I bought my cross bike in the vein of one of the other threads around here: an all around road bike. I lived in the PacNW at the time, it was my first roadish bike, it made sense. Now I'm finding myself in a much drier, much more paved climate without the need for discs, offroad tires, etc. This is road bike territory. I'm too slow on the pavement and get too cramped on long tours.

Now that the seasons over I was thinking of putting slicks and cages on the old girl, but I'm not sure if that'd take care of her. Hell, she's not even that old, mileage wise. More miles than dollars invested, but not by too much. Somehow, back in my head, though, I want something more pure. I want something I can stretch out on a bit more on longer rides, something with quicker handling and something lighter. Crossy's no heavyweight at about 23 lbs, which makes it hard to justify. The feeling is just...different, you know? One of my biggest concerns is cramped...cross geometry is not comfy after 50 miles.

Am I crazy? I'm having a hard time justifying this to myself. It's such a meager adjustment for such a huge price tag (I'm looking at the R1000). At the same time I just want to glide down the hills rather than hoss down them like an angry bull, pedaling hard to keep up with the roadies.

Oh, and can anyone recommend some good road tires for the swap?

I have a cross bike (Lemond Poprad) and with road tires on it find it great for 100mi+ rides. Not sure what you mean by cramped geometry. Mine is very comfortable. Sure the weight is somewhat more and the gearing not quite as tight (which is fine/better? for hilly areas) and a stiffer more compact frame might feel more responsive - my CX bike feels a bit more like I remember a touring bike to feel. Maybe your bike just isn't fit right.
Al

yea in fact a cross bike is not as aggresive as a road racing bike. You may want to consider a touring bike which will give you a relaxed geometry with a long wheel base. But you won't get the fast handling like you said you wanted. Are you putting 23's or 25's tires on? I would think that your cross bike with 23's would feel just like a road racer. If you have a typicall cross crank set that may also be your problem especially going down hills. iow if it is a 48x36 or something, a typical road racer will have a 53x39 and a touring bike will have a triple. fwiw if you are gonna race cross I use a single ring on my touring bike. The middle ring of a triple which is a 42. Then in the spring and summer I put the triple back together and have a nice touring bike. So you could always upgrade the crank set if that is the problem.

i put some 23mm michelins on my cross bike and honestly don't feel like i'm losing anything over a pure road bike. maybe go test ride a few and see if you really want a whole new ride.
personally i find my cross rig more comfy on lone haul rides than my steeper geometry race bike. you'll be amazed at the difference some nice road slicks make.

Hi,
why not throw a longer stem on? Get some tires on sale, a longer stem, maybe slide the seat back a little.... I can see getting another bike, but while you're thinking about it...
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=121&subcategory=1085&brand=&sku=4252&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=19605&subcategory_ID=5420

I ride a cannondale cross bike (disc) purely on road and rarely if ever take it off pavement. I find the ride very very nice, even on rides of 50+.....i just put on a stem with a slightly higher rise and it gives me a couple of very nice comfortable posistions. I admit the bike isnt quite as fast as a pure roadie mostly because the bike weighs slightly more because of the brakes and the 36 spoke tires with 28mm tires. However I do like the fact that I can be a lot more agressive on my cross bike, like taking hops off of curbs and such. So as far as riding a cross bike purely on the road......i say go for it!

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I'll fight it out with some slicks. Any tires that y'all are particularly fond of? Rims are Mavic CXP22's.

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I'll fight it out with some slicks. Any tires that y'all are particularly fond of? Rims are Mavic CXP22's.
I can't give you a specific tire recommendation. But for what it's worth I use 28c Conti Gatorskins as I use it for commuting vs. 'competetive touring' - I haven't had a flat in 1500mi and the ride is fast, but also smooth. I will put on one size smaller for my next set, just to check it out. The other tires I have are 32 and 38 Conti Twister Pro which work great on rough desert single track - but not so great for cornering on pavement. I switch tires every weekend - which brings me to my next suggestion: Perhaps you can find some great fire roads or CX compatible single track withing an hour or so drive of where you live. Then you will remember why you have the CX bike.

Al

You might consider getting some lighter wheels and mounting road tires on them. This makes it easy to swap between road and off-road tires and you can cut the weight of the bike by at least half a pound where it matters most for long road rides.

I ride with some Specialized All Condition S-Pros on Mavic Open Pros....no complaints here.

I did a lot of research and test riding before I settled on my Jake, and not all cross bikes are created equal. I found it a very different experience from a Crosscheck to a Jake. As far as frame geometries are considered, I didn't really feel a whole lot different on an OCR to a Jake (position wise), which I think helped make my decision in the end.

I'm a whole lot happier with the Jake than a road bike. When I feel like it, I can hit the mud here with the Nokian Ravagozzi Crosses, but I can also pop on my Specialized Infinity Armadillo's when I get back to the commute on the streets of broken glass here.

I don't know how the streets are there, or even if you're prone to flats, but since you're tire shopping, I'd recommend something tough like the Armadillo's. Better safe than sorry. I find that the 05's have a lot less rolling resistance than the older ones I had, which is the chief complaint I hear with tough tires.

Two other differences... the fork, I won't address.

The gearing on the other hand, I will. I don't have my handy-dandy gear-inches chart here, but as someone who rides 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day, my 48T chainring and 12-25 freewheel is just fine thanks. I have tried, and a 53x12 just burns me up on anything but serious downhill action. I'll leave the 119 gear inches to the pros thanks.

Am I crazy? I'm having a hard time justifying this to myself. It's such a meager adjustment for such a huge price tag (I'm looking at the R1000). At the same time I just want to glide down the hills rather than hoss down them like an angry bull, pedaling hard to keep up with the roadies.


Like people said, making some adjustments could help. You don't have to 'need' and new bike to get one though. I'm planning to get a karate monkey this spring. I don't really 'need' one but I really want one, I have the money and my wife hasn't put up much resistance so why not?

I have similar comment. my CX bike feels more comfortable than my road bike. I guess the problem is in sizing. Namely, I was more careful with the size and the fit of the frame when I bought my CX bike. I find the relaxed and less agressive CX geometry a bit more forgiving and consequently a bit more comfortable. Yet I must say that you'll probably have to do some more research before you make your final choice. Size of frame and consequently comfort are important and as I am getting older I value them more (my back is not what it used to be). So take your time, and make sure you find a right frame (whetehr it's road or CX, it doesn't matter) which fits you well.

Hi,
I love my Ruffy Tuffys ( http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/tires_tubes/10043.html ). If your roads are good it's brother, the Roly Poly is even nicer.