road/cyclocross bikes???
- Thread starter hestilowt
- Start date
Is selling your current road bike an option? If so, you might want consider that then buy a cyclocross and get a second set of tires/rims for the road. I just picked up a Kona Jake the Snake and put road tires on it - it's a very nice ride.hestilowt said:
im workin on sellin my current road bike (it's 650, i want a 700, found an awesom lemond at a shop for less than $1000, yeah!!!), but i want to keep road racing also, just do cyclocross in the winter (that is the season right???). i want to focus on road, would the cyclocross frame and components be any good for that???RonHeal said:
hestilowt said:
Eh, it's workable. The biggest obstacle to strong road riding on a cross bike is the most easy to overcome: fat tires. The rest are subtleties that will make more or less of a difference depending on how hard, fast, and far, and high you ride.
It's likely to be heavier than your average road frame, for one; they're typically designed to take more of a beating. Component-wise, particularly in terms of the drivetrain, many cross bikes are spec'd identically to their road counterparts--there's a plus. Ultegra, Centaur, whatever; go for it. Bar-end shifters are common, but many fancy-ass cross riders use STI or Ergopower shifters, so again, it's your call. Cross bikes almost always feature cantilever brakes (for mud and tire clearance), but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the road.
You'll notice right off, though, that the geometry is a little different--you'll feel quite upright, almost as though you're on a MTB rig. If you're taking the thing to local crits or doing long mountain stage races, you might be at a small disadvantage.
Remember: there's no jack-of-all-trades bike. If you're making compromises, they're likely to bother you down the road if you're feeling pure of heart (ie, you want to be a dedicated roadie). That said, cross bikes are about as versatile as they come for serious cycling... nothing else can go quite as fast on the road and make you feel quite as courageous about dirt as they can.
hestilowt said:
I can tell you this much. I rode a Trek Xo1 cross bike with 23mm road tires on it for some time. When I switched to a road bike, my average speed didn't improve that much even though I lost about 3 pounds between the two bikes. Then again I don't live in a very hilly area and I would imagine that this would have more of an impact for you if you live around hills.
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