forward to having a winter bike with a bit more nip than my hardtail MTB that got swiped last week!

Monty Dog

amclinden wrote:

And to be honest, I doubt that you will notice an awful lot difference with disc brakes if they are not hydraulics....

If only the poster made this assumption based on fact no supposition - I have CX bikes with cable discs as well as 2 others with the cantilvers/mini vees - but if I wanted to stop in a hurry or blast the MTB singletrack routes, I take the disc-bike. For CX racing, the conditions usually mean that you don't need as much brake power as you'll just slide.