Rick Osborn wrote:
> thinking on getting into it for urban excersions. does anyone have
> experience in the sport?
i think the 'cross bike is the single most versatile bike you could own.
i have a steel bianchi that is my main race bike, and a steel surly
cross-check that i use as a backup bike in the pits, and as a commuting
bike. i ride my cross bikes a lot more than my road or mtn bikes.
the cross bike does great commuting, going around the city, and on
ralatively smooth off-road stuff. swapping to smooth tires, and the CX
bike is very able as a road machine.
STI shifters are pretty much the norm- bar ends are a classic
alternative and are cheaper and less fragile.
gearing on most stock cross bikes is not "race ready", which may be fine
depending on what you want. typical race rearing is a 12-25 or 12-27
rear cluster and fairly small chainrings up front: e.g. 48/38, 46/38 or
42 single, 39 single. i run 46/36
a lot of stock bikes throw on either road gearing- but a 53 tooth ring
is pretty much useless most of the time. the pros usually don't go above
48 and often just use the 42 single.
the other extreme a lot of stock bikes have is the triple, which is more
cumbersome and also uselss for 'cross racing. the logic being that if
you are creeping up in a 22x 25 gear you should be running!
that being said- if you want to do some hilly off-roading or loaded
touring, you might really apreciate the low gears.
$1- $2k is a wide range. there are a lot of choices in the range.
drivetrain parts are usually just road part, mtn bike parts if your
gearing is wide. brakes are typically canti-levers. disc brakes on some
bikes, but they are banned in international competition and that rule is
trickling into the states.
examples around $1k:
surly cross check - i have the base model, but if they had had the 105
level i would have gotten that. the frame is heavy, but it's a
versatile, strong frame. real cross gearing. economical
jamis nova- jamis seems to spec bike really good for the money. has a
triple chainring
redline conquest- a popular choice in a entry level race bike
bianchi axis- i owed an older version of this bike. very nice parts
spec, but now has a triple chainring setup.
bikes i am not as familiar with in the same price range: cannondale ,
kona jake the snake, trek xo1, lemond poprad
for $2000 you would get a very nice bike. parts take a beating in
'cross, so people don't usually try to get too fancy. but there are
some fancy frames out there in carbon, scandium and aluminum, but these
woudl put the biek well over $2k. bikes under $2k will be aluminum or steel.
good luck!
marc