Cyclocross - race and commute

Does anybody Race on the weekends and commute during the week on the same bike? I am looking for a bike I could do both well. If anybody has any good suggestions it would be great to hear them. Thanks in advance.

I don't, but I do use my race bike for road training. Any of the "entry-level" bikes would do (any that have bottle and fender mounts).

A second wheelset with slicks and a close-ratio cassette makes it easy.

Do you have any idea on a weight I should shoot for? A shop in my area said the CC would be too heavy to race too. I obviously would be removing the rack and fenders for racing and changing tires but a second wheel set would be helpful.

Does anybody Race on the weekends and commute during the week on the same bike? I am looking for a bike I could do both well. If anybody has any good suggestions it would be great to hear them. Thanks in advance.

I could use my 2003 Specialized Allez Triple for racing if I wanted to. I use it for commuting and/or, exercise.

Does anybody Race on the weekends and commute during the week on the same bike? I am looking for a bike I could do both well. If anybody has any good suggestions it would be great to hear them. Thanks in advance.

I could use my 2003 Specialized Allez Triple for racing if I wanted to. I use it for commuting and/or, exercise.

I use my bike for all things. I've toured using my cyclocross bike, went for a 66 mile ride on everything from a freeway to singletrack yesterday. I also am starting to race. As long as it is still fun, I'll continue to race.

Out of curiosity, why remove the fenders for racing? Just weight?

(Cyclocross as a sport doesn't exist in australia, so this really is just "out of curiosity"...)

i would think that is you leave the fenders on you would clog up with mud pretty fast. check out some of the video on the bottom at http://everydayathleteblog.com/2009/11/09/sscxwc-2009-quick-gallery/

I've been wondering the same.
I've got road bikes and plan on getting a CX bike for commuting and maybe try some fun events in the future. But if it's 90% of a road bike then I'm fine just slapping on 700x23 on it for roadie use. I could sell and downsize to just a MTB and a CX for commute/road.

I don't have a fancy road bike as it is but I don't want to take a big step backwards either.

So flip the stem to get lower and change tires eh? I guess the canti brakes would be a major pain to readjust after every wheel change though.

I don't have to readjust my cantis between wheel changes. One set is Bontrager Race, the other is DTSwiss R1.1.

No fenders for racing - mud clearance and weight. Also crashing and bike-to-bike contact (on the start) aren't unheard of, I wouldn't want fenders that could potentially get snapped into a spoke, or slice a tire, or something.

A CrossCheck will be on the heavy end for a race bike, but really, unless you're blazing fast and don't have any body fat to lose, 1 or 2 pounds of bike isn't going to make or break a race. I probably wouldn't go with the stock build, but instead build it myself with slightly lighter components (which would drive the price over $1000, but would be a much nicer bike). That said, the stock build is perfect for a wallet-friendly all-rounder.

Also, see if your LBS can find an '09 Fisher Presidio in your size. The Presidio is steel, w/ SRAM Rival, and I think on clearance for $1300 or so. There might be other bikes on clearance, I just own a Presidio and know there were a few available two weeks ago when I bought mine.

I've been wondering the same.
I've got road bikes and plan on getting a CX bike for commuting and maybe try some fun events in the future. But if it's 90% of a road bike then I'm fine just slapping on 700x23 on it for roadie use. I could sell and downsize to just a MTB and a CX for commute/road.

I don't have a fancy road bike as it is but I don't want to take a big step backwards either.

So flip the stem to get lower and change tires eh? I guess the canti brakes would be a major pain to readjust after every wheel change though.

Welcome to the cyclocross forum..... This topic is discussed to death here. Yes, cyclocross bikes make good do-it-all type of bikes, but they don't do anything particularly well other than what they were intended for: cyclocross racing. Like others have said, some of the lower cost bikes are designed this way with fender and rack mounts and less aggressive handling. They work fine as a road bike and can handle things that a typical road bike does poorly at such as carry loads for commuting/touring and with a swap of tires, do some light off roading. Heck most road bikes don't even have proper fender mounts. For me in the PNW, this is a deal breaker.
As far as brakes, the cantis are a pain if you don't know how to adjust them. I find them quite easy to adjust. One thing I've done to eliminate the wheel difference issue is to simply have the same brand wheelset with different tires. No issue then. Of course, you can easily get different brand wheels with the same dish etc.

For your use (and really most peoples) a cyclocross bike (or even a touring bike) is the ideal bike.

What's the standard width or rim to run 32 tires for cx? I have several sets and need to thin the herd. Standardizing is a good idea for sure. I'd like to have 23 slick and 32 knobs with nothing more than a quick release change. That'd be sweet.


I've got Ultegra components to use and a full road Shimano 600 tricolor set to build a frame with. Yes, 53/39 chainrings but I think i can find smaller if needed, but 53 would be nice for road use.

I use my Kona Jake for commuting when it's not cross season and then use it for racing during cross season. It weighs around 22-23 pounds and has all the hardware support for rear rack and full fenders. I upgraded it to Ultegra parts, but that wasn't really necessary.

I use it for commuting once in a while during cross season, but I have another bike that I use for rainy days and it's almost always raining here during cross season, so it's easier just to leave the Jake in cross setup.

I have two sets of wheels for it (the Tiagra/Deore/Alex wheels it came with and Ultegra/Open Pros). The width is different enough that I do have to adjust the brakes when I swap wheels, but it really doesn't take long to do so.

I'm thinking of doing some road racing next year, and if I do I'll be using the Jake for that too. I've ridden several centuries with it, and it's been great for that. It's a bit heavy for competitive road racing, but I tend not to be very competitive anyway.

I have been looking at 3 bike specifically, the Kona Jake or JTS and the Redline Conquest Pro. I rode the Redline today and really like the bike over all. Are you happy with you Kona?

I commute on my Kona Jake The Snake and race it too. It's great for both as I have quite a few potholes and other road hazards on my route. I take off my front and rear lights during the races just because. I run cheap Kenda Kwicks for commuting and more expensive Michelin Mud 2's during races.

I love my Kona. Check out this thread -- http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=450604 -- for a mini-review and a lot of pictures. I was able to upgrade my base-level Jake to Ultegra/Ultegra SL components, including wheels for about the price of a JTS (lots of online bargains). The only thing I'm lacking is a carbon fork, which I'm not sure is better for racing or commuting anyway. The base Jake has a steel fork, FWIW.

I have been looking at 3 bike specifically, the Kona Jake or JTS and the Redline Conquest Pro. I rode the Redline today and really like the bike over all. Are you happy with you Kona?

Everyone seems to love the Konas. The one time I managed to find someone who didn't like his, he came back to the same thread a year and said that he'd totally changed his mind and now it was the bike he rode most.

All the same, people seem to like the Redline too. And I'm not sure that they are terribly different - neither is a non-standard design like the Tricross or Roadrat. The best advice is often to buy a bike you can ride and assess fit on, from a good local store that will set it up right and fix any hassles. If you've ridden the Redline and the store has a good rep then that counts for a lot.

What's the standard width or rim to run 32 tires for cx?

DT Swiss R1.1 (19.4mm) and Mavic Open Pro (19.6mm) are both popular.