Road Cycling - Cyclocross for the road - Round II

OK, so I posted this in the cyclocross forum and they all gave me the thumbs up but I figured another opinion won't hurt. What I said is this:

"I just moved to the Northwest and am looking into getting a new bike. I haven't bought a bike since I was a kid and don't really know much about them anymore. I'm interested in using it for commuting, road riding and if I can cyclocross style riding as well. So, what I'm wondering is if it is possibe (and makes sense) to get a cyclocross bike, ride it in the fall and winter as is and then in spring and summer put road tires on it and use if for road riding? I don't have the cash to buy a mtn bike, road bike, and cyclocross bike but would like to do some off and some one road riding. Some times one or the other exclusively. Let me know your thoughts."

Thanks,

Stefan

I have a friend that is in the exact same predicament as yourself. He wants to start riding and doesn't know if he should update his roadbike or go crossbike. I think your solution is a great idea. Those crossbikes are cool! I wish I could justify replacing my hybrid Trek with a crossbike. However, I already have a Cannondale RB that I love. There are some good recommendations for crossbikes on this forum. Good Luck

I have a Trek 4900 (MTB), and a Lemond Poprad (CX). I got road wheels and tires, 700 x28. I am over 200 lbs.

The Poprad is all steel. It is great. I don't think it is a Pro Race bike, but I don't care. I ride all road, and have done one 60 mile group ride.

I kept up with the Treks, custom bikes etc.

I would not ride a CX on gnarly single track, but fire roads, etc, you should be fine.

Go for it.

No reason not to. It makes more sense to buy a cyclo-cross bike and ride it on the road with road tires, than to buy an MTB and ride it on the road.

I just built up an Airborne Carpe Diem (CD) Ti cyclocross for a road bike. I use Mavic Openpro/Ultegra wheels and 25 mm tires. I don't cyclocross, but I do have some more-rugged wheels (with wider rims) with 38mm cyclocross tires from my old touring bike. I've never had the urge to use them yet.

Some Carpe Diem owners have posted (not here) in the past that they got a CD for winter commuting, but were not sure they could switch back to their regular road bikes come Spring.

My main reason for getting this particular bike was the 1" longer chain stays (but 1" shorter than a touring frame), fender and rack attachment points, the 72-degree head tube angle, V-brake compatibility, and a decent top-tube length for the stand-over height. Plus I love the ride and corrosion resistance of Titanium.

I'd personnally go for a second set of road wheels to save weight. Light wheels are just a lot more fun. My road set cost about $210 with shipping.

Al

I wanted a good second bike that I could ride anywhere without fear of beating it up. I purchased an '02 Lemond Poprad that came with many CX upgrades. I then proceeded to transform it into a CX "roadie" of sorts. I rode it for awhile and fell in love with it and before long, I realized what I really wanted was another full roadie. So I bought the Maillot Jaune and built it, restoring the Poprad to a more natural state. The moral - going with a CX is a great way to fuel all sorts of cycling desires.

55/Rad

PS - The Poprad is for sale and I'm in Portland. Send me a PM if you are interested.

I have the Bianchi Volpe, and it is a cyclocross. I didn't realize it wasn't a "road bike" until I started hangin around here. Anyway...to somewhat answer your question, I slapped a pair of 23 armidillo's (havn't changed a flat!) and I ride it like a road bike. It is a little heavier then your traditional roadie I think, but I'm not out to break records or anything, although Tuesday I broke one of my own...24mph on a non-downhill! Actually I think there was a slight incline! Anyway. I have never riden it off road, so I can't speak to that. I will tell you though, prior to putting on the 23's, my Volpe handled chip seal like a pro. While other roadies were changing flats beside the road...I kept on truckin! Bottom line...I love my Volpe. I would look into it, made by Bianchi. They are also afordable, I picked my 03 model up in June of 03 and paid less then $700 With the baby chariot, and all the other stuff...helmet etc, I dropped a grand total, but whatever. Great bike...I'd for sure check out the Bianchi!

I wanted a good second bike that I could ride anywhere without fear of beating it up. I purchased an '02 Lemond Poprad that came with many CX upgrades. I then proceeded to transform it into a CX "roadie" of sorts. I rode it for awhile and fell in love with it and before long, I realized what I really wanted was another full roadie. So I bought the Maillot Jaune and built it, restoring the Poprad to a more natural state. The moral - going with a CX is a great way to fuel all sorts of cycling desires.

55/Rad

PS - The Poprad is for sale and I'm in Portland. Send me a PM if you are interested.

How are those Neuvation wheels. I am thinking about upgrading the Bontrager Selects on my Klein and am thinking about those and the Velomax wheels as options.

If you are going to use it for commuting will you want to mount the bike with panniers or any sort of rack? If so does the bike have braze on rack mounts? May not be an issue I don't know but something to think about.

FWIW I thinks this is a great way to go. The longer CX wheel base with some nice after market road tires can give you a really nice ride.

I went through the same predicament and wanted to advice against buying a cross bike for dual purpose. I bought a Trek cross bike and found that it was not good for either road or off road. When I went on group road rides, I had to work extra hard to make up for the differences in weight and agility compared to people on road bikes. When I rode off road, I was always getting stuck in mud because the tires are too narrow compared to MTB tires and the bike was too fragile for jumping limbs and dropping off rocks on difficult single track places. I ended up selling the cross bike to buy a dedicated road bike and that ended up costing me more money; money that I could have used to at least partially fund having 2 bikes.

If you are planning on riding with people, prepare to suffer. If not, I guess its not as big of a deal, but I still would recommend picking a bike that you would spend more of your time on and buy the specific bike for that purpose. Later, when you save more money, buy an entry-level bike of the other type.

Check local used bikes to save money and maybe you could have both.