First Commuting/Cyclocross Bike

Shaney96

So I know many of you guys are probably sick to death of seeing these types of posts... But here it goes:
I'm a 17 year old with a part-time job, I enjoy going on 30-40mile bike rides every so often and will happily go on longer rides more frequently when I purchase a new bike. My current bike is a GT Chucker (mountain bike) which I bought second hand off Gumtree early last year. It has never been properly serviced and it has it's problems... I use this for my long-ish rides and it just feels appropriate for me to buy a bike suited for what I do, instead of having a mountain bike, when I don't MTB...

I have done a decent amount of research, I have decided to potentially purchase a NEW bike (that's pretty big for me, I'm pretty tight when it comes to money), and will be willing to spend between £500-£650 (maybe £700) on a bike.

Now, there are a lot of bikes out there, and I find it overwhelming when having to choose just ONE. As many of you can guess, I started off looking at the Boardman CX Comp 2014, and it seems to have its flaws (excluding the apparently poor servicing by Halfords (in general)), so I delved deeper...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/spe ... RRWidgetID

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/can ... RRWidgetID

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/nor ... 34#reviews

http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vapou ... to-content

Additional info:
I'm 5"8.5 and around 11st. My bike rides I go on are primarily on canal paths, tracks, roads etc. Hence why I would like a cyclocross, I desire the dropbar style handlebars as I'm prepared to do more road cycling if I get a new bike - maybe join a cycling club or whatever.

Basically I am asking you what the best "entry-level" cyclocross bike would be for me, I won't be doing hundreds of miles of biking a month and won't be analyzing every aspect of the bike after every ride. I'm simply looking for a bike that will ride fast on the road and take all the knocks when going over moderately off-road surfaces!

I appreciate the time anyone takes to respond to this post, thanks all!

Luke

blu3cat

Any decent CX bike should handle the sort of riding you describe.

I prefer disc brakes, as in my experience they offer much better stopping power than rim brakes, but that is my personal preference.

At the price point you are looking at I would be seeking Sora over Claris.

Also worth looking at the Chainset, as CX chainsets tend to be 46/36 rather than a standard compact 50 / 34 giving a smaller range of ratios (slower top speed and a higher, lowest gear) when compared to a compact.

shazzz

I'd go with the one you think looks the coolest!
That would be the Cannondale for me from the list you posted...

Shaney96

Think I'ma go for the Norco, simply because it's the cheapest of the three and still has excellent reviews, I'm only 17 after all and don't have all the money in the world, any users of this bike at all?