I am in the market for a new bike. Looking at endurance type geo, But also, CX type. What is the basic difference beside tire Clarence obviously? If I were to put some 25mm or 28mm tires on a CX fame, why would it not be just as good on the road? Seem to me that the tire clearance is a big thing you can always put thin tires on a CX bike but I can’t put fat tires on my road bike.
I am not a racer or competitive bike rider. The if the bike is 18LBS or 22LBS is make no difference to me. I am looking for comfort and use on many road surfaces.


Would a CX Geo be as comfortable as an endurance Geo if they both had the same tires?

CX also tend to have a higher BB for obstacle clearance and some (many?) are also light on creature comforts like bottle/rack bosses. If you're comparing vs endurance, I'd take a look at a gravel/adventure bike - they'd be more similar but with room for bigger tires. Check out stuff like: Salsa Warbird, Jamis Renegade, Specialized Diverge, etc.

Cyclocross is a type of racing. "Endurance" is a type of recreational riding. WhyFi covered what that means. I agree with the recommendation to look toward gravel and adventure bikes. Add GT Grade to the list.

CX bikes can have water bottle bosses... just don't have the cages mounted during races. (this may not be true for newer ones.. but gf and i'd both have 2 cages available when we're not racing)

+1 for the gravel bike though.. they are a bit less aggressive and will be less twitchy on the road.

In the 80's I got an AlAn CX frame/fork, it had no bottle bosses.

Cyclo cross races are an hour long.. max.

Brevets, a classic endurance 'race' is, Paris- to Brest far on the Brittany peninsula and back, you have just 90 hours to finish it.

The marketing department of most companies have been on top of the "cross commuter" thing for about 20 years now. A true racing cyclocross bike has a lot of specific features that make it a cross bike, like cables on the top tube or hidden so they won't get fouled on the bottom or tangled when shouldered, and a little higher BB plus treaded 30+mm tires giving a higher ride height, and canti or more recently disk brakes to allow the big tires and avoid mud fouling. The frame and hardware is stout for going over obstacles and rough treatment. (Cannondale example: SuperX.) But they generally also have a "cross" bike at a lower level that is marketed for commuting or light touring. (Cannondale example: CAADX.) They'll still have the big tire clearance, subverted for fenders. They'll come with normal cable routing, and plenty of braze ons for racks and fenders and bottles. The cockpit position will still be racy! The frame will still be tough, too, any comfort in the ride is derived from the big tires.

An endurance road bike is built in road bike style with road bike parts but sits more upright - that's the gist, anyhow. They also have a frame designed to bend for suspension. Cannondale again:

Cross bikes seem to be specialized at the upper end (no eyelets, single chainring)

and heavy at the lower end (BD, Performance).

I think more bang for the buck can be had in the endurance road direction, if only because of more choices.

Also, I think Tire Clarence would be a good screen name for BF

I honestly think that most people who think a cross bike would make a good road bike too would be better served buying a gravel bike. The gravel bike (I'm thinking something like Niner's RLT 9, Specialized Diverge, GT Grade. They are better at riding like a road bike than a dedicated cross bike is. That's been my experience.


I dig my cross bike, but at higher speeds it gets a bit twitchy in the steering and the top tube is way high compared to my road bike. It makes a wonderful cyclocross bike though.

this got me good

CX gearing is typically higher on the low end compared to endurance and gravel bikes.

most come with a compact crank.. you can put whatever rings you want. I bought my CX from a guy who was riding gravel.. it has 34/46 with 11-36 on it now.. for winter road riding i'll put a 50T on and use my 11-28 cassette ( hoping the chain will cooperate)

As already mentioned, Look at "gravel" or "adventure" bikes. They have the following characteristics:

-Large tire clearance
-Drop bars like a road bike
-More relaxed geometry than a race bike or a race CX bike.
-Usually disk brakes these days
-Lower easier gear for climbing than a normal CX bike


If I had to do it again, I would get one of these rather than the endurance road bike I purchased 1.5 years ago...the extra tire clearance would make it much more versatile, and for most people, once they put slick road tires on it, wouldn't notice any decrease in speed on the road.

Here's my 2¢.

Normally I ride a Trek Emonda SLR and put 5000+ miles a year. I purchased a Cannondale SuperX for a foul weather and winder bike.

Each bike has it's own character and each how their own situation where they excel. I wanted a more "substantial" bike that feels solid, has hydro disc brakes and wider tires. The CX has a more upright fit which is great when you're wearing a number of layers of clothing. The hydro disc stop on a dime, even when wet. I'm running 32mm Bontrager AW2 tubeless street tires on Zipp 30 Course wheels and they can handle all the potholes, bumps and road debris you find on winter roads.

I was out yesterday in high 30s and 17mph winds and the bike is just awesome and handles it well.

I also have the stock wheels with 35mm knobby for when I want to go off road, which i'll do when it's below freezing and ice on the roads is a problem.

Road


Trail

The bikes are totally different. Within the CX genre there are CX frames that are more relaxed and some that are twitchy and race style bikes only.

Basic difference is going to be gearing. You can overcome that to an extent with some modifications to the cx bike but honestly almost everyone around here that has 1 and not the other will usually go buy the other within the year. Meaning guys that have a cx only rig and then ride on the road in the spring and summer end up ditching them for road bikes.

The CX BB is higher and generally you feel more "steering the bus" like than with a road bike even if it has a relaxed endurance style geometry.

Question the riding you will do. If mainly on the road then get a road bike. If almost completely on gravel and off road with some desire to occasionally turn to the road then get a cx bike and repurpose it for road when needed.

As mentioned look into gravel and adventure bikes as well as they aren't traditional CX.

Yep, a CX rig is race-oriented, so not ordinarily 'comfort' geometry. Specialized's Diverge and others of that type are more what you'd be looking for.....


cheers

I'm glad I waited to weigh in on this thread, because I'm obviously wrong.

Honestly, I'm at the point where I've got the Domane listed on CL as I've been super happy with my Crockett on the road with 32mm Paselas. I guess I've always enjoyed smaller frames with more lively geometry, so maybe it's just me. I would probably go ahead and ignore me and listen to the other folks pointing you towards gravel bikes.

It seems to me that many 'endurance' bikes are a step in the right direction, and away from the (almost useless) faux race bikes that have been common since the mid/late 80s. I personally see very little value, except for racing, of a bike that cannot handle larger than 25mm wide tires. And even for racing, you'd have to get pretty far up the ladder before you actually get any advantage out of a bike that can only handle 25mm tires, compared to a bike that can fit larger, but has 25mm tires and lightweight wheels mounted.
How many of us are actually at a disadvantage because we have 5mm more tire clearance?

There are also some 'endurance' bikes that still can't fit moderately wide tires, but have a slightly more relaxed rider position. I think time will show these bikes (all bikes that only fit narrow tires, actually) as being fundamentally flawed for the average rider.

tri out a specialized TriCross
geometry is more of an endurace/touring road bike. lower BB and longer seat stays than a CX race bike, more relaxed angles and head tube than a road bike. They fit big tires and make great gravel bikes.
Used frames and complete bikes are fairly cheap

I've been riding a Cannondale CAADX for the last two years 90% of the time on pavement, and last week I got a Specialized Roubaix. The CAADX has an advantage on the dirt, because of the bigger and knobby tires, and on pavement the Roubaix is faster because of the bigger chain rings. Except if you're gonna ride on the dirt, they're pretty much equivalent in terms of riding style.

That is a good looking bike!!

The man knows his bikes.