jethro56 

I called the nearest Cannondale dealer and asked if he had a CAADX bike in stock. He stated "No-one rides Cyclocross bikes." I replied "Then why do they make them?" He said "Well no-one rides them around here." After stateing that I wanted a commuter for a big guy He said he had a Raleigh Record Ace that would make an excellent commuter. He quoted $1199 which is a good deal. Said it was a 2010 returned after a week. I think the tires are too narrow (23s) I want 28 min. Any thoughts.

exile

I say shop around. Probably most cyclists or potential cyclists don't know any difference between bikes. They see handlebars with drops they think racing. They see flat handlebars they think mountain.

Also most LBS would be able to order bikes if they are a dealer. You just need to be sure that it is what you are looking for as they would require a down payment or the full amount before they put in the order.

If you are unsure of which bike, then test ride as many as you can. I drove over 3 hours to test ride a bike. I planned on looking around while I was in the area but ultimately decided to purchase the bike because I liked it.

LesterOfPuppets

CX does seem to be a regional thing. It's pretty hot here on the west coast. Seems to be big in New England also. Dunno where else in the US.

My Pinarello will take 28s on the back but the fork will not accept them. Hard to tell from a picture on the internet, but it looks like 28s could be a tight squeeze on the Record Ace. I'd wager 25s or 26s would fit.

Shimagnolo

"No one goes there any more; it's too crowded." -- Yogi Berra

CX frames are great for tall people like myself.
You can put longer cranks on them, and due to the taller BB shell,
still have decent pedal clearance when cornering.

lucienrau

Find a new LBS, or at least a new salesman. CX bikes are pretty good swiss-army knife type bikes. You may want to see if there's a shop somewhat closeish to you that carries Surly, Salsa or Jamis bikes. The Surly crosscheck is a great do it all for larger people. Takes pretty fat tires, and has braze ons for pretty much everything you could ever want. If not Trek makes a I think it's the 520 that's a CX bike.

CliftonGK1

The 520 is a touring bike. Longer stays for heel clearance with panniers, triple crank, wide range cassette, 3 sets of bottle mounts, lowrider mounts up front and cables routed under the BB shell.
The XO is Trek's cross bike.

boy scout 161

I always knew I was a nobody. I have a Specialized Tri-Cross Sport. Great bike, good value.

Agave

That Crack-N-Fail dealer sucks.

Mr. Beanz

Dude I ran into this weekend was riding a cross bike, RockLobster. I looked it up, similar bike is $1500 for the frame only.

BTW, if I wanted a coss bike, I'd get a cross bike. Don't be talked into something you don't really want.

Road tires I believe.

socalrider

I ride a surly cross check and it is great at many things.. You can use it for road riding, cross, off-road and even touring.. The best of all worlds.. It can handle tires up to 700x45 and will use both 130mm and 135mm spaced wheelsets to give you lots of options..

Primarily I use it for off-road riding at this time, have a great setup - equal to my MTB gearing.. 48x38x24 rings and a 11-34 cassette.. Most crosschecks built up are under $1200..

dehoff

I'd at least try to find another salesman at that shop. Locally, CX bikes have exploded in popularity and my LBS has sold a lot of the Raleigh RX1.0's. They've also sold a lot of Specialized and Ridley's, but the Raleigh is priced with 105 where the others are spec'd with Tiagra or Tiagra/105 mix.

Wogster

Now I have the B52's song stuck in my head....

Mr. Beanz

Well get it out, you're runining it!

My dad loves karaoke so he has a party every once in a while at his house. An inlaw of a relative showed up and did RockLobster. Gawd it was terrible! Song stuck in my head for a month...but the raggedy version this guy did. Terrible! along with the raggedy dance he did! Another terrible!

Shimagnolo

Not a fan of the "Rock Lobster".
I'm waiting for the new model: The "Roam".

billydonn

I believe Mattoon is close to Champaign, no? I would head over there and look for a good bike shop that will listen. The Specialized Tri-Cross bikes are very popular bikes in a lot of places. If I had to live with only one bike (shudder) it would be my cross bike. In the pic below it is on 32s but I ride it on 28s more often.

Mr. Beanz

I'll wait for the "Love Shack"!

cyccommute 

Keep looking...maybe at another shop. After you stated that you want a bike for commuting, he shouldn't have tried to sell you a return that is about as far from a commuting bike as you can get. The Record Ace may be a nice bike but there is no way that it would make for a good commuter. First it has no rack mounts. Rack mounts are nice if you want to actually carry stuff back and forth from work. And the bike is too short for a rack and panniers and even medium sized feet.

Second it has no fender mounts nor could you mount fenders under the fork. It also looks like clearance for a wider tire would be problematic, especially if you wanted to mount fenders. Get the bike for fast rides and centuries but not as a commuter.

Wogster

Quick give me some 'Top this B52's stuff is driving me nuts....

ecovelo

I love the whole Cross bike concept and I don't even race! I love having something in between a touring rig and a "pure" road bike. I like the longer stays and the higher BB and I especially love the ability to put on a variety of tire sizes.

I have been researching Cross style bikes for a few years - since I am very short, my options were quite limited. If you like steel, in addition to the Surly Crosscheck (previously mentioned), Soma makes a very similar "Double-Cross" - they even have a model that can take disc brakes. Salsa has had several - the "Chili Con Crosso" and the newer Vaya. Bianchi made (makes?) a steel Volpe - which is considered "cross" geometry.

I currently own a Bianchi Castro Valley - made for only a couple of years - it has the same geometry as the Volpe, and the San Jose. (The CV is 9 spd, the SJ is SS) Like the others mentioned above, they are all designed as "all around" bikes - can handle small loads (with rack braze-ons, etc.) - can handle different sized tires for "off road" and fenders if necessary. The Bianchi line has a bit more aggressive geometry than the Salsa, Soma and Surly. (basically shorter wheelbase and chainstays) but still considered more "relaxed" than a pure roadie.

If you don't have a preference for steel over aluminum - and you are not an "odd" size (super tall or super short) - most major bike manufacturers now have "cross" bike styles. It's true you won't see them in abundance on the floor of too many LBSs, which can make it difficult to try them out, but they should be able to order them.

My new purchase is a 2010 Salsa Vaya. Very funky geometry, but I need just a few more degrees in seat and head tube angles to accommodate chronic injury. Sadly I will part with the Castro Valley - its a well-made beautiful bike and highly functional for many purposes - but the Vaya just feels so much better for my odd geometry needs and I absolutely love it!!

Good luck and let us know what you've been checking out!

lucienrau

I got a Vaya this past fall and I have to second the recommendation. I recently test rode a cross check as well and it was pretty nice too. If you're looking at a commuter, make sure it can take racks, fenders and take some decent sized tires depending on how your roads are. Larger tires make potholes and poor roads less scary. If there's a Surly or Jamis dealer near you, definitely try one out for sizing. I was fitted to a Jamis Aurora Elite before I ordered my Vaya online and the sizing was pretty comparable. I'd suggest trying out both steel and aluminum bikes too to see if you prefer one material before narrowing it down.

One of the great things about CX bikes is for distance, you can just pop off the rack and put on smaller tires for road riding, pop on knobbies or spiked tires for dirt or winter. They can tour but aren't as stiff as pure touring bikes.

jethro56 

cyccommute,ecovelo,lucienrau: thanks for the recommendations I'm beginning to think I have a sign on my back that says sucker. The dealers' problem is that we have this forum and I will not make any decisions without running it by here first. I do like window shopping (via internet). I guess I need to look at bicycle purchases the same way I look at vehicle shopping or ag equipment. The opponent will say anything to get your money for what he has.

bautieri

Guess I'm a nobody too.

I bought my cross bike (Tricross Sport) then ended up selling my road bike because I never rode it. It's a great commuter and will see some touring later this year. Speed wise, with road tires and wheels it's about 95% as fast and I think that's largely because I'm a bit more upright than I was on the road bike. Check out some different shops, maybe someone would be willing to order you in the ride you want.

Oh, and check out that new Specialized Crux!

meanwhile

The two most common cross bikes are the Spec Tricross and Kona Snake series. Email the makers and ask who stocks them locally.

If your a Clydesdale, then you'll benefit from running fast 35mm slicks instead of even 28s - no, they won't slow you down with added rolling resistance.

jethro56 

looks cool but I want attachment points




I agree 100%

ColinJ

I went out for a ride with my pal Shaun last week. He is a pretty chunky lad - 6'1" tall and close to 17 stone (about 230 pounds). He was riding his Giant CX bike with slicks on and he loves it. He did 57 miles with me and decided to add another 62 miles on the way home!