Why buy a cross?
 

Hey, I am looking to get into road biking, but think that I would benifit greatly from a tricross...plainly, from what ive heard its just more versitile..so I was looking for reasons to pick up a cross bike vs. a road? Thanks!!!

to race cyclocross

Road bikes are for road riding only. They don't do off-road very well.
Cross bikes are for road riding and off-road riding. They also make awesome commuter bikes.

If you're doing only road riding (after work and weekends) then get a fast road bike.

Or get one for each activity.

I've got a road bike for long distance and fast road riding (Specialized Roubaix)
Orbea 29er for singletrack and a Tricross Comp for commuting (has all the rack mounts), rail trail rides and the occasional weekend camping trip. These bikes have been perfect for my uses. Wouldn't think of not having the Tricross.

typically a cross bike may have a bit more relaxed geometry, maybe a bit more upright/comfortable for most people... although there are a few road bike with taller head tubes as well like the Roubaix mentioned above. If you can only afford one bike at the moment, I'd go with a cross bike as I throw a set of road tires on mine and can keep up just fine on the road...

I think most bikes sold as road bikes these days are really "road race" bikes: tight geometry, can't fit a tire bigger than about 25mm, no clearance or provisions for rack or fenders, overgeared for most people (can you really spin that 53x11?). 'Cross bikes can actually perform much better as a general purpose road bike: fit bigger tires for rough roads or heavy loads, slightly more relaxed geometry, but still not slow, etc. I've ridden a Gunnar Crosshairs as my primary road bike for many years, and it works fine.

...because you are of catholic or christian faith?

... or getting ready for a KKK party.

With a cross you can try pretty much any type of riding short of hard core mountain, and decide what suits you best. Fire roads, trail riding, touring, potholed city streets, and even road riding. Road bike your pretty much going to find out if you like road riding or not.

although I like road riding if I was gonna do it again I would have bought a cross bike

there isn't much of a cross scene here maybe 4 races but I'd love to try it out and don;t wanna spend the money for a cross bike to check it out

I'll probably never race road so a cross bike woludn't hold me back... and even if I were to go on a fast group ride my fitness would die on me long before I was out biked

Ha Ha for the cross jokes!! but I am a college student so one bike is only going to be in my sights... i already have a mtn, just lookin for a faster road that could be ridden on some gravel sometimes,...

same deal, i'm building a cx bike this year and plan on getting another wheelset for strictly road rides. i say go for it. what do you really have to lose?

both of you need a cross bike then, find you an extra set of wheels to keep road tires on and you're golden!

Yep. Few people on this forum ever do a CX race. But they still like the look and performance a CX bike offers.

Totally, It's not like this is going to be my last bike ever either. I say go for cross, if you don't like it sell it and buy something else. I don't really see how you could go wrong with cross though.

One note about cross bike vs. road bike: 50/34 crank vs. 53/39 crank

most people who are fairly new to cycling don't really need the 53/39 and are just fine with the compact (a lot of road bikes come with compacts now anyway...)

Most of the cross bikes I've seen (mine included) come/came with a 46/36 cross crank.

Swiss Army Bike.
 

I became interested in 'Cross bikes because the 29er/MTB scene left wanting more.

When I was in my 20's I went everywhere on a rigid 26" MTB with skinny semi-slicks and trekking bars, a real all-arounder...then I drifted away from cycling.

Last year I picked-up a Monocog 29er and instantly fell in love with the 29er size. I'm 6'4, so the bigger bike felt much better. This made me want to set-up a geared, rigid trekking style 29er MTB.

I started reasearching Karate Monkey builds and I kept running across the Cross Check.... I started reading threads about 'cross bikes being very adaptable commuter/pleasure bikes. I knew I wanted to go with the Cross Check.

I am glad I did.

I was deciding between a cross bike and road bike and went with the cross (Van Dessel Hole Shot) and it was the best thing I did. A cross bike is so versatile, you can ride it on road, single track, dirt, etc. I use a smooth rolling 32 mm tire for about 90% of my riding - I fly on the road and can do just about everything I could with my rigid suspension mt bike.

You get a lot of bang for the buck - a very nicely equipped CX bike (race ready) will run under $2000. At that price, there's no higher-end road bikes.

What I really love most about riding my CX, is the ability to run on/off road on the same ride. So I'll be cruising along some back road, hit a trail, come out the other side, do more road riding, hit another trail, and so fort.

You can't go wrong either way, bot bikes offer a lot of fun so good luck!

Makes sense to me.