Cyclocross - Noobie cyclocross question

Just bought my first road bike and love hitting the road.

Then I saw a cyclocross video...man, I want to do that! But I don't want to trash my road bike and I don't have the $$$ to get a cyclocross specific bike. Would it be worth it to get an old steel frame beater? Just wondering what would be the cheapest way to get into the sport. Thanks.

You might be able to find a steel bike, but look for clearance for wider tires and check what kinds of brakes you can fit.
Do you have a MTB?
They are allowed and a hardtail is a good way to see if you like it. Buying a few year old hardtail would be more ready than refitting a road bike.

Yup - so long as you can get tire clearance, run it! I have a good friend that won 4 consecutive races on his road bike with the biggest tire he could muster on it. Dual pivot brakes and all. I've seen MTB's, and even a hybrid out on the course!

The important thing is to get out there.

I used an '83 Nashbar touring bike for the first 3 or 4 years I did cyclocross. Did really well on it too. Old touring bikes make great cross bikes.

http://ww2.hereweare.us:8080/images/bikes/cyclocross/cross_tourer.JPG

I have a Diamondback MTB. Heavy as hell, but that sounds like the way to go right now.

Definitely, use the Diamondback. Anything you get cheap will be heavy, but your fitness and handling skills will have a much bigger impact on how you do. Use the MTB for now, and when you start moving up in the standings, then you can drop some change on a good CX bike. No sense spending money now on something else that you'd want to replace anyway.

If it's got a rigid fork and a relatively flat top tube you're golden. If not, that's OK too. Also, I wouldn't worry too much about CX specific tires unless the courses in your area are very flat and fast.

Maybe start with something like an early '90s CX bike like the Schwinn CrossCut .... http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1991_2000/1991_15.html ... and modify it to drop bars?