Need help deciding between road,touring and cyclocross
 

Hi,

I used to ride a road bike on daily 50km rides 10 years ago. I am now 30 and want to start going to work with a bike during summertime. I definitely want road bike like handlebars.

I don't know if I want a road,touring or cyclocross.

I will go to work in Montreal, about 25km one-way on an all asphalt road that's often in poor shape. I will only carry a laptop and a change of clothes with me.

Road: I'm looking at the specialized allez sport for 1100$CDN including taxes. It seems like a nice bike but I'm worried about durability of the wheels and tiagra components. I will also have to add clip pedals.

Touring: I have seen a 2005 Devinci destination for 1200$CDN. It already has clip pedals. The seller does not seem like the person I would trust to setup a bike. I will have to get it repaired/adjusted at my LBS.

Cyclocross: The Specialized sequoia or Devinci tosca both seem great but are somewhat expensive.

There's also the Specialized roubaix or Devinci caribou that I could get but are also more expensive. I have seen a lower end Miele with sora components that would only cost me 800$CDN.

I'm totally lost on what to get. I will mainly use the bike to go to work but I want to be able to ride fast, not take hours to go to work. I would also like to be able to go on non-asphalt bike roads. I know it can be done on a touring, what about road?

What are your comments or ideas on what bike would be best for me? Please limit suggestions to specialized or devinci models, maybe with components modifications.

I would go for a cyclocross bike if you don't need to carry a ton of stuff. The geometry will be a little more fun than a touring bike.

Touring is the way to go because it will give you a good ride, durability should be decent, and you can outfit it with a rack that accepts panniers to carry your laptop and clothes. I think you'll mess up a road bike and it will give a lousy ride -- for commuting, durability is more important than weight.

Touring bikes aren't that slow. Sure, they're too heavy to race, but for a 25km commute, you should have no trouble averaging 30km/hr+ if you're in shape. Given the bikes you're looking at, you'll barely be able to notice the difference in speed between the touring and road bikes.

What about touring vs cyclocross.

Is a touring bike much faster than a cyclocross if I use the same wheels? I could have 2 sets of wheels/tires for week and weekend depending on wether I will roll in gravel or not.

I think in most commuting situations you would not notice much of a difference between the two styles of bike, but as has been pointed out the ability to mount a rack will be a plus, but there are a few cross bikes that offer this option. In my opinion you will get a little sportier handling out of a cross bike, which will be more fun during the times when you're not lugging all of your commuting gear.

I'm looking at the Surly Cross Check as my possible next bike. It will take large tires and has threaded eyelets for fenders and a rack. They also sell it as a complete bike, but I have no idea what it would run in Canadian $$$.

My 2 cents worth: Cyclocross

Each person has their personal preference, I prefer cyclocross. The Cyclocross is very versatile, I can put freddy fenders, studded tires, smaller tires, etc. If one weekend you want to tear out onto a trail, the Cyclocross will hang in there with you.

I would recommend a good cyclo cross as a good "jack of all trades" type ride. In particular, check out the Surly Cross Check. There's nothing this bike can't do and do it well. Mine's currently setup with drop bars, barcon shifters, fenders, lights, and hybrid-like tires as a commuter. I've also put racks, 700x42 c's, and panniers on it and used it as an on/off road tourer. I've stripped it down and ran 700x25's on it for MS 150's and averaged 22 to 25 mph in a draft. You can make it a single speed or mountain bike if you'd like as well. Flat bars, drop bars, even mustache bars. STI, barcon, or twist shifters, road, mountain or cyclo cross cranks and any type of derrailleurs you want. It's also nice to know that you can go as big as 700x42 with no problem. It truly is a do it all type of bike and the steel ride is nice and comfortable in all conditions (much preferred to aluminum in my opinion). It is a little on the heavy side and not as nimble as a road bike, but it's damn near bullet proof on pot-holed city streets and dirt trails. One tip, drill a drain hole in the bottom of the bottom bracket-the frame seems to suck up water like it's going out of style.

I second the Surly. Surly makes dependable frames, they're the best bang for the buck IMHO.

I'd say just find a bike that fits you that can take fat ganking 700c skids, and call it good. 37's at the minimum for an all weather bike.

When it gets wet and dicey, fat is where it's at.

Kona Jake the Snake for around $950. It has Sora shifters, but will take a rack & a variety of tire sizes. Maybe you should buy a second set of wheels so you can switch from sporty to utility in seconds, but make sure they have the same hubs so you dont have to redial the rear der when you switch wheels. I find 28 mm will handle the Montreal streets.

I have both a Specilaized Allez Sport and Cross Check. I don't know about the Cross bikes you referenced in your post. I've never had a problem with the Allez (Tiagra or Alex rim durability). I like the Allez - it's fun and fast. For commuting, I ride the Cross Check. It takes a rack and fenders, it's fun to ride but very sturdy and it's my favorite for commuting in every regard. The only thing is it does not have a triple chain ring, so if you need or want that LOW gear, you would have to put a triple on the Cross Check or get a frame and built it out that way.

I have a touring bike and a CX bike. For commuting, CX all the way. Faster, smoother, more fun.

:beer: +5
You so got that right.
Back when I had the Raligh roadie, those skinny slick tires had a habit of sliding out from under me in the rain, especially in turns. I've never had a slickified MTB let go in the rain, and my current ride, a homebrewed hybrid on 26x1.5 Kenda semislicks has the right mix of low rolling resistance and no-slide traction.
Rain? Bring it on! I'm not going down.

I have a Surly Crosscheck with two sets of wheels - one set of fancy aero road wheels with 23c tires and the other set is a tough wheelset with cyclocross tires. I also have a some fatter tires for touring. This bike is 3 bikes in one depending on how I have it set up. It rocks!

But... I don't like the stock Surly Crosscheck very much. Building one like mine would cost a lot of money if done all at once. Instead, let me recommend the Bianchi Volpe. It is less than $1000 and unlike a lot of cyclocross bikes, it has reasonable gearing for touring or climbing really steep hills.

I disagree with the suggestions to get a touring bike. The longer wheelbase and lower bottom bracket aren't as good offroad and a cyclocross bike has quicker handling.

I can recommend the Karate Monkey as an alternative; There's another swiss army knife Surly design.
Kone Smoke is another great allarounder and super commute machine.
And there's quite a few hybrids and rigid MTBs that can fill the bill.

Everyone who's recommended the CrossCheck so far is right to have done so. I just ordered one after spending FAR TOO MUCH time researching my next bike purchase - but all that research revealed that the CrossCheck is the best thing going!

But it's true that the stock build has some lower end stuff on it. However, they also offer a more secret stock build of the CrossCheck with a 105 groupset. I don't know why they don't hype this build more. Your local bike shop will be able to order it, though. It's on the next page of their catalogue as the stock Tiagra build. Check it out: http://www.surlybikes.com/virtual_CrossCheck.html

I ordered the 105 build for mine. When it comes in at the end of the week I'll be able to report my thoughts on it but I'm VERY EXCITED for this bike.

A cyclocross bike will allow you more choices in tires as the frame is wider. You will also be able to use disc brakes which will allow you to brake more securly (and not leave most of the pad on the rim) while riding in the rain at your normal riding speed.

I put my Cross Check together for around $1300 (if I remember correctly). I shopped around for parts (Nashbar, Pricepoint, etc) and built it with: Mavic Open Pros/XT hubs (36 spoke), Truvativ Elita Clyclo Cross crank set, Shimano Bar Con shifters, Avid Shorty 6 brakes, XT and Ultegra derrailleurs, Easton seatpost, Dia Comp road levers, drop bars, and a Forte (Performance) stem. Althugh the crank set is a double (46/39), my choice of rear cassette (11X34) makes for a great combination to smooth out the hills, even with panniers.

The roads here in Atlanta are pretty crappy so I opted for a cyclocross bike to replace my old commuter (aluminum road bike). See mine in my sig below :love:.
It's a 2005 model and only came in black, thus all the reflective tape for visibility.
The 2006 model comes in green.
It's a steel frame bike with a carbon fork to smooth out the road and Shimano 105 components. And it has braze-ons so you can easily add a rack and fenders.

FYI: I was involved in an accident with it last May and came away with only a broken spoke on the rear wheel.

I'd have to put in a vote for a CX bike, if the terrain is at all rough.

I rode an older carbon Allez to work and I cringed every time I ran across rutted asphalt. I happened to pick up a good deal on a 2005 Novara Forza at REI a week ago and that's turning out to be much, much better for me. I can huck it off curbs and bounce it over the ruts and it feels solid. The Forza is not a CX bike, but it fit within my paltry budget and it has a triple, which is good for the small but steep hills. I'm going to be setting up an old touring bike with CX tires as a foul-weather backup, though. I hope that works for the hills.

What I really want is a Cross Check, ironically, so I can pare down to just one bike, but I can't do that and break even. I don't like the slicks on my mtb, because the longer cranks make me feel like I'm pedaling too wide and too long. It's harder to hold a straight line.

I think it's been covered, but don't get a road bike for this purpose. Go do a charity ride sometime and see what types of bikes end up by the side of the road fixing tires, components, etc. They're faster, but will probably end up in the shop more.

If you think you may do some longer rides and touring, by all means get a tourer. It will allow you the most flexibility in the use of the bike, even if you need to sacrifice a little speed. Most touring bikes will accomodate tires suitable for minor off-road activity, but you need to make sure the frame and components are durable enough to handle it.

If you want a jack-of-almost-all-trades, go with cyclo cross. You won't be doing any loaded touring, but it should suit your purposes. I agree with others that you won't be sacrificing much speed.

I agree that you should get a cyclocross bike for your commute. My former commute was also 25 km one way on a Norco CRD-3 road bike with 700x23 tires, on good roads and all through the winter. It lasted two years, before I was involved in a collision with an automobile.

My replacement was Brodie Romax and it's served me well through two accidents. Up until mid-December I had 700x23 tires on, but now i have the 700x35 tires that came with the bike. It's served me on the terrible London roads as well as long-distance commutes back to Newmarket. By the way, I have fenders and a disc-specific rack on the bike.

Cyclocross.

I commute 26k each way, similar to your distance. I go over crap roads with lousy cleaning and upkeep. I use Kona Jake the Snake, it comes with all 105 components, not sora as an above poster mentioned.

I put on full fenders, a rack, panniers, lights, a new aliente saddle, and some armadillo tires in 28mm, and i'm now pretty much bullet broof.

Thanks to all. I went with your cyclocross recommendation and with what my LBS offered me. I will take delivery of a Specialized tricross tomorrow or later today.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=12394

It only has sora in front but I think it should be sufficient for me. The wheels look really tough and that's more important to me than having the very best shifter.

Question: What size tires do you run on your Open Pro rims? I'm planning on buying a Cross-Check and I've got a Ultegra/OP wheelset on my current bike. Being a cheapskate, I don't want to have to buy a new wheelset if I can avoid it.