Lookin for a bombproof SS cross bike. Suggestions please?
 

A cat 2 mountain racer at my LBS suggested the Felt Breed because I want my cross bike to be durable enough to take a mountain race beating as well.

What else is out there, single speed and near impossible to destroy? I know of a backup set of wheels if I bust the stock ones, so rolling stock doesn't matter as much.

Price point is between $1k and $2k, plus or minus $200. Talk to me. If nothing I'm talking about exists, tell me about multi-speed cross bikes that can take the same.

Kona or Ridley frameset
White Industries ENO hub
Any other parts you fancy.

I'm not really sure there are any SS cross bikes that are not able to take more of a beating than your body in MTB racing conditions. The wheelset is the biggest point of concern. A steel fork may be marginally better than a carbon fork.

But let's talk about using a SS cross bike in a mountain bike race. It seems to me that one of the primary differences between CX racing and XC racing is that CX racing is more about picking the right lines while XC racing is more about riding over stuff. If you use a CX bike in an XC race, you're likely to find a lot of places where you are trying to hit a precise line between a rock and a tree root, while the guys with suspension just roll right over it. You're probably also going to find places where you have to roll over the tree root and the rock. A CX bike can do that without breaking, but it's going to slam you hard and slow you down. Of course, relaxed knees and elbows will help with that to some extent.

This summer, I used a rigid 29er with drop bars to do some short track mountain bike racing. Watching videos, it looked just like cyclocross without barriers, but when I actually tried it I found that even with the extra air of 29x2.1 tires I got beat around a whole lot more than I do in CX races with the skinnier CX tires. That said, I think there are distinct advantages to having a bike without suspension, not the least of which is the lower weight, and I'm currently kicking around the idea of doing the STXC races next year on a rigid 26-inch bike with V-brakes or maybe even on my CX bike.

Now back to your original question... You might want to look at the Surly Cross Check. It's heavier than most CX bikes (built up as a singlespeed, mine came in just over 21 pounds), but it also takes wider tires than many CX bikes, which would help a bit with the MTB side of things.

On the other hand, if you want something really fast and light (but still tough), check out the Kona Major One -- no ENO hub necessary. Kona discontinued these, but you should still be able to find one either as a complete bike or as frameset.

Go for a Surly Cross Check. I have never ridden one, but have wanted to build one up for a while. The fat tire clearance will be nice for trail riding or XC racing, and with cross racing tires you will have tons of mud clearance. The rear spacing also gives you tons of wheel options.

All City nature boy!

This would be high on my list if I were shopping for a SSCX bike right now.

LINK

i am in process of building a older Bianchi Reparto Corse cross frame with a custom steel fork and the following:
centaur bb
centaur cranks (8spd 42t ring)
chris king 2nut headset
ritchey wcs post
selle italia slr saddle
threadless stem adaptor (i know, i know)
weyless 31.8 aluminum/carbon stem
weyless 31.8 aluminum bars
weyless carbon bottle cages
crank brothers eggbeater sl pedals
tektro brake levers
tektro cr720 cantilevers

wheelset:
record front hub
white industries eno rear hub
dt swiss 1.2 rims
competition db spokes


at the end of the day, my out of pocket expense after tires, tape, and cable will be around $1000. expensive for sscx? maybe. versatile? yes. tough? yes.

+1
Getting this baby in the spring!
it's steel so it'll take a beating.

http://allcitycycles.com/bikes/nature_boy/

Bianchi San Jose.

Mine survived a wipeout. If it can do that, it can survive anything short of a nuclear bomb!

+1 Its steel and its real!

Bianchi San Jose would be a good complete to get.
AND it has a 1 1/8 steer tube, unlike all of their Pistas

If you want somethinig really impossible to destroy, you have to go for a Titanium frame. You can afford a complete bike (Ti frame) with your budget on bikedirect. If you really need to have a SS setup, you can switch on the SS configuration with a few $

Do you live in a minefield? Are there lots of bombs going off in your mountains?