Cylocross under 1K

meth_tical

I'm looking for a cyclocross bike to use for the commute when the weather is not so great. I have a limit of £1000 as it is through cycle to work (Halfords scheme). There is a helpline which can supply other bikes other than what they offer in store (boardman's seem to be the only viable CX option with them).
M question is can anyone advise on a CX bike under 1k which then halfords may be able to supply or tell me where else I'm able to go to use the C2W voucher?
I'm not too fussed on discs but all advise will be welcome.
Thanks

slowbike

Not on the C2W scheme - I bought a significantly discounted Specalized TriCross for the winter commuting. It was £1k (rrp) and I bought it for ~30% discount being that it was an older model.
I didn't bother with disks as it means I can swap wheels with the other bikes in the selection - so right now there are some stock wheels with slicks on - but it takes 2 minutes to swap with the CX wheels ...

meth_tical

How are you getting on with the TriCross?

slowbike

It's a fine workhorse ...
I use it for wet commutes or family rides or offroad rides which it copes with admirably.

It's a nice bike to ride comfortably - I'd consider taking it on holiday (over the road bike) if it was to be alot of touring as I can fit a rack and panniers.

It's just not as fast as the road bike - but then I didn't expect it to be.

meth_tical

That sounds exactly what i'm looking for in the bike. I wont be getting the bike till September but i'm looking about now as i can get in touch with the cycle2work scheme and see what I can get and having the options to hand is going to be better.
Thanks for the info Slowbike, much appreciated.

mroli

What's wrong with the Boardman? there is a thread on them somewhere and people seem to like them.

meth_tical

Nothing is wrong with the Boardman at all. I have a HT pro and think its excellent and very well specced for the money. I may very well go for the boardman but in the meantime I would like to get all the options and make my decision from there, so hopefully other members may be able to offer advise or different bikes that I may be able to get.

mroli

Cool - I thought you had discounted it from what you were saying. The thread I referred to is here: viewtopic.php?f=40012&t=12796558
I know you are tied to Halfords - but http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/browse/ ... ross-bikes has a good list of similar bikes to give you an idea of what you can get and it'll probably end up out of your price range, but I could use my cycle to work at Condor as well: http://www.condorcycles.com/Condor-Bike ... e.tpl.html

meth_tical

Thanks for those links. The Condor Biveo looked great, shame its just the frameset at that price. The Caadx and the Focus Mares 105 seem really well equipped for the price i would be interested to find out if those are possibilities for me.

kentphil

I've recently got a Caadx Tiagra. Its a great bike. Just watch the sizing as they come up bigger than your usual size.

meth_tical

Thanks KentPhil on that advice. Never thought about sizing as I assumed they would be similar the road bikes. Would the Caadx take panniers and mudguards easy enough?

mroli

"Rack and fender compatibilty makes the CAADX ready for duty as a fast commuter or winter training rig." - from the description on the Edinburgh cycles website.

meth_tical

Great stuff, I think I've looked at that many bikes and sites recently that have conflicting info that I'd double check but cheers for that.

magliaceleste

I've just posted my Cross bike for sale on in the (now awkward to use and find) for sale section. Disc specific and under 1K!

viewtopic.php?f=40090&t=12927301

arthur_scrimshaw

magliaceleste wrote:

I've just posted my Cross bike for sale on in the (now awkward to use and find) for sale section. Disc specific and under 1K!

viewtopic.php?f=40090&t=12927301

Do you take cycle to work vouchers or is this a thread hijack?

magliaceleste

:oops: Sorry didn't read properly.

mikenetic

Another option to consider is a Surly Cross Check.

Complete bikes come in under your budget, and they are ridiculously versatile. I bought a frame & fork then built up a 105 equipped one as my commuter, and love it to bits.

meth_tical

I'll have a look at surly cross range thanks

bendertherobot

The Sensa on Merlin looks pretty good.