Basic cross/winter road bike?

[wwtsui]

Am interested in a road-style bike for crappy (New England) weather training & multipurpose riding -- i.e., wider/more aggressive tires than on my road bike, rack eyelets, etc. My road bike is steel, but I'm considering aluminum so I don't have to worry about rust. LBS seems to have somewhat limited choices: Trek XO1, Bianchi Axis, Cannondale Cross. Any thoughts on the relative merits of these, particularly with regard to durability and ride comfort? It sounds like aluminim is prone to dents -- would any of these be less prone than any others?

Alternatively, should I not be so worried about rust on a steel frame? (Unfortunately, checkbook won't support titanium...)

Thanks.

 

[zerokoo0l]

Originally posted by wwtsui
Am interested in a road-style bike for crappy (New England) weather training & multipurpose riding -- i.e., wider/more aggressive tires than on my road bike, rack eyelets, etc. My road bike is steel, but I'm considering aluminum so I don't have to worry about rust. LBS seems to have somewhat limited choices: Trek XO1, Bianchi Axis, Cannondale Cross. Any thoughts on the relative merits of these, particularly with regard to durability and ride comfort? It sounds like aluminim is prone to dents -- would any of these be less prone than any others?

Alternatively, should I not be so worried about rust on a steel frame? (Unfortunately, checkbook won't support titanium...)

Thanks.

If your LBS is a Trek dealer, they may also have the Lemond Poprad and if you could consider Reynolds 853 (which is steel), you may want to take a look at it, I am not an expert by any means on anything bicycle related especially cyclocross bikes but if memory serves it is only a little more than an XO1 and offers some fairly substantial advantages over the XO1. I live in Michigan which is also pretty nasty over the fall, winter, early spring.....well pretty much all the time, and have a friend who has one and hasn't had any problems at all with the steel frame over the last 18 months or so. He says (and I do not know if it is a fact or not) that aluminum frames can be noisy if the get wet. I am not sure how it compares to steel in that matter or if it is true or not but that is his contention. I do think the Axis looks cool.