corynardin

I am interested in putting together a cheap CX bike to race and commute. Nothing too serious and thought that maybe I could get something old. I have a bunch of modern stuff around, so I could effectively upgrade if needed. The idea is cheap and light.

I have been looking around a bit and found some Schwinn Crosscut and Crisscrosses on CL for around $150. I tried to figure out a bit about Schwinn's and it seems like they have a few really light bikes (the Paramount) and some heavy ones (Varsity), but I can't really find anything about there cross bikes. I think they were made by someone else and sold under the Schwinn label since they are lugged (right?).

I don't expect a super light bike, but lower twenty pounds would be desirable (after switching to aluminum wheels and a lighter cassette, etc).

If you have other suggestions I would love to hear them. It would ideally use canit brakes, 700c wheels and not weight a ton. I'm not in a hurry so I would like to know what to keep my eye out for.

PatrickZ

The real Schwinn experts will be along shortly. I can add that I have a 1991 High Plains with a full crmo lugged frame that was made in their Greenville, Mississippi plant. Some of the hybrids may have been made there as well. I believe other lugged frame Schwinns were made by Giant in Taiwan.

XLR99

I did my first season of CX last fall on my 1991 Bianchi Volpe (don't tell BG lest she taze me again ) . I think the crisscross is very similar to the Volpe. There were a few riders on PDG Paramounts from the early 90s who rode them SS with centerpull brakes, who were pretty fast. From my minimal experience, it seems like the ability to suffer can win out over new high tech stuff, at least at the lower categories. I finished ahead of several riders whose bikes cost more than my bike + car together.
Muddy miserable suffering pic to get your cowbell up:

Trucker Dan

I race cross on an 84 trek 720. It turns a little slow due to the long chain stays but I don't think its holding me back any. Its about 22 lbs with modern components and tubulars.

seely

The Crisscrosses/Crosscuts have really, really weird geometry. They were designed around a flat bar, and have very long top tubes, with a super-short head tube. To put things into perspective, my best fitting bike is a 62cm frame with a 58cm top-tube and a 100mm stem. I'm a lanky 6'1", long legs and arms, short torso. My Crisscross was about a 20" frame, and with Nitto Northroad bars, I had to have a very high-rise, short stem due to the long top tube. With the tall, short stem, the front end was pretty squirrely at times.

All that being said, the bike was free and I had a blast with it. It's not a great platform for a CX bike, but it's also probably not the worst.

RobbieTunes

If you can find a Trek 520 in poor frame shape, you'll be very happy with how it does cx.

I also know a guy who's done cx on an Ironman frame. I don't know how the heck he stopped in mud.

noglider 

If you know you want to start with a used bike, the trick is not to get your heart set on any particular model. See what comes along, and then ask if it suits you.

WNG

I have a 1994 Crosscut, so I can only offer insight into the 94 and 95 models, as I believe they were the same.
94 Crosscut is TIG welded no longer lugged. It also switched to a compact sloping TT frame. It's made by Giant and is double-butted Cr-Mb tubing throughout. The Crisscross is the same geometry but uses straight gauge Cr-Mb. The difference is 2 lbs.
This is also the year Glen Adams, a World Downhill medalist, designed and added his 'Glen Bars' to the Crosscut and Crisscross. He was Schwinn's Product Manager at the time.
I find the Crosscut to be a very competent platform. It rides stable and has nimble handling. I think the geometry is pretty tight for a hybrid. I've included a spec sheet with the hard numbers.
It came stock with 38mm tires, and I think it'll clear a 45mm. I'm running mine with 35mm tires.
Pic of mine and what I've done with it...


CrossCut by WNG555, on Flickr

roburrito

CX courses usually have at least one section of close tight turns where the longer wheelbase of an old touring base will be a determent compared to the tighter geometry of a CX race bike. That said you can still have a lot of fun on the course with a cheap bike and just run through the twists if you have to (but the entry fees will stack up higher than the cost of your bike).

Grand Bois

My sister has two of these that I really enjoy riding on and off the road. The frame is lugged and nicely done. It's fairly light.

Barchettaman

Lots of info on Jeremy's cyclocross site:

https://plusonelap.blogspot.com/searc...intage%22%20CX

Should get you started.

big_heineken

I have an early 90s Schwinn Cross something. I'm not sure of the model, because I bought it without decals and the color doesn't match anything in the catalogs. It does indeed have a disproportionately long top tube. I tried riding it with the stem in the photos, but I had to switch to a much shorter one. Mine has mostly modern components and it still weighs about 26 lbs.

seely

Looking at the pic above, that looks an awful lot like my Crisscross. Lugs and geometry are definitely the same. I wasn't aware of any geometry changes in the line, so that's good to know.

ljsense

Trucker Dan, that's a sweet 720. There was a guy in my circuit who raced an old steel Trek frame, and it looked really nice. He had big old caliper brakes that could clear the tires; it was a road frame. So that's an option, too.

Ex Pres 

General info:
Not trying to just be a weight weenie, but depending on your course you'll be picking up your bike to hop barriers, and also for longer run-ups of stairs or steep hills. 5# will make a difference after several laps. Also because you may be shouldering the bike on run-ups, you don't want a frame with below the top tube brake cable runs. Edit: and I forgot to add, you don't really want cable clamps that have the screws under the TT, either.

corynardin

Thanks for all of the input. I am very encouraged to find something that will work. I actually found a trek 720 (looks like 90's). I also found a Schwinn voyageur (83) that is just the frame (already stripped). The advantage of that is that I could powder coat it fir pretty much free, I have all the parts that I need to build it up, it is cheaper and it is double butted instead if straight gauge steel. Now the only trouble is getting the wife to agree. Wish me luck.