Advice on which bike to buy
CX_novice
Posts: 2
I am interested in getting a cx bike. I currently have a very old mountain bike which is on its last legs!! Every one I speak to in the shops tells conflicting info on the types of bikes and which I should get.
I have up to £1000 to spend on a cx bike and have looked at the cannondale, boardman, and a few others but it's like a different language to me. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks :oops:
I have up to £1000 to spend on a cx bike and have looked at the cannondale, boardman, and a few others but it's like a different language to me. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks :oops:
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Comments
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I wonder whether we need a sticky post on this...
Start by figuring out what you actually want to use the bike for (racing/commuting/leisure riding/sportives/wall ornament) and then search down the forum for previous responses to this question; someone seems to start a new thread on this every couple of weeks...Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
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I've just bought a Caadx SRAM and think its great.
Now is the time of year to try and shop around and get one of last years models (read that as 2015) as the 206 ones are just launching - Depends upon what size you are looking at. There is no price increase or dumbing down of equipment this year, so you can pick up the same spec bike for £100 or more off the retail price.
What size are you looking for btw?0 -
I wonder whether we need a sticky post on this...
Start by figuring out what you actually want to use the bike for (racing/commuting/leisure riding/sportives/wall ornament) and then search down the forum for previous responses to this question; someone seems to start a new thread on this every couple of weeks...
Usually followed by a bunch of people recommending the bike they have...0 -
Better than people reccommending bikes they've never ridden. If people have a bike that fits the bill and they like it, why not reccommend it. Most people haven't ridden hundreds of bikes.Usually followed by a bunch of people recommending the bike they have...0 -
Aren't the people who've ridden hundreds of bikes the ones whose feedback you want? I know this is the Internet, but how useful is it to have 20 replies from 20 different people owning 20 different bikes, each of whom thinks their bike is the best available despite not having ridden anything else?
Better than people reccommending bikes they've never ridden. If people have a bike that fits the bill and they like it, why not reccommend it. Most people haven't ridden hundreds of bikes.Usually followed by a bunch of people recommending the bike they have...
Those recommendations are even more meaningless when we don't even know why the OP actually wants a CX bike. A lot of the best choices for racing are likely to be totally unsuitable for commuting, for instance, and vice versa. I actually own two quite different CX bikes, chosen quite carefully for different purposes. If we go down the "recommend whatever you have" route, which of those should I claim is the best thing since sliced bread?
Edit: If you're going to recommend a particular bike (or other bit of kit) the very least you can do is describe why you recommend it, what its good/bad points are, and what you're using it for!Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
Then go read reviews of the bike done by professional bike reviewers, like the review section on this site.Aren't the people who've ridden hundreds of bikes the ones whose feedback you want?0 -
Then go read reviews of the bike done by professional bike reviewers, like the review section on this site.Aren't the people who've ridden hundreds of bikes the ones whose feedback you want?
Ehm, it wasn't TGOTB who wanted the advice. Are you even grasping how useless it is to recommend your own bike without any critical input or understanding of what the OP needs the bike for?
Or do you just think, without having ridden any others, that the CAADX is the best bike for everything?0 -
Then go read reviews of the bike done by professional bike reviewers, like the review section on this site.Aren't the people who've ridden hundreds of bikes the ones whose feedback you want?
Ehm, it wasn't TGOTB who wanted the advice. Are you even grasping how useless it is to recommend your own bike without any critical input or understanding of what the OP needs the bike for?
Or do you just think, without having ridden any others, that the CAADX is the best bike for everything?
Give this is a forum inhabited by people who have only ridden a few bikes and not profesional bike reviewers who have the insight of having ridden hundreds of bikes to compare. I don't see what else the OP would expect other than people reccommending their own bikes and I think that's better than people reccommending bikes they've never ridden.
Or shall we all wait here until someone who reviews bikes (and thus we could just go read their review they've already writted) comes along and re-writes their review.
I've never ridden it, but you should get the first result here :roll: : http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/cyclo-cross/?rows=25&sortBy=rating&dateFromYear=2014&searchTerm=&productPriceFrom=0&productPriceTo=1000&productBrand=
5 stars and written by http://www.bikeradar.com/author/james-huang/ who seems to have something to compare it against.
So unless someone has more experiance that that guy, I guess that's the bike.0 -
Unfortunately, the vast majority of bike reviews on sites like this aren't worth the paper they're written on. The authors are generally hired on their ability to write rather than their bike knowledge, and no-one will ever publish an unfavourable review because they're too dependent on advertising revenue. Never trust a good review from a publication that doesn't also publish bad ones! Many are little more than crudely reworded product brochures. I gave up on them completely after reading a review that described a CX bike as having canti brakes "for added stopping power". Anyone who could write that clearly knows very little about cyclocross bikes.
Then go read reviews of the bike done by professional bike reviewers, like the review section on this site.Aren't the people who've ridden hundreds of bikes the ones whose feedback you want?
Ehm, it wasn't TGOTB who wanted the advice. Are you even grasping how useless it is to recommend your own bike without any critical input or understanding of what the OP needs the bike for?
Or do you just think, without having ridden any others, that the CAADX is the best bike for everything?
Give this is a forum inhabited by people who have only ridden a few bikes and not profesional bike reviewers who have the insight of having ridden hundreds of bikes to compare. I don't see what else the OP would expect other than people reccommending their own bikes and I think that's better than people reccommending bikes they've never ridden.
Or shall we all wait here until someone who reviews bikes (and thus we could just go read their review they've already writted) comes along and re-writes their review.
I've never ridden it, but you should get the first result here :roll: : http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/cyclo-cross/?rows=25&sortBy=rating&dateFromYear=2014&searchTerm=&productPriceFrom=0&productPriceTo=1000&productBrand=
5 stars and written by http://www.bikeradar.com/author/james-huang/ who seems to have something to compare it against.
So unless someone has more experiance that that guy, I guess that's the bike.
That said, the reviewer quoted above seems to have more of an idea what he's talking about, so worth using as one source of input, but I still don't see any critical reviews.
Other useful sources of input - people on forums who seem to understand the pros and cons of certain kit. If someone writes that Bike X is a great race bike, but probably not so good for leisure riding because it doesn't have any bottle cage mounts, or that Bike Y seems to be great for commuting and towpaths but mud clearances look a bit tight for muddy races, that's useful information. If you're looking for a race bike and someone says "I've seen zillions of people racing Bike Z and they all seem to love it", that's useful information too.
At the end of the day you have to look at multiple sources of information in order to make a decision, and when you're trying to help others make a decision you need to provide some context for your information so they can decide whether it's relevant.
For an illustration of how useful it is for someone just to say "Bike X is great", have a look at the "Best tyre" thread. Lots of great tyres on there, but without context the information is useless. Some people have suggested top notch race tubs that would be utterly inappropriate for leisure riding, others have suggested very good robust trail tyres that would leave you at a distinct disadvantage on a muddy race course. Whether a bit of kit is good or bad depends totally on what it's going to be used for; context is everything!Pannier, 120rpm.0 -
You can whittle down the range of choice a bit, by asking yourself the correct questions. I went through this when I bought my CX bike.
Like the Op I came from an MTB and wanted a bike that could handle a multi terrain commute, rather than for it's racing capabilities.
Luckily, 24 months ago, when I made the choice, the CX bike market was far less developed than it is now, and the choices were more stark.
I must stress I didn't start looking for a CX bike, but my selection criteria led me there.
I wanted disc brakes for all weather stopping power; a bike that could take wider, off road tyes, ideally mud guards, and a tough, carbon, frame.
I had to compromise on the mud guards, but the CX fitted the bill every where else, do that's what I went for, after trying a couple of different models I had short listed.
I think you have to try hard to get and out and out bad bike these days, esp with the budget on offer here (same budget as me btw), and, providing you ask yourself the right questions, you're going to get a bike that works for you.
I wanted a more swiss army knife than a surgical scalpal, and i am happy with my choice. CX racing came after I had the bike, and just fancied trying it. Did a lot of AdventureX type stuff prior to cross racing, but I am hooked now, and looking at my 2nd season of racing.
I am deliberately not saying which bike I got, as there is a lot more choice in this price bracket now, than when I made my decision, as well as technology having moved on.
So, to sum it up, ask youself the right questions based on what you want out of a bike. Short list down (do use bike reviews etc here, but always go back to your criteria), and test ride.
As I said earlier I don't think you'll get the wrong bike, as they are all pretty good these days.0 -
Focus Mares AX with the decoration you can affordleft the forum March 20230
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As mentioned in previous posts think about where you are going to ride the bike and any must haves. A bike for cx racing is very different to a chunkier road bike that will also go off road.0
