AutoAudio

showing my newbie ignorance again... Since the cyclocross section seems to get like a post a month i thought i'd ask in here... whats are the differences between a cyclocross bike and a road bike other than fatter tires?

Ovara

Usually heavier (stronger) frame, more room for those wider tires and perhaps slightly different geometry. And cantilever brakes for more room for tires and mud clearance.

MichaelW

There are no rules concerning bike design in CX, but tradition dictates the standard form (such as a Vitus or Alan).
The frame is no heavier than a standard road bike, they were the first style to make extensive use of Al. They have higher bottom brackets to give pedal clearance, a horizontal top tube for ease of shouldering, a fairly high head tube for more upright position (aerodynamics is not a big factor). Some frames have no chainstay bridge (to avoid the build up of mud) and no bottle threads.
The gearing is a low ratio double (36/48) (often the classic 1970s Campag record chainset).
Pedals are now clipless rather than Lyotard platform with toe clips and double straps. Tubular tyres are still widely used.
The bikes often come in pairs, one being sprayed clean by the ground crew for a quick changeover.

Modern touches include an additional front brake lever on the top of the bars, aero section wheels (to shed mud).

Some current models of CX are hybrid CX/touring bikes with useful threaded mounting points for racks etc.

velocipedio

Like MichaelW said...

The defining characteristics of a cyclocross bike are...

Higher bottom bracket, lower gearing [usually, but not always 48/38 up front], slightly smaller frame measured from the bottom bracket to the top tube, often [but not always] a shorter TT length than a road bike, no bottle cages so you can easily shoulder the bike, fatter tires [frequently knobby], cantilever brakes for mud clearance, slightly wider handlebar [I'm told this is for two reasons (1) more stability in turns (2) so you don't bang you knees with your barcons... and in the old days all cyclocross bikes had barcons].

Of course, you can pretty much do cyclocross with any bike, though shouldering a monocoque full-suspension MTB might be tricky, and your state-of-the-art road racing bike would probably get fouled in minutes...

I think the cyclocross forum is slow for two reasons. There aren't really a whole lot of cyclocrossers out there, especially in North America, though the sport is growing. Of the frequent users of this board, the only cyclocrossers I know of are Rich, Timo, Lonefrontranger and me... and I'm a relatively new convert.

The other thing to remember is that the peak season for cyclocross is October to Februray. It's a winter sport.

I was inclined to move this to the cyclocross forum [I can do that, I'm a moderator], but I think this thread belongs here since it's about the forum and it was begun by a non-crosser...

AutoAudio

Thanks guys, appreciate it. Are there any websites on it? i'm just curious about it, figured if i'm going to get into biking might as well educate myself on all aspects of it.

Rich

Hi there,

there are quite a few good cross sites in the states, but their addresses don't come straight to mind. Go to the search engine www.google.com and type in cyclo cross and you should get a few. I go to www.cyclo-cross.com which is based in the UK, and they list loads of cross sites in the States and Europe.

Cheers

Rich

AutoAudio

its google

Rich

whoops...thanks...I'll change that

Were they any good to you?

Rich