Bholland957

Been set on a road bike and the more I research and learn about cycling I found out about cyclocross and gravel riding. The way I see it is that I get a CX bike I can link more routes together in my area with gravel and have way more fun. If I truly want to take a full road ride with some locals I just need to swap tires and hit the pavement. Ok with that said I do have a budget and torn between these two bikes: Product: Fuji Cross 1.5 Cyclocross Bike - 2014

Product: Fuji Tread 1.1 Disc Road Bike - 2015

I am open to other suggestions as well! Please help. CX / Gravel community is where I belong . Thank you guys in advance!

IcySmooth52

They're exactly the same frame and groupset. Just the Cross has better breaks, slightly better wheels, & more knobby tires!

I'd just say, which one's color do you like more?

wheelsmcgee

I rode the Fuji cross 1.5 last year and loved it. I would have bought it but was looking to spend under $1k (at the time it was at a local shop for $1199). Obviously you'd want to ride both and decide because everyone has a different opinion about ride quality and fit, but in my opinion the Fuji cross is good to go. Seems like the biggest difference is the 46/36 rings on the cross vs the 50/34 on the tread. I ride a lot of flattish gravel and am happy with 46/36, but having a 50t big ring might be nice for pavement depending on how fast you want to go downhill

You might also look at the kona rove AL and the jamis nova sport...similar price, but only 2x8 claris vs the 2x10 tiagra of the Fuji.

fietsbob

Have a favorite Bike shop? start There..


Even if you get a Mailorder bike, have the shop do a safety check to make sure your assembly work is Adequate.

IcySmooth52

I think he already has, because they're both Fujis. A Fuji dealer.

fietsbob

OP linked to 'performance bikes'... a franchise or company owned chain.. they sell over the internet too..

Often what separates 'A Good bike' from one disappointing is the assembly Mechanic's skill &focus,

and the service after the sale of the Seller. and those are unknown by Me, I can only speak about My Local.



since the same few factories ship out multiple Brands to dozens of Importer-distributors..
' brand ' is often just the name painted on in following the export contract.

cale

What do you currently ride? You know that CX bikes are made differently than "road" bikes? They are designed to be easy to carry on one's shoulder and have the cables moved accordingly. This can make for some strange configurations or component choices. For instance, the derailleur cables are routed along the top of the top tube. The rear derailleur cable stop is located on the seatstay, not the usual chainstay location. The front derailleur cable is routed down the seat tube to the bottom bracket where it reverses direction and starts back up.

These cable changes alone can make maintenance more expensive as you'll need extra long cables for both front and back, not the "conveniently-sized" package of replacement cables where you get one short and one long.

Also note that the location of the bottom bracket is higher so that the bike can better clear obstacles. This moves the center of gravity up which makes cornering more difficult. The chainrings are choosen to reflect the loose and uneven terrain a mountain bike might encounter, not the smooth roads and paths a road cyclist typically encounters.

I don't think a CX bike gives the road bike rider a good option to also ride on gravel. I think there are too many compromises made to the "traditional" road bike design.

I think a road bike with a longer wheel base, like the gravel bikes currently being marketed, can be both good on the road and on gravel too.

justin1138

While there are some interesting points in here about cross bikes, I don't think they really need to be fretted over by the OP.

The cable routing isn't going to be a major issue at all with regards to maintenance. Every rear derailleur cable I've ever purchased for my cross bike (with top tube routing) has worked out just fine with at least an extra foot or so of cable. The front derailleur had the downtube routing so I can't comment on that, but if the cable in the "convenienty-sized" package is too short, just buy an extra rear derailleur cable when the time comes for that maintenance (they're like $2).

As for the geometry, yes cross bikes have there own quirks sometimes, but this particular bike isn't that bad. The bottom bracket drop ranges from 69-65mm depending on the size. There are road bikes with comparable bottom bracket numbers. Look at the CAAD10, pretty sure that's a well regarded road bike. My cross bike has a drop of 55mm, and it does just fine on whatever surface I put it on. Haven't washed out once in a turn, except on the cross course....

Both bikes look interesting. If they fit and you like them, do what someone else said and get the one with the paint job you like best.

cale

What about the chainrings? I'd want more than a 46T big ring. And a 36T small ring doesn't offer much spread between rings or a gear for hard climbs. Going with a typical 34/50T compact crankset would be more versatile for this rider

My point wasn't to talk the OP out of the CX bike but to make clear the compromises that come with this style of bike when used primarily as a road bike. The OP says he was "set on a road bike". I think the idea of combining some gravel riding with a lot of road riding best describes the plans of the OP (I could be wrong). Buying the CX bike, IMHO, would be best for the gravel/CX rider that also wants to do some road biking.

Bholland957

I don't have anything at the moment, buying my first bike. Afraid to buy a straight up road bike and be limited to that only

Mr IGH

People ride cross bikes in my bike club both for road and gravel grinding, you'll be fine. I'd get the newer one with the better brakes, BB5s really suck and you'll need to upgrade almost right away.

justin1138

As far as gearing goes, the Tread has a 54/30 with a 12-30 cassette. That's a pretty wide range. The other bike has the more CX common 46/36 with an 11-28. If it's a question of gearing for the OP, the Tread would cover most everything if they can live with a bit of high end loss on really fast descents.

FrozenK

I've done about 1500 road miles since April on my race cyclocross bike (2011 Major Jake) including two 200k brevets with a 46-39 crankset and an 11-28 cassette. I'm prefectl happy with it. If I were road racing, a 50 or 53 ring would help. But for a non-competitive road rider the 46 will work. Not that swapping rings or even the crankset would be the end of the world.
Cable routing? Never had a problem with that I guess if you have an extra-large frame you may have problems. But usually the provided cables are so freaking long I really can't see it happening.
Geometry will change from bike to bike, but overall cyclocross bikes work fine on the road.

The two bikes linked by the OP seem pretty similar (didn't look at geometry, though) Like someone already said, BB5s are crappy. And if the OP wants to ride on the road, the knobby CX tires will wear out fast.

cale

And I was bombing around on a road bike, not a silly tight geometry frame of course, off road long before there were All Terrain bikes. Being fine sounds great to you but the OP is buying their first bike. I don't know why you'd purposely steer a person towards a specialty bike as a first bike.

cale

Work fine on the road. It's the mediocrity of the praise that concerns me. Haha A previous poster used the same word. Fine.

cale

You don't need a CX bike to ride on trails. If you're buying a first bike it is especially important to get one that represents where you'll be riding most of the time. For most buyers of road bikes, that is on a paved surface. The smooth pavement makes for faster riding which is especially enjoyable. Where the bike's gearing is concerned, it is best to remember that as a beginner you'll not be spinning the pedals as fast as an experienced rider. That makes if especially important that you get the gearing you need now to become a better rider. CX gearing is narrow and specific to that discipline. I'm afraid you'd be frustrated without gears that let you spin down hills and climb better back up.

Dirt Neck

I just want to reinforce this point that you've already figured out. Gravel/CX bikes are versatile and open up lots of riding and are a better option for many riders than a dedicated road bike.

I would NEVER take my road bike the places that my CX bike takes me but I often do road milage on my CX bike.

Once you get some miles under you and get to know what you really like doing you may want to get a road bike also. Just pay attention to the geometry with the CX bikes (like the BBdrop that's already been mentioned. It can make for a squirrelly ride) But I think you've got this one figured out.

FrozenK

Would you rather give the OP advice based on preconceived notions which do not reflect reality? The cable routing on a CX bike does not cause any maintenance issues. None.
BB drop will vary from bike to bike. While some may end up twitchy, others will not. But like the cable comment, it is best to give advice based on reality than based on some preconceived notion of what a CX bike is or can do.

FrozenK

46x11 (classic CX gearing) will have you spinning out at about 34mph (assuming 100rpm) A 50 will have you at 37mph with 100rpm. At those speeds, most people tuck in and let gravity work, until you get scared and slow down.

cale

The narrower gearing doesn't just impact the highest gears as you point out, Mr. Cheeky. It impacts every gear choosen and will have the OP doing far more cross chainging which will lead to faster chain wear so THAT will increase maintenance cost.

Plus, and importantly, the top of the top tube routing is ugly.

FrozenK

Yeah, because a new rider will spend a lot of time on a 54t chainring. And, again, real life experience riding a cyclocross bike: no signifficant decrease on chain life.
By the way, I looked up the geometry numbers and that CX1.5 has a 67mm BB drop for a medium size. That's 1mm higher than Fuji's top of the line road race bike, the Transonic. Oh noes!

cale

Have a little empathy for the OP. He's just starting out on the riding thing. It isn't surprising that he's discovered that riding a bike on the trail is fun but there doesn't need to be so many compromises as found on the Cross 1.5 Cyclocross bike.

The Fuji 1.0 Thread is a nice bike and would see you through both road and gravel. "Gravel riding" isn't really a category though it definitely had an opening for sales driven by disc brakes and wider tire trends. While the 35mm tires on the Thread aren't as wide as the 47mm tires on my swiss army bike, they would be comfortable off road.

For the OP, few road riders would give up their road bike for a gravel bike. That doesn't mean they won't own both. I'd never get into riding without getting out there and test riding some bikes.

justin1138

I'd rather bomb around trails on my CX bike with 40's than my road bike with 25's. And yes, they've both seen time off road. Which brings up another point, tire clearance. Road bikes generally don't have it. The OP expressed an interest in getting off road, so it would make more sense for them to get something that suites this need. And as far as I'm concerned, larger tires make way more sense when getting off the pavement.

Why would the 46/36 cause anymore cross chaining than a different chainring set? That certainly hasn't been my experience.

As for aesthetics, that's a personal preference now isn't it? I personally like the look of top tube routing over the more traditional road variation, so our two different opinions make that one null and void.

cale

Look if you're not going to read my posts, that's fine. But please don't write stuff I didn't suggest. I wrote quite clearly, "Going with a typical 34/50T compact crankset would be more versatile for this rider."

Are you as good at reading chain wear?

cale

Cable hiding is almost an obsession at current times. So either you're at the bleeding edge of new trends in bike design or you're mistaken about our opinions cancelling each other out. Haha