VARower

Now, obviously you're not gonna get the same bike exactly, but are there any significantly appreciable differences between cyclocross and road bikes? I mean, if you were to replace the tires, would there really be any difference for recreational/training riding between that and a bona fide road bike?

dekalbSTEEL

Do you have a cyclocross bike now, or are you looking at one to buy?

55/Rad

About 2.5 pounds.

That was the difference between my "roadie" Poprad and the Maillot Jaune I replaced it with when I decided I'd rather have a "full" road bike. Components were virtually the same but the Poprad had a steel fork.

It made a difference but it wasn't earth shattering.

55/Rad

VARower

I do not have one now. I'm looking into buying one just so it would be a little easier to take it over grass, etc than a straight roadbike when I have to use a bike for transportation.

That's another thing, if anyone would care to recommend a good cyclocross bike in the $2,000 and under range, that would be great.

SpongeDad

Biggest differences I see are:
1. Higher BB, so your seat will be higher off the ground.
2. Cantilever brakes - not as aero, but not really an issue for most people.
3. Lower gearing on big chainring, but really not much of an issue and you could probably swap out the smaller ring for a bigger one.
4. Strange looks for in line brakes on tops.

Ineedhelp

I was shown all kinds of cyclocross bikes when I was in the market for a road bike--but no thanks, they weren't for me.

I don't really know all the differences, but most noticeably, the front fork and rear frame are wider to accomodate wider wheels and tires--and that might have been ok cause you can always swap out the wheels, but...

I couldn't find any that were all that light weight--all the ones I looked at seemed to run at least 25 lbs or more, with lower-end components.

I don't think that would necessarily be a bad thing for training though...working a little harder when training I think would be a good thing.

Ineedhelp

I was shown all kinds of cyclocross bikes when I was in the market for a road bike--but no thanks, they weren't for me.

I don't really know all the differences, but most noticeably, the front fork and rear frame are wider to accomodate wider wheels and tires--and that might have been ok cause you can always swap out the wheels, but...

I couldn't find any that were all that light weight--all the ones I looked at seemed to run at least 25 lbs or more, with lower-end components.

I don't think that would necessarily be a bad thing for training though...working a little harder when training I think would be a good thing.

dekalbSTEEL

here's a place to start
or here

SpongeDad

Some bikes you can look at in shops
Kona - Jake the Snake
Trek - XO1
Bianchi (can't remember name)
Specialized, I think has a CX bike this year.

and on the internet, the Flyte / Airborne noted above would make a nice CX bike too.