Cyclocross - Cyclocross bikes with flexibility

I'm thinking of buying a cyclocross bike. This would be my second bike, as I already have a commuter/road bike for commuting to work and triathlons. I want the cyclocross bike for the ability to go off-road and do a little bit of cross-racing, and have a bike with the ability to handle more of the rough stuff.

Since this is my first foray into cyclocross, I don't want to spend too much money. On the other hand, I don't want a bad bike that I will constantly feel the limitations of.

I am a intrigued by the possibility of a having a single-speed, although I am not completely sold on the idea and I am not sure that now is the right moment. However, I am envisioning that I will get more and more bikes as I move along (or maybe I have just been reading on bike forums too much). So, if I get this cross bike, I might get another one later and the ability to build it up different ways is appealing to me. And I could justify spending more on it, if I knew that I would be appreciating the quality for a longer period of time.

Anyway, one bike that has caught my eye is the Surly Cross Check. The fact that it has the horizontal drops and a spot to attach a derailleur so that it could be built up as single-speed or geared give me the flexibility to switch it later if I get another bike. It has plenty of clearance for fenders and spots to put racks on if I wanted to convert it to a winter commuter. It is a durable bike that will last. Everyone seems to say that it is on the heavy side, but then again so am I. My natural tendency would be to trend towards an aluminum frame, possibly with a carbon fork, but I am certainly open to the steel.

So, a few questions for all of you:

1. What are the cross bikes out there that have the horizontal drops and spots to attach derailleurs such that the frame is perfectly capable of being set up as geared or single speed?

2. In general, do you have any suggestions for bikes that would be good for me? I can put an absolute cap that I won't spend more than $1500, I'd prefer to stay at/under $1000, and I would love to get something good that costs less than that.

3. If I decide to get a flexible bike like this, would it be cheaper to get it built up from the shop or to buy a frame and build it myself? I don't have much experience with building bikes, but it sounds fun and I'd love to know more about bike mechanics, maintenance and repair. Do you have recommendations for which way to go for other reasons?

Crosscheck is kind of the definition of flexibility, though if you get really into racing you may want to lighten it up.

Building fromt he frame up is more expeinsive unless you're swapping tons of parts imediately. I'd get a stock bike since you aren't totally sure of your direction anyways.

Other than that, many many options under 1500. I'd want at least 105 components, and any bike can go SS with a chain tensioner or ENO hub.

Test ride a lot and decide what you like in terms of gearing, handling, etc.

Cross Check won the Canadian Women's Nat'l 'Cross championships a few years back. It is capable. Not the lightest, but capable.

I agree, get it stock, as it will save you tons. You CAN build it yourself pretty affordably(do it yourself, not the bike shop) if you have an eagle eye on craigslist and ebay. I actually bought mine used for $600 as a flat bar single speed. Sold the bars and stem, bought a cheap cassette, a $15 rebuilt XT derailleur, a new Tiagra front...spent $90 on a nice set of Sq. taper compact double cranks and a BB, bought new bars, stem, barcons and a set of levers. I ended up with a quality build for under $1K easily. But I shopped smart. That's the only way to do it, and you have to be patient and willing.

I want someone here to buy a Voodoo Wazoo so I can hear about so you got buy that and then tell us all if it's cool.

The wazoo is steel and has sliding dropouts, but they're hard to find cuz I don't think voodoo has good distribution.

http://www.voodoocycles.net/08_wazoo.htm

I found some pics of a wazoo a guy built up. Looks awwwwwweesome.

http://wanderinglens.net/blog/?p=43

The Cross Check is a great ride, and the pre built is a good deal if you can ride with bar end shifters. A 45mm tire will fit on the back and some 1.9" 29er tires will fit up front if you do some careful trimming.( I have ran a Kenda Klaw 1.9") It handles rough off road great when setup like that, just watch your toes.

If you want a bike you can ride offroad and over rocky and rooty crap with absolute confidence, go for the cross check. It's a great bike. You can dress it up, dress it down, take it to the opera one night, and then to the honky tonk the next with just a change of clothes. There's a reason it's such a popular frameset.