Which Cyclocross circa 1K

[Ady In Accy]

To be used as a winter training bike on the road and to venture off road including racing, I am considering replacing my winter road bike with this more flexible option.

I have seen this which has 105 components and I would not really want to drop below a 105 spec but has anyone got any suggestions for alternatives that won't let me down on a tough race? Perhaps lugs for mudgaurds would be useful edition if I am to be riding in a winter group.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/BM...ke/5360040232/

Also what are the best off road tyres to use and what is the minimum width for road tyres - would I get a 23mm clincher on?

Thanks

[david]

Dom will be along in a minute to recommend a Planet-X Uncle John. Is he on commission yet?

[stevefoster]

Quite a way from you Ady, but Paul Milnes is a good Cyclocross specialist shop
http://www.paulmilnescycles.com/index.htm
Mine cost £800 with full 105 spec.

[Ady In Accy]

Quite a way from you Ady, but Paul Milnes is a good Cyclocross specialist shop
http://www.paulmilnescycles.com/index.htm
Mine cost £800 with full 105 spec.

He used to have a shop in Colne going back a few years. I am almost certainly going to get one in the next couple of weeks. Just need to make an informed choice as I have had no dealings with this genre of bike. Slippery Stones is sending me details of one he is selling so could be interesting.

[Norfolk & Goode]

I've just bought a Ridley Crossbow from Aire Valley and it's fantastic.

I was going to buy the 105 model but bought the Tiagra instead. It's the same frame and fork but with mudguard eyes, its 300 quid cheaper and the ONLY other differences are the shifters, mechs and rear cassette. They are supposed to come with cheaper wheels but mine came with the Fulcrums fitted on the 105 - a bargain especially as I got it on a bike to work scheme....

I'm using it as a winter roadie so the eyelets are a real bonus.

Careful with the Columbus - they don't have mudguard eyes and I don't think they have bottle cage mounts - that's a real hassle if you want to do some road miles.

As for tyres, cross wheels are road wheels so you can fit whatever you like.

[Hanneke]

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...mpaign=froogle

Or even the ordinary Tricross with tiagra... I go from the assumption that it is going to break sooner rather than later and that is cheaper to replace... Mind you, I only use mine for cyclocross and not on the road, so the tiagra stuff is just fine. Bit rough and ready, but cyclocross at my level IS rough and ready

[Hanneke]

I actually now regret not having gone for the single speed version... http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...mpaign=froogle

[stevefoster]

I actually now regret not having gone for the single speed version... http://www.evanscycles.com/products/...mpaign=froogle

Got one of them

[dominion]

A work colleague of mine was looking at the Specialized Tri-Cross last week. It's actually described as ' Free Road'. WTF??

I'd go with whatever won the last 3 Peaks...

http://www.wheelbase.co.uk/product_9297.htm

[trilathon]

If it's a versatile bike that's tough and a good racer then the Crosslight 4T is worth a look alongside those mentioned above

http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/

The frame on its own can be purchased for approx £200 and about £800 for a 105 shod bike

I bought mine a couple of years ago, have done the 3P's on it, used it a winter bike with mudguards, put a rack on it and toddled off touring and have raced it every winter alongside crossing the lake district bog hopping on it.

A small but important bit about cx bikes is to check for foot overlap with the front tyre..cos many are compact style...and the slow speed turning that is a feature of some races can mean this has to be counteracted

other marques of note are Empella, Ridley for that continental 'close to the scene' kudos, but don't overlook somewhere like e bay as america has a massive cross scene now and frequnetly Redline, Blue etc are sold cheap

Tyres, like fell shoes, change for the course and conditions

Michelin Mud 2 are popular for racing in... errr mud

I've also used Vittoria and Panaracer, but they respectively either wear quickly on road or are quite draggy