Cyclocross - CX bike for long rides?

I'm getting ready to purchase a new bike, and one of my experienced riding buddies suggested I look at a cross bike as a do all "road" bike. My use for a road bike includes recreational and fitness rides, eventually commuting, and perhaps light ("credit card") tourig. My only hesitation is I am very interested in doing very long rides, centuries, doubles, perhaps even longer brevets. With road tires, is a cross bike a good option? There is a definite possibility that i will at some point try cyclocross racing, but for giggles, not with any thought of becoming the next great thing in cross racing.

Opinions?

Soma Double Cross

Cross bikes will be a good starting point since it generally has more versatility than a road specific bike. My recommendation is to go and test ride some at a bike shop. Geometry on a cross bike favors distance compared to say a crit race road frame.

That said, some aluminum cross bikes are built stiff for racing. As an example, the Canti or Disc version of the Lemond Poprad would be a great do all bike, and certainly would not limit you if you choose to race. A Redline Conquest is built for racing, and the one that's priced around 1000 dollars has pretty much no concessions for long distance comfort--even the fork is aluminum.

surly crosscheck.
jamis aurora elite.
2007 jamis nova (similar to 2008 jamis aurora elite)

steel steel and steel.

Take a look at a Planet-X Kaffenbach........ nice steel frame with a bit more road geometry, but still some of the benefits of a cross frame. Just got one the other week...... a much nicer ride than my Ridley or Van Dessel .... both which were more racing frames.

There's enough difference in cross bike design to warrant test riding several. Also consider whether you'll eventually want racks and fenders and whether the bike can accommodate them. I ride pretty similar to you, and had my LBS build up a Po' mans custom.

http://centurycycles.com/page.cfm?PageID=520

A 'cross bike will be fine for long road rides. Just throw some road tires on it and go. I do long road rides on my Trek XO2.

I have a 2006 Specialized Tricross Comp that I got used off Craigslist for $900. It's been the best bike I've ever had. I use it for commuting, touring, some light off roading, rec rides and long distance rides. Have completed two centuries on it so far and it was far more comfortable than any other bike I've ridden. Mine is aluminum and has a carbon fork and seatpost. Rough roads are easily absorbed by this bike. I bought a second wheelset for it for road tires (I run 25's) and can easily switch between the two when needed. I'm not saying that the Tricross is the best bike, but instead I'm saying that a cross bike is perfectly suited for long distance riding and just about anything else you may want to do. I'll never own anything but.

I've done a few centuries and double metrics on a CX bike. It's fine (assuming it's properly set up for the rider).

But, if you are really only interested in road (or light trail) riding, why not just get a road bike? Way more options to choose from.

Has anyone ever gotten a shop to swap wheelsets for a testride on a CX bike? I tried a Cannondale CX bike with the same logic - versatility - but the tires made for an unpleasant ride on the smooth pavement. What do you think my chances are of them swapping out wheels for something with a more road-friendly tire?

There is no reason why they shouldn't. If they want to sell a bike that is. Any 700c wheel should work just fine as long as the number of cogs on the cassette are the same.

T Batty,

Go with a cx bike preferaby one with a carbon fork. Last year I got an '07 Kona JTS cross bike last year for the exact same reason as you. It has been a better all around bike than I could ever imagine. It made an outstanding light touring bike (Allegeny Passage/C&O Canal), a very good century bike with road tires, and a pretty fair dirt trail bike with the original CX tires. Hands down it has become my favorite ride. Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Bill J

I have a 2006 Specialized Tricross Comp that I got used off Craigslist for $900. It's been the best bike I've ever had. I use it for commuting, touring, some light off roading, rec rides and long distance rides. Have completed two centuries on it so far and it was far more comfortable than any other bike I've ridden. Mine is aluminum and has a carbon fork and seatpost. Rough roads are easily absorbed by this bike. I bought a second wheelset for it for road tires (I run 25's) and can easily switch between the two when needed. I'm not saying that the Tricross is the best bike, but instead I'm saying that a cross bike is perfectly suited for long distance riding and just about anything else you may want to do. I'll never own anything but.

I may be getting this bike next year. The only negative I have heard of was people think the carbon forks are not good for a loaded tour. How much weight have you carried on it? How much do you normally carry?

Thanks

Ever seen a tricross fork in person? Those things are almost absurdly beefy. I wouldn't feel nervous about loading up the front end of a tricross.

We got into a debate at the shop the other night even though there was really could be no argument...if I could only have one bike it would be a cross bike as they can and do almost everything well and many are well suited for epic rides.

With two wheelsets you can have the best of both worlds... I just set up a pair of road wheels for my converted Trek 7500 which is presently running CX tires for the commute and winter riding.

Soma Double Cross, Bianchi Volpe, Surly Cross Check. All three are solid, basic, versatile designs. The Cross Check and Volpe are built up with sensible stuff---no bling factor, but good.

The triple chainring on the Volpe FTW.

Nobody has mentioned the importance of the fit of the bike for long rides. The fit of the bike trumps every other factor. I recommend reading (then re-reading) Grant Petersen's treatise on choosing a frame size:
http://www.rivbike.com/article/bike_fit/choosing_a_frame_size

In particular:
Top tubes of a given length tend to feel shorter on bigger frames than on smaller ones, so if you currently ride a 56cm bike with a 55cm top tube, but you know you can fit a 58cm frame, don't be scared off it just because it has a 57cm top tube.

I'd say that I think most cross bikes make better road bikes than most road bikes--unless you're crit racing, then a road bike would likely be better, since they're basically racing bikes. But a cross bike (except one designed for hard core racing) should have a more upright position and the ability to run bigger tires and fenders. Those are nice features if you're going long.

Eric

Go Steel or Ti for long range comfort, and dont get your tires to small or to hard. Stay with a 25 at about 90-100 lbs.

I have a Marinoni Fango CX steel and it is the most comfortable bike for long rides. I run 28 tires on it and the geometry never leaves me with aches or pains. Plus a brooks saddle.

Thanks for all the input. I've gotten some encouragement to simply do a few upgrades on my current bike, but if i do decide to go new, I will test ride a few cross bikes, it sounds like if I pick the right one, it could do very well for me.

I'm sure I will be back with more questions. thanks again.

I have a Jamis Super Nova 2005 (was offered as a frameset 06' only) which is 853 steel. I went from a bianchi axis which I did tons of riding on the road with, to the Jamis because the Bianchi cracked. So I wanted steel. The Jamis is nice I just did a 42mile dirt road ride last weekend and it handled great. I found that if I put a longer stem to get that "road" position I rides great there too.