Begs

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

I put this in the cross bike thread as well, not sure where it belonged...(insert newbie insult here) hahaha

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) Can i buy an older road bike and maybe put some wider, cross/mountain tires on it?


Any insights would be great!

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

Cheers!

bikemig 

Yes as to both (1) and (2). A cross bike is an excellent choice as an all round bike. I have a soma double cross that I really like. A cross handles more or less like a nice race bike but with fat tires.

A vintage bike is a good choice and will save you some money. You need to find a bike that can take wider tires though. A touring bike will work well. So would a vintage mtb if you want to convert it to drops. But pretty much any older bike that has long reach brakes should work well for you. There will be a lot of bikes to choose from in the Chicago area.

gc3

In your shoes, I'd consider getting what is now being billed as a "gravel grinder" bike, which is for the most part road geometry with extra tire clearance...and as noted, there are many older bikes that will fill that requirement...

Begs

Thanks!!! How old do you think I have to go? Do you have an example of a good 'Gravel Grinder'?

MRT2

Not old. Pretty cool bikes, though.

https://salsacycles.com/bikes/vaya_3

bikemig 

There is no definition of a gravel grinder as this is just something that someone built up out of an old bike. But if you ask the question, you'll get lots of pics. You could do a lot worse than get a vintage MTB. They are readily available and don't cost a lot. If you are looking at road bikes, you might want to keep your eyes out for a bike that takes centerpulls. That's a pretty good sign that the bike will take fatter tires. Plus a lot of those bikes come with 27 inch wheels which can be replaced by 700c. The other option is to look for a roadbike that has cantilevers (like many touring bikes) or a sports touring bike that has a long reach sidepull. Personally, I'd look around for something with center pulls or cantis.

Begs

Thanks so much for the info. Do i need to consider weight of the frame/bike? I am big guy 6'5 280lbs. I have been spoiled by my carbon bike and it being so amazing to ride.

Do i just need to man up here?

Dunbar

If you want something cheap (and aren't picky about looks) check out the Mercier Galaxy, Aquila and Corvus from Bikes Direct. It's an aluminum road bike that takes up to 40mm tires and a rear rack. I just got an Aquila AL and for using around town (other bike is a Specialized Roubaix) and I really like it. It feels much snappier than my flat-bar hybrid. Just be advised that it comes with 622x15c road wheels which are only conservatively supposed to accept up to 32c tires. Many people run 35c tires on those rims but anything wider would be pushing the limits.

Other than the Gravity Zilla all of Bike Direct's cyclocross frames have really short head tubes. So if you like the endurance geometry of the Roubaix I'm pretty sure you'd hate a bike with a tiny head tube. If you aren't on a budget I'm pretty you can find a cyclocross bike with a more upright geometry. I'd recommend getting at least Shimano Tiagra or SRAM Apex level shifters.

elcruxio

Cyclocross bikes normally have 3cm longer forks so you can add that to the headtube measurement.
For example 190mm headtube cross bike = 220mm headtube roadbike.

knobster

Cross bike will be fine as long as it's able to handle larger tire size. I had several Specialized Tricross models and I would usually run 700x32's and from time-to-time run a 38. Rode great on gravel and dirt roads. I wouldn't ride your carbon bike on these surfaces as the tires would probably be no larger than 700x25 and larger tires are your friend in this situation. Not to mention the gravel hitting your frame and nicking the clear coat. I wouldn't want to do that to a high dollar carbon bike.

mshred

i'd definitely be looking for a cross bike in your shoes. a road bike that can take 28mm tires might get the job done, but since you already have a good road bike i'd go for the cross bike.

Begs

thanks everyone!!! I thought the cross bike angle was going to be the way to go. I will post this in the cross section as well but anyone know anything about the Fuji Cross 3.0?

They have a good price on it at a shop close to me.

I will post this in the cross section as well but figured since everyone here has been so helpful thus far i would stick it in here too!

Thanks!