Cyclocross Vs Road as a commuter?

honestjon

I need a little advice. Does anyone have any experience of using a cyclocross bike as a commuter?

I cycle to work 5 days a week. My commute is a 13 mile round trip on roads including cycle lanes. There are some rough areas of tarmac and occasional potholes/broken glass/debris but nothing too severe. My current bike is a Giant Roam1 (2012 model), before that I had a Scott Sub30.

I am seriously considering buying a road bike through the cycle to work scheme. I have a £1000 to spend but I don’t feel like I need a bike that costs that much. Maybe £650-800 but I’m happy to look at different price points. I only need it to get to work and back, not to compete or go out at the weekends.

I have seen a few cyclocross bikes and wanted to ask the forum their views:
• Would a cyclocross bike make a decent commuter for the number of miles I do?
• Would I be best buying a dedicated road bike given the fact I won’t be going off road or competing in cyclocross?
• Is a cyclocross just another form of hybrid? (I already ride a type of hybrid)

Anything else I should consider?

Thanks for your help

Honestjon

jefflad

I'd keep the bike you use for commuting on the roads you describe and buy a road bike for the weekends.

I had a CX bike which I enjoyed riding but hadn't rode a MTB for years, changed to one to compliment my road bike and use the MTB for commuting and family rides and the road bike for enjoying myself at weekends. You hear a lot of people say a hybrid is neither here or there, and I agree but I found the CX the same IMHO... good luck with what you choose!

cookeeemonster

Don't pay too much attention to labels. Work out what you want and go from there. Want proper mudguards? Bigger tyre clearances? Maybe discs? CX is the possibly the answer. Many so called 'cx' bikes are actually commuter road bikes under a different name. If not then maybe a road bike will be fine. To be honest the lines are pretty blurred on many models anyway

ugo.santalucia

I have not been able to get off my CX bike this year... with a wide range of tyres is does everything extremely well... I daresay it does everything better than my road bike, including road

Initialised

• Would a cyclocross bike make a decent commuter for the number of miles I do?

Yes

• Would I be best buying a dedicated road bike given the fact I won’t be going off road or competing in cyclocross?

Unlikely.

• Is a cyclocross just another form of hybrid? (I already ride a type of hybrid)

Yes, think of it as a lightweight rigid MTB with drop bars and old school brakes (cable disc or canti), the thinking man's hybrid.

Anything else I should consider?

Yes:
Endurance Road, essentially a CX bike shipped with road tyres with tighter geometry and tyre clearance.
Gravel bike, an Endurance Road bike supplied with tyres suited to riding gravel.
Sportive bike, an Endurance Road bike without disc brakes and less tyre clearance.
Tourer or Audax bike, what Endurance Road bikes used to be called, usually supplied with mud guards and better mounts for racks, may lack disc brakes.

The Rookie

There are many options in the blurred spectrum from Road bikes through CX (and tourer/commuter bikes) onto flat bars which can range from pretty sporty to very relaxed.

I have a flat barred hybrid, but the bars are circa 2" below saddle height and narrow, the riding position is pretty much the same as being on the hoodz of a road/CX bike.

slowbike

6.5 miles each way - just about any bike you can get mudguards on will be suitable.
Personally I wouldn't spend 1k on a bike just to do that, I'd only spend that if I intended on doing more riding than just the commute.

However, you're obviously interested in buying a new bike and I'd be hypocritical to suggest you don't need one ...

I have a TriCross primarily for commuting duties although it is also used for touring and family rides too. I got the base model with rim brakes as it meant I could swap wheels with others I already had, but looking back I think I'dve done better with disc brakes - winter commutes pick up a lot of dirt and the brakes become fairly ineffective with that and the wet.
A couple of years back I tried a flat bar bike (my wifes) for a week, but I didn't like the lack of drop bars making rides into the wind a lot harder (it's commuting, not all out training ride) - but I wanted something that would take bigger wheels and have good clearance for mudguards which the CX frame gave me.

For you I'd suggest any bike without suspension - you don't need it if you're not going off road and even then it's not obligatory (CX bikes don't tend to have them!)

Kieran_Burns

I have 2 CX bikes and both bought for commuting duties (twice your distance) and also for rides out which have off road (read: light trail) sections. I've happily done >100 miles on both of them.

However, all that aside... you're picking a label to fit a solution. What you need to do is list your requirements and find a bike that fills most, or hopefully all of them. Just ignore what the bike is called, find one that meets your needs.

I wanted a bike that went off road just as easily as on road (I had / have sections of bridleway on my commutes), took 'guards, wider tyre clearance, drop bars, more relaxed geometry and in the end: disc brakes.

From *my* list of requirements it meant a CX bike was the best fit. Do the same yourself and see what you come back with.

pastryboy

CX gives you flexibility in terms of wheels and tyres. No problem having winter and summer wheels/tyres to get the best of both worlds.

apreading

CX bike doesnt need winter wheels the same way that a road bike does, because the rims dont get trashed due to the disc brakes.

If commuting in the wet and in areas with busy traffic then discs are soo much better for braking.

For commuting, whatever you get look for rack and mudguard mounts - some CX bikes dont have them, just as some road bikes dont either.

slowbike

apreading wrote:

CX bike doesnt need winter wheels the same way that a road bike does, because the rims dont get trashed due to the disc brakes.

Some CX bikes have rim brakes ....

honestjon

Kieran_Burns wrote:

However, all that aside... you're picking a label to fit a solution. What you need to do is list your requirements and find a bike that fills most, or hopefully all of them. Just ignore what the bike is called, find one that meets your needs.

That is great advice. I'll start making my list A.S.A.P!

I thought I wanted a road bike but my head was turned in the bike shop by the appeal of a CX. However, I wont be going off road and there is next to no chance I'll be competing or riding at the weekends.

I get passed quite a lot by people on road bikes which got me thinking about getting a road bike. At least I'd be able to bring my commuting times down!

With the weather turning grey, cold and wet maybe I should stick with my current hybrid until the spring? I need to make a start on that list, that should help me focus on what I really need

byke68

If you are going to ride on dirt tracks and the like then a 'crosser will be fine. If it's just road fine too if it's got the right tyres. I'm on 35mm cross tyres and are a bit of an overkill on the tarmac but great on the dirt and ice. I'll change mine to something more road friendly after winter.

MichaelW

The ever increasing segmentation of the bike market is a strange thing. Even "do-it-all" bikes like the non-racy CX disk style have to be given a specific sporting function. The big brands can't bring themselves to make a label a performance bike for everyday riding.
The modern CX disk style with rack and 'guard mounts is the result of a dirty weekend shared by a traditional CX race bike and a touring bike.

Kieran_Burns

MichaelW wrote:

The ever increasing segmentation of the bike market is a strange thing. Even "do-it-all" bikes like the non-racy CX disk style have to be given a specific sporting function. The big brands can't bring themselves to make a label a performance bike for everyday riding.
The modern CX disk style with rack and 'guard mounts is the result of a dirty weekend shared by a traditional CX race bike and a touring bike.

It was a great weekend, with many pleasant memories and what happened behind those doors stays behind those doors...

jimmypippa

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I have 2 CX bikes and both bought for commuting duties (twice your distance) and also for rides out which have off road (read: light trail) sections. I've happily done >100 miles on both of them.

However, all that aside... you're picking a label to fit a solution. What you need to do is list your requirements and find a bike that fills most, or hopefully all of them. Just ignore what the bike is called, find one that meets your needs.

I wanted a bike that went off road just as easily as on road (I had / have sections of bridleway on my commutes), took 'guards, wider tyre clearance, drop bars, more relaxed geometry and in the end: disc brakes.

From *my* list of requirements it meant a CX bike was the best fit. Do the same yourself and see what you come back with.

That's pretty much what I decided.

Last time I took it for a ride I went around Stanage edge and up Long Causeway (South East of Sheffield)

The road section:

20140927_170346_Richtone(HDR) by jimmypippa, on Flickr

The off road section:

20140927_155359_Richtone(HDR) by jimmypippa, on Flickr

20140927_155355_Richtone(HDR) by jimmypippa, on Flickr

On a non-sporty cross bike (Genesis Croix de Fer).

It is pretty good fun.