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What are the major differences between a Cyclocross bike and a true road bike?

MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
I'm shopping with my girlfriend to find a good deal on a used road bike and today I came across a really nice looking Trek Cyclocross bike for about $400 - the bike looks mint in the photos.

What are the major differences between a CX bike and a true road bike other than the obvious (knobby tires, mtb derailleurs and such) items?

Would/Could a CX bike make for a good firt time road bike for someone looking to get into road riding at a casual/recreational/charity ride level?

Here's a link to the bike in question: http://boston.craigslist.org/bik/66954798.html

Thanks.

Mark
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
Yes, lots of people here in town have one bike for road and cyclocross...nothing wrong with that unless you are going to race. You can just use a less aggressive tire.
 
-dustin

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
bb height, tire clearance, and angles.

not sure if it'd make a good first time road bike, but i sure would like to do that; use a CX frame and build it up for road use. good commuter material, in my opinion.

that bar + brake hood position looks painful.
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
MMcG said:
What are the major differences between a CX bike and a true road bike other than the obvious (knobby tires, mtb derailleurs and such) items?
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Generally:
1) a higher BB
2) Canti bosses, instead of road brake bosses
3) longer chainstays (not always though)
4) a bit beefier, so typically heavier.

I use my Cross bike as a road bike all the time, and I'll be doing a 40 mile ride and a 50 mile ride on it this season, so yeah, they work for charity stuff.

That Trek looks nice Mark, and lots of folks are happy with bar-end shifters, but if it's primary use is riad riding, i'd suggest an upgrade to some STI brifters.
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
yeah those shifters don't look to user friendly for someone just getting into a road bike.

It would be cool as hell to get Laura a bike for her birthday on the 28th of this Month.
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
Actually, I think a Xbike would make an excellent first time road bike. The HT angle is more relaxed so it won't be quite as twitchy.

I just did a 56 mile road ride on mine. I don't really need or want to get a 'real' road bike.
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

makes avatars better
Dec 25, 2003
8,161
153
Six Shooter Junction
MMcG said:
Can you guys elaborate? Are the bars too high or something?
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Ideally the bars should be nearly flat(15* or less) from the top bend to the top of the hood. The angle those bars are at are going to put the wrists in a funky, uncomfortable angle.
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
MMcG said:
so most cx bikes come with those funky shifters though? I don't understand those shifters? They look like a PITA to use.
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Bar end shifters are cheap & super reliable. Lots of people use them & love them & they never break. This makes them useful for cross. But brifters really are the way to go on a road bike - it's nice to never have to come off of the hoods or ouit of the hooks just to shift. And now most new cross bikes come with brifters anyway. The thing is - they are not cheap to add later - even a set of 105s will set you back $140 or more.....
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
gotcha. Man I don't know squat about road bikes. Can someone provide some links to some good reliable and durable road bikes we should keep our eyes out for? :help:
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
MMcG said:
gotcha. Man I don't know squat about road bikes. Can someone provide some links to some good reliable and durable road bikes we should keep our eyes out for? :help:
Click to expand...
Well - it's the old question - what are you looking to spend?
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
Giant has some great beginner road bikes. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for my first road bike, a Giant OCR1. I got it on a closeout sale and it was a great bike. It took so much of a beating, thousands of training mileage, thousands of commuting mileage....never a problem. I'm not sure what they are running $ wise these days, but check Performance for sales.
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
Heidi said:
Giant has some great beginner road bikes. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for my first road bike, a Giant OCR1. I got it on a closeout sale and it was a great bike. It took so much of a beating, thousands of training mileage, thousands of commuting mileage....never a problem. I'm not sure what they are running $ wise these days, but check Performance for sales.
Click to expand...
We don't have any Performance shops near us.
 
Mackie

Mackie

Monkey
Mar 4, 2004
826
0
New York
MMcG said:
I'd say about $500 max right about now give or take a few here and there.
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So used if you want to get reasonable components.
I like the Specialized bikes - a used Allez can be a nice ride and Giant TCR bikes are a good value new. A year or 2 old TCR should be in your budget.

I was looking hard at cheap used road bikes (but ended up with a cross bike). Basically, fit is the 100% most important thing, followed by componets. Look for 105 brifters & derailluers minimum.

Good luck!
 
Heidi

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
MMcG said:
We don't have any Performance shops near us.
Click to expand...
But if you can find any shop and try one out, you can order one online from Performance...just a suggestion.
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
Heidi said:
But if you can find any shop and try one out, you can order one online from Performance...just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

We've tried out some Treks and Specialized women's specific. On the Trek she fit a 52 really well and on the Specialized women's specific frame she fit a 54 really well - but those bikes were pretty damned pricey.

At least we have a size range to focus in on though.

I went to roadbikereview.com to look into their classifieds - but almost all of the used bikes there are still mucho denero.
 
B

bigevilgrape

Chimp
Apr 8, 2003
41
0
In the middle of no where with all the cows.
I use bar end shifters on my heavy nasty weather, nasty road, comuter, hitting up the grocery store and gas is too expensive to drive bike... which is built on a cross frame. i love it, and they don't break unlike STI. my cross bike is a tank and will take anything i throw at it.


ohhh and i tend to have my hoods down lower on the bars then most males because its easier for my hands to reach the breaks from the drops that way. not *that* far down tho.
 
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