Cyclocross - Equipment Questions

I started another thread about my build, but I have a few noob equipment questions to ask and I figured that I could start a thread that others could use as well.

Here I go!


Crankset:

I've seen new bikes coming with 50/34 chainrings.
I'm a reasonably strong road racer, and I was wondering if a setup like this would work.
OR would I be better off buying a 47 ring and running a 47/39 setup?

I have all the parts to run the 50/34, or a 53/39, but I'm guessing the 53/39 is a dumb idea.

So 50/34 or 47/39?

Brakes

Are Tektro Oryx good enough? Or are Shimano BR R550 brakes better?

Are in line 'interrupter' brake levers very useful or is it a non issue to just have STI Levers?

Tires

Kenda Kwicker Cross 32mm tires good enough? They're pretty inexpensive and seem like they'd have decent tread.

I want to race cross and use the cross bike to ride with some friends on easier MTB trails as well.

Thanks.

47 is kind of uncommon. The trend now is to use a 46 though some people use a 48

Oryx are fine.

Interrupter levers are a personal preference.

47 is kind of uncommon. The trend now is to use a 46 though some people use a 48

Oryx are fine.

Interrupter levers are a personal preference.

Thanks for the info!

About the crankset:

I figure 47 isn't that common, but it's what I found cheap, so would a 47/39 be better or a 50/34.

I'm guessing the former.

I'm almost tempted to single ring the front, but I figure that using either of those combo's would allow the road swapover pretty painlessly.

Thanks.

you can always go 39 single and make your rig a 9x1 or 10x1?? What does your cassette look like?
I have an tektro cr720 up front and a oryx in the back. It works great!!

Cassette is a 12-25 10 speed.

If I had a 9 speed setup, I would have considered doing a 42 front 11-34 rear. Would have been awesome.

Would a 39 with a 12-25 be adequate gearing? I'd think that I'd really lose out on the flats since a 39x12 isn't all that big of a gear.

Also, the 39 ring is on a double and I'm not sure that the chainline would be terribly happy, no?

I had a 39 with a 12-25. It worked for me kicking around town. However, you mentioned that you are a strong rider, so maybe you like to mash on the cranks. Why not run the same gear inch on your road bike and see if you spin-out?? Also, my chainline was fine and i'm a shorter rider. I just removed the big ring and got shorter stack bolts. Or you can get a bash guard.

Also, if what you have lying around is just lying around, you might as well try it out. I'm sure you'll be fine tuned once cx season comes around??

I have on hand 3 cranksets that aren't being used.

1 is a 53/39 octalink
1 is a 50/34 octalink
1 is a 53/39 hollowtech (outboard bb)

My issue is that I want to be able to ride this bike as a backup road bike, in addition to being used as a cross bike.

For this reason, I wouldn't want to have a single chainring since it'd take time to swap out rings and/or cranks.

The 50/34 makes sense since I'll be able to swap into road mode quite easily, but that's a pretty huge gap and a 50 is pretty big for off road stuff.

I think I'm just going to go with a 47/39 so I can put the hollowtech cranks to use and see what that gets me.

The big issue is that I run an old octalink setup on my road bike (I can't change the crank), and I like to keep octalink parts and cranks around as spares for when my power meter needs to be taken off. I have the compact for VERY hilly races where the easier gearing makes up for the lack of a power meter.

The 53/39 octalink is a backup, albeit a strange one since the crank arms are 2.5mm shorter. I figure i can make that adjustment as needed.

I guess I'll be giving the 47/39 a go.

I would go with the 39/47 combo. I run a 12-27 cassette (9speed). If you need a gear lower than 39x27 then you should be running anyway.

you could also look at getting a larger inner ring for your compact. something like a 38 or so.
50-38 might not be too bad, or even 50-40.

you could also look at getting a larger inner ring for your compact. something like a 38 or so.
50-38 might not be too bad, or even 50-40.

Just bought the 47 ring last night. It was the cheapest option all things considered.

It's 25 bucks for the FSA chainring. The crankset is just sitting there.

The ring was cheaper than the 105 octalink BB I would have to use if I didn't just my hollowtech crankset. So it came out to be 'cheaper' in the end even though I was buying something and not using what I had, since I'd have to buy another octalink BB if I used one.

That being said, since the cross bike will be heavier than my road bike, I think the 50/34 would have been nice for the occasional hilly road ride.

Oh well. I think the 47/39 would be best for cross, and that's the main purpose of this bike anyway ;)

I'm so psyched for this build!

Now if I could only get brakes and tires at a reasonable price. I think I blew my budget already :innocent:

An economical option for brakes are the tektro 720's. $24 and all the power you will ever need. Save your money for the tires, that is a good place to spend money.

An economical option for brakes are the tektro 720's. $24 and all the power you will ever need. Save your money for the tires, that is a good place to spend money.

Just bought some Oryx's and tires from bf member bluenote.

Also ordered some tires from a team deal. Heavy tires, but whatever. It's a cross bike not a road bike.

Now all I need is my friend to return my front wheel and I'll actually have a wheelset...

It's going to be a 20/24 wheelset since that's all I have lying around. Not really a lightweight setup so it should work fine till I can get a Op/Ultegra setup used.

Are you intending to race the rig? If so you wont spend much time in the big ring and in a big gear anyway. I have a Trek XO1 that I cross race with and also use it for a bad weather road bike by changing wheels w/road tires. The bike has 48/34 with a 12x27 cassette. One thing about brakes if you are racing, is that the race could be in mud, sand, rain, snow and any other crap the race organizers decide to throw into the mix. Controlled stopping/slowing in races can save time and even let you stop if needed so good brakes are a must.

Are you intending to race the rig? If so you wont spend much time in the big ring and in a big gear anyway. I have a Trek XO1 that I cross race with and also use it for a bad weather road bike by changing wheels w/road tires. The bike has 48/34 with a 12x27 cassette. One thing about brakes if you are racing, is that the race could be in mud, sand, rain, snow and any other crap the race organizers decide to throw into the mix. Controlled stopping/slowing in races can save time and even let you stop if needed so good brakes are a must.

I got the oryx's and I'll invest in some kool stop pads!

It sounds like this is too late, but may I recommend going with a 34t lower gear. Then you can swap out the 50t big ring for a cross suitable one (46 or 48 or so) when necessary. I did pretty much the whole season in my 34 last year. Maybe I'm not the greatest cross racer, but the ability to turn to smaller gears helped me to save my legs and also to get up steeper climbs without having to run them. The year before, I ran a hybrid with a triple. I mostly used the 42 ring, but there were occasions when I went to the 30 and blasted past guys on much nicer bikes who had dismounted.

I've not used the Kenda tyres, and it sounds as if you are set on them, but I do like Challenge Grifo clinchers, as well as Schwalbe Fast Freds. Don't spend lots of money on your cross bike though. The best upgrade by far is tubular wheels.

I was thinking that if you wind out the 39-12 combination then the race organizers either need more turns or some hurdles. FWIW, there were a couple of times last year when I ran past riders trying to grind up a short hill. YMMV.

It sounds like this is too late, but may I recommend going with a 34t lower gear. Then you can swap out the 50t big ring for a cross suitable one (46 or 48 or so) when necessary. I did pretty much the whole season in my 34 last year. Maybe I'm not the greatest cross racer, but the ability to turn to smaller gears helped me to save my legs and also to get up steeper climbs without having to run them. The year before, I ran a hybrid with a triple. I mostly used the 42 ring, but there were occasions when I went to the 30 and blasted past guys on much nicer bikes who had dismounted.

I've not used the Kenda tyres, and it sounds as if you are set on them, but I do like Challenge Grifo clinchers, as well as Schwalbe Fast Freds. Don't spend lots of money on your cross bike though. The best upgrade by far is tubular wheels.

I went with the 47/39 combo.

I have a feeling that the 39-25 should be more than enough. If not, then I should be running anyway.

If the 34 is better, live and learn I'll swap it out next season.

I started another thread about my build, but I have a few noob equipment questions to ask and I figured that I could start a thread that others could use as well.

Here I go!


Crankset:

I've seen new bikes coming with 50/34 chainrings.
I'm a reasonably strong road racer, and I was wondering if a setup like this would work.
OR would I be better off buying a 47 ring and running a 47/39 setup?

I have all the parts to run the 50/34, or a 53/39, but I'm guessing the 53/39 is a dumb idea.

So 50/34 or 47/39?

Brakes

Are Tektro Oryx good enough? Or are Shimano BR R550 brakes better?

Are in line 'interrupter' brake levers very useful or is it a non issue to just have STI Levers?

Tires

Kenda Kwicker Cross 32mm tires good enough? They're pretty inexpensive and seem like they'd have decent tread.

I want to race cross and use the cross bike to ride with some friends on easier MTB trails as well.

Thanks.

I run a 46t & 38t Sram S350 Compact Double with a 12-27. I use the 46t from 15 to 35 mph. It's great.

You can run interrupters with brifters. I'm happy with Tektro brakes.

Michael

I got the oryx's and I'll invest in some kool stop pads!

Salmon pads work well with mixed conditions you encounter in cross.

Salmon pads work well with mixed conditions you encounter in cross.

Yup. Run them on my road bike as well. I was going to nab those.

my cranks are 48/38 which is fine
and the onyx brakes are good IMO, i have no complaints