Wspsux

Hi Guys,

I spend most of my time slinging and receiving typographical abuse in the SS/FG forum but today I find I need your wisdom!

I'm looking to (N-2)+1 my stable. I no longer have room for both a dedicated road bike and my super commute/tourer bike due to space. I'm looking to sell them both and buy an Aluminum frame carbon fork CycleCross bike in the area of $2,000. I'm looking for a geo closer to that of a road bike than a super carbon cross racing mega machine and mountings for racks as to appropriately replace both the bikes I'm selling. I'll use the bike for road rides/ centuries/ occasional bike camping trips and any trails I can find. Maybe some actual cross races down the road, but mud and diabetes is a tricky combination :-/ lol.


What I've been looking at so far:
Raleigh RX 2.0
Giant SLR TCX
Caad x Disc.
I love the Specialized crux but it has no way to mount racks

I've checked out a few steel options such as the AC Macho Man and Soma Double cross but I'm looking to keep the bike close to 20 lbs without racks.

Sorry, I know these threads are a pestilence to bikeforums, but I'm a newb to CX bikes. <3333

fietsbob

They all in a Bike shop to test ride?. do that .. In NYC they may not let you out of the door with a Bike Not Paid in full .. I Cannot help that.


There was a Promo during the telecast of the Tour of Cal about an All diabetic bike team ..

Trek CrossRip and the 720 may be worth test riding.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ness/crossrip/ & https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/touring/720/

Wspsux

I think they ride Orbea I remember seeing that on the television, I thought they were a roadie team though.

Andy_K 

There is a girl on my cyclocross team with diabetes. Her dad is always very vigilante about making sure she's thinking about blood sugar before and after the races. I don't know how she does it. I can barely manage my energy levels without the extra medical challenge and she rides faster than I do.

As for bike recommendations, check out the Kona Jake The a Snake. It's probably a bit over your 20 pound goal with the stock components, but it's not far off and is a great bike. I've seen people claim their JtS builds have come in around 19 pounds, but that's probably using a very light wheelset.

Wspsux

Yea I used to race cross country and it was always tricky to get my sugar to the exact level where i wouldn't be too high that my energy was sapped but not so low that I went hypoglycemic.

I was looking into the Jake the Snake but I see it comes stock with 32mm which leads me to believe it wouldn't have clearance for much more than 35mm if that. Can you shed any light on that? looks like you've owned a few.

Additionally, I love the Beaverton Portland area. Almost moved out there this summer but the job market is a bit tricky if you're not looking to work for Columbia/Nike.

Andy_K 

I've got a Jake and a Jake the Snake which both have basically the same frame as the current Jake the Snake for the purposes of tire clearance. I race with 700x35 knobbies on the JtS with no problems. I haven't tried anything wider, but that is pretty close to its limit. I have used 700x35 slicks with fenders on the Jake. I'd take a picture to show you but I've got skinnier tires on both bikes right now.

bikemig 

If I were looking for a fast bike that does double duty for bike camping, commuting, centuries, etc., I'd take a long hard look at the gunnar crosshairs. It would be tough to do a complete build at $2,000 given that the bike and fork run $1200 but it could be done if you already have some of the parts you need and if you don't go too crazy on the parts you buy. I originally built up my soma doublecross with parts I had on hand and over time I "upgraded" the components.

The british mail order places like wiggle and chain reaction have great prices btw if you are looking to build the bike inexpensively.

09box

This might sound a little left field but have you tried looking around for a touring frame? My Fuji Saratoga has braze ones and could be had for pennies on the dollar compared to some bikes mentioned here.

Wspsux

Oh man, I want to make a Cross Hairs happen SO BADLY

Wspsux

one of the bikes I'm selling off is in fact my touring bike. I want something lighter

bikemig 

Just do it then, post some pics, and make me jealous, . Heck I've upgraded all the parts on the doublecross. Maybe I need to "upgrade" the frame to a gunnar crosshairs.

By the way, if you are looking to save some money on the build, the soma doublecross is a really fine frame. You won't be disappointed if you buy it.

bruised

I was looking for a similar spec and the choices for me came down to the Trek Crossrip LTD and Salsa Warbird. I liked everything about the Warbird other than the absence of rack mounts.

Of course there are ways to mount racks to a bike without braze-ons, various kits, brackets etc. So for the minimal amount of touring that I do I was happy enough to accept the compromise.

The Warbird is working out great for me so far. It's very comfortable, both in the way it deals with crappy surfaces and the more relaxed geo. It's right at your budget too.

rpecot

Great timing on this thread. I've been thinking along the same lines, although I haven't started narrowing down to specific bikes. I'm at the point of wondering if a commuter/cross/gravel/touring combo-bike exists or at best, what might be the trade-offs from one to the other.

Does the Giant SLR TCX have braze ons? My LBS carries the bike and I was casually looking, but I didn't notice any.

Wspsux

I don't think it does. I was considering it for a brief moment

Wilfred Laurier

Threshold Alu - Cyclocross - Road - Bikes - Norco Bicycles