Cross bike build on the cheap
 

Howdy,

I'm looking to race cross this fall and would like to build up a bike as cheap as possible. I have some old 8sp Dura Ace stuff not doing anything that would be perfect since they're already a little tired. I also have several sets of GP-4/Campy Record wheelsets and wheels manufacturing Shimano spacers too. Only thing i need would be some NOS 13-26 campy 8sp cassettes to make those wheels work. I also have a couple sets of Neuvation clincher wheelsets that will take Shimano 8/9/10 sp cassettes.

I also have a set of Chorus 8sp brifters that are almost brand new.

What works better for cross? Shimano or Campy?

What is a good cassette size for cross. NOS 8sp stuff is getting harder to find even on Ebay and the most common sizes are 12-23 or 12-25. I have an FSA 46/36 compact crank on the way (need it for a couple of extreme climbing centuries) and was wondering if i could get away with 36/23 on most Mid Atlantic area cross courses?

The idea here is to use as much stuff from my parts bins as possible.

Any help here is appriciated.

Hmm, well if you're going 8 speed I guess it doesn't matter if you go campy or Shimano. Generally, if you're looking for a spare wheel in the pit you'll find a lot of 9 speed shimano, and ten speed shimano. Campy stuff is harder to come by. I don't think you'll ever find a spare wheel in the pit, so you'll have to bring your own.

12-25 on a compact is fine. What's the highest you're going to get anyway? 12-27 with a shortcage derailleur? Climbs are short but steep, it's usually a lot about momentum and finding the right line.

Thanks again. Good point about spare wheels. Maybe i'll just go with 9sp bar end shifters and ebay my extra old stuff to finance my cross related purchases.

Do whatever is cheapest. It'll then take only a couple races to figure out what you've done wrong and need to change.

Don't forget that Miche make loose cog cassettes that are Campagnolo 8 speed compatible. That way you can save extra $ and get the size you need. I would be tempted by campy 8, but I hate STI (like Shimano d/t).

Campy makes barcon shifters. Search ebay for an 8 sp version. Actually, you can use 8, 9 or 10 sp gears in their barcons. Problem is the 8 sp gear is discontinued.

I wound up selling all my old Campy 8 sp parts this spring. They function flawlessly. You just can't find replacement parts though. Derailleurs are a super hard find for clean ones.

Tim