Cyclocross / winter trainer / commuter bike

jaylfc147

Hi all

I'm looking at getting a cyclocross bike to vary my road riding and hope to race next season. I'm after something that will do as a commuter bike and winter trainer as well.

Can anyone advise weather a 1 x setup would be best or a double chainset? What is the range like on a 1 x setup? Quite flat where I live.

My idea was to get an additional road wheelset to change over when road riding.

Budget is 1000ish.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm a complete novice to cyclocross but road riding most my life.

Thanks in advance
James

roastie_cyclocross

Personally if I was going to be using my Cyclocross bike for commuting and winter training then I would want a 2x system rather than 1x. I've used my old CX bike on the road before & the 46x11 gearing was a bit restrictive (Mostly downhills) compared to 50x11 on my road bike, I wouldn't really want 40x11 to be my largest gear.

It might be worth also considering if you want things like mudguard/rack mounts as you will be using it in the winter & commuting.

joe_totale-2

Due to my winter bike being nicked I used my 1x CX bike for club runs last winter,
I paired a 44 tooth chainring with an 10-42 cassette. The range was as good as a 2x set up but the gap between the gears was at times unbearable, often you'd feel like you weren't quite in the right gear as one gear would be too spinny whilst the next one would grind your knees into dust.
Also the 10 tooth sprocket felt horribly inefficient, it is a bit smaller in gear inches than 50/11 but it was so hard to turn. I'll never get another groupset with a 10 tooth sprocket.

However, I do also race CX on the bike and 1x is fantastic for that, in some races the bike gets so clogged with mud that front shifting just wouldn't have happened and the clutch rear derailleur was also a big help. You also don't notice the gaps so much when riding off road.

I also use the CX bike for commuting and it's fine for that, for utilitarian journeys such as that being 1x is no issue.

You have to be honest and ask how much road riding and off road stuff you'll be doing, if it's mainly on the road then 2x is the way to go. 1x IMO should only be on the bike if you'll mainly be riding off road and racing CX.

In terms of commuting either set up will do.

ekseliksis

hi there,

i am a total newbie on this forum, and in road bikes in general (my mtb mind couldnt understand the bent bars handling) but i thought to give it an other try, now that road bikes seem to get closer to mountain bikes (a manner of speech).

Anyways enough with the blabbering.

I bought an Aprire inverno Ar.
Give it a try they are a British, small production business with custom painting option. and to my knowledge with unbeatable pricing.
plus Phil is a great guy.

jaylfc147

Thanks everyone for the knowledgeable responses, some really good advice and has confirmed my suspicions about the 1 x drivetrain and the range of gears. Need to have a good think about the use of this bike and go from there.
Thanks for your time and expertise

singleton

I have a cube cross race pro which I have 2 sets of wheels / tyres for. In the winter I put the road wheels and full mudguards on and use it as a winner trainer and then in summer I remove the mudguards and stick the off-road wheels on which have 38mm tyres and use it when my mates take their mountain bikes out.
Works great.

themxperience

Im a little late to the party, but I am qualified to comment:

Im mainly a roadie, who has dabbled a bit with CX. I bought a used (But basically brand new) Focus Mares AX 105, for £500. I have 'played' at the CX races, doing 2-4 races per winter. Last season I did just two. So to get some use out of the bike, I bought some 32mm Continental road tyres. The bike is heavy, the tyres don't roll too well, Id probably get 28mm and a better rolling tyre next time to make the road work better. But I've also devised a local route with as much off-road as I can find, linked up with a bit of tarmac. I do this on the dirt tyres btw..

I think the crankset is 34/46. The cassette is 11/28. When I ride it on the road tyres for a road ride, I'm in a different mindset- this is 'maintenance' rather than a serious training ride. However stick on the knobblies and Im going hard on the dirt for an hours high intensity.

Ive grown to like the bike more & more. Im putting more hours on it these days during lockdown than I am on the road bike thats for sure! Theres something almost liberating about being able to nip off up dirt tracks, down bridlepaths and through the local woods that link up the rural area of our town to the town centre.