Andrey

I have a cyclocross bike that I ride on trails and do not race. I thought I would benefit from the new "gravel bikes" like lower bottom bracket, better comfort and better stability and ability to fit bigger tires(more than 700x35). I came to the conclusion that CX bikes suit me better, because I really like the high bottom bracket to ride on trails, it is easier to ride over rocks and tree roots.

I never had any stability issues also, I even took it touring a couple of times, it performed fine. It has braze ons for racks and fenders.

Also I realized that I did not like tires bigger than 33-35. I fitted a 700x40 tire in my cyclocross bike after shaving some knobs on the rear tire to make it fit, but I did not like that extra width of the tire, so they came off after a couple of rides and 700x33 cross tires were put back on.

I did modify gearing on the bike though. Now it has 46/34 gearing in the front and 12-34 cassette (10 speed) cassette on the rear to help me climb steep mountain with 1:1 ratio.

pickettt

If you need 50mm wide tires, you need a mountain bike.

kevindsingleton 

What was it about the larger tires that you didn't like?

redlude97

If that is how you are bunny hopping then you are wasting energy. The chainring should just clear the barriers, and the wheels certainly shouldn't both clear at the same point.

But what do the pros know

providencebikes

this is most confusing time to choose a bike , cx bike to me are made more like dedicated road bikes with the option to run large tires up to around 34 mm , some of them are made to have different geometry to change your ride position and its a selling point , a gravel bike has more types of frame and set ups with tires going up to above or around 40 mm , now some disk road bikes can run larger tires putting them in a cx or gravel category , some manufactures sell their newer road bikes based on its ability to go off road like a trek domane , your ability to ride on different surfaces is up to your skill and time on those surfaces , ive seen people ride unicycles up and down mountains , the bike will only give you technology options you still have to get gud ,

but again cx vs gravel is not a difference in theory its really just a term people use , if your cx is all steel traditional triangle frame with drop bars and 40 mm tires it would be called a gravel bike by people who ride gravel , if your gravel bike ran 28 mm tires and was full carbon with some sloping geometry it would be a cx bike ,

my personal set up would be a specialized crux , and or tri cross , with 32 mm gator skin tires running any 1x9 drive train maybe a 2x10 i like the shimano sora shifters they have nice grip , but it really comes down to what you will like you will have to try different types of bikes and see , i bought my crux and i didn't even like it until i set it up and then it was a really fast bike that could take all the road bumps , and it looks sexy af tooo...

Kapusta

I don't know what bike companies specifically use to differentiate CX vs gravel these days, but when I was looking for a bike for a mix of pavement and gravel, and made a list of the features and geo I was looking for, I came up with a list of about 10 bikes. None were CX bikes.

u235

+1
I mentioned earlier. Get what you like regardless of the title. I have a pure road with a max tire of 25c and I never liked riding it, even on asphalt. Got a gravel bike with 42 tires and weighs about 5 more pounds and I ride it everywhere, gravel multiday tours, mtb trails, and a lot of road.
Probably 2500 miles in the last 7 months total. I'm not winning any races or KOMs with it but I'm not racing anyone. Haven't touched my road bike since. I did a 34 rear for a 1:1 too.

GeneO 

For shorter rides either will probably do. A true CX bike is more nimble in handling and cornering, but not as good as a gravel bike for comfort on longer rides.

Andrey

That is maybe the way I ride my bikes. I do not like driving to my rides. The mountains that I usually ride my CX bike is not more than 20 miles away, so I ride there on the road to ride off road.

Narrower tires(Michelin Jet,700x30, Clement USH,700x34, Conti cross Speed,700x34) let me keep the speed up on the payment almost to the road bike standards. It is much slower to ride a 40 mm tire(Kenda Happy Medium,40mm) on payment. If I rode my bike on dirt trails only it would not matter much.

On the trails, I almost can not tell the difference between 34 and 40 mm tires. I may need to walk or carry the bike on some technical sections, and not because of the tires. I am not sure if I would dare to ride some sections with the suspended mountain bike though. If it is too dangerous I would carry the bike but on carriage roads, trails, dirt roads I could not tell the difference between the two.

I also have a road bike that I run 700x32 tires on. I do not like taking it on some technical trails, not because of the tires but because of the gearing and the low bottom bracket. Road bike gearing is just not low enough for some technical riding or steep hills in the dirt. Although on flat gravel roads it performs nicely and fast.

kevindsingleton 

Thanks for the follow up. Your explanation makes sense.

DomaneS5

I went with the gravel bike since I ride longer rides on rail trails... sometimes 50+ miles. The endurance geometry and 40c tires of gravel bikes fit that kind of riding better, in my experience.

davlafont

For what it's worth, the OP ended up buying:
https://www.bikeforums.net/newreply....ply&p=20000506

Seems like she may have heard the message: tell your LBS what sort of riding you want to do (and what your budget is) and let the bike come to you.

rumrunn6

Trek FX w 35mm tires

TimothyH

Seat stays are often different and I'm open to correction but my understanding is that CX bikes tend to be stiffer in the rear.

Gravel bikes these days tend to have more flexy seat stays for comfort on long gravel rides or some other design which makes the bike more complaint. Salsa Warbird is an example of a rear designed with flex for comfort. My Niner RLT 9 RDO can get a little bouncy in the back with the right cadence and terrain.



-Tim-

gettingold

I can't believe the Rove is too heavy compared with the Townie. If it is too large, however, that is a great reason not to ride it.

Gravel/endurance/adventure bike is the way to go. More relaxed geometry and works on asphalt or loose stuff, but still a roadie type feel.

fietsbob

Proper Cyclocross race bike (top tube) lets you carry the bike over your shoulder, and run, carrying it.

superpletch

almost everyone on this thread wanted to impose their will on the OP and show how wonderfully smart they are and didn't listen (read) what OP really wanted. It appears that the OP went with a comfort bike, which is probably exactly what they wanted/needed, and didn't care about head tube angles, chain stay length, "racy" geometry or any of that which everyone so eloquently described.

I hope you enjoy your new bike and get out and ride

Gconan

Outstanding information! Thanks.