Cyclocross Vs Sportive/road
El Selb
Posts: 137
At the start of the year, I thought there was either a mountain bike or a racer and that was about it. How wrong I was!
Just starting to learn about / consider cyclocross bikes. For the reason that they'll be able to 1) take a heavier load should I need it for any long-distance touring (maybe 2 or 3 trips a year) and 2) they'll be a bit tougher for London's rubbish roads.
However, I won't be doing any off-roading.
I was in Evans today and they were suggesting they'd be a good idea for me. I took a Fuji and Pinnacle for a ride and the bikes themselves felt good, although my back perhaps not so good. This may of course be due to me sleeping funny or being used to riding a MTB for a while.
Do many people use a cyclocross bike for purely road riding? What are people's thoughts on this type of bike?
Oh and what are Pinnacle's like? The Arkose One at £650 caught my eye...
Ta!
Just starting to learn about / consider cyclocross bikes. For the reason that they'll be able to 1) take a heavier load should I need it for any long-distance touring (maybe 2 or 3 trips a year) and 2) they'll be a bit tougher for London's rubbish roads.
However, I won't be doing any off-roading.
I was in Evans today and they were suggesting they'd be a good idea for me. I took a Fuji and Pinnacle for a ride and the bikes themselves felt good, although my back perhaps not so good. This may of course be due to me sleeping funny or being used to riding a MTB for a while.
Do many people use a cyclocross bike for purely road riding? What are people's thoughts on this type of bike?
Oh and what are Pinnacle's like? The Arkose One at £650 caught my eye...
Ta!
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Comments
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CX bikes ride a little higher due to the fatter tyres and bigger clearances effectively making it ride 1-2cm higher than a regular road bike. It can feel a little odd at first, but you soon get used to it. My CX race bike is the stiffest frame I own and corners on rails with road wheels. Also check the brakes and forks as some are poorly constructed, flexing and chattering badly. I now have three CX bikes and three road bikes - I'm sold!Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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I only have room for one though sadly! Yeah I would put road tyres on it... Are they good on long distances?0
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I've used mine for long distances - if the position is ok for you and youve trained for it then yes they're good for it.
Big clearances are a help- put some 35mm Marathon road tyres and you should be bombproof for potholed roads.
I've not used mine for touring but make sure yours has the rack fittings. Disk brakes should help too.0 -
This is my latest acquisition - custom titanium Breakaway CX clone from Xi'an Titanium in China. It'll take 50mm tyres if needed and yet is plenty stiff enough for fast road use. I already have a CX bike with discs but wanted to use the TRP mini-vees for versatility and low weight - I have plenty of CX wheels and this will also see service as my spare bike for CX racing as well as for travelling / holidays where I can take 1 bike and two pairs of tyres.
Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
Not much point getting the wrong bike for your circumstances if the right one exists; ie a touring bike (which is not so different to a cyclocross bike only it is designed for touring - which is what you want to do - rather than cyclocross - which is what you don't want to do!).
There are loads of options out there (Dawes Galaxy being one choice or Spa Cycles who do some nice Ti ones) and they can take any load you can pedal over as poor a road surface as you are likely to find in the UK. A cyclocross bike isn't really the optimum bike for what you want to do.Faster than a tent.......0 -
I bought the Arkose Two a few months ago for commuting duties/day rides and can recommend it (I'm guessing the Arkose One will be similar frame but slightly lower spec). Tough as old boots, disc brakes and dependable 105 kit. Now has full guards for keeping dry, but without goes cross country in style.
If you get a crosser, I bet you will at some point look at a trail and think "Why not?"
And the commute is probably only couple of minutes slower than on the road bike. Only issue is with the tyres. They are meant more for trails so they squirm a bit on the road. In the current frost conditions that's a bit disconcerting!Ecrasez l’infame0 -
A Touring Bike eh....well here's another option! Totally see the logic of this compared to the cyclocross. I've spent enough time going down dirt trails when I was younger for all that...
I quite like the look of this - a Jamis Bosa Nova 2012 - are these any good?
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/jam ... e-ec0317860 -
I bought my frame from Xi'an Titanium in China - www.xacd.cn.com There's a big thread on Chinese titanium over on Roadbikereview: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bikes- ... 37368.html
It's not the most straightforward of buying experiences - you need to know exactly what you want down to the smallest details, geometry etc, have some ability to interpret a technical drawing and be prepared to deal in Chinglish! Basic frame price is $600 + shipping. All up, mine came to $1200 because there were lots of options: BB86, Breezer drop-outs, couplings, special chain stays - but at half the price of a Ritchey Breakaway CX ti. There is no warranty - but I've never heard of anyone breaking one.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0 -
Very brave MD but a sensible choice nonetheless. I love my Titanium frame (Enigma), have you thought about sourcing other parts from China like a seatpost etc?0
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Based on the quality of the frames, I'd have no problems with a Chinese ti seatpost or stem.Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..0
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Like the idea of a cyclocross but don't think i really need one. Think I'm going to put pen to paper on a Cannondale Synapse tomorrow.0
