Of the shelf or custom ?

[Jarery]

Trying to actually purchase a cross bike is proving difficult.
I have gone to or phoned every lbs i can find. All combined I have the following choices.

1) Lemond Poprad 55cm - only 1 - not quite perfect size, and no other sizes in stock to compare. $1700 cdn
good : steel frame
bad : alum fork

2) Cannondale - cyclocross disc 54cm 2004 model - not quite perfect fit, and no other sizes in stock to compare. $1950 cdn
good : disk brakes
bad : alum frame, no idea what fork mtl is.

3) Cypress : no name brand - has multiple frame sizes available to be built into my size. $2200 cdn
bad : alum frame made in taiwan by a company i never heard of.
good : carbon fork, volache group, disc brakes

4) order in custom frame, either maninoni fango, or ridley crossbow. Those 2 seem to be the only frames available to me in western canada without ordering across the border, that are in my price range.


I'm leary of spending the most cash on the cypress, an unknown frame, and an aluminum one at that. Although everything else about the bike is nice in that i dont need to swap out anything to get what i want.


So...i need to bounce this off everyone to see opinions to help me think this thru


Planned Use

1) fitness/training on road
2) group rides on road
3) cyclocross racing

I do plan on racing, but casually, for fun. Im early 40's so id be in masters and disc brakes are allowed i beleive as long as its not the elite classifications. Discs are not a priority to me, but would be a nice addition.

Since most of my riding will be on the road with a set of 25mm wheels, I want a bike that will give me the least road buzz fatigue. Thats why i would prefer steel frame, and either carbon or steel fork.


Questions :

-Has anyone swapped out the lemond poprad fork to a carbon one ? or do you think it rides centuries fine and doesnt need it to be swapped ? It is the cheapest option, and i could wait for a new supply of 2006 models to get one that fits.

-Cannondale disc, again would the aluminum frame and fork drive me crazy on long road rides ?

If im going to have to wait for the 2006 models to get one that fits anyways, maybe the maninoni or ridley frameset is the way to go. Im also leary of plunking down 2k without every having riden one.

I could get either the maninoni fango (steel) or ridley crossbow (aluminum) and have a veloche groupset added, and just have my lbs build it up.

Has anyone riden either of these frames? Anyone able to compare either to the poprad or cannondale? Anyone with any good or bad points on either?

I think my best option would be the steel fango with the veloche group and a carbon fork. Thoughts ?

[KeatonR]

I've been really pleased with my stock '05 55cm Poprad. I initially made a list of the things I was going to upgrade/change, and I've since crossed many off the list. The fork, for example -- I was thinking I'd swap it out immediately for a carbon one, but I like the ride of the bike so much as it is that I've decided not to mess with the front end. Although having said that, I'm still considering narrower handlebars.

One thing I did do is get a second wheelset to use as a road setup, and that's been great. With my previous cross bike, I had to change tires to go on a ride w/ roadie friends, now I just change wheels and go.

What size are you? I thought the Poprad was too big at first, but it turns out it just felt big b/c of the wide handlebars and stem rise. I now think it fits perfectly. I'm 5'11".

[Jarery]

I'm 5'10", 170 lbs, plan on getting down another 10.

I'm not having much luck finding anything, so i'll most likely have to wait till fall and pick from next years models.

Or go for the marinoni fango and just have it built up for me. Just hesitant to spend the cash on something no one has seen or riden. Any search for it just shows one or two people who say the brand is nice. No one giving a mini review, is the frame/fork a good deal for 900 cdn? Is the steel frame towards the stiff side, or the flexi side, etc.

If i lived in eastern canada i could go to a lbs and see it, out here its only custom order.

[jeff williams]

:)
http://www.ritcheylogic.com/frames.htm
Comes with fork and headset, no built bikes.
Pink only..are you Man enough to ride a Ritchey? :D

[Jarery]

LMAO !
No, im not that in tune with my feminin side to ride a pink bike. :p

[jeff williams]

No $hit, that frame would blow your mind as far as being responsive.
Spraypainted flat black my T.R is.
You want chromoly 'ride' ? -that is the bike.


I bought a 15 yr old T.R racing prototype frame 2 yrs ago.....I can't even ride other bikes now, they all feel like crap.

I live next to the famed North Shore..all the ol' schoolers are 'hot damn, wish I hadn't sold or -gonna get me one again' ..mechs, lbs owners -these guys started racing on T.R.

None are built for testrides...you might have to drive to Cal and visit Tom if you want to do that.
I give a damn (not) what you buy, -wanna get a nice chromoly bike?, buy a Ritchey.

I dirty dog, double dare ya.
-peace>jef.

[Jarery]

Unfortunatly none of the bike shops carry that brand.

Dealers here carry

trek (no cx stocked), giant (no cx stocked), specialized (2006 when they come out), cannondale (1 2004 disc model) , lemond (1 poprad), Kona (no crx stocked), Felt (no crx stocked)

There are lots of great bikes out there, just none of them sold here.

Im looking for a cx mainly for its versatility, and cx racing looks niche enough and crazy enough to fit me :)

So of the above bikes, im trying to find the one that when equipped with 25s for road, gives the fastest, least road buzzy, ride. So i can use it in group rides, centuries, but still hop off curbs and not need babying.

Then in the winter, slap on the knobbies be used to race for fun.

I can get the cypress made up, but why save couple hundred bucks on an unknown taiwan alum frame, i may as well go for the mrinoni.

For the first time in my life i wish i lived in quebec lol. Then at least i could go to a lbs and ride one first. But until then, i'll hope someone here who has ridden or owns one, will answer.

[jimblairo]

I bought a Marinoni Fango in March and I love it. I'm a big guy at 6'6" and 265 when I bought it and what I did was to get a custom frame ( 64cm) for $875 cdn including an EVO carbon fork from Marinoni.

I had a local LBS build up the bike.

I bought the Ultegra 9, triple with a 12-27.

Cuz of my weight I had a set of wheels with XTR hubs on A-719 rims built and I ran on Conti top touring 32's.

My weight is now down to 235 and I had a set of open pro 32 spoke wheels built and I now run on conti ultra-gatorskins 28's and a 11-23 cassette.

I do 50 to 60 miles a day on this bike and it is very comfortable. The frame is Columbus Zona with a fade paint job and chrome chainstay.

IMO Marinoni bikes are a real bargain but if you are heavy I would stay away from his wheel sets.

[jeff williams]

Unfortunatly none of the bike shops carry that brand.

-umm, they don't exist as 'bikes'. They cannot be pre-built\ are built with an idea to fit..

I live in western Can. Yes, they are not 'carried' by lbs. I'm not talking lots of bikes.

...that one, ya. ;) Testride everything. Come To Vic and I'll let you run mine. :eek:

Not. Kidding, I let my bro do a couple lights on it one night, he described my ride as 'effortless'.

The ride, not the build....Trek makes nice bikes I hear.

[Jarery]

[QUOTE=jeff williams]-umm, they don't exist as 'bikes'. They cannot be pre-built\ are built with an idea to fit..

I live in western Can. Yes, they are not 'carried' by lbs. I'm not talking lots of bikes.

QUOTE]

I understand the concept of buying a non built up frame :)

but if i cant find a dealer that sells the frame, i cant buy it. Going to their web site, they dont list a single dealer in canada.

[jeff williams]

'93 mtb. http://www.oldmountainbikes.com/cgi-bin/bikes.cgi?bike=7P39
Maybe 18 pounds. The early bikes folded after 2 seasons, my bro said they went down to 16.
Folders. Steels real. :( Welds were stronger than the tubing.
The team p-series T.R are not 'riding' bikes.

Pin the tail on a don'tkey =Swisscross.
So you do know some of the best frames welded today are Can?
That's a 'merican frame.
Have a nice bike.

[Rafal]

If you live in Western Canada and want a nice steel CX bike, check out Peyto http://www.peytocycles.com/ I think he's in BC.

It may cost a little more but I think it will be well worth it. A very sweet frame and a great deal. I did something simillar here in Ontario. I got a custom CX bike from http://www.truenorthcycles.com/ and I couldn't have been happier.

Once you get your frame, have your LBS build it up for you with some nice custom wheels (for strength) and You'll be very pleased. If you want to see my bike, check out http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/ #1165.

Cheers,

Rafal

[KeatonR]

-Has anyone swapped out the lemond poprad fork to a carbon one ? or do you think it rides centuries fine and doesnt need it to be swapped ? It is the cheapest option, and i could wait for a new supply of 2006 models to get one that fits.


So in saying this about waiting until 2006, do you mean that LeMond will be offering more sizes?

[Jarery]

So in saying this about waiting until 2006, do you mean that LeMond will be offering more sizes?

No, i meant the bike shop that currently only has 1 left, will get more stock in, hopefully some in my size :)