Road or cyclocross bike?

neil h

Apologies if this has been done to death but you don't know if you don't ask.

It's been far to many years since I dabbled with bikes (and they weren't road bikes anyways) and I'm looking to get back in the saddle as a way to lose some weight and get generally fitter. Now I really fancy a road bike but it'd probably see a bit of tow path use as well, so what I'm wondering is would It be ok or would something more along the lines of a cyclocross bike be a better idea?

Cheers.

arlowood

neil h wrote:

Apologies if this has been done to death but you don't know if you don't ask.

It's been far to many years since I dabbled with bikes (and they weren't road bikes anyways) and I'm looking to get back in the saddle as a way to lose some weight and get generally fitter. Now I really fancy a road bike but it'd probably see a bit of tow path use as well, so what I'm wondering is would It be ok or would something more along the lines of a cyclocross bike be a better idea?

Cheers.

There are plenty of road/cyclo cross-over bikes out there now. They tend to be called adventure or gravel bikes but that is just the market segmentation bo**ocks of the manufacturers.

One possible option is the Planet X London Road - I know as I had one for almost a year before passing it on to my grandson.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV ... -road-bike

Not sure what your budget is but the above retails at £999 with hydraulic disc brakes and 2 x 11 speed SRAM gears. It runs well as a road bike but has the capacity with the right tyre choice to be an excellent off-roader. Might not do the mud-plugging of a true cyclocross bike but I don't think that is what you're after

meanredspider

Take a look too at adventure/gravel bikes: road bike geometry and group sets but with some concessions to off-road like wider tyres and guard mounts. The ARE different to cyclocross bikes (despite what's been written above). Something like the GT Grade or Jamis Renegade.

voodooman

My tuppence?

Get a cross or adventure / gravel bike. I've just bought a CAADX 105 myself at 850 on C2w, which means I'll be adding either HY-RDs or those Juin ones within a week, as well as getting some Revos. How heavy are you? When I started cycling a bit more seriously I weighed 17 stone, now down to 15 1/2. However these types of bikes tend to be a bit sturdier than outright racing bikes, with a slightly more relaxed position.

Whichever type you choose the advantage is you can put nice big tyres on - putting michelin pro4 endurance 28s on my current Ridley X-bow transformed the ride. I was going to get the last Renegade at Evans in my size but common sense prevailed. Young teenagers at home who tend to clumsily move stuff around in the shed means I'll be worrying about getting a carbon bike once they've buggered off to uni, or got a job and a bit more enlightened about the cost of stuff.

Actually I think being able to get bigger tyres might be really useful - clearance for 32 minimum, maybe even 40.

neil h

arlowood wrote:

Not sure what your budget is but the above retails at £999 with hydraulic disc brakes and 2 x 11 speed SRAM gears. It runs well as a road bike but has the capacity with the right tyre choice to be an excellent off-roader. Might not do the mud-plugging of a true cyclocross bike but I don't think that is what you're after

My bad, i did think about budgets then forgot to put it in the post I'm looking around £5-700, so the CAADX could be worth a look given that Evans have them on special offer at the moment.

kajjal

I have a diverge fast enough on road with 25mm tyres and takes 32mm tyres fine for off road riding. Just remember it does not handle the rough stuff off road like a mountain bike would.

neil h

How does the Boardman CX range stack up? The CX team looks on paper like quite a lot of bike for the money (£799 at the moment).

Also, are cable discs any good these days?

arlowood

neil h wrote:

How does the Boardman CX range stack up? The CX team looks on paper like quite a lot of bike for the money (£799 at the moment).

Also, are cable discs any good these days?

The Boardman is a great choice. Got an excellent review on Bikeradar

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/cate ... eam-50344/

Slightly quirky with the 1 x 11 speed set-up but with a 44t chainring and a 10-42 cassette you should have all the gears you need. SRAM hydraulic brakes also so hard to beat the spec at that price (down £200 on original RRP atm)

If I were you I'd go for it. You can get an extra 10% discount at Halfords if you join British Cycling

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/membe ... oCWRXw_wcB