Advice on CX bike

JeremyP

I would like to buy a new CX bike and would appreciate some advice. Seems like there is a lot of choice with the mainstream manufacturers offering do-it-all bikes that can be used for commuting, trail riding and racing. Been looking at the Genesis Vapour but reckon that could be a bit heavy for CX. Want to do some racing and would probably use the bike for Letchworth Greenway training rides in Winter and a bit of commuting.

Any advice welcomed

tduckett

Jeremy, you are right that there is a lot of competition in the £1000 cx market and most of them are around 10kg. Theres not a lot to choose between them really.
What i did was opt for a Boardman Team, currently £899. If you choose your moment Halfords regularly offer 10% off for web purchases and then on top of that you get a further 10% as a BC member ( which you would have to be to race). so i ended up paying a little over £700 and then bought a set of planet x carbon tubulars for £500. (again if you get your timing right these are often less than that). With the carbon wheels on it weighs 9kg and is fine for league racing. Ive used mine for racing, the 3 peaks and leisure rides with the kids and it been great.

Have a think if you want discs or not as once youve gone down either route you are commited. If i had gone cantilevers i might have bought the cannondale which has a great frame and then done some upgrading of components.

Vam Polecat

As you say there is a lot out there, and they are all pretty good these days as a do-it-all bike. CX racing is rather specific and you will not see many off the shelf machines raced out there. The big question is whether you think this might be an occasional thing, or you're likely to get the full blown version of the disease.

Either way, it's a good idea to start with a good race geometry, and while the Vapour looks okay, I'd perhaps look at the Kinesis Pro 6 or Ridley X-Bow for a bit more proven racing DNA.

I assume it's discs you want, but be aware a lot of racers prefer cantis, so don't reject that option without consideration.

If you want to consider more focused carbon, take a look at the Planet X offerings, there are a few in he club who love their SLXs.

I am firmly committed to cantis, but purely hypothetically speaking, if I was looking to start down the disc road, I'd probably start with the Winspace frame sold by Jedi and build up with second generation hydraulics.

Stuart F

I think I have the full blown version of the disease. Have had a number of X bikes made up from bits and pieces. Liked my Specialized tri Cross but got a planet X SLX at the end of last season and it is a lot of bike for the money. Cable discs but very powerful (Avid BB7's)

phil k

there is advertised for sale on the beds road club website in the "for sale" bit of their forum someone selling an Empella Bonfire Cyclocross bike - says suitable for 6ft plus rider. Includes 2 sets of CX tyres & Shimano SPDs - for £200 - sounds like a bargain to me - it was posted last wednesday so you might need to be quick.....

JeremyP

Thanks to all your really useful advice and help. The Kinesis and Planet X bikes look like good starting points with opportunities to upgrade with better wheels if the disease gets me too. I met John at tonight's chain gang and he was able to answer lots of questions prompted by his response. I really liked the look of his Kinesis Road frame - looks like they produce a nice quality frame. The black anodised finish makes for one of the best looking bikes I've seen for a long time. Thanks for the heads up on the 2nd hand bike but that bike would be too big for me. Anyway time to make a decision and buy the bike!

Vam Polecat

Nice to meet you Jeremy, good luck choosing your bike and see you on the cross circuit.