Fifty Plus (50+) - Cyclocross bikes are great.

After work today I had agreat ride through the forest. I liked the CX bike as a commuter during winter and now it is great for gravel roads and wider paths. The Racing Ralph tires can take anything I am willing to try downhill and the bike (Focus Mares Cross) handles bumps and rocks amazingly well.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b337/plodderslusk/P1000757.jpg

I agree. Perfect for city streets or gravel path alike.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/IMG_0153-1.jpg

I agree. Perfect for city streets or gravel path alike.

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/IMG_0153-1.jpg

And for larger riders as cyclocross bikes are built to tolerate rougher riding conditions. That translates to a stronger bike for regular riding...

And for larger riders as cyclocross bikes are built to tolerate rougher riding conditions. That translates to a stronger bike for regular riding...

Who are you calling a larger rider! ;)

When we go on vacation, my Trek Portland likes to kick off its full fenders, put on its CX tires and go get dirty.

Last year, we found the perfect spot.

http://www.brucew.com/images/bikeforums/district-of-portland.jpg

I need to N+1 a Cyclo-Cross bike! With seven bikes, you'd think I'd have a Cyclo-Cross . . . but no.

First, though, I have N-1 to make room for it. Thanks for the encouragement though!

Rick / OCRR

I was thinking about getting a Giant TCX this year but a better deal came up.

One thing I miss is the ability to get away from the traffic and feel free up on the hills. The MTB will do that but It is not good getting to the hills. But taking a chance I have taken the OCR on rough trails- although they are a bit flat- Had to take it easy and it was when the trails were dry And may set it up with stronger wheels and suitable tyres to see if a Cyclocross will fill my needs.

If not it will be back to sorting the MTB.

I built my road bike on a ti cyclocross framset. I'm planning on a second set of wheels for wider tires for the rougher stuff.

Al

Who are you calling a larger rider! ;)

Well, if the Fu S++ts, wear it...

No, actually I was thinking about a friend of mine who is a big guy. He asked me about what sort of bike he should get and I think a cyclocross bike is what I would reccommend.

Oh no! Not again!

Every time that a consensus starts to form saying this or that type of bike is wonderful, I have to get one just to see what the big deal is.

OK, so tell me what the features are that make a cyclecross bike a cyclecross bike. Maybe I can cobble something together that will give me the experience. That'd be a lot more fun than just buying one anyway.

I built my road bike on a ti cyclocross framset. I'm planning on a second set of wheels for wider tires for the rougher stuff.

Al

What frame did you use for the build?

Oh no! Not again!

Every time that a consensus starts to form saying this or that type of bike is wonderful, I have to get one just to see what the big deal is.

OK, so tell me what the features are that make a cyclecross bike a cyclecross bike. Maybe I can cobble something together that will give me the experience. That'd be a lot more fun than just buying one anyway.

Cyclocross bikes are drop bar road bikes built for racing across grass, mud and trails. They feature larger tires than a road bike, many can accept 700x38 or more. They have several special features; generally they are tough, fast bikes.

This makes them popular as winter bikes and commuters.

I use mine to do just about everything.

Cyclocross bikes are drop bar road bikes built for racing across grass, mud and trails. They feature larger tires than a road bike, many can accept 700x38 or more. They have several special features; generally they are tough, fast bikes.

This makes them popular as winter bikes and commuters.

I use mine to do just about everything.

This is my problem- If I want to go out in muddy wet conditions up hills- Why not use a bike built for the purpose? A mountain bike. Makes more sense to me as I live in a hilly area and even the wide open trails go up slopes occasionally. Well about 30% of the time

As my background is more MTB than Road, my solution is a 23lb rigid fork MTB framed bike with 2.1" semislicks. The wide tires deal with the dirt better and I give up very little to cyclocross bikes on asphault. I do give up the top end gearing though as the best I have is 32/11. Here in CT though there are few enough flat places for that lack of gearing to matter.

What frame did you use for the build?

An Airborne Carpe Diem. Unfortunately, the company reorganized/went under and the frame set is no longer available. I chose it as it had fittings for fenders and a rear rack plus the later models had excellent reviews. The model saw use as a credit card tourer as well.

Al

Oh no! Not again!

Every time that a consensus starts to form saying this or that type of bike is wonderful, I have to get one just to see what the big deal is.

OK, so tell me what the features are that make a cyclecross bike a cyclecross bike. Maybe I can cobble something together that will give me the experience. That'd be a lot more fun than just buying one anyway.

I like the V and disc brake options (both viable with STI), clearance for wider tires (now I'm using 23 mm), the more rugged carbon fork, fender and rack attachments (on some), and a more likely better ride than a pure road bike.

These features add weight, but I can easily make it up by eating less.

Al

As my background is more MTB than Road, my solution is a 23lb rigid fork MTB framed bike with 2.1" semislicks. The wide tires deal with the dirt better and I give up very little to cyclocross bikes on asphault. I do give up the top end gearing though as the best I have is 32/11. Here in CT though there are few enough flat places for that lack of gearing to matter.

I use an old design TA tripple road crank with 22/34/46 rings and a 12/27 ultegra cassette. I can switch to an 11/32 cassett by patching in a few links of chain with a quick-link for the mountains.

Al

I use an old design TA tripple road crank with 22/34/46 rings and a 12/27 ultegra cassette. I can switch to an 11/32 cassett by patching in a few links of chain with a quick-link for the mountains.

Al

That was similar to my former setup.....26/36/48 and a 12/26. That has been changed however to a 32 and an 11/34 with no front derailleur....:eek: That's as close as I will get to SS...:innocent:

Oh no! Not again!

Every time that a consensus starts to form saying this or that type of bike is wonderful, I have to get one just to see what the big deal is.

OK, so tell me what the features are that make a cyclecross bike a cyclecross bike. Maybe I can cobble something together that will give me the experience. That'd be a lot more fun than just buying one anyway.


Cyclocross bikes are drop bar road bikes built for racing across grass, mud and trails. They feature larger tires than a road bike, many can accept 700x38 or more. They have several special features; generally they are tough, fast bikes.


I like the V and disc brake options (both viable with STI), clearance for wider tires (now I'm using 23 mm), the more rugged carbon fork, fender and rack attachments (on some), and a more likely better ride than a pure road bike.

And to this should be added different front-end geometry.

Taller, "relaxed" head tube and slightly less fork rake seem to be the order of the day on almost every CX frame I've seen.

Mine also has chainstays longer than road bikes, but shorter than touring bikes.

Barrettscv's Soma (above photo) seems to share these features.

This is my problem- If I want to go out in muddy wet conditions up hills- Why not use a bike built for the purpose? A mountain bike. Makes more sense to me as I live in a hilly area and even the wide open trails go up slopes occasionally. Well about 30% of the time

A Cyclocross bike might be discribed as a "town & country" bike. It can take you across pavement with the same speed as a touring bike, but then can travel on trails. If you are a 100% off-road rider, stick with a mountain bike. If you are mostly on-road and sometimes on-trails, the Cyclocross bike is better. Gearing and tires allow you to travel on hills and in mud with a Cyclocross bike. A road triple is often standard on Cyclocross bikes but a compact double is most popular.

And for larger riders as cyclocross bikes are built to tolerate rougher riding conditions. That translates to a stronger bike for regular riding...

Exactly why I got mine (Jamis Nova Pro). I'm 6'2" and 215 (down from 240 when I got it) and my riding is mostly paved country roads with the occasional gravel road thrown in. Anybody who has spent time in Michigan realizes we are the pothole capital of the world and it's easy to beat up a bike. This is my second season on my Jamis and it's been great. I did my first metric century on it last year and plan my first full century this year. I'm also considering trying a sprint triathalon and will use it for that as well. I view CX bikes as sort of the Swiss Army knife of the bike catagory.

I have a Trek XO1 cross bike. I race cyclo cross on it and also put regular road tires on the bike for bad weather road riding. The bike is a little more upright than my regular road bikes and has more backbone due to the beating it takes while riding. One major difference between the bike and a road bike is the large front cahin ring is only 48 tooth. You don't reach higher speeds in cross races since the race is on grass, gravel, mud, up and over landscape mounds, then on any straight-a-way the race organizers will make life difficult by throwing logs or wooden barriers across the path just so you have to get off the bike and carry it over the obstacle. The bike also has a carbon fork that allows for V brakes and the cables are on the top of the top tube, so you can shoulder the bike while running up stairs or hurdling barriers.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr256/sru75/CopyofIMG_0749-1.jpg
(http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=105441&stc=1&d=1242826762)

One can build a cyclocross bike pretty cheaply from a vintage road touring frame with generous tire and mudguard clearances. My commuter and general transporter is my Peugeot UO-8, which can easily accommodate 27 x 1-3/8" (700C x 35) tires. With barcons, drop bars, and 12-speed midrange half-step gearing (45-42 / 13-26, i.e. 93.5 gear-inches down to 43.6), it serves me extremely well in traffic and on dirt roads.

One can build a cyclocross bike pretty cheaply from a vintage road touring frame with generous tire and mudguard clearances. My commuter and general transporter is my Peugeot UO-8, which can easily accommodate 27 x 1-3/8" (700C x 35) tires. With barcons, drop bars, and 12-speed midrange half-step gearing (45-42 / 13-26, i.e. 93.5 gear-inches down to 43.6), it serves me extremely well in traffic and on dirt roads.

That is a great way to start. When the need for more versitility comes about you can always upgrade the different componets and parts.

Here is the story behind my Soma Double Cross bike:

The Soma Double Cross in either a 58 or 60 frames size could be made to fit, but the 60 was closer to ideal. The seatpost selected would have a zero offset to put the hips in the right place over the BB. The handlebars would be positioned by a 110mm stem positioned at a normal height above the tall Soma headtube.

Sourcing;

Since I would not be buying a complete bike, sourcing components would make or break the project. Finding a frame is easy enough, but as a newbie, every other component required detective work and the advice of this forum and multiple other on-line resources.

Fork: I wanted the weight savings and damp feel of a carbon fiber fork. I soon discovered that most economy priced carbon forks are not lighter than the standard steel Soma Double Cross fork. I found a new Ridley 4ZA Zornyc fork that was uncut, a recent take-off from a new bike. Ridley builds some outstanding carbon bikes, so I expect the fork is well made. It is approved for off-road work, including CX racing, and it saves significant weight over most steel forks.

Components: I struck gold, finding a new 2007 Felt F1X Cyclocross bike on eBay to be used as a parts donor. The seller is a bike shop purging NOS. The price was right at $820.00 plus shipping. I sold the frameset on eBay and recovered 2/3 of the initial cost.

Build;

I decided that Get a grip should build the bike. They disassembled the Felt, applied Framesaver the Soma, installed the BB & headset, finished the assembly and installed a computer for $150.

The result;

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver019.jpg

Below: Ridley 4ZA Zornyc carbon CX fork, Cane Creek headset, Felt 1.3 6061 Butted Alloy Bar, Felt 1.1cm 3D-Forged Stem, Shimano 105 brifters, Tektro Oryx brakes with Tektro RX bar-top levers, Mavic CXP-22 Double-Wall Rims and DT Doubled Butted Champion Spokes, Felt Precision Sealed-Bearing Hubs & 700x28 Continental Gatorback tires

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver021.jpg

Below: 175mm Sram S300 GXP CX compact double crank with a 46 X 38t ring pair, Shimano CX SPD pedals, Ultegra derailleur

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver022.jpg

Below: Ultegra derailleur, 105 12-25 cassette

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver023.jpg

Below: FSA seatpost, Felt 1.1 saddle

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver024.jpg

A view of the cockpit

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll210/wildcat-bucket/Somasilver025.jpg

Barrettscv, nice build, and nice job finding the donor bike and selling its frame. Biggest thing I would have done differently is not paying someone else to have all the fun of building it. :thumb:

<edit> I notice you got the disc capable version of the frame, so if you ever want to you can convert it to disc brakes with just a wheel change and a set of Avid BB7 Road brakes.

Cyclocross bikes are drop bar road bikes built for racing across grass, mud and trails. They feature larger tires than a road bike, many can accept 700x38 or more. They have several special features; generally they are tough, fast bikes.

This makes them popular as winter bikes and commuters.

I use mine to do just about everything.

So how is that different from a drop handlebar hybrid?

So how is that different from a drop handlebar hybrid?

What is a drop handlebar hybrid? (make & model, please)

I don't believe any hybrid looks or rides like this;

So how is that different from a drop handlebar hybrid?

It depeds on which kind of hybrids you mean and which kind of cyclocross bikes you mean. :twitchy:

If you mean hybrid in the old meaning of the term when hybrids were rigid framed bikes with many features of 1980s mountain bikes and 700c wheels, then there is a lot of similarity. Especially to the subset of cyclocross bikes that come with eyelets for fenders and racks so they can be used as commuters and/or light duty tourers. These are somewhat of a hybrid of pure racing cyclocross bikes and touring bikes or commuter bikes. Some cyclocross bikes are much more racing focused and make no compromises for domestic use.

This is my problem- If I want to go out in muddy wet conditions up hills- Why not use a bike built for the purpose? A mountain bike. Makes more sense to me as I live in a hilly area and even the wide open trails go up slopes occasionally. Well about 30% of the time

Absolutely unless one is into cyclocross racing. I went with a cyclocross bike as I wanted a road bike that could also do the relatively smooth gravel forest service roads in my area, ride to the store for stuff, and possibly do some credit card touring. Touring bikes are too sedate for me and mountain bikes on the smoother stuff are not fun and not as comfortable as a road bike.

My gearing is about the same on the cyclocross as on the mountain bike, so hills are about the same.

Al

That was similar to my former setup.....26/36/48 and a 12/26. That has been changed however to a 32 and an 11/34 with no front derailleur....:eek: That's as close as I will get to SS...:innocent:

After seeing your post, I realized that I actually have 22/36/46. I need and love all three rings and smaller ones at that.

Al

Absolutely unless one is into cyclocross racing. I went with a cyclocross bike as I wanted a road bike that could also do the relatively smooth gravel forest service roads in my area, ride to the store for stuff, and possibly do some credit card touring. Touring bikes are too sedate for me and mountain bikes on the smoother stuff are not fun and not as comfortable as a road bike.

My gearing is about the same on the cyclocross as on the mountain bike, so hills are about the same.

Al
I couldn't agree more. I bought a Specialized Tricross to try to get down to one all encompassing bike that could handle prepared trails but still had some of the efficiency of a road bike. It did so for a while but I missed the single track MTB riding and the more efficient road rides.

I now have 3 bikes to meet all the criteria but spend most of my time on the Cross. Much to my wife's chagrin of course!:)

I couldn't agree more. I bought a Specialized Tricross to try to get down to one all encompassing bike that could handle prepared trails but still had some of the efficiency of a road bike. It did so for a while but I missed the single track MTB riding and the more efficient road rides.

I now have 3 bikes to meet all the criteria but spend most of my time on the Cross. Much to my wife's chagrin of course!:)

I can appreciate the three bike approach which would be the ideal from my point of view. I have three solo canoes (the wife 4) and two tandems: all very different boats. I've toyed with getting a pure super-light road bike, but it would be hard to part with the amenities of my cyclocross plus I spend most of my time on the mountain bike at the present.

Al

I bought a Trek XO off of Craigslist a few months ago and love the thing. I bought it as a fowl weather bike, but it fits me better than my regular road bike so I spend plenty of nice days on it too. I switched out the nobbies for regular 38 road tires. The big ring in the front could probably be bigger, but it doesn't slow me down to much.

^^^ That is a very nice looking bike. I recently bought a cross bike for commuting and I really like it so far. It rides great on the good smooth parts of my commute and on the gravel roads and the rough sidewalks too