BayBruin

I have been waiting patiently....ok...not-so-patiently...for the 2007 Specialized Tri Cross Comp to hit my local bike shop. They will start rolling in later this week I am told but in smaller sizes first. I need at least a 58cm. While I was talking to my LBS guru he asked why I wanted the Tri Cross. He also asked if I planned to do any "off pavement" riding. I told him no...it's strictly a street commuter, some bike paths...all concrete. I said that I wanted a somewhat thicker tire (being the big guy that I am...around 295) and a more rugged frame. He said that a Specialized roadie would be plenty sturdy enough, could support slightly wider tires and the only thing the Tri Cross offered was the ability to accept knobby tires, and cantelever (sp?) brakes. He said I could get last years Roubiax model, brand new, for less than what the Tri Cross comp would roll off the rack for. He also sets it up with a slightly modified handle bar so I can have more upright riding positions if I want.

This guy has never steered me wrong and he has no incentive to put me on the older, cheaper bike. He also said he would get me in to the shop the next couple days to test drive some bikes he's building out including the Roubiax he was talking about. Sooooo....hate to dredge up the proverbial dead horse for another beating....but what do you guys think?

ryanparrish

ask him what the widest tire you can run with a fender on the roubiax then depending on his answer make a judgement. I made that sad mistake when I plumped a chunk of change on the counter I went for the feel and ride and the look instead of practicality

BayBruin

I'm going to use my old bike for riding in bad weather so fenders are not so important on the new bike. I guess it's still worth asking if my old bike craps out some rainy winter....

riedelmeister

I have to say: if you trust the guy, then go with what he recommends. That said, I faced the same situation a few months ago. I was looking at a 'cross and a roadie. Bike shop dude was very accommodating. In the end I went 'cross. I just couldn't see throwing my panniers on the roadie for my morning commutes.

gear

I think the LBS guy is right. I like my road bike for nice weather commuting and my cross bike for the rest of the days. The cross bike allows for more aggresive tread (studded tires too) and the disc breaks work better on rainy days. Your not planning to use the bike in bad weather so, why not get the Roubaix at less money.

ducati

As long as you can fit 28s and fenders on the road bike, I say go with that.

I have a 'cross bike (LeMond Poprad) and I've never warmed up to it. I'm not certain yet whether it's the 'cross geometry, or just the bike... But if I could have 28s and fenders on a road bike I'd be satisfied with that.

No question cyclocross bikes are versatile, though. There's plenty of room for 38s and fenders on my LeMond if I wanted. I don't offroad it, though, so that isn't doing me much good...

DogBoy

I'm going to assume you don't get snow/ice in San Ramon. If that's the case, you really don't need anything wider than a 28 tire. If you don't want to ride in the rain, you don't need fenders either. I suggest you look at how the bike accomodates other commuter type needs, specifically rack mounts. I don't believe the roubaix has them, but I could be wrong. Another bike you should ask about is the sequoia. I know it has rack mounts and interrupter brake levers and a relaxed upright position. In my mind, the only real advantage of the cross bike over a road bike with appropriate braze-ons is the ability to run studs in the winter.

kennyd

I recently went bike shopping and, when asked what I was looking for, told them I wanted a bike for commuting, trail riding and some fast weekend rides. 2 of the 3 shops steered me toward a cyclo-cross.
I ended up getting the Felt F1x and am so far pleased with the decision. It is tough enough to take the extra weight and deal with bumpy roads and has clearance for fenders. I switched the knobbies for road tires for the summer, but will soon switch back to knobbies for the fall commute.

Scorer75

I was wondering the exact opposite this morning.

I commute on a 2004 Cannondale cyclocross disc. As I was popping one of the 3 or 4 curbs I normally pop on my daily commute on my 25mm tires I wondered whether a road bike would handle my commute. Having never owned a road bike, I'm really not sure.

I can tell you this though:

I'm also a pretty big guy currently at 230 but have ridden this bike at over 250. If your commute is essentially smooth, and you can add racks and such, go with the roadie. It's lighter and will be made for speed.

If your commute is rough, popping curbs, potholes, etc..., I would seriously consider the roadie.

One last thing, in a recent century I did, experienced cyclists were commenting on my bike. When I told them it was a cyclocross, they were like oh yeah, I guess it is.

A Cyclocroos (from my experience) is VERY similar to a roadbike so keep that in mind if you are truly not sure. If your guy says the road bike will handle your commute, and he'll back it up with a warranty (including trashed wheels), go for it. Some days I wish I had a roadie so I could see how fast I really am even tohugh I doubt I'd see a sginificant speed increase on the roadie.

Good luck

yes

I think that the sequoia is very similar to the roubaix geometry wise. The roubaix starts at a high price point, unlike the allez. I think tha the sequoia is basically the poor mans roubaix - a cheaper frame, but both cheaper and better price for the components.

For my road commuter, I'm thinking surly pacer. It's just killing me seeing how much it will cost to buy components off the shelf. I'm contemplating picking up a new bike and just robbing it of components to save money.

dynaryder

I bought my DBX because I wanted to try a road bike. Recently I bought my Cross Comp,and now I'm selling the DBX. The cross bike is more comfortable and handles the crappy DC roads better. YMMV.

CBBaron

I'm 220lbs and I think 28mm is the smallest tire I would go with. At 295 I would want a bigger tire. If the road bike uses log reach calipers then you can probably fit fenders and a 28mm with no problem or 32-35mm without fenders. If your roads are fairly smooth then you could get by with the 28mm. Even if you don't plan currently on using fenders on the bike, it is a good idea to allow for it in the future. The cross bike should have plenty of room for 32-35mm tires with fenders and give you plenty of versitility. I find that roadies tend to think everything over 23mm is an oversized tire, while I find for commuting anything less than 28 will not work.
I do have a fair weather bike that has 28 mm but my primary commuter has 35mm. However my commute includes some pretty rough roads and I like the option of running studded tires in the winter.
Craig

DogBoy

For some contrast, I'm 220 and ride 700-23 tires quite often. They work very well on my road-bike. My nice-weather commuter has 23's on it right now also. It's not the most pleasant ride over rr crossings and potholes, but it is fine for my commute. Currently however I'm riding 26x1.95" knobbies....very cush, but hard to spin. I have some 1.95" slicks on order (since 10/4) but they don't seem to be getting here very quickly....

legot73

As a cyclocross commuter, I'd go for the road bike in your situation.

In addition to the fender, rack, and tire clearance, I like that my particular CX bike has 135mm rear spacing and a Deore Hub. I'm not a big guy, but I appreciate durability, even at the expense of performance. In fair weather only, I'd be just as happy with a Trek 1000 and a rack.

If you're not looking at a wide range of riding conditions, the CX bike loses its appeal compared to a good road bike IMO.

cerewa

Tread on a bike tire does more harm than good if the riding surface is harder than the tire (i.e. wet or dry pavement)

radical_edward

The Roubaix is a pretty classic Euro inspired 'slow and low' geometry. Low bottom bracket and a relatively slack head angle. Extemely comfortable bike for distance or Audax riding and a nice departure from the full on TDF replica geometry that most road bikes are cookie-cuttered from.

However, you will struggle to get a 28c tyre in the ones that I have seen. These were all the carbon version so may be more 'race' oriented than the alloy version.

Cyclocross bikes are 'slow and high'. So they have a high bottom bracket and a slack head tube angle. This makes a lot of sense if you are from a MTB background but is the opposite of the modern 'quick and low' road bike. "Slow and high' means that the bike is inherantly unstable, in that shifts in body weight, especially out of the saddle produce a more pronounced handling response. Very tiring for the long haul, but great in traffic. To temper this, the head tube angle is slackened to provide very stable steering, great for fast decents. Those that complain about low speed manouverability of Cross bikes need to get their butt off the saddle.

As for clearance, the cyclocross bike tyre clearance isn't just about tread. You can run some seriously large slicks on cross bikes. My Jake can take 700x42c without fenders or 37c with, and the Cross Check can squeeze 700x47c without fenders. Big tyres such as these mean a very cushy ride and make rough surfaces, kerbs and potholes a breeze to navigate. I usually run 37c on a touring wheelset during the week then switch to an old open pro wheelset with 28c tyres on training rides.

Large tyres and full coverage fenders and rain equals good.

The other option is a tourer, which have the tyre clearance of a cross bike, a low bottom bracket and slack head angle but. Not all that exciting though

legot73

Nice analysis! Now I can quantify what I like about my Jake, and justify why I need that steel touring bike.

dschl

You'll have to swap the seatpost out for sure. From what I can see, all of the Roubaix come with the Specialized Pave carbon seatpost with the Zertz insert. I bought a Pave off of Ebay, and downloaded the manual from Specialized. It flatly states that the post is not designed for people over 250 lbs. In addition, it strongly hints that anyone over 230-240 had better think long and hard before using this seat post. I'm around 230-235 right now (6'4"), and while I continue to use the seatpost, I sometimes wonder if one day I'll end up laying face down in the operating room while the surgeon picks carbon fibre fragments from my rectum.

The seatpost is just one component on the bike, and easily replaced. However, if the Roubaix has any other parts that are similarly spec'd for flyweights, you should pass it on by for a more substantial bike that is designed for abuse.

I usually commute on a road bike with 25mm tires, but I just finished building a frankencross from an old mtb and some scavenged drop handlebars, among other things. The frankencross has 1.5" (38mm) tires, and I rode it to work for the first time last Friday. Rolling on the wider, lower pressure tires was like riding a Laz-y-boy to work - the tires ate up the rough pavement and all of the road debris. I also didn't have to worry about pinch flats, hitting potholes, or misjudging a curb hop with the wider tires. While I'm not an expert on bike geometry, I also find it harder to ride with no hands on my newer road bike, a Jamis Satellite. Switching hand positions when cruising down a hill at 50 km/h is scary on my Jamis because the bike is twitchy, but no problem on my other bikes including an early 1980's Bianchi road bike.

BayBruin

First thing I knew I needed to get with the Specialized (Roubiax or the Cross) is a new seat post. Another bike shop warned me about that. He said the seat post you can't mess with.....carbon fiber forks up front are not a big deal according to this guy. Lots of new info I need to consider.