Speed difference of cyclocross v road bike

pastryboy

I'm strava-ing pretty quick of a Sunday morning but doing it on a cyclocross bike (to which I've added road wheels and 23c tyres).

Since I've not actually ridden a 'proper' road bike(and don't know much about stiffness, geometry and all that business) , my question is, am I likely to get any appreciable difference in speed by switching to a road bike (assuming the components are roughly the same level and fork/frame materials are the same)?

cjcp

My crosser is heavier, and the gearing isn't as big, so slower over a route uninterrupted by lights and zebras, and generally not as fast over the commute.

kelsen

Generally a road bike will feel lighter and more responsive, but over a distance of say 10 miles, you'd be talking about a difference in seconds rather than minutes.

mb5

what about up hills?

raymondo60

I ride broad and cross bikes regularly. The difference for general riding is minimal; its the tyres that will have the biggest influence. If you are running 23mm tyres on your cross bike then I suspect you'll barely notice the difference, although the rolling resistance of the wheels may come into play. I think that if I used my cross bike on a 90 mile sportive I'd probably notice the difference more, but for day to day riding not so. However, I don't think my road bike would fly down the towpaths and trials as fast as my cross!

sketchley

Raymondo60 wrote:

I ride broad and cross bikes regularly. The difference for general riding is minimal; its the tyres that will have the biggest influence. If you are running 23mm tyres on your cross bike then I suspect you'll barely notice the difference, although the rolling resistance of the wheels may come into play. I think that if I used my cross bike on a 90 mile sportive I'd probably notice the difference more, but for day to day riding not so. However, I don't think my road bike would fly down the towpaths and trials as fast as my cross!

Bigger tyres often have lower rolling resistance particularly at higher rider weights.... All to do with tyre drop and pressure, to get correct tyre drop and therefore rolling resistance on 23 I need to inflate to 150psi+ (I'm 18 stone) which you cannot do, 28s around come in around 110 to 120 which is possible and are therefore quicker. Of course 23s are lighter than 28s which is why they are viewed to be quicker, but if you can't pump them up enough......

DavidBelcher

Not as much difference as you'd think - I've done a TT on a 'cross bike fitted with 23c slicks in the past and fared OK. There will be subtle differences in the handling due to issues such as fork rake, wheelbase and C of G but not much. Also at high speeds, if sticking to lowish CX-type gearing you might - unlikely though - end up "spinning out" as you have no higher gear to switch to.

David

bails87

I added about a minute or 2 when I started doing my commute on the CX rather than the Ribble Carbon Sportive I used before. That was over 15 miles.

For commuting, it's negligible really.

meanredspider

bails87 wrote:

I added about a minute or 2 when I started doing my commute on the CX rather than the Ribble Carbon Sportive I used before. That was over 15 miles.

+1 The only thing I would add though (at least the way I ride, which is pretty much full blast) - the effort it would take to get those two minutes back on the CX would be massive. So the gap is small but closing it would be very hard.

ETA - Focus Cayo road bike (£700 s/h) vs Boardman CX (£800 with discounts)