Cyclocross - 3 frames - which one to get?

I'm jumping into cross this year. I have about 850 or so to spend on a frame.

Ive decided on three different frames and would like some help.

I plan to use this bike for commuting as well as general winter training and of course racing.

The Three frames:
Van Dessel Hole Shot - Cheapest of the lot at $700. No fender mounts, but can carry a water bottle. dont know much about them as a company...

Ridley X-Ride. Most expensive of the lot, no fenders or water bottle. Race oriented. yay belgium.

Specialized Tricross Expert - seems to be a hybrid kind of cx bike, but $880 for a cx frame with cf seat stays and an sworks fork seems like a great deal. it can take bottles and fenders.

I'm jumping into cross this year. I have about 850 or so to spend on a frame.

Ive decided on three different frames and would like some help.

I plan to use this bike for commuting as well as general winter training and of course racing.

The Three frames:
Van Dessel Hole Shot - Cheapest of the lot at $700. No fender mounts, but can carry a water bottle. dont know much about them as a company...

Ridley X-Ride. Most expensive of the lot, no fenders or water bottle. Race oriented. yay belgium.

Specialized Tricross Expert - seems to be a hybrid kind of cx bike, but $880 for a cx frame with cf seat stays and an sworks fork seems like a great deal. it can take bottles and fenders.

The tricross is a great frame.

Why not expand your options, would you consider steel?

Michael

Why not expand your options, would you consider steel?



I would. I just have not found a steel frame that I liked.
(i rode a friends crosscheck that was my size - and I did not like the feel)

Salsa Chili Con Crosso? I just picked one up and love it. Plus it comes with a terrific fork (Alpha Q CX20)

I feel like you could do better than those if you're looking for a multipurpose cross bike. The tricross seems closest.

are you looking for an all purpose bike or something to be a cross racing machine? Also, where do you live? The 2 I am the most familiar with Van Dessel, and the Ridley are designed very differently.

If I were you I would not worry too much about things like rack mounts as you can buy blackburn rack mounts to mount a fender or a rack.

I would add that unless you find a holeshot in stock it will be hard to get as I have heard they are just selling off what they have due to the profitability of the gin and trombones.

What size do you ride?

There are lot of awesome used frames to be had.

Ill try to answer the questions in order
Im not looking for a multi purpose bike per say, I just plan to ride it alot. I dont care about rack mounts. I am also not too worried about the fenders...if I need them for commute - I can mount a grunge board and a seatpost mounted tail. I also dont need water bottles - I can always just use the velcro model if I dont want to carry it in my rear pocket. I live in Portland Oregon. I can find all 3 frames in my size...I do want to pull the trigger soon though since the 56cm is a very common size.

I can tell you that I am leaning toward the Ridley. Though I wonder how much of the cost is paying for the name. Also - at that price point - I see the Gin and Trombones is doable as well. Both have the tapered fork/HT.

Ridleys have very high bottom brackets so if you are doing a lot of off camber euro style pedaling courses they are great. Van Dessels are known for low BBs and being very stiff race bikes and might be better for super tech courses like they have back east.

If you live in the PNW why not just go with something you know is going to work great by getting a Major Jake or a Redline team? Not the most unique bikes, but they are both extremely race proven in the PNW.

last year's Kona Major is pretty nice. At 1k though - that starts to get pricey. Though I doubt I would "need" a different bike any time soon.

I would add the Cannondale CX9 to your list at those price points.

last year's Kona Major is pretty nice. At 1k though - that starts to get pricey. Though I doubt I would "need" a different bike any time soon.
you can google search on the redlines as there are some good deals on their 09 team framesets

geez - once you allow yourself to hit the $1000 mark for a frame - your selection goes through the roof!

The 09 Major is slick.

Not a huge fan of redline bikes. I do not know why, but the company always seemed to rub me the wrong way.

So - after some consideration here is my list:

Kona Major Jake
Ridley X-Ride

I doubt I could go wrong with either. The higher BB of the ridley has me concerned, but I would bet that I would get used to it pretty quick.

http://www.marinoni.qc.ca/Html/Fango.html

The numbers below were quoted to me in Feb of '08 in CDN$
the steel farme costs 625$ or 750$ with custom geometry.
the xpress version is 800$ or 925$ with custom geometry
add 125$ for a carbon fork and 63$ for a FSA headset (orbit-x or MX model)