Cyclocross - new to cyclecross. build a bike vs. buy a new one

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OjaiYoda
10-01-09, 12:12 AM
Hey, I live in Santa Cruz, Ca and I want to start riding cyclecross. Should I start by building my own bike from a road bike? or in your opinion should I just buy a new cyclecross bike. I was looking at bikes on bikes direct, and there were some pretty good deals. I found personally with other riding forms its good to build a ****ty bike that you can thrash while you learn what you would want and not want in a new bike. I have also learned however that you can spend almost as much as a entry level bike building your own. I have also considered buying a used cyclecross bike, but judging by the nature of the sport that seems like it might be a bad idea. lend me your knowledge, thanks
Yoda

crocodilefundy
10-01-09, 08:13 AM
unless you have a number of parts lying around it will be cheaper to buy a new bike. I think you'll need to have a spare set of wheels and some more parts at least if you want your build to be cost effective if you buy used ebay parts. for new bikes, Performance has some fuji cross comps that are pretty cheap at times or the BD option is always there.
jtgotsjets
10-01-09, 09:38 AM
^Depends. I got my Rob Roy frame in near mint condition used for about $160. Built it up with mostly new parts for about $300 more. Went only about $60 over my original budget, which was the price of an entry-level BikesDirect bike.

Andy_K
10-01-09, 10:38 AM
Unless you have a road bike with cantilever mounts, I wouldn't try turning a road bike into a cyclocross bike. If you have an old mountain bike lying around, you could use that to get your feet wet.

I think a used cross bike is probably OK as long as you don't pay too much. If you're concerned you could avoid carbon parts, but the frames on these bikes are made to be beaten on, so it's probably better than most used bikes you could buy.

OTOH, if you're willing to look at this as a throw-away bike to see what you really want, you could do a lot worse than the Motobecane Fantom Cross Uno.
OjaiYoda
10-01-09, 11:07 AM
thanks guys, i think i will end up getting an entry motobecane cross bike. hope to see everyone on the trails!