Cyclocross Racer for under £1500

Lukeaerowallace

Hi all,

Looking for some suggestions for a pure cyclocross racer for under £1500.

Open to any ideas (full bikes/frame set builds).

Cheers for any suggestions.

tgotb

Same as last time you asked the question: Planet X XLS, and keep the rest of the money to spend on wheels and tyres.

Lukeaerowallace

Thank you again for the response, the only issue I have with the suggested Planet X XLS is that it is carbon, Ideally I am looking to have a aluminum frame.

I know I know that carbon is safe but I would just feel safer having a aluminum frame that can handle a few knocks

tgotb

In that case, £600 on something second hand, and keep the rest of the money to spend later.

Lukeaerowallace

Any suggestions on what to look for i.e any recommended makes of bike or frame sets to look out for?

danlikesbikes

Try using BR as a guide

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... clo-cross/

Always a good start point.

tgotb

Try to get one that has been raced if you can; it'll look a bit tattier, but it's likely to have more suitable tyres and gear ratios (and may well have done less miles). For a starter race bike, don't get too hung up on whether it has disc or canti brakes, either will be fine.

Lukeaerowallace

Cheers Danlikesbikes Ive already had a little look but thanks for the reply

And TGOTB thank you for the advice I may have to start searching the ebay pages (just hope I get lucky )

And any other suggestions are still appreciated...

danlikesbikes

You could go for 2nd hand but new you have plenty of options that are not cRbon framed if your worried about damaging the frame, though think you will find carbon pretty strong.

Kona jake
Raleigh rx
Cube cross
Vitus

That's just the start of a long list for you after a few minutes Google searching, plus most are on sale right now too

Lukeaerowallace

Cheers again Dan for the suggestions.

After you made your search were there any bikes (including the suggestions above) that you thought were worth a further look (that is if it was your own money).

An opinion would be great as i've had a look myself and have seen the Raleigh Rx, the Cannondale Cx, Kenisis Cros6 and the canyon inflite 9.0 any of these worth a second look?

djp66

I've just bought a Rose Cross DX Pro - price depends on the various different groupset options but 105 or Ultegra are within your budget.

See - http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40114&t=12984831

FransJacques

I'm confused OP: you are totally open to *any* kind of Alu frame whatsoever and have no firm opinions, yet the only opinion you do have is you are 100% certain you don't want carbon.

What gives? What are the reasons behind this? Does not make sense in the same breath as saying "Racer".

It's like saying you want the fastest airplane in the world, but no jets just propeller...dig?

Lukeaerowallace

Hi FrasJacques,

Thanks for the response, I know it may sound silly but I guess I just feel more comfortable riding an aluminum frame in cross conditions (happy to ride carbon for road or triathlon bikes )for example if i cock a gear change up causing the chain to drop or if I fall during a race, these are all things which are to be expected in cross conditions and I know modern carbon frames are built to deal with this but I just feel for the budget and having only one bike that aluminum is the better option.

However If you believe I'm missing a trick here, please feel free to express your opinion and maybe offer some further carbon options (Planet X XLS has already been mentioned).

Thanks again for the response.

FransJacques

Thanks for taking that in the right spirit, I just wanted to reassure you that jumping straight in at the deep end at the price bracket you're thinking about is totally worth it and you'll not be sorry. I also did the alu 'taster bike' to a carbon bike. But knowing what I do about carbon frames, I ask myself why I bothered. Note that most carbon CX bikes are heavier built ~1250 grams due to extra layers for the beatings you mention.

Carbon can take a beating, certainly at my ham-fisted hands. I'm by no means easy on my bike and I've ridden it 3 seasons now, and in some horrible conditions.

If you want to avoid crunching your front derailleur, then go for this lovely single ring set up: http://www.merlincycles.com/ridley-x-ni ... 71090.html

This is another beauty as well: http://www.merlincycles.com/ridley-x-ni ... 71110.html

The other bike you cannot fail with is the Spesh Carbon Crux - find a used one in your size or just a bare frame. Hargroves had the ex-team bikes for only £5oo for F&F (killer!).

Lukeaerowallace

Wow some seriously nice bikes for the money, thanks again for the response you've certainly opened my eyes.

Looks like I'll be taking a look at other ex-team bikes/carbon frame sets to build up certainly better value than the aluminum bikes I've previously looked at and I guess as long as I have my racing insurance if something does go wrong I'm covered.

Thanks again FransJacques

tgotb

Lukeaerowallace wrote:

as long as I have my racing insurance if something does go wrong I'm covered.

Bear in mind that, although you're much more likely to crash in a CX race, the consequences are nothing like the same as on the road. You're probably going to hit the deck at 10mph or less, and because it's generally muddy you'll probably just slide. You're also not going to have 20 other people riding over the top of your bike at 25mph. I've crashed my carbon bike countless times, mostly in training, and the sum total of the damage is a missing bar end plug, a ripped skinsuit, and a rather fetching chainring-shaped scar on my thigh.

Thinking about it, the one thing you do have to watch out for is the rear mech; it's only a matter of time before you clog one up and suck it round the chainstay, or drop the bike on it and bend the hanger. For this reason, don't buy a CX bike without a replaceable mech hanger (if such a bike even exists). Well worth buying a spare hanger at the same time; sod's law dictates that when you do bend yours, it will be out of stock everywhere...