sjs78

I have a mountain bike and I find I don't do too much mountain biking, mostly paved trails lately for fitness. In over 10 years of casual riding on it I have never fallen off of it. But I recently tried out several cyclocross bikes at the shops and that changed. I thought I wanted something better suited to pavement, and also had drop handle bars which is why I tried those particular types.

Anyway the second cyclocross bike I tried (an Orbea which was quite expensive) I totally wiped out on it. I was testing it on a side street and tried to cycle onto the sidewalk where the sidewalk dips at the driveway. But there was like maybe 3/4 inch of sidewalk to go over It wasn't much and I knew that I could go over it with a mountain bike easily. I approached it almost parallel and the wheel skidded and the whole bike slipped and because I was in a higher position I tipped over on my side and hit my head hard on the pavement. Luckily I agreed to take a helmet with me so it absorbed the impact.

Anyway I'm getting discouraged with these cyclo cross bikes. The first one I tried prior to this was a Specialized Tricross which I liked the frame and position much better than the Orbea, but I hated the gear shifting on the Tricross (not sure if it was because they didn't tune it up yet or not)

Overall though are you supposed to be so high up on a cyclocross bike? Did they adjust the seat too high for me? I feel like if that's the case then why would you risk toppling over for. If you're in a lower position and you do fall you have better chance to react.

Is it my fault because I'm new to road bike style of bikes? Did I just have a bad experience and need to keep trying on this type of bike and gain some experience?

chaadster

Hahaha! Yeah, you failed, that's all.

Everybody else can ride those kinds of bikes except you? I don't think so!

LesterOfPuppets

Yeah, with smaller tires and a rigid fork you'll need to pop a mini wheelie or at least unweight the front wheel to get over those.

You likely woulda bit it on a full rigid MTB with 1.5" slicks on it also.

sjs78

This is true, I've done it before, but I'm able to recover quickly while stopping on the MTB without falling.

J.C. Koto

Those little lips/gaps are insidious, especially when approaching them from a more-or-less parallel angle as you experienced first-hand. Many, many people here have had the exact same type of fall.

It's not the bike, you just attempted a dangerous maneuver without having the feel of it yet.

Kai Winters

Rider error not the bike but the bike should fit similar to a road bike perhaps a tad smaller, at least that is the rule of thumb that I used over the past 30 years.

meanwhile

A crosser will never handle as well as a good MTB. (I've had both.) The position is different even if the contact patch is the same - which it usually isn't, of course. Crossers simply are not designed for technical singletrack, and bikes are good at the things their designers prioritize. You could certainly take a kerb like this with practice on a suitable crosser, but the MTB would always have an advantage.

There is a bike that meets your needs: an all-rigid MTB with fast geometry (long toptube and aggressive steering angle) fitted with slicks and drops. 90s bikes like Zaskars convert well:



You higher and wider the bars, the more MTB like the handling will be (look for Bell Laps or Woodchipper bars.)

Or you could spend big money on getting one of the new dropbar 29ers.

meanwhile

...If you do buy a crosser - and that should still be an alternative - watch out for cantilever brake set-up: virtually every shop gets it wrong. Read the canti faq in the cross forum and fit a front brake hanger. Or change the stock cantis to mini-vees or vees with "travel agents"/

fietsbob

Whining about a bike shop to the web where nobody has anything to do with the shop... feel better now?


.02, the tips of those knobby cross tires are not much traction on hard wet pavement. put street tires on if that is where you are riding.

Most bike companies have a whole range of prices and models

keep shopping add knee and elbow pads and the helmet to your ensamble ..

knobster

It's quite possible that the bike wasn't the right size for you which could make a lot of difference in how it handles. Not to mention it probably wasn't setup properly for you size. But yes a road type bike is going to feel quite a bit less stable than a mountain bike. It will take some getting use to but what you'll gain will be eye opening. Orbea cyclocross bikes are race bikes. The Tricross is not. It's more of a do it all type of bike and yes it will probably be more stable feeling due to the geometry. I really like the Tricross model bikes. You may want to talk to them about a higher level Tricross as Specialized makes various levels to suit what the rider is wanting.

hybridbkrdr

I belive the Specialized Tricross is discontinued but there's always the Trek CrossRip. (There are some in a long post I made once, but I don't know the link.)

Igualmente

Have you considered trying (or do you have) road tires on a mountain bike for fitness on paved/smoother trails? I've currently got 40mm wide (26x1.5) higher pressure smoother road tires (Schwalbe Marathons) on my rigid framed mountain bike for use around town. I also did about a year of fitness riding on that set-up before buying a road bike (and I did consider a cyclocross but didn't see the point for my intended use). I do fine with those 40mm tires on gravel, road and even non-technical trails (though wet tree roots are not to be taken lightly).

I don't know whether the height on a cyclocross vs. a mtb will make you more or less stable on a cyclocross. The bottom bracket on my mountain bike is higher off the ground than my road bike... so if I have the seat height adjusted relative to the BB, which is the way to go, I have a higher centre of gravity on my MTB. What this means to stability, I don't know, and the front steering geometry is probably just as important. What I do know is critical is having the right tires for the purpose and the right approach to obstacles (which really means knowing the limits of the tires and my skills). As J.C. Koto said...

Retro Grouch 

Don't do that! That's actually a fairly common type of bike accident. I've seen other riders do it and I've done it myself. When I did it, I hit hard enough that it broke my femur. Just be glad that you weren't injured. Don't blame the bicycle.

tcarl

One disadvantage of starting on a mountain bike and then going to a "road style" bike is the seeming limitations of what the tires can do. I rode a road bike for years before ever trying a mountain bike, and was therefore amazed at what I could ride over and where I could go with those big wide tires. You're coming from the opposite side - mountain bike tires first. To you the narrower road tires, even on a cyclocross bike are going to seem quite limited until you learn their limitations.

Yan 

I wouldn't be discouraged. Take some time to get used to the new geometry and adjust your riding technique.

sjs78

not whining about the bike shop, it was obviously my fault 1. for getting on a bike that probably was the wrong size or had the seat too high up, 2. for attempting something I was unfamiliar with on a road bike. I'm just trying to figure out what type of bike type and geometry is better for me, where I have lower chance of toppling over like that if something did go wrong.

Homebrew01

That's the problem, unless you get a good "bunny hop" at the same time.

garyus

Wouldn't the fact that he approached parallel to the rise in cement instead of perpendicular cause the fall? The tire not being able to properly grip the surface. I once had something similar happen to me but I approached a water hose in the same manner with the same results. So I wouldn't blame the bike just how the situation was encountered. Live and learn. Fall down get back up.

sjs78

Which bikes today have this style?

hillyman

​The best horses and best wives try to throw you off at first

fietsbob

Any how ..lots of drop bar commuting/touring bikes get labeled Cross, in Europe reading their brand sites, what this forum calls Hybrid they call cross..

welcome to the broad brush generalization of Marketing..

lower? look at laid back Low saddle angle crank forward bikes not much for performance but you can stop and put your feet flat on the ground.

half way to a recumbent...

NormanF

Don't feel bad; I shattered my tibia in a bad fall from my CX bike sliding down on loose gravel. Accidents happen.

Don't let that discourage you from riding.

EvilWeasel

If i got discouraged every time i crashed something i wouldnt be able to drive a car, ride a bike, or wear flip flops.

flatlander_48

Yes, he was expecting the narrower cyclocross bike tires to climb up on the elevation change like wider,, softer mountain bike tires. Same thing could also happen going over a railroad crossing at a shallow angle.

flatlander_48

Yes, but the rear wheel may do the same thing and not climb up.

Other than having the crank a bit higher in order to clear obstructions, are there any geometry differences between regular road bikes and cyclocross bikes?

Even if you don't do cyclocross, riding such a bike might be a good choice for larger riders as the frames are built a bit sturdier for the rough terrain.