switching pedals and brakes on a ''CX'' bike
 

Hey all I was looking on making some fixes on my bike, it's a CycloCross but I'm always on the road with the 700x23 road tires.

my main concern are the brakes and pedals

Brakewise, I have cantilevers but they are an hassle to me and I'd rather have road brakes but since I have a CX bike I don't know if it would work even though there are holes where I could logically put road brakes in. Maybe reach would be a problem I don't know I have some pictures...

second thing, do I need a special tool to change the pedals on a bike? I would be going from SPD to Speedplay.

sorry for the cheap pictures but I think it's still better than nothing. If you need better picture I'll just go and get the other camera and take some more.

Thanks for the help!

Look at the distance you have from the FENDER mount holes to the rims. Switching to road calipers would call for using a very long reach style brake. You think you're bothered by the looks of it now? Wait until you see it with "daddy long legs" calipers on the skinny tires. Just stick with what you have now. If it truly bothers you then sell the bike and get a dedicated road burner.

The upside is that you have lots of room for proper fenders.

Pedals just need a rather thin 15mm wrench. Some of the premium thin "flat" wrenchs from the auto supply or other tool outlets will work fine or you can get a Park pedal wrench or you can even hollow grind a regular cheap 15mm open end wrench to suit.

*facepalm* I never thought these holes were fender mount holes. But it makes a lot of sense now ughhh:notamused:

thanks a lot!

Just piff the cantis for V brakes, they're miles easier to deal with.

Except he's probably using road-compatible brake levers. You can swap the brake calipers over and leave the road levers, but they're more difficult to adjust for good performance.

Mini-V's will clear 23's with room to spare and work with road-compatible brake levers.
Personally I'd get some medium to wide profile canti's (I love IRD's cantis) and drop the narrow ones ya have on now.
I went that route and they do as well as my bike with V brakes at stopping, but modulate better.

A pedal wrench is a good investment, they usually have a long, rubber, grip, which helps getting good torque without hurting the hands to get out some stubborn pedals out. For example: http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-PW-3.../dp/B000OZBK32

Take in account that some newer pedals (i don't know if SpeedPlays do) aren't made for the 15mm wrenches. Instead, they are made to fit a 6mm allen wrench (at the back side of the spindle). There are some specially made allen wrenches for pedals, like this one: http://www.rei.com/product/801090?pr...:referralID=NA

By the way, use the search function. The pedal swapping topic has been discussed many times.

My Speedplay Frogs don't have the 6 mm hex key recess on the inside of the spindle but they do have flats wide enough to use a standard 15 mm open end wrench. I don't know about the X-series. BTW, you do know the left pedal is left-hand threaded?

As noted, your frame would require VERY long reach caliper brakes, say BMX-type with a reach of over 80 mm so I agree that staying with the cantilevers or mini-V's is a wise choice. Shimano's new BR-R550 cantilevers are particularly suited to road use and are very easy to install and set up. They work fine with road brake levers or brifters.

The pedal wrench that MEC sells is a good deal. If I didn't already have both tools, I'd grab this handy combo tool. I think there is a mec in QC too.

Sell it and buy what suits you better, a Cyclocross frame has clearance for wider tires , someone else wants that feature..

I find the Rivendale sold 'jack brown' 33.3 tire , light , nearly slick is very nice ride,
and I'm comfortable dealing with cantilever adjustments with decades of background,

but if you want a road race bike , buy one , sell this one you don't like .

or +1 fit it with mudguards and studded tires and ride it this winter, get the latest equipped race bike in the spring.

Part of your dislike for the canti brakes might be that the way they come set up from Rocky mountain causes ultra-crap braking performance.
With low profile cantis like you have, you get more braking power the lower the straddle cable goes. Your straddle cables are high enough to fit your foot in to jam the tire for quicker stops. If you get a separate straddle cable and yoke from the LBS you can adjust those brakes to give yourself actual good braking!!!