Thinking of a Cyclocross for commuting – what one????
Discussion
As the mornings are now quite bright and the evenings are drawing out I am thinking of riding into the office, it’s only a short ride of 7 miles and would be a mix of road, bridleway and gravel footpaths (all via some lovely countryside). I have a small fleet of bikes at the moment, but this gives me the opportunity to justify buying another one!
I am thinking Cyclocross as I don’t have one in the stable, and it would probably be ideal for the commute!
I know very little about these sorts of bikes so don’t know what to look for, but like the look of these two;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-hi-2011/
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cross/day-01/d...
Anyone care to comment? Anyone ride a CX bike on their commute? Am I losing it and need to be taken outside and given a good shoe-ing for even considering such a daft idea??????
I am thinking Cyclocross as I don’t have one in the stable, and it would probably be ideal for the commute!
I know very little about these sorts of bikes so don’t know what to look for, but like the look of these two;
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-filter-hi-2011/
http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/cross/day-01/d...
Anyone care to comment? Anyone ride a CX bike on their commute? Am I losing it and need to be taken outside and given a good shoe-ing for even considering such a daft idea??????
The Genesis is a lot heavier than the charge, and also has funny shifters, but it a smart long term low maintenance proposition - especially with the discs. You need to ask yourself whether you value speed [the charge] or reliability [the genesis] (or lack of maintenance, really).
Personally I'd go for a Vapout Disc, Day One Disc or Croix Le Fer - disc brakes make so much sense on a communter.
Personally I'd go for a Vapout Disc, Day One Disc or Croix Le Fer - disc brakes make so much sense on a communter.
I did 79 miles yesterday on this.
Uncle John by h4muf, on Flickr
I love it! I think it's my favourite bike!
Heres my route.
http://app.strava.com/rides/4339911
Uncle John by h4muf, on Flickr
I love it! I think it's my favourite bike!
Heres my route.
http://app.strava.com/rides/4339911
rhinochopig said:
Check out Kinesis too as they do some CX frames.
my mate has a kenesis and loves it, races cx on it and also commutes on it, had a good look at it last time i saw and i have to say its a really classy durable looking frame. chipps from singletrackworld has a very special prototype kenesis at the moment running Ui2 as he has a hunch 2014 xtr will be electric and is keen to test electronic shifting off road... so yeah, have a long look at the kenesis five tpablo said:
rhinochopig said:
Check out Kinesis too as they do some CX frames.
my mate has a kenesis and loves it, races cx on it and also commutes on it, had a good look at it last time i saw and i have to say its a really classy durable looking frame. chipps from singletrackworld has a very special prototype kenesis at the moment running Ui2 as he has a hunch 2014 xtr will be electric and is keen to test electronic shifting off road... so yeah, have a long look at the kenesis five tWhat I love about the MTB is that it manages to be very stiff and yet not harsh to ride.
MadDad said:
it’s only a short ride of 7 miles and would be a mix of road, bridleway and gravel footpaths (all via some lovely countryside). I have a small fleet of bikes at the moment, but this gives me the opportunity to justify buying another one!
You have described my commute to a tee, and the reason I bought another bike. Are you some sort of stalker?I bought a 2011 genesis vapour. Perfect bike, alu frame carbon forks, put on mud guards and a rack for panniers and haven't looked back. Also used the bike cycling along the river from London to marlow and very comfortable ove rthe 7 or so leisurely hours it took.
Used everyday since September and have made it through my first winter! Where are you cycling from / to dare I ask?
I use one of these to cycle into work and it is brilliant!
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/sup...
I fitted 25c tyres and mudguards. I'd say it is nearly as fast as my road bike, so much so that I'm thinking of selling it and keeping the Cannondale.
Word of warning about steel framed Genesis bikes, they're bloody heavy! I had a Croix De Fer but got rid of it due to the horrific weight.
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/sup...
I fitted 25c tyres and mudguards. I'd say it is nearly as fast as my road bike, so much so that I'm thinking of selling it and keeping the Cannondale.
Word of warning about steel framed Genesis bikes, they're bloody heavy! I had a Croix De Fer but got rid of it due to the horrific weight.
Thanks all, some food for thought - but most importantly confirmation that I have not lost my marbles by considering a CX bike!
Part of my devious scheme is to justify buying the bike as a commuter but use it for CX now and again so don't want anything too heavy. I like the idea of steel, indeed one of my favourite bikes in my little fleet is a Ragley Blue Pig - wonderful to ride but a tad on the heavy side (mind you Rockshox Pike's don't help matters!). While the commute is only short I can imagine it will get tiresome slugging away in the wind and rain on a bike that weighs more than it needs to. The annoying thing is, most of the bikes on my list (which has grown a little since posting earlier today) are not stocked in the high street so I cannot really try before I buy. Planet X have a great looking Uncle John in their clearance sale at the moment I am very tempted by..........
I might need to do a bit more research while on mind numbing conference calls tomorrow, in the meantime keep the suggestions coming!
@ RobT - sounds close, the commute will be from Binfield (near Bracknell) to Winnersh Triangle, on crappy days it will be quite direct which will be circa 7 miles, on nice days it will probably be via White Waltham and Twyford!
One minor issuette - mentioned my plan to HWMBO and it went down like a bucket of cold sick. I rationalised my collection last year and sold off quite a few bikes, she appears to be unhappy at the thought of growing the collection again, even if it is justified against a robust business case!
Part of my devious scheme is to justify buying the bike as a commuter but use it for CX now and again so don't want anything too heavy. I like the idea of steel, indeed one of my favourite bikes in my little fleet is a Ragley Blue Pig - wonderful to ride but a tad on the heavy side (mind you Rockshox Pike's don't help matters!). While the commute is only short I can imagine it will get tiresome slugging away in the wind and rain on a bike that weighs more than it needs to. The annoying thing is, most of the bikes on my list (which has grown a little since posting earlier today) are not stocked in the high street so I cannot really try before I buy. Planet X have a great looking Uncle John in their clearance sale at the moment I am very tempted by..........
I might need to do a bit more research while on mind numbing conference calls tomorrow, in the meantime keep the suggestions coming!
@ RobT - sounds close, the commute will be from Binfield (near Bracknell) to Winnersh Triangle, on crappy days it will be quite direct which will be circa 7 miles, on nice days it will probably be via White Waltham and Twyford!
One minor issuette - mentioned my plan to HWMBO and it went down like a bucket of cold sick. I rationalised my collection last year and sold off quite a few bikes, she appears to be unhappy at the thought of growing the collection again, even if it is justified against a robust business case!
Jimboka said:
My cx commute is from Maidenhead to Binfield side of Bracknell! I take in Hazelwood lane, if you know it, nice dirt track..
Yup, I know it well - funny enough did a road/XC loop out to Windsor, along the Jubilee River and then back via Dorney, Fifield and Jealotts Hill then back into Binfield via Hazelwood Lane a couple of weeks ago. There are quite a few lanes like that between Bray and Binfield, which means you only need to do a couple of miles max on the roads! When I was after a road bike I was concerned about riding on roads in agricultural areas, particularly in winter – when the roads are full of mud, etc
So I bought a Giant TCX2 – well pleased with it, it’s like night & day compared to a MTB on the road, and is more than adequate on off-road sections. I’m not even sure I’m going to bother with a new road bike this year....
So I bought a Giant TCX2 – well pleased with it, it’s like night & day compared to a MTB on the road, and is more than adequate on off-road sections. I’m not even sure I’m going to bother with a new road bike this year....
A few weeks ago I did the Woodcote CX event. I did 60K over tracks/roads/some real heavy mud. I chose my MTB but that was a mistake. It was amazing the speed some of the CX riders were going, sailing past me on the track etc. They were better cyclist than me for sure!. Amazing what a CX bike can do in the right hands.
Jimboka said:
A few weeks ago I did the Woodcote CX event. I did 60K over tracks/roads/some real heavy mud. I chose my MTB but that was a mistake. It was amazing the speed some of the CX riders were going, sailing past me on the track etc. They were better cyclist than me for sure!. Amazing what a CX bike can do in the right hands.
TBH I am using the 'commuting' business case as an excuse! I love my MTB's and my road bike but there are a lot of bridleways in my area, MTB is a bit too much but there is no way I would take my road bike off tarmac! CX seems to fit the bill - plus I quite fancy a go at some CX events. . . 
rhinochopig said:
pablo said:
rhinochopig said:
Check out Kinesis too as they do some CX frames.
my mate has a kenesis and loves it, races cx on it and also commutes on it, had a good look at it last time i saw and i have to say its a really classy durable looking frame. chipps from singletrackworld has a very special prototype kenesis at the moment running Ui2 as he has a hunch 2014 xtr will be electric and is keen to test electronic shifting off road... so yeah, have a long look at the kenesis five tWhat I love about the MTB is that it manages to be very stiff and yet not harsh to ride.
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