Cross bike as a trainer/winter bike

springtide9

Just signed up for a £1000 voucher as the use of my current bike is getting a little trashed and ideally I'd like a seperate bike for the winter (mainly so I don't have to fiddle with mudguards)

Would also find it useful for when the roads a a little rougher and plan to take it to Cyprus on holiday. So looking for a Cross bike but with the intention that most of it's life will be roads (or cycle paths)

I do ideally want discs, but if it's not an option I can deal with standard brakes.

This caught my eye on Wiggle : Colnago World Cup 2.0 2013
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/colnago-world-cup-20-2013/

It's over budget and it's discounted, so maybe a non starter.

i currently have an old Jamis Pro CX bike (steel), but it's getting pretty old so I'm planning on putting this to work full time on the turbo (for the winter obviously) - so that I have a permanent setup as I got feed up of carrying the bike to the top floor and swapping wheels etc last winter. So the Jamis lineup also appeals.

Any other recommendations? Croix De Fer, Uncle John? Are there any good online retailers that deal a lot with Cross bikes worth looking at? (PX, Evans, Wiggle, ???)

In terms of gearing, I'm wondering whether I should look cross bike with a road compact chainset rather than the CX chainsets (which obviously have smaller rings)

JamesB

Here`s my bit for Cotic X I bought frameset + steel forks late last year just as winter bike; setup with Campy and discs. Probably just over £1k but I`m sure cheaper build possible.

Really good solid bike; it`s not light but it is robust and BB5 brakes work well under all conditions. It`s a good steady bike and I`ve found it is getting used, even in summer , as a bike of choice unless it`s a lovely dry sunny day when best bike comes out. In terms ride comfort steel forks bit jarring (I replaced with Carbon CX disc forks much better imo) and I`ve ridden some fair distances on it OK eg 300 and a 400km Audax, Fred Whitton.

Worth looking at

slowbike

I've got a cx as a winter/do it all bike. 2 sets of wheels - one slick and the other cx. Rack fitted, but Mudguards will go on when needed though.

Mine is rim brakes so I could swap wheels with the other bikes if needed.

differentstrokes87

Can't speak highly enough for the Planet X XLS. Mine's my do everything bike and is used mainly on roads using conti gp4000 tyres and its been great. It's fairly light, good components and comfortable to ride. The last few weeks I've been taking it off road using the Schwable Rocket Ron tyres it came with and it's been a joy.

The only gripe is it doesn't have fender/rack mounts.

passout

Loads of choice. I'd look at Merida, Planet X & Kinesis myself. Look at Fatbirds for the Kinesis.

Dozzina

I bought an unbranded Planet X Dirty Disco of Asian origin and put all my spare parts on it, built some H-Plus Son Archetype's and added BB7 Discs. Have used it on and off road, slicks and knobblies and have enjoyed every minute.

springtide9

Thanks. Now need to wait for the C2W voucher and figure out what scheme my employer is using :-)

But it sounds like there are plenty of options. I would just go for the Uncle John if there were disc mounts on the frame.

Also the Dirty Disco and/or the other Carbon PX CX bike look great, just out of the £1k bracket as ideally don't want to spend anymore as it's supposed to be my Winter bike!

JamesB

why go for a `soot and glue` bike for winter :roll: :roll: ??
Given state roads, mucky weather don`t you want something more robust and maybe troublefree? Any weight saving probably not too important IMO

springtide9

JamesB wrote:

why go for a `soot and glue` bike for winter :roll: :roll: ??
Given state roads, mucky weather don`t you want something more robust and maybe troublefree? Any weight saving probably not too important IMO

Unlikely to go for a carbon cross for winter, but if the option was there for a small premium I would jump at the chance. I personally don't like aluminium due to corrosion... I've had to throw a Dale MTB frame in the bin as it has rotted through. A carbon cross used on the worst crappy roads would be an easy life for the bike IMO.

But at my price point I have to accept that my real frame options are aluminium or steel. I'd be more than happy with steel and the Genesis bikes are very appealing. The obvious downside to steel is weight, although I haven't compared the weight of a carbon vs aluminium vs steel cross yet. If it's just a couple of kg, then it's not going to be that much of an issue.

I think the biggest challenge with finding a suitable cross will be the geometry as I'm not looking for a "sure trail footed, slack angle" cross (ideally close in geometry to my current road bike). This is not helped by the fact that I don't know much about "seat tube angles etc" - as I only know about how a bike feels to ride.

So maybe the geometry is the key to this puzzle?

sloppyschleckonds

Surprising Canyon don't make a CX bike. Have you had a look at Scott, Focus and Cannondales?

JamesB

The obvious downside to steel is weight, although I haven't compared the weight of a carbon vs aluminium vs steel cross yet. If it's just a couple of kg, then it's not going to be that much of an issue.

I believe that Genesis Croix de Fer come in around 2.2kg frame weight so maybe less than a kg more than an alu frameset = one large full bottle !! My Cotic X build with full mudguards is 12kg for info, with 28mm tyres too and pedals

andyrr

I've a Jamis CX bike - the cheapest Nova Sport, and I've used it for 3 or 4 times/week 35 mile round trip commute. Not much other use apart from that but at the price I paid (I got it for £520 when Evans had a reduction) I think it's great. It has pretty compromised equipment spec but it has to at that price : 8 speed Shimano, Tekro Lyra brakes but I rode it through some grotty late winter weather and it coped fine. One of the main issues was that the fitted CX tyres - 32mm I think - don't allow the full SKS 'guards I bought to fit at the rear so that wheel got a 28mm Conti 4 Seasons installed, there just wasn't space for the knobbly tyre to run inside the mudguard, I've not got a matching 25mm conti on the front with the cx tyre saved for next winter. Other than that it's been good - BB wore out way too quick, something like 6 weeks and play had developed - Evans replaced under warranty, the brakes are not the bestest but work pretty well and with organic pads they are fairly quiet and consistent in dry and wet conditions. Looks pretty good to my eyes with it's anadonised-look paint. Worth considering a Jamis IMHO.