Begs

Hello Everyone,
After trolling around these boards for the past few months and not being a member I finally joined! Hooray!!!

I have been riding bikes for about 3 years. I started on an entry level Jamis bike then bought a Specialized Roubaix Comp, love that bike!. Well I just moved from CO to Chicago...not good for the road bike scene, or any bike scene in general. After speaking with some bike shops in the area there are not a lot of places to ride around here that are not crushed granite or crushed lime stone. I have ridden my Roubaix a few times on the trails here and it has just been torn up. I was thinking about getting a cross bike to knock out my early morning rides when i don't have time to get in the car and drive somewhere to ride. With all that said I have some questions:

1) is getting a cross bike for this a good idea?

2) I am currently on a 61cm Specialized will a 61cm cross bike do the trick? I know sizing and positioning will be different but will it fit me like a TT bike?

3) Does anyone have any leads on a big mans cross bike at a reasonable price? I have been on bikesdirect.com and have found some good prices but am VERY skeptical.

Thanks for putting up with a lot of newbie questions, especially with this being my first post on the new boards!

Cheers!

YellowWolf

1) It depends on your commute. Most people find cyclocross bikes to be versatile and, as such, great commuters, including me. Cyclocross bikes are great for paved streets, as well as some trail riding.

2) Sizing can differ greatly depending on the brand. I would suggest you do go by the bike dimensions or test ride the bike at a LBS if possible.

3) Bikesdirect is known to be a reputable website that a lot of bikeforum members use. It's cheaper than most, but unless you have some experience building bikes, you may have to factor in the cost of assembly at a bike shop.

fietsbob

cant you go test ride bikes in shops? 61? the seat tube may be shorter if the top tube slopes..

these seem good , the years production run of the Elite model sold out, in distribution,
though that may mean you can find it in one of the Chicago dealer's inventory..

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/cyclocross/crossrip/crossrip/#

GeneO 

I ride a cross bike for commute and pleasure on the trails in the Chicagoland area. At least there are quite a few trails. My commute is part road and mostly trail, so a cross bike is ideal.

Village Cyclesport has a good selection of cross brands (FELT, Trek, Raleigh, Surly, Specialized, Co--motion). Don;t know if they would have that size in the showroom though). They have several shops in the area:

https://villagecyclesport.com/product...4#.UaOUHJyE6RE

majwell

I ride cross bike to commute and on trails around Chicago. My commuter has specialized armadillos on it as it only really goes on roads, my other bike has knobbly tires for doing anything.

There are a lot of shops around that will give you a test ride, I really liked the guys at Comrade Cycles:

https://comradecycles.com/

And they carry Focus, Surly and soon Kona. The Cross Check is pretty standard Cross/Commuter bike and my commuter is a Kona Jake which I love. If you don't like the bar end shifters on the Cross Check,
Iron Cycles (https://www.ironcycles.com/) does a Cross Check build with Tiagra.

You can also just call around and ask for previous model year deals, for that size I imagine finding a deal would not be that hard.

Begs

Thanks for all the info. I have been doing some searching and calling. Came across this guy:Fuji Cross 3.0 https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...73_-1___000000

Thought, feelings or emotions on this bike?

majwell

That is a fine bike as far as I know. I also know people who commute on that model though a previous year, though I can't tell from the picture if it has eyelets to support a rack, which I am unsure if that interests you.

That said, I know the Performance Bike out in Lombard has a ton of the 3.0s as I was in there this weekend as you should try to ride it first as you may be on a 61cm road. People usually size down for Cyclocross bikes so like with any bike you should try it out.

fietsbob

Bike = Frame + a collection of components on the frame..
Good/less is often the guy putting the bike together, competent,
not being distracted and paying attention to details..

Wanderer

What burb, or neighborhood(in the city) are you in? Chicagoland is a 50 X 100 mile, egg shaped circle.

Begs

I live in Elmhurst right off of St. Charles and IL-83.

GeneO 

There is also Spokes in Wheaton which is not too far from you (down the road from me):

https://spokesbikes.com/product-list/cyclocross-pg112/




And if you want to expand to Wisconsin, there is redline, customs like gunnar and a bunch others I am sure.