i want a do-it-all bike.
I need to commute, club-ride, road race, do triathalons, and go everywhere with one road bike, including fall season off-road cross rides.
Im coming from a trek 4300 with slicks, and iv'e finally out-grown it's speed, and i cant race with it.
Obviously a cyclo-cross frame is in order, but what else would you put on it? It would need a large enough crank gear for the racing, but most cross bikes come with too-small of a ratio. Could i use a road-specific frame for difficult trails, or would it not be able to handle the bumps (especially with a max tire size of 25)? Should i build with parts from the frame up, or get a factory spec bike from the LBS and have them swap out parts for my own needs?
And once i had this beast/franken-bike would the only things to change between seasons (cyclocross/road) be the wheels/tires?
and also, why dont road bikes use canti-lever brakes? They seem like they would weigh a lot less than actual calipers.
the reason i cant actually get two different bikes is because, a) i dont have the room in my dorm and b) my budget is only $1000. maybe a little more.
this is going to be my first road bike. ...just tryin to make it count.
any ideas? creativity?
thanks,
Cole
I need to commute, club-ride, road race, do triathalons, and go everywhere with one road bike, including fall season off-road cross rides.
Im coming from a trek 4300 with slicks, and iv'e finally out-grown it's speed, and i cant race with it.
Obviously a cyclo-cross frame is in order, but what else would you put on it? It would need a large enough crank gear for the racing, but most cross bikes come with too-small of a ratio. Could i use a road-specific frame for difficult trails, or would it not be able to handle the bumps (especially with a max tire size of 25)? Should i build with parts from the frame up, or get a factory spec bike from the LBS and have them swap out parts for my own needs?
And once i had this beast/franken-bike would the only things to change between seasons (cyclocross/road) be the wheels/tires?
and also, why dont road bikes use canti-lever brakes? They seem like they would weigh a lot less than actual calipers.
the reason i cant actually get two different bikes is because, a) i dont have the room in my dorm and b) my budget is only $1000. maybe a little more.
this is going to be my first road bike. ...just tryin to make it count.
any ideas? creativity?
thanks,
Cole
