Cyclocross Bikes - MTB trail centres

Check out this link http://youtu.be/OgoY3T3crZc

Guess what I'm saying is you should be fine

The bike should handle it fine, the skill will be with the rider, on anything Red/Black I personally would prefer some flat bars, with shifters and hydraulic brakes to hand, and a lower top tube - my TriCross canti brakes and narrow tyres would scare me at time. I wouldn't mind trying something like the Salsa Fargo, but would still miss Hydraulic brakes.

Did discuss CX bikes on trails with a guy based in Lakes who owned a shed load of different types of bikes. He said he often chose his Cx bike instead of a MTB for rides in the Lakes with his MTB friends. His view was it was slower of rocky downhills but on singletracks and the inevitable linking roads it was as fast or faster than MTBs. Said he had ridden it over most of the main routes in the LAkes (main/popular rides).

Also, was walking on my local canal towpath and watched as a group of very muddy MTBers rode past, using the towpath to avoid the A6 road that runs in the same direction. One by one I saw a collection of ,muddy full suspension bikes go past with the odd hardtail. All of them looking like expensive machines. Then I saw them a bit closer up when I was walking back past the pub they had stopped at. The bike that went through first I had missed (was turning around talking to my other half) was a CXer similarly mud covered. Think they had ridden through somewhere in the forest of bowland. Either way they had been out enjoying a muddy off road experience. In fact IIRC there was more than one CX bike there. First time I had seen a muddy CX bike other than the local Cx race in Blackburn when a kid and the world cup at Leeds way back when I was at uni.

Anyway, I think if the rider is good enough then a good CX bike is also good enough. All I know is I handle my road bike a lot better than one of those flat bar bikes. It is a little bit of what you are used to. I have about 33 years experience with drop bars and about a year or a year and a half with a flat bar. I'm all over the place at times on the flat bar bike.

The only trail centre I've ridden on mine is Swinley and it manages the blue and red trails with no problems.

I've also had it out on some longer 75+ mile rides into the Surrey Hills and managed all the usual single track around there that I ride on my MTB. Some of the really rough and root trails can give you a bit of a battering but otherwise it's fine.

have been round Llandegla on my CX, great fun but your wrists dont thank you from the rigid fork and vibes. techie stuff is hard and your weight distibution is a bit different as well.

I was up in Peebles a few weeks ago and took my CX bike to Glentress and Innerleithin plus up into the local hills - I did swap the chainset for an MTB double. Rode all the reds, blues and a fair bit of black at both. Blues were great, because the trails are so well groomed - reds a bit more of a challenge and blacks a test at times. Rode all the way up to the top at Glentress and came down Spooky Woods - second time around, came down Betty Blue rather than Super G which was more cut-up. Blue Velvet was a blast, railing the top of the berms. Innerleithin certainly a bit more 'natural' - the climb up Minch Mhor took a good 40 minutes of hard work - lack of grooming and plenty rocks make the consequences of getting it wrong far more painful - coming down Caddon Bank first time gave me a bit of a surprise and had to stay 'committed' over the drop-offs. Even passed a few MTBs on the techie stuff - much to their surprise. I started riding MTBs pre-suspension, so CX is a natural extension - both my MTBs are rigid too. 41mm Surly Knards on the CX were great - nice, big round carcass and side knobs were grippy - even riding what can be best described as loose scree over Dollar Law had me working hard and had to ride about a mile of open heather between trails over peat hags. Great days out.

It's more about the skill of the rider, I took mine round a red route and it was fine APART from the fact it was wet and I had cantis so I could bareley stop... I have discs now and I took the bike down the trails at Danbury all the guys ride on the downhill rigs with body armour. Just don't try and jump or you'll end up in A&E.