Originally Posted by
Amerikuracana
Although you make my decision more complicated now, I definitely appreciate the knowledge. I am going to be honest, what ever bike I buy, I will probably be leaving the tires on for a year. I change tires in a couple minutes like everybody else, but when I buy a new bike I just have this thing that I ride it the way it came for a while before I start changing stuff.
Using the wrong tires because you are lazy (?) doesn't make much sense. You'd be more comfortable, faster, safer with wider tires on rough/unpaved roads.
Since you are saying that you won't follow advice that you agree with, it doesn't really make much sense to ask for advice (or for people to give it)1
Originally Posted by
Amerikuracana
I have bikes that are 5-6 years old that are very different from when I got them, but I usually leave bikes the way they were intended for a while. So I just wonder how much faster a CX bike would be (than a good geo MB) without slicks on it, or with standard CX tires.
It's not clear why you aren't just using what you have.
If you are riding short distances (a few miles), it doesn't really matter.
If you look at the bikes that people ride in centuries (organized 100 mile rides), most of them are using road bikes. Some of them are using cyclocross bikes. Very, very few are using mountain bikes.
A cyclocross bike is (basically) a road bike that you can put wider tires on.
A bike that is not too heavy is a bit faster and more pleasant to ride. If you are riding on really rough/rocky roads, you should use a mountain bike. If the roads are just unpaved and relatively smooth, a mountain bike is overkill.
Mountain bikes tend to be heavy and put the rider in a less aerodynamic position (which is slower).