Should I invest in a cyclocross bike?

jamlala

Hi there. I'm a roadie of some 8 yrs standing, a MTB rider of a year or 2, and now I fancy trying CX. The club I belong to don't really get involved in CX (I'm in Brentwood, Essex) but I really fancy giving it a go. My question is, should I invest in a cheap 2nd hand cyclocross bike forst, or should I have a go at an event just using my MTB for starters?

Everyone I speak to has got sucked in by 'cross from the off, and I want some of that!!

fat daddy

yes get a CX bike !!! ..... if nothing else its a great n+1 for when its crap weather, or your back hurts and you want a squishy ride on big rubber, or if you fancy a quick blast on the trails and don't want to lumber around on a slow mtb.

even if you don't like racing, the CX bike wont go to waste, Hell I haven't raced in my life, and use mine a couple of times a week as its plain nice.

That said one of the club members I ride with is trying to get me to come along tot he summer series CX that is just about to start ..... its a good way to start apparently as all the fast roadies are now back on the road, leaving the CX a bit less competitive compared to the winter and good for beginners

imposter2.0

JamLala wrote:

Hi there. I'm a roadie of some 8 yrs standing, a MTB rider of a year or 2, and now I fancy trying CX. The club I belong to don't really get involved in CX (I'm in Brentwood, Essex) but I really fancy giving it a go. My question is, should I invest in a cheap 2nd hand cyclocross bike forst, or should I have a go at an event just using my MTB for starters?

Everyone I speak to has got sucked in by 'cross from the off, and I want some of that!!

The majority of CX courses are not really optimised for MTBs, so riding them on an MTB might not give you the full 'experience'. I would go straight out and buy a CX - new or used, whatever your budget can tolerate. Lots of bargains to be had out there at the moment, both new and s/h.

Jterrier

I did my first three races aboard my mtb. Worked well to give me an idea. Dont rush in as its easy to buy a cx bike which actually you cant really race on (wrong gearing etc). Learn a bit first.

kingstongraham

Great use of the word invest.

jamlala

Sure it's an investment :roll: !!
I'm not rich so anything I buy is an investment! Trying to find some decent 2nd hand out there which is pretty tough. Trouble is, me being me, I want it NOW!!
I'll keep looking though, and the right thing will pop up. I hear what you say re: have a tryout first though, the last thing I want to do is buy the wrong thing.

jamlala

Jterrier wrote:

I did my first three races aboard my mtb. Worked well to give me an idea. Dont rush in as its easy to buy a cx bike which actually you cant really race on (wrong gearing etc). Learn a bit first.

And have you continued racing?

tgotb

Chances are, whatever you buy won't turn out to be the perfect bike for you in the long term; it's almost impossible to make an educated decision about what's best *for you* without having done a reasonable amount of racing. For that reason, I'd get a well-used second-hand bike, and ride it for a season. At the end of that season you'll either decide CX isn't for you, or you'll have a much better idea of the bike you really want. At that point, you should be able to sell the bike for close to what you paid for it, and either upgrade or spend the money on something else.
I bought an old alloy Paul Milnes for my girlfriend, fully working with a super-robust Campag groupset, for £150. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get something that will get you round the course...

VamP

Those alloy Milnes frames are superb. I got one for my son, and the overall winner of Vets in Wessex league has one as his pit bike, and he rates it. Looks good in red too!

type:epyt

Buy a saddle for your road bike and you might get the next 8 years 'sitting' ... It's a bit more efficient ...

jamlala

type:epyt wrote:

Buy a saddle for your road bike and you might get the next 8 years 'sitting' ... It's a bit more efficient ...

Very amusing!

roastie_cyclocross

I started Cyclocross racing this year.

I'm not too far from yourself, actually work in Brentwood. I entered the Maldon & District Cycling Club CX races that were on over the winter, you don't need to be a member of the club & it's only £3.50 a race and the races are held in Battlesbridge. I think that they normally do a summer evening CX race series also. I'm also going to enter some of the Easterncross league races later in the year.

I ended up buying myself a cheap new CX bike (Raleigh RX Elite) to try my hand at racing, it was just under £400. I think that I'll keep it for another season, learn what I need from my next bike and then buy something better. There are plenty of people racing with mountain bikes and some were much quicker than me.

milemuncher1

Yes, if you're going to be doing CX. If not, maybe think about a gravel / adventure bike. All the cross practicality of a CX bike, but not such a 'sporty' geometry ( more comfy for most people who want a ruggedised drop bar bike with clearance for fat tyres, and disc brakes).