revolution cross disc '14 v Jamis Nova Sport 2014 Cyclocross

rossiefree

I'm looking to get a cyclocross bike through cycle to work scheme, for my budget i'm stuck betwen either the Revolution cross disc '14 (£525 Edin Cyl) v Jamis Nova Sport 2014 Cyclocross Bike (£520 Evans), any comments help or other suggestions

Initialised

There really isn't a lot to choose between the two. I'd probably go with the commuter spec triple on the Revolution rather than the compact if your route is hilly.

Beware cheap cable discs, there's a thread on Lyra brakes around here somewhere you might want to read. The good road mechanical disc brakes seem to start at Avid BB7 and Tektro Spyre.

Also with discs make sure you break them in somewhere safe before you need to use them in anger. Method is speed up to ~20mph, brake hard to ~5mph, repeat 20-40 times.

rossiefree

Thanks for comments, I was favoring the Revolution bike, will double up as a winter training bike ad well

andyrr

I've a Nova Sport - the 2013 model I think, not sure of the differences between the specs of the years, maybe just the STIs have changed. Decent bike, I found the Lyras perfectly capable although with calipers that only have adjustment for 1 pad it became a bit of a pain to get close clearance without rubbing. Sourced a s/h BB7 caliper for the front recently and this has made things a bit better. Otherwise it is a good buy especially at just over £500. Fitted full length SKS 'guards to mine - not sure about the Revo bike but the Jamis came with proper CX tyres and that made it an impossible task to get a guard fitted to the rear as the clearance was insufficient. I fitted a 28mm Conti 4 Seasons and that worked fine but a slight pity that the rear clearance was not as great as I'd thought it maybe should be.

andyrr

I see that the Revo bike has 48/38/28T which seems to be aimed at the low-end, the Jamis is 50/34 which seems more appropriate for road use.