Next Bike — What Do I Want?

[GuyContinental]

@jabberwocky 48416 wrote:

Probably true of some of the easier stuff, but I wouldn’t take a CX bike on any of the intermediate trail in the area, and wouldn’t even consider it on the more advanced stuff. Most of wakefield would be alright, for example (though the rocky stuff on phase 4 would suck on a cross bike). I wouldn’t ride Accotink on a cross bike though.

To me, its a question of enjoyment. Sure, you can ride a CX bike on singletrack. I’ve done it many times. Its not very fun though. The geometry is unpleasant on actual trail, the ride is harsh, drop bars suck off road, ground clearance is bad, cross tires lack traction on steep climbs/descents and cornering etc.

I’m kind of sick that way- I actually find the difficulty and discomfort part of the fun (I also telemark ski, unicycle, play underwater hockey and C-1 whitewater paddle so I’m definitely into masochism). BUT to the original point, she wasn’t looking to ride intermediate trails, she was looking for a do-it-all ride that could also do some of the beginner trails. A CX is much better than a MTB for 90% or more of those.

[vvill]

Agreed with the general consensus here – unless you want to do mountain biking, a CX bike is fine for the C&O and many other offroad surfaces – especially if you go with lower pressure wider tires. I’d also add that depending on how much utility riding you might do, a touring style road bike (with clearance for wider tires, etc.) is also an option. It’ll generally be heavier but also more sturdy for riding loaded, and possibly also more comfortable with the more upright position, longer wheelbase, etc. CX bikes are generally designed to go fast on off-road surfaces, but not necessarily comfortably. Obviously this all depends a lot on how you set your bike up. Touring/utility road bikes may also have even wider tire clearances than CX bikes, for say, wider studded tires or more balloon-y tires if you want, where CX bikes are often limited to 35mm or so. It depends on the bike though; some are made so specifically for the niche of racing CX that they don’t even have water bottle mounts, while many are marketed as double-duty commuter/light offroad bikes and come stock with urban treaded rather than knobby tires since that seems to be a lot of the CX bike buying market.

Before I bought my CX bike I was tossing up between something more commuteriffic like the Redline Metro Classic (steel, triple cranks, disc brakes) and something more CX/speed/lightweight oriented. In the end I bought something that was more in the “double-duty” market segment, and made some upgrades. If I was shopping a bit more high end/dreambike I would consider a titanium model just because I’ve always wanted to, and even something like the Salsa Warbird Ti because I realize I love riding gravel and do more miles on that than on trails/CX terrain. I’ve often considered a Lynskey Cooper CX too, their main disc model for 2012 frame, which now comes in two builds – one for utility/commuter riding and one for CX racing. (Many of their 2013 frames have since been changed to use disc brakes).

I feel that disc brakes are still rapidly changing/maturing on road/CX bikes, but I was happy enough with the current offerings to make that leap. I have disc, caliper, v-brakes, and mini v-brakes across my fleet and the discs stop the best across all conditions. (I don’t have any cantis at this point so I can’t compare.) They do have some annoyances – brake squeal in the wet, sometimes fiddly adjustment (could just be my lack of mechanical skills) and incompatibility with my existing road bike wheelsets – with limited off-the-shelf options. I also tend to accidentally lock them up forgetting how powerful they are.

Note: If you go with a disc CX bike as your dream bike I would recommend getting something with a tapered 1.5 to 1.125 headtube/fork instead of a straight 1.125 one. They generally do not make full carbon disc forks for straight 1.125″ headtubes (only the legs are carbon). I know at least one company used to make them and had to recall them due to failures – I assume it’s because of the forces disc braking puts on a fork. If that’s the case, then I imagine a tapered headtube is a better design regardless of material. My bike has a straight 1.125 and while I’ve considered upgrading the stock aluminum fork the best I could do is get one with carbon legs and an aluminum steerer, or go with steel. I know it’s just a fork, but offroad without suspension I like as much bump absorption as possible.

Of course, there’s also the fatbike option… http://t.co/5nZAewoin4

tl;dr <= I had coffee this morning. Also, I never think much about bikes.

[jwfisher3]

I’ve been spending some time researching CX and light touring bikes, since I need a new commuter – I’ll append onto what’s already been posted. CX bikes are trending, and there’s lots of quality out there, in aluminum, steel and carbon frames. I like steel, since carbon CX bikes are racing bikes, and don’t have fender/rack eyelets on the dropouts. I find aluminum to be sorta harsh – my current commuter is a Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra, but newer frames from some of the makers claim to have tuned the ride by shaping seat stays, etc. to absorb some of the inherent stiffness in aluminum – you have to ride and try. A few bikes that looked interesting are Specialized TriCross Elite Steel Disc Triple and the Kona Rove. Both steel bikes with mechanical discs (only way you’ll get discs on a drop bar bike) and overall nice spec. I rode the Specialized, and also a Cannondale CAADX 105 (to compare and contrast) in the last week and both performed well, but differently. Cannondale was lighter and zippier (partly comes from being 6lbs lighter @ 22lbs) but didn’t have the steel ride compliance that I like, and it stretches you out more than I like. I agree with the consensus here that a CX bike is not for rugged singletrack, unless you like the hardtail feel and can hold on tight to your hoods on a drop bar. I think Bianchi’s cyclocross bikes (Zurigo?) are also worth a look – I sure do miss my San Jose. Now, because I’m looking for a four season commuter, with that fender/rack requirement, I’m also looking at Surly frames – the Cross Check does not come as disc-capable, and the Disc Trucker is touring geometry. May go with a Long Haul Trucker. Lots to think about, but you love to ride, so it’s important to take your time. Oh, and doesn’t Ann have a CX bike? What’s her advice?

[jabberwocky]

@GuyContinental 48437 wrote:

I’m kind of sick that way- I actually find the difficulty and discomfort part of the fun (I also telemark ski, unicycle, play underwater hockey and C-1 whitewater paddle so I’m definitely into masochism). BUT to the original point, she wasn’t looking to ride intermediate trails, she was looking for a do-it-all ride that could also do some of the beginner trails. A CX is much better than a MTB for 90% or more of those.

I don’t disagree. I just think some people are falling into the “cross bikes are awesome trail machines” trap, which isn’t true. I would not, for instance, recommend a cross bike for the NoVA epic (which includes trail in Laurel Hill, Accotink, Wakefield, Lake Fairfax and a lot of the CCT north of Fairfax).

[jrenaut]

Will makes a good point that all cross bikes aren’t created equal. For example, there is a huge difference between my Bianchi ,which is all set up for racks and fenders, and a super-light aluminum racing bike. Both may be called cross, but they serve very different purposes. While one technically could ride a cross race on my bike, it’s not exactly what the bike is made for.

[Mikey]

I admit I haven’t read all of the thread comments yet, so I appologize if I repeat anyone elses comments.

I would think about a good touring bike that can take slightly fatter wheels, and possibly heavier loads. I’m thinking a Surly Long-Haul Trucker, with 26in x 32s. This would be okay for both a commuter, and the C&O, as well as a nice trip out into the rolling countryside.

[Greenbelt]

@jwfisher3 48441 wrote:

I’ve been spending some time researching CX and light touring bikes, since I need a new commuter – I’ll append onto what’s already been posted. CX bikes are trending, and there’s lots of quality out there, in aluminum, steel and carbon frames. I like steel, since carbon CX bikes are racing bikes, and don’t have fender/rack eyelets on the dropouts. I find aluminum to be sorta harsh – my current commuter is a Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra, but newer frames from some of the makers claim to have tuned the ride by shaping seat stays, etc. to absorb some of the inherent stiffness in aluminum – you have to ride and try. A few bikes that looked interesting are Specialized TriCross Elite Steel Disc Triple and the Kona Rove. Both steel bikes with mechanical discs (only way you’ll get discs on a drop bar bike) and overall nice spec. I rode the Specialized, and also a Cannondale CAADX Tiagra (to compare and contrast) in the last week and both performed well, but differently. Cannondale was lighter and zipper (partly comes from being 6lbs lighter @ 22lbs) but didn’t have the steel ride compliance that I like. I agree with the consensus here that a CX bike is not for singletrack, unless you like the hardtail feel and can hold on tight to your hoods on a drop bar. I think Bianchi’s cyclocross bikes are also worth a look – I sure do miss my San Jose. Now, because I’m looking for a four season commuter, with that fender/rack requirement, I’m also looking at Surly frames – the Cross Check does not come as disc-capable, and the Disc Trucker has touring geometry. Lots to think about, but you love to ride, so it’s important to take your time. Oh, and doesn’t Ann have a CX bike? What’s her advice?

Agree the Rove is a sweet, all-purpose bike. Rode one when they were just introduced last year, and now they’re starting to become available. I also like the 2013 Jamis Nova Race quite a bit — they upgraded the brakes — and it’s fully touring compatible.

Although it can’t carry a load, and is in the fantasy price range, I’m going to go ride one these in a couple weeks: http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/04/gallery/gallery-bianchi-launches-infinito-endurance-bike-with-new-carbon_280694

Apparently Bianchi USA worked with the designers to ensure that there were clearances for 28s (my preference, if not 32s!). Also supposedly has a disk brake option…

[dcv]

@DismalScientist 48424 wrote:

BikeSnob says that fixies are out…

[jrenaut]

@dcv 48471 wrote:

NOOOOOO!!!

That just means they’re cheaper used.

[eminva]

Thank you, everyone, this has been really, really helpful.

I understand jabberwocky’s point — referring to the CCT in my earlier message, I was thinking of the part between Thais Park and Lake Accotink, where I go almost every weekend. But I have ridden the CCT from the W&OD to Oakmarr on the kid’s erstwhile mountain bike and I suspect it would have been a major challenge for me on a CX bike. That’s probably just the challenge some of you want, but it might be out of my league — I don’t consider myself an accomplished MTBer.

Hence, the dilemma: I like getting out on the MTB every so often and I’d like to learn more, but I’m not sure I can justify having a mountain bike given space constraints and the limited time I seem to find for it.

The advice on CX and touring bikes is great. Kayakcyndi, I greatly covet your Viaje — I really need to scour the seat cushions for all the change I can find to aspire to that!

The NoVa Epic sounds like a great event, let me check the calendar. I could probably do the 40-mile version; I’ve already done most of that at one point or another. If nothing else, maybe they could use volunteers.

Wishing I could do one from Column A, one from Column B, etc . . .

Liz

[KayakCyndi]

@eminva 48477 wrote:

The NoVa Epic sounds like a great event, let me check the calendar. I could probably do the 40-mile version; I’ve already done most of that at one point or another. If nothing else, maybe they could use volunteers.

Wishing I could do one from Column A, one from Column B, etc . . .

Liz

Excellent. I was thinking the 40 miler too and I’ll do it on the Viaje with cross tires. We should try it! And yes, the right number bikes is just like kayaks — n+1.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I don’t even ride off road and my feeling is that my cross bike would be sub-optimal for real MTB-type trails given the geometry and what not…but I freely admit that that feeling stems from me being a big chicken and mediocre bike handler. One thing to seriously consider though, is that cross bikes generally have road components, so you can’t get the same low gearing that you’d find on a real MTB.

[GuyContinental]

@TwoWheelsDC 48492 wrote:

I don’t even ride off road and my feeling is that my cross bike would be sub-optimal for real MTB-type trails given the geometry and what not…but I freely admit that that feeling stems from me being a big chicken and mediocre bike handler. One thing to seriously consider though, is that cross bikes generally have road components, so you can’t get the same low gearing that you’d find on a real MTB.

Sure you can- both SRAM and Shimano groups have triple FDs and you just use a long cage RD to put on a 12-34 cassette. But most folks that need more range just go with the MTB RD and a smaller inner ring (32T)

[TwoWheelsDC]

@GuyContinental 48495 wrote:

Sure you can- both SRAM and Shimano groups have triple FDs and you just use a long cage RD to put on a 12-34 cassette. But most folks that need more range just go with the MTB RD and a smaller inner ring (32T)

Right, you can with some modifications…I guess I meant “out of the box”. As a mostly non-tinkerer, my inclination would be to follow the path of least resistance and just choose a bike that came stock with the setup that I needed.

[jabberwocky]

@GuyContinental 48495 wrote:

Sure you can- both SRAM and Shimano groups have triple FDs and you just use a long cage RD to put on a 12-34 cassette. But most folks that need more range just go with the MTB RD and a smaller inner ring (32T)

I don’t think most road derailleurs will shift onto a 34t cassette (some will work with a 32, but it can be finicky and isn’t officially recommended). And a road triple only goes down to a 30t small ring, whereas most MTB cranks have a 22t small ring.

Granted, you could just run a full MTB drivetrain aside from the shifters.

[Author]

Posts