JKohler

Hey Guys,

Figured I'd introduce myself as I'll probably have a lot of questions for you. I've been into the C&V forum for a couple years (and still love on of my vintage rides) but I recently sold two of my bikes to buy the new 2011 Raleigh Rx1.0. After a bit of digging around, it seems that this is a pretty good starter bike that I can grow with. There are some differing opinions on the SRAM vs. 105 but either way, I think I'll love the bike (I love the Raleigh brand).

Should get it in late May and just wanted to know if you guys have any beginners tips for riding. I'm thinking I'll get another wheelset for the road as it will also be my commuter bike for the week.

My first real question is pedals. What do you guys use? I'm using Eggbeaters on my vintage ride but am thinking they won't really cut it for racing. Thoughts?

1ply

I would think that eggbeaters would be THE pedal for racing. After all, what other pedal lets you clip in 4 ways?

I now ride flats (although flats that one would hate to get hit with on the shin) since I've had some close calls in traffic while on the eggbeaters (fall in front of any buses lately - yep bad) so now I can remove my feet at any time at any angle BUT if I ever got my uncoordinated act together, I'd go back to eggbeaters in a flash.

JKohler

hmmm interesting. Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'll try the eggbeaters for a while. Anything that saves me money after ordering that new bike is good news to me.

Halebopp

A lot of people ride/race eggbeaters. In fact, beaters and SPDs seem to make up the majority of the pedals you see at cross races.

Cynikal 

I use the CB candies. The little platform helps if don't clip in on the first try on a remount. With the eggbeaters you just roll forward.

Andy_K 

I use Eggbeaters. Their weakness, of course, has always been that they aren't well sealed, and that kind of sucks for cyclocross racing, but if you don't mind overhauling them regularly they're great. The new models (2 and up) are supposed to be better sealed. I've got a pair of the 2's and a pair of the 3's that survived last season and are still spinning well.

FWIW, I've tried the Candies for racing, and I don't like them as well. For me, the platform seemed to reduce the percentage of times I was successful clipping in on the first try.

Breathegood

Congrats on the Rx! That's a sharp looking bike. I like that army green. I've not used the eggbeaters, but have been using SPD's with very few problems for about 15 years now. Mud can be an issue, but I don't find myself in that kind of muck very often. If the eggbeaters work for you, I see no reason to change.

I wouldn't buy a second wheelset until you know how you are really going to use the bike most. For the most part, I think multiple wheel setups are more trouble than they're worth (there are exceptions). Tire swaps don't take but a few minutes, and there is no need to make sure your bike is properly adjusted for two setups. Unless you are going from the street to really knarly trails, there are plenty of tyres out there that will do excellent double duty.

I'm another Raleigh lover. I have a 2009 Raleigh Team that fits me as though it were designed specifically for me. I've been so happy with it, I put my name on the list for one of the first Hodala framesets when they become available July-Aug. My build will be a simple ss belt drive. I don't intend to use it for anything but recreation. It will serve as my +1 bike in the n+1 equation of my stable.

JKohler

You think I can find a decent set of tires that will work for both road and occasional (every or every other weekend) cyclocross race? I was worried that I'd ruin a knobby set of tire on the road. I will also be using this for commuting to work 4-5 times a week.

Breathegood

I think it can be done, but you aren't going to get the best commuter tyre or the best dirt tyre. You're going to get a tyre that's a compromise. How loose and technical is the off pavement terrain you plan on taking on? Do you need a particularly aggressive, knobby tyre? Cross tyres aren't nearly as aggressive as a MTB tyre. I think most true cross tyres would make good all-season commuter tyres. Kenda has a great lineup of cross tyres. I recommend trying what you have and learning it's weaknesses before you go shopping. If you are commuting 4-5 times a week, and only occasionally using it off road, I would lean towards an aggressively styled street tyre. If you are racing every weekend, I would keep two sets of tyres. I can swap a pair of tyres in about eight minutes.....I don't see the bennefit of a whole extra wheelset unless they are purpose built.

I put a pair of Forte' Gothams (I got them super cheap) on my singlespeed MTB to use as a robust street/commuter tyre, but keep a pair of Kenda Kwicks for the dirt. I started riding the Gothams on a local single track and have found that with just a slight adjustment in air pressure, I really have no need for the Kwicks unless the terrain gets really knarly.

Scott_CX

I use egg beaters for cross racing, trail riding and commuting. Great pedal, I love how easy they are to engage and disengage.

This years Rx1.0 is pretty solid out of the box and for the price is fantastic. For an entry level cross racer the bike is perfect. Even if you were to get more serious about racing the only thing you'd really want to upgrade are the wheels and things like bars, stems, saddle et cetera for lighter weight and better fit.

I have a 2007 Rx 1.0 frame that has parts off of a Kona Jake (weird craigslist deal), but the frame fits so well that I'm throwing a lot of money into it for racing this season. It's also a great frame to have down the line because if you upgrade to a more race specific frame, you'll be left with a great commuting light touring option. It's great to have a bike that will fit full fenders.

meanwhile

The effort of changing tyres will be minor compared to cleaning your bike thoroughly and re-lubing after a muddy race. And any tyre that you can use safely on the road will have lousy performance in the mud. (Mud tyres have horrible turning and braking characteristics on the road: the fine long teeth they need for engaging with mud bend when pushed hard, causing a skid.)

Honestly - NO! Cross tyres designed for hardpack, maybe. But tyres like my Michelin Muds are appallingly unsafe on the road. Especially in the wet. And "true" cross tyres are generally meant to race, which means the wall thickness is kept down to decrease rolling resistance, which has the unfortunate result the tyres will burn out quickly.

If you want to know more, go to Schwalbe's site. They're on of the best tyre makers and provide detailed ratings for most of their tyres.

Pinkbullet3

Didn't mean to bump this thread, but I didn't want to create another for the sake of asking such a question.

I found a 2010 Raleigh RX1.0 on eBay for about $550 with $150 shipping. For $700, that's a superb deal considering the bike's MSRP is double that. Unfortunately, the bike is a 55cm (Raleigh RX1.0's come in 50/53/55/57/59cm), and I'm 5'11" so I'd probably fit better on a 57cm bike.

My question is, would there be any place where I could find a 2010 Raleigh RX1.0 that's a 57cm frame? I'm assuming Raleigh has stopped producing those, but I'm just wondering. I like the paint scheme (fairly low-key; looking for dark frames so they're not eye-catching to thieves as I'm a college student), but if you guys can recommend a cross bike with a dark paintjob, decent specs, and under $900, I'm all ears.

Thanks.