Cyclocross - Gearing Question

I just built up my first cyclocross bike for riding dirt roads and commuting. I don't have plans to race, but I'm curious about typical gearing on this type of rig.

I used an Ultegra gruppo which has a 53/39 crank/chainring set, which seems pretty big to me. Do 'cross bike usually have smaller rings?

Thanks for any guidance.

A cross crankset uses a 46/36 combo. You need a 110 bcd crank to accomplish this.

My ideal setup for a 'cross double would be a 38 x 46 double with a 12-25 or 12-27, just because I feel the 38 is a little more usable throughout the race Not sure if there are 110 BCD 38 rings or 130 BCD 46t rings though.

But that's racing. For an all-rounder I think I'd go with a compact crank (50 x 34, maybe) and a widish range cassette, depending on how much off road you're doing.

Compact 34/50 cranks and a cassette in the 11-28 or so range would be perfect I think.

i use 46/36 on the front, 12-27 on the rear. lets me climb 500 feet/mile, for at least a while.

I put a pair of 38-48 rings on my Ultegra Crank and sold the original RFE 39-53 pair for almost as much as I paid for the 38-48's. I run an 11-28 cassette for all around commuting and cross but a 12-27 with 36-46 or 38-46 might offer better spacing for racing. I think I'd spin a 46-12 gear out too easily when rolling down the hills on my commute to work though. The RD is an XT mid-cage so I can throw a 11-32 cassette on there in the early spring and ride some easy mountain trails on it too.

Thanks for the input, everybody. I think I'll look into a compact crankset - further down the line probably, as I don't really want to spend a lot of money on it right now.

Best,

BTA2