Road Cycling - Suggestions on what to do?

This is my first year on a road bike and I have been loving it. I have seemed to get into it fairly quickly, I have done a few races already and am going to do many more as year goes on. Any way I bought a Cannondale Cyclocross Disc because I was riding some dirt roads and what not early in the year. Now I am riding only pavement so I have it set up like a road bike. But now I have come to the point where I am thinking of upgrading to a Dura-Ace kit (bike currently has Ultegra Setup) . So just wondered what you guys thought, should I put money into a Dura-Ace kit for my Cyclocross or should I buy a road specific bike and maybe upgrade that to Dura-Ace farther down the road. I mean other then maybe a few pounds what would I be gaining by going with a road specific bike?

Any suggestions/info would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first year on a road bike and I have been loving it. I have seemed to get into it fairly quickly, I have done a few races already and am going to do many more as year goes on. Any way I bought a Cannondale Cyclocross Disc because I was riding some dirt roads and what not early in the year. Now I am riding only pavement so I have it set up like a road bike. But now I have come to the point where I am thinking of upgrading to a Dura-Ace kit (bike currently has Ultegra Setup) . So just wondered what you guys thought, should I put money into a Dura-Ace kit for my Cyclocross or should I buy a road specific bike and maybe upgrade that to Dura-Ace farther down the road. I mean other then maybe a few pounds what would I be gaining by going with a road specific bike?

Any suggestions/info would be greatly appreciated.


I would buy a road bike and then use the cross bike during the winter as a rain bike so you don't trash your new one. Through some fenders on it and your good to go. You might even try a cross race or two later.

Dean

If you intend to race as much as you say, I'd go with a pure road bike.

If you really have some bucks burning a hole in your pocket, buy a real road bike. Upgrading the cross bike to DA may seem like a good idea but in practical terms, really gives you nothing you don't already have with the Ultegra.

A new roadie with Ultegra will also be a couple of pounds lighter than your cross bike and the geometry will be much more suited for real road riding.

I personally don't care for cross bikes. They make bad mountain bikes and mediocre road bikes IMO. Truly an all-rounder that doesn't excel at anything except cross racing which I don't do. Before all you cross guys start firing off, let me say I know and race with many guys who love their cross bikes and I'm sure you do too. They're just not for me.

another vote for getting a road bike. If you have the bucks, go for DA, but from my understanding it only offers a weight improvement over 9 speed Ultegra.

This sounds like my story. In January, I bought a very nice Lemond Poprad off Ebay with a ton of CX specific upgrades. The purpose was to use it as a second bike for commuting, foul weather, offroad, whatever.

I fell in love with the steel frame - it was such a complement to my full carbon roadie. Then I proceeded to make it a full road bike - changed the crank, ders, wheels, tires, pedals, etc. Before long, I asked myself the same question you are - is it better to ride a CX specific frame set up for the road or go with a "real" road bike?

The answer for me was simple. I loved the 853 steel so much, I bought a Lemond Maillot Jaune frame off Ebay. Full 853 steel with a carbon fork and approximately 2.5 lbs lighter than the Rad with it's steel fork. I am in the process of building it, combining the road parts from the Rad (Ultegra shifters, ders, crank, BB, wheels etc.) with some newly acquired pieces - brakes, seatpost, stem and bars. I will then re-build the CX bike to it's original form, though I'm not sure yet if I will keep it or sell it.

So, my advice is to hold off on the DA stuff and look for a frame. Take the best of the gear off the CX and use it on the new frame and either sell or keep the leftover CX parts and maybe upgrade to DA down the road.

Of course, I may have to change my handle to 55/MJ or 55/Rad/MJ

Good luck.

55/Rad

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have decided to save my money for a Cannondale r3000 or some seven not sure yet.