TakingMyTime

Thanks for all the comments and input! With everything said... I think I'll be looking for a Road Bike and get something that will take a bit wider tire. One of my concerns is that my wife's balance on a bike isn't that great so having a bit more rubber on the road really helps. A more relaxed geo suites us well.

IthaDan 

Thanks! Got it off craigslist for a song, I've slowly made it mine over the last year. Yours is rather sweet as well.

SlimRider

Just remember to checkout the Jamis Coda Comp. Jamis has both a Comp for males and one for females, too. The flat handlebar will assist your wife with a more upright stable feeling of confidence. You will also be able to install 38mm wide tires (though I would suggest 35mm with fenders) on the Comp, as well.

PS.

For 25 mile treks, the Comp is perfect! That's especially so, if speed is not a priority...

marqueemoon

Check out the All City Space Horse. It has a 7.5 cm bottom bracket drop. That's almost a full cm more drop than the Surly Cross check (66mm). Cross bikes generally have higher bottom brackets for pedal clearance over rough terrain. On the road you don't need that. A lower bottom bracket will translate to feeling more "in" the bike than "on" the bike.

The complete lists for $1375 but you may be able to find it cheaper being winter and all. The price isn't great for Tiagra, but you do get integrated brake/shift levers.

Edonis13

the thing i love the most about my cx bike is the disc brakes.

airborne deltacx

BigJeff

You get less per dollar on a cx bike, since the bike is compensating road ride quality for off road ride requirements.

Do you plan on riding 80% on dirt and grass?
Do you plan on riding through children's sandboxes?
Do you plan on riding your "mostly" road bike on mountain trails?
Do you plan on taking your bike to Big Bear in winter to race on snow?

If you answered No to these questions get a road bike.

This is cross... if this isn't your use case, and you are riding a cross bike, you ARE the nipples on a bull.

grolby

Hang on. I had the first post suggesting that the OP didn't need a cross bike, but this is a bit absurd. The cyclocross category has become entangled, at the lower end, with what used to be called sport-touring bikes: general purpose road-going bicycles intended for cruising rather than racing, which could take bigger tires and fenders. At the price point the OP is looking at, most of the bikes available do fit this mold of the versatile commuter and cruiser, with eyelets and whatnot - not racing machines specifically designed for the peculiar insanity of cyclocross. I do think I should clarify - the OP will likely not be unhappy with a cross bike of this kind. But more conventional road-based sport-touring bikes have been making a resurgence lately, and I do think this is a better place to start looking, in no small part because a lot of entry-level cross bikes are designed with an attempt to reach both budget-minded cross racers and commuters, and so often have compromises (like knobby tires) that wouldn't serve the needs of someone like the original poster. But that doesn't mean that all of the options out there are only suitable for slogging through mud and would leave you sad and frustrated.

bikerjp

I think if you were going to own just one bike and wanted it to do pretty much anything then a cross bike is a good place to start. Keep in mind that some cross bikes are really meant for cross racing and others are aimed more at the all around market. The surly crosscheck is well regarded in this respect and would fit in your budget. I'm eying the caadx myself and depending on components would also fit your budget. That said, if you are looking for more of a dedicated road bike then a cross bike might not be the best option. Jamis, for example, makes some nice road bikes that are also capable of taking a rack and wider tires. There are of course many others.

marqueemoon

Tires are an easy swap to make. There are a lot quality slick tires in the 32-35mm range these days. A decent quality tire will not feel sluggish, and the increase in comfort is worth the additional weight in a lot of cases. Kind of nice to plow through stuff that skinnier tired riders have to pick their way through carefully.

I agree on Jamis. My wife has an Aurora for a commuter. Very solid bike for the money. She's running 28mm tires but it will fit much bigger.

Frontrow

I've got a Specialized Crux Comp Apex, which is perfectly well suited for the unpaved rail-trail riding that is about 70% of my riding. I've got 700 x 32 tires (no knobs) with a good slick middle-stripe that helps make road riding a bit easier. I'm going to build a set of road-wheels/tires with the same SRAM cassette in the spring so I can quickly convert from trail to road when needed.

I'm sure I'll be compromising some performance by road-riding this setup, but it's a good trade-off to investing another $2500 or so (or more) for a pure road-bike.

canyoneagle

Since you mention that your wife has balance issues, geometry will be key. Sticking with the recreational road or non-racing cx genre is fine (if she is comfortable with drop bars), but make sure she's not too stretched out.

I'd recommend test riding a variety of bikes in the two genres (recreational road, cx) and see what each of you likes. Bear in mind the cx bikes will likely be equipped with (not surprisingly) cx tires made for dirt, and these will feel different than the same bike with road tires.
There are a few bikes out there that are bridging the gap between these two genres, recognizing that many people have a desire to ride a bike that offers the flexibility to do many things. An example is the Trek Crossrip: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...ness/crossrip/

ALLSTOTT

I use a cross bike strictly as a road bike and love it.. the geometry plus the slick 700x32's makes for a great ride. I swapped out the Cassette(11-28) and crankset(50/34) to have higher gears. The best part is my cross bike weights (20.3 lbs W/ Pedals) less than my road bike.

side_FX

It seems like it is very hard to find a road bike that would fit a 28-32 tire. It almost always has to be a cross bike with the knobbies swapped out for slicks. So that means settling for a heavier bike with toe overlap issues. I just want a lighter weight road bike that will fit a 32 tire because the road conditions in the northeast make the 23 size a bit worrisome for me.

ALLSTOTT

Not necessarily.. there are many cross bikes that are as light or lighter then alot of road bikes.. as for the toe overlap I think if you have a 44+ size shoe your gunna have overlap issues on both road and cross

canyoneagle

Weight should be less of an issue than other criteria, honestly. Any of the bikes you're looking at are plenty light enough.

Tire overlap is more likely to be an issue on a road bike with a shorter wheelbase / tighter front end than on a cx bike.

It sounds to me like you're headed in a good direction for your purposes. You're not giving up noticeable speed on a cx with slicks vs. a road bike with bigger tires, and gaining a lot more practicality and versatility IMO.

side_FX

i can only go by my own experience. I rode a Trek 2000 for years and never had a problem. I then went with a Specialized Tricross and was constantly getting into toe overlap issues. I test rode a Trek Lane and had the same issues. I am curious about the new CrossRip from Trek. I just wish they upped he components just a bit.

merlinextraligh

Ride in parking lots a lot? Toe overlap isn't a significant concern. At speed, you don't turn the front wheel enough for it to matter. At low speed, turning tightly, you may scuff the front tire, but it's not a problem if you don't freak about it.

marqueemoon

Some people are very afraid of toe overlap and for people who fall into this category "Just HTFU" is not really what they want to hear. I'll quote the OP here:

Now maybe toe overlap will be an issue, and maybe it will not. Personally I would try to avoid it in this case.

Cyclocross bikes designed for racing typically do not have a lot of toe overlap. There's a lot of cornering sharply at relatively low speed.

jrobe

You are going to ride on the roads - get a road bike. This is a no-brainer.

Tire width isn't going to make a bit of difference with your wifes balance. Get the bike with the least rolling resistance to make it as easy as possible for her - ie. regular road tires.

You are overthinking this.

merlinextraligh

The message isn't HTFU. The message is to understand how a bike steers and realize that it's not a problem.

So my point is not to suck up the danger, but to understand there really isn't a danger.

marqueemoon

Here's where we disagree. If toe overlap causes the rider to panic (justified or not) it's a danger.

The #1 mistake people who want to share their love of cycling with the important people in their lives who are less experienced with it is to not meet them on their level.

Maybe instead of getting the one you love a faster bike so they can "keep up with you" you should get yourself a slower one, and so on.

alexaschwanden

Don't buy one, get a touring bike instead its more versatile and strong.

ModeratedUser

+1
I'm in my 50s and I think I remember it happening once. Even though I wear size 12/47 shoes. Yeah, you're basically not turning that much at speed. Slow you may turn that much, but you should be using more care riding period! Not just in your turns.

Blade-Runner

You should think about getting a tandem bicycle for both you. I hated ride single bikes with my wife because she is so much slower then I, but I love riding the tandem with her. Also tandems with disc wheels are run a lot of different tire widths.

marqueemoon

Smaller frames for 700c wheels tend to be worse in the toe overlap department. Based on your foot size I'm guessing you ride a size large enough that you're largely unaffected by the kind of geometry compromises that lead to significant toe overlap.

How much toe overlap is a problem depends on the rider and also the type of riding being done. Here is an elite female cross racer who had a frame built with geometry to eliminate toe overlap while retaining the handling and position she's used to.

https://velonews.competitor.com/2012/...y-pro-2_267588

Even the most inexperienced riders usually don't have problems at speed, because you're right - the wheel doesn't turn that much. Starting and stopping are usually the most stressful moments for a new rider though. If toe overlap contributes to the stress and can be avoided through the selection of a different bike, do it.