Cross Bike as main road bike?

AllezAllezAllez

Does anyone use a Cross bike as their main road bike?

I've been considering a new bike for a while but fancy the flexibility to explore off road that a cross bike offers. However I still want to do plenty of road miles and the odd club run.

I'm presuming for pure road rides I can just change the tyres to slicks? Would a typical 46/36 cause any problems on the road? Any other pros or cons?

Barbarossa

I use my CX bike on the road through the winter and when I've gone away and have wanted to do a mix of road and trail riding. The bike has slightly different geometry, but after a day you don't notice. In terms of speed, there isn't any real difference.

Downsides; Canti brakes aren't as good as road brakes. I would go for discs if I was going to use the bike a lot as a road bike. Mountain bike pedals get uncomfortable on long road rides. As for gears, you could always buy a 50T chainring and swap if you felt you were under geared.

Caution; My coments above apply to my old ally framed cross bike. I bought a new cross bike this year - a carbon Ridley X-Fire. It isn't nice to ride on the road, it is way too stiff, gets very tiring beyond 2 hours on the road.

Ber Nard

Sounds like you want one of the more road inspired cyclocross bikes like the Boardman CX or Genesis Croix de Fer. They have compact road gearing, clearance and braze-ons for mud guards and disc brakes. They're not as uncompromising as a full on cross bike.

If you do go for a cross bike, be sure it has bottle bosses. CX races are short so there's little need to carry bottles, a dedicated frame may not have any.

Rob

jds_1981

I've got a self built http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRP ... s_frameset bike.
I think much of the difference to speed on it is down to the wheel/tyre choice. Other than that it is fine to use on the road & it's nice to have brakes that just work in the rain.

Pross

I've just bought mine to do a bit of cross racing but mainly as a commuting / winter/ light touring bike. I reckon they are the best all round option out there. I had the same query regarding gearing but I can swap the 46 for a 50 once the cross season is over (or even before as the consensus was that the big ring won't get use in a race).

AllezAllezAllez

Thanks for the advice, it's been helpful.

Paul 8v

Pross wrote:

I've just bought mine to do a bit of cross racing but mainly as a commuting / winter/ light touring bike. I reckon they are the best all round option out there. I had the same query regarding gearing but I can swap the 46 for a 50 once the cross season is over (or even before as the consensus was that the big ring won't get use in a race).

I think you'd have to be a bit of a powerhouse to use it in most races. Mine gets used when I'm riding towpaths or the like where you can get up some speed

simonj

I use a SuperX as a road bike, had a Supersix EVO, but ended up using the SuperX more often as versatile and so can just hop on and off toe paths etc. SuperX was only 300g heavier than EVO which absolutely amazed me. Gearing was a slight issue, but started by have a 12-x cassette on the CX wheels and an 11-x on the road wheels, but have since got a set of 50/34 rings also. Geometry is a little more relaxed, but you get used to it and in real terms at my (low) ability I don't really notice a massive difference in real world speed. I have since sold the EVO due to using the SuperX 90% of the time.

Pross

I've just used mine for the first time on my 18 mile commute which is all on road / a short section of surfaced cycle path. My first impression is that it is harder and slower to get up to speed than my road bike as you would expect as it is considerably heavier (road bike is carbon frame with light wheels, cross bike is aluminium frame with 'robust' wheels) and the tyres are 38mm with off road tread v Corsa CX Evos run at 115+ psi. The additional weight was also noticeable on the few slight drags on my commute. However, once rolling and on the rare places where I was sheltered from the strong cross headwind it wasn't much slower than the road bike and obviously it has the ability to go off road if necessary. Unfortunately my commute doesn't give me an opportunity for any off road options but it certainly smoothed out the few areas of rough road that normally give me and the bike a hammering.

I'm hoping to swap the wheels out so that I can commute on lighter wheels and road tyres which I think will make a massive difference. With luck the rim sizes won't be much different and the swap over will be straightforward as I'll need the current wheels back on at weekends for racing.

Gearing wasn't an issue, I never got near my biggest gear of 46 x 12 although the wind played a big part in that! However, 46 x 12 is a bigger gear than 52 x 14 and I hardly ever ride a gear that big other than when racing and even then it's a rarity (I spent years racing with a biggest gear of 52 x 13).

slowbike

I have a tricross as a main commute bike - it's a triple setup (30/39/50) so I changed the cassette from 32/11 to a 23/11.
I've got 2 wheelsets - the orig with CX tyres on and a set of FR5s with 23mm slicks on. Most of the time I ride it with the slicks - but swap out if using the bike to ride on tracks with family/friends or just CXing!

Fitwise - its more upright and shorter than the roadbike, but you can do a fair bit to sort that out - I've replaced the stem for a longer one - makes the reach far more comfortable and lowered it a little too. It's not as low as the road bike - but then I've got the road bike for that sort of thing!

The road bike I have is carbon and this one is Ali - the carbon one is probably better at sustaining top speed - but climbing there's very little in it - I've got a PB up a climb on the CX.

DavidBelcher

I did once press my CX bike into service as a road one, as I was due to ride a local time trial and my actual road bike build was still unfinished(not least because the courier hadn't delivered the frame yet!!). Stuck some 23mm slicks on it plus Look pedals (so that I could use my road shoes) and away I went. Astonishingly I didn't finish in last place, and although the highest gear was only 46 x 13 didn't find myself spinning out, although it was quite a breezy day.

David

jds_1981

jds_1981 wrote:

I've got a self built http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRP ... s_frameset bike.
I think much of the difference to speed on it is down to the wheel/tyre choice. Other than that it is fine to use on the road & it's nice to have brakes that just work in the rain.

Follow up to this - while the cross bike seems a bit slower than my road bike, I can still do fairly well on strava with it.. http://www.strava.com/segments/2475980

veronese68

I use my Kinesis as my only road bike. I have 28mm Gatorskins on it and it's plenty fast enough. I built it up myself so it has a compact road chainset rather than a cross one. If I stick cross tyres on it works off road, although for everyday use I might go for something with a bit more tread than the Gatorskins as I do tend to ride on a few trails quite often.

matt@theforce

I too use my cx bike as my road bike.

If I'm on the road/light trail's I run 28c Durano Plus's and if I'm planning some proper off road excursions I'll put my 33c Maxxis Raze tyres on.

I still run the 36/46 chainset & do miss my 50t but its not a big deal & I'll probably change to a 34/50 when I can justify the ££ but for now it does everything I want and my Strava/Commute times aren't any different to my road bike.

My CX bike suits me better than my road bike did, much more comfortable than my road bike on 100mile+ rides, not sure I would go back to a road bike now.

Matthew

ugo.santalucia

Another vote for a cross bike as main road bike... unless you compete a road bike is not necessary

AllezAllezAllez

I think my next bike will be a cross bike....spent the day walking in Sherwood Pines Forest dreaming of a wet and muddy ride on a new CX bike....just need to convince the wife now!

bennydotc

I've just sold my road and mountain bikes and I'm hopefuly picking up a cross bike on Sunday, which I plan to use for everything. My mountain bike was way OTT for the offroad I do and I didn't see the point in having a road and cross bike. Hopefully I won't miss the road bike!

matt@theforce wrote:

I still run the 36/46 chainset & do miss my 50t but its not a big deal & I'll probably change to a 34/50 when I can justify the ££ but for now it does everything I want and my Strava/Commute times aren't any different to my road bike.

What is your rear cassette? The bike I'm getting comes with a 12-25 which should be OK for my offroad/mixed riding. I've got a second set of rims which I'll use for road only rides and I was thinking of putting an 11-28 on.

kajjal

I am lucky to have a road and a mountain bike. Both fit what they are designed for very well. If I wanted a very robust road bike I would consider a CX bike as they have various good features. But for me the reason for my road bike is it's speed and power on road compared to my mountain bike. Off road my mountain bike really flies and I appreciate the disk brakes and active handling.

bendertherobot

jds_1981 wrote:

jds_1981 wrote:

I've got a self built http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/FRP ... s_frameset bike.
I think much of the difference to speed on it is down to the wheel/tyre choice. Other than that it is fine to use on the road & it's nice to have brakes that just work in the rain.

Follow up to this - while the cross bike seems a bit slower than my road bike, I can still do fairly well on strava with it.. http://www.strava.com/segments/2475980

I have numerous KOM's on a croix de fer

matt@theforce

bennydotc wrote:

I've just sold my road and mountain bikes and I'm hopefuly picking up a cross bike on Sunday, which I plan to use for everything. My mountain bike was way OTT for the offroad I do and I didn't see the point in having a road and cross bike. Hopefully I won't miss the road bike!

matt@theforce wrote:

I still run the 36/46 chainset & do miss my 50t but its not a big deal & I'll probably change to a 34/50 when I can justify the ££ but for now it does everything I want and my Strava/Commute times aren't any different to my road bike.

What is your rear cassette? The bike I'm getting comes with a 12-25 which should be OK for my offroad/mixed riding. I've got a second set of rims which I'll use for road only rides and I was thinking of putting an 11-28 on.

Mine came with a 12-28 but I changed it for a 12-30, I find the 36-30 a great gear for my off road jaunts around the Peak District & haven't found I need anything any lower but if I do change to a 34-50 I'll put my 12-28 back on

slowbike

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Another vote for a cross bike as main road bike... unless you compete a road bike is not necessary

necessary doesn't come into it - it's desire ...

I was back on my road bike for the commute in this morning - boy it's a different beast ... yer I know, it doesn't have a rack or guards on it like the CX and it's carbon not ali ... but they both run 23mm tyres (for now) and the gearing isn't completely different... and I came in 6% faster today ..

CX can do as a road bike - but it is still a compromise. If you're limited on space/funds then it's a good consideration. If you're not then why deny yourself the pleasure of a good road bike?

simonj

But you're not comparing Apples with Apples, I'm sure an Alloy road with Tiagra, heavy wheels, guards and racks vs a Carbon road with Red and light wheels will be different too. A traditional grunt CX of yesteryear, I think, is an old bike (probably heavier bike) out the shed and put big tyres on for going over the rough stuff. Try comparing a more modern light Carbon CX with road wheels and and tyres with comparable spec to a carbon road bike and the differences and I'm sure ride timing differences will be slimmer. Yes a road will probably have the edge on feeling, maybe not, but the CX will have the bag on versatility. If you want a fast CX for the road you can certainly get them, if you want a cheaper, winter, versatile CX bike you can also get that, but if comparing a CX to a Road bike it would probably be fairer to compare on the same level price/spec wise. I think a good CX can be comparable to a road and to get the best of both worlds you just need two sets of wheels/tyres not two bikes.

rubertoe

Right now that we have established that the cross is the best type of bike that you can get if your not competing in road races.

get this.

dribble....

slowbike

simonj wrote:

But you're not comparing Apples with Apples, I'm sure an Alloy road with Tiagra, heavy wheels, guards and racks vs a Carbon road with Red and light wheels will be different too. ....... if comparing a CX to a Road bike it would probably be fairer to compare on the same level price/spec wise. I think a good CX can be comparable to a road and to get the best of both worlds you just need two sets of wheels/tyres not two bikes.

I was comparing a 2011 TriCross with Tiagra to a 2011 Tarmac with 105 .. sure I have a carrier and a crudroadracer mudguard on the front of the TriCross, but I run them with FR5 wheels and GP4seasons. The Tarmac has Kys Elite wheels and GP4000s. There will be a bit of difference from that spec change. The Tarmac just feels better - but there really isn't that much in it.

Don't get me wrong - I like my TriCross - I've done >1500 miles on it this year - and just over that on road bikes. On holiday I took the TriCross - why? Because it was more versatile - I had the rack on the back and a bag to put on it - no mudguards though! I would've loved to have taken the Tarmac, but it just wasn't sensible.
First choice for the road is always the road bike - it only misses the pick when the road conditions or the journey requirements suggest it would be more prudent to take the TriCross.

Paul 8v

rubertoe wrote:

Right now that we have established that the cross is the best type of bike that you can get if your not competing in road races.

get this.

dribble....

Didn't know they had a cross bike, I WANT that!

bennydotc

matt@theforce wrote:

Mine came with a 12-28 but I changed it for a 12-30, I find the 36-30 a great gear for my off road jaunts around the Peak District & haven't found I need anything any lower but if I do change to a 34-50 I'll put my 12-28 back on

Thanks

Pross

Rode the cross bike a total of 50 miles on road and paved cycleways yesterday with 23mm road tyres and it was great. It's not a light bike by any means but it was comfortable and I got up a fairly tough climb on it. Legs ache today but it was the first proper ride I've done in nearly two months. Even picked up a few Strava top 10s without trying for them.

Stevo_666

I wouldn't have a CX bike as a main road bike if I was doing a lot of road riding for pleasure, but for commuting duties I reckon it's a good choice, especially with disc brakes. For me having a 'bomb proof' commute bike with wheels that can take a few knocks and good stopping ability in the wet are important.

Tyres are easily swapped to slicks if there's no off roading involved. That said, for on road use I'd prefer a CX bike with road gearing (34/50 rather than the standard CX 36/46) but there are a few around like the Boardman.

When the current bike comes up for renewal I will consider a crosser to replace it.

springtide9

To compare speed..
I did a ride on Sunday and was less than 3% slower on the Cylocross bike with 28mm tyres (over a 45 mile / 3000ft route) - this is compared to my road bike with 24mm tyres (so ~ 17 vs 17.5 mph).
Unless you are racing it's not a huge difference; and if group riding, you can blame your performance on the cross bike.

The only real noticeable difference when riding are the wheels are slow to get up to speed - mainly down to the stock wheels of the XLS are not far off 2.5kg. I think once I've swapped them with a lighter set of wheels (1700g) the difference will be even less.

In terms of gearing, I was planning on swapping the 46 for a 50 - but don't think it's worth it. Looking at the chats, 46/11 is similar gearing to 50/12, so more than liveable (unless you live in the flatlands)

robbo2011

Comfort is the main factor between my (expensive) road bike and my (affordable) CX bike. Even with 28mm tyres at lowish pressure, I still feel beaten up on the CX bike after a couple of hours while the road bike I can ride all day without comfort issues.

So for me, I would not like to use the CX exclusively, it is a wet weather bike only. Now whether an expensive carbon CX bike would bridge the gap I don't know, but having an expensive bad weather bike kind of defeats the purpose of it.

Paul_GTR

robbo2011 wrote:

Comfort is the main factor between my (expensive) road bike and my (affordable) CX bike. Even with 28mm tyres at lowish pressure, I still feel beaten up on the CX bike after a couple of hours while the road bike I can ride all day without comfort issues.

So for me, I would not like to use the CX exclusively, it is a wet weather bike only. Now whether an expensive carbon CX bike would bridge the gap I don't know, but having an expensive bad weather bike kind of defeats the purpose of it.

How expensive (or cheap?) is you affordable CX bike?