What should I look for in a cyclocross bike?
Discussion
Without going into war and peace, as all of my 42yo vintage did, started riding properly with road bikes. As a kid in them there hills of Somerset, we'd just get out and ride. No set journey or destination, just ride for the sake of riding.
Cue 1999 and I join the world of mountain biking and not looked back, still love it but some days I simply cannot be arsed and have recently found a cock-arsed way of joining the tpt from my front door, albeit on some slightly roughish terrain and horse-turd infested bridleway. No matter.
Its actually good fun, just pedalling for hours and is a refreshing change from reds and blacks, but both my bikes (Norco sight2 for big rides and Kona Blast for messing about and as spare) are major overkill. Hybrids seem to be masters of no trades, cyclocross seems to be ideal.
I guess weight is important (not that they are quotes) and groupsets - what should I be looking at? Seen a nice planet one and there are Trek and Specialised bikes at £900on evans cycles? What should I be hunting for at about the grand mark, anything else I need to consider? I'm 5'7" 171cm if that matter or helps
Cue 1999 and I join the world of mountain biking and not looked back, still love it but some days I simply cannot be arsed and have recently found a cock-arsed way of joining the tpt from my front door, albeit on some slightly roughish terrain and horse-turd infested bridleway. No matter.
Its actually good fun, just pedalling for hours and is a refreshing change from reds and blacks, but both my bikes (Norco sight2 for big rides and Kona Blast for messing about and as spare) are major overkill. Hybrids seem to be masters of no trades, cyclocross seems to be ideal.
I guess weight is important (not that they are quotes) and groupsets - what should I be looking at? Seen a nice planet one and there are Trek and Specialised bikes at £900on evans cycles? What should I be hunting for at about the grand mark, anything else I need to consider? I'm 5'7" 171cm if that matter or helps
[quote=Gizmoish]For £1k the Planet X is the choice I think. Worth looking at the Boardman CXR (not at Halfords).
Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords. [/quote}
The planet looks the business, but as a newbie I know 'looks' aren't everything for mtbs either. When you say not at Halfords, do you mean its not available or buy elsewhere (is it cheaper?)
Going to cycleshow at NEC in Sept, Planetx not on exhibitor list sadly so may just have to take a punt
Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords. [/quote}
The planet looks the business, but as a newbie I know 'looks' aren't everything for mtbs either. When you say not at Halfords, do you mean its not available or buy elsewhere (is it cheaper?)
Going to cycleshow at NEC in Sept, Planetx not on exhibitor list sadly so may just have to take a punt
TedMaul]izmoish said:
For £1k the Planet X is the choice I think. Worth looking at the Boardman CXR (not at Halfords).
Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords. [/quote}
The planet looks the business, but as a newbie I know 'looks' aren't everything for mtbs either. When you say not at Halfords, do you mean its not available or buy elsewhere (is it cheaper?)
Going to cycleshow at NEC in Sept, Planetx not on exhibitor list sadly so may just have to take a punt
The CXR is part of Boardman's top range. Halfords only sell the lower-level models. Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords. [/quote}
The planet looks the business, but as a newbie I know 'looks' aren't everything for mtbs either. When you say not at Halfords, do you mean its not available or buy elsewhere (is it cheaper?)
Going to cycleshow at NEC in Sept, Planetx not on exhibitor list sadly so may just have to take a punt
Gizmoish said:
The CXR is part of Boardman's top range. Halfords only sell the lower-level models.
The CX team is a bargain, but if buying again I'd stretch to the CXR 9.0 - if I was buying a CX bike right now I wouldn't however.I'd be hanging on for the models with hydraulic 105 when that gruppo hits very soon.
Gizmoish said:
For £1k the Planet X is the choice I think. Worth looking at the Boardman CXR (not at Halfords).
Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords.
I concur. Here is mine after the London to Brighton ride. I still think the Planet X CX is the best value CX out there. Slightly less you look at the Pinnacle range from Evans, the Boardman Comp / Team at Halfords.
A few points to note:
The standard Planet X strada are pretty thin and aren't as nice shape to hold IMO
The standard wheels weigh a ton and don't spin up that well
Cable routing means mud mounts are limited
Internal cable routing
All Three cables are run across the top tube and that means the cables at the front of bike are a bit of a mess and it doesn't look very clean.
Mine is the standard model with 105 all round and coming from SRAM Force, I don't like it. I find the gear change sloppy and a little slow.
You get a choice of a CX or a compact crank. I use mine for commuting and I went for a compact. I have a 46T CX crank which I will put on if I decide to race it later this year.
I opted for the San Marco saddle and I don't get on with it.
I have done just over 1500 miles in mine so far and it hasn't skipped a beat in that time. Its only recently that I've stopped using it and gone back to my road bike
Its got about an inch extra ground clearance compared to my Defy 2.
Compared to my Defy, it has a longer top tube and the geometry feels slightly more aggressive.
Mine came with the standard Continental CX Speedkings which are more like a hybrid tyre. Not very puncture proof IMO and I switched to 28mm Gatorskins for commuting. Other CX bikes at this price point come with tyres like the Racing Ralph, which is a bit more of a hardcore CX tyre. I'm not sure I would want to race with the CX Speedkings. Planet X do offer tyre with more tread as a £50 option.
The more expensive Boardman CX bike is a nice looking bit of kit. Same for the Kinesis ProLight (SP?). I've ridden the ProLight and I quite liked. I still prefer my Planet-X though. It makes a great commuter
The purchasing experience with Planet X was a painful one. It took about 8 weeks and several phone calls to get the bike to me. I nearly cancelled it.
Edited by bakerstreet on Monday 4th August 12:14
make sure the gearing is suitable for what you intend to do, most brands throw a standard compact 50/34 chainset on their lower end cx bikes which is fine for most people as they just want a rugged drop bar road bike but if you are going away from sealed surfaces or racing, you may find that a 50t chainring is too big and you are looking at 46/36 although its not an expensive swap.
pablo said:
make sure the gearing is suitable for what you intend to do, most brands throw a standard compact 50/34 chainset on their lower end cx bikes which is fine for most people as they just want a rugged drop bar road bike but if you are going away from sealed surfaces or racing, you may find that a 50t chainring is too big and you are looking at 46/36 although its not an expensive swap.
I think you have to swap the front mech if you go from a compact to CX chain set. Mine has a standard 105 front mech, but I think you have to switch to the Shimano CX mech if you go to a proper CX set up.bakerstreet said:
I think you have to swap the front mech if you go from a compact to CX chain set. Mine has a standard 105 front mech, but I think you have to switch to the Shimano CX mech if you go to a proper CX set up.
No, the standard 105 one will do, you'll need to drop it down the seat tube a bit to suit the smaller sprocket, but other than that it'll work fine.bakerstreet said:
I concur. Here is mine after the London to Brighton ride. I still think the Planet X CX is the best value CX out there.
A few points to note:
The standard Planet X strada are pretty thin and aren't as nice shape to hold IMO
I ordered some just this morning for my Pro 6 build! sA few points to note:
The standard Planet X strada are pretty thin and aren't as nice shape to hold IMO
Edited by bakerstreet on Monday 4th August 12:14
t! Saying that I'm treating the bars, stem and seatpost as temporary items until I work out the correct sizes I need and the post I want is back in stock.I was interested in the Planet X bikes especially the Ti pickenflick but the lack of mounts and the fact they couldn't fully answer my queries put me off.
Don1 said:
I have to say I have no complaints about my Saracen Hack CX bike. Don't know why I didn't go for one sooner!
I just picked up one of these on Friday, got a mate who works at Madison who had an ex-demo at a price I would have been foolish to turn down. I've now got to sell my Giant hybrid as it's pretty much redundant now as the Hack will be my commuter from now on.
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