Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I have a dream! .
From next week I will hopefully know my future...and it may be that I am in for really cold winters for a good few years to come.
So seeing that I can ride a mtb pretty well,can ride a road bike pretty well,love the cold,love mud and shite...but hate running...but can bunny hop REALLY high...and have missed most of the road season due to my back problems...and that my club is running the Regional CX championships in December...well ...I want to win it!.
So apart from being fat and unfit,what do you need to build a cx bike?...I was thinking a frame/forks, canti brakes calipers & nobby 700c tyres...maybe smaller chainrings.
Apart from that I will put all my DuraAce bits onto it as the road bike is packed up for winter anyway and I ride a crap winter road bike.I have big alloy road bars,thomson posts and plenty of kyrium elite front wheels ,maybe need a new rear wheel.Also use XT pedals...but not sure about my Shimano MTB shoes as they are carbon sole and are really hard to run in!.
Oh well new adventure all the same!.

toolonglegs wrote:So apart from being fat and unfit,what do you need to build a cx bike?...I was thinking a frame/forks, canti brakes calipers & nobby 700c tyres...maybe smaller chainrings.

That's about it. 34/46 or 36/48 are normal for rings.

Practice your dismounts and remounts, a lot of time will be lost/made here.

Yes I tried a few on the weekend...I wasn't too bad on getting off,but the running/shouldering the bike part was horrendous! ...I haven't run for over 15 years due to ankle issues and my current lack of flexibility just makes it worse so by the time it was time to get back on I was pooped.

i think there's a limit on bar width for cyclocross, 44cm IIRC.

My bars will be 44...but not sure it matters here as they will be letting mtb's be used as well...cyclocross isn't that big in this region.

toolonglegs wrote:My bars will be 44...but not sure it matters here as they will be letting mtb's be used as well...cyclocross isn't that big in this region.

That's a no-brainer then. Just use the MTB, especially at your weight. Those big tyres should have less rolling resistance on the soft stuff than the 35mm restricted tyres on a true 'cross bike. Not to mention the better handling and braking a MTB has. Might be harder to carry though...

Yeah I thought about it...but my mtb is heavy 13.5kgs!....my CX bike would be about 9...and I will be 90'ish by then all going well.
Also I think (only from looking at photos) the course is fairly tame...meaning a CX will be a lot quickier.Remember I want to win!.
It also makes sense to buy one because I could use it as my extreme winter training bike...as much as I enjoy riding my mtb when the roads are covered in snow,the geometry isn't comfortable over 30-40km rides.
Anyway it is all "a dream" for now as I don't know if I will actually be here or not.

I believe CX has gotten with the times and allows discs now...so riding in mud is less of an issue cause there's no canti's to get gummed up. I could be talking outta my proverbial, too.

Jim

Yes you can run disc now.

It looks like fun doesnt it! There would be a good chance there will be some cyclocross action no matter where you end up?[Unless its Hobart ]

I have spend the last couple of months mulling over the eternal question, what next for N+! It is between a CX bike and a 29'er

Like you my mtb is a hefty 14kg but a good bike regardless. A cx bike is the only way to go lighter and keep the cost down, going light on a 29'er means a bit more cash.

Even thought about one of those Niner cabon forks for my current bike. I also like their steel frame/carbon fork bikes....hmmm

If you had not thought about a 29'er as an option, your welcome

I am thinking about getting a 29'er...being 194cm makes it seem like a good option.The big mtb races are all September / October here after the road season has finished.But I really can't see a 29er being as fast as a CX bike still...the course they use looks very fast,just a leaf covered dirt crit course .
Anyway if we stay we have plenty of time to decide...apart from only just starting training after over a year off the bike ...I won't need a CX bike till November.

toolonglegs wrote:But I really can't see a 29er being as fast as a CX bike still...the course they use looks very fast,just a leaf covered dirt crit course

Probably not.....but a simple hardtail 29er will run with a 700C wheelset (as long as it has disc hubs) and 700x35 to 40 tyres no worries.....and (believe me) that'll make it rather quickish without being too heavy.
Once the racing is done - back on with the 'normal' sized wheels for normal MTB trails. Easy to convince the missus that it's a dual purpose bike!!

That said....the 29er frame will be slightly heavier than a CX frame. Although probably only a couple of hundred grams especially if both are alloy.

silentbutdeadly wrote:

toolonglegs wrote:But I really can't see a 29er being as fast as a CX bike still...the course they use looks very fast,just a leaf covered dirt crit course

Probably not.....but a simple hardtail 29er will run with a 700C wheelset (as long as it has disc hubs) and 700x35 to 40 tyres no worries.....and (believe me) that'll make it rather quickish without being too heavy.
Once the racing is done - back on with the 'normal' sized wheels for normal MTB trails. Easy to convince the missus that it's a dual purpose bike!!

That said....the 29er frame will be slightly heavier than a CX frame. Although probably only a couple of hundred grams especially if both are alloy.

Not that easy to do well as a drop bar frame needs a different ETT to a flat bar frame. For example, ETT of 53 on my drop bar and 58.5 on the MTB.

A cx bikes is definitely faster than a hardtail MTB. Until it gets really rough. I love mine and use it everywhere.

Discs are great as I didn't really trust canti brakes to haul me up at 126kgs when I bought it in January.

I have done about 1800kms on it know and I still love it.

Nice Mugglechops...looks like a fun ride.
I will probably stick with canti's as I will be a heavy lightweight by then ...and they are cheap,plus I can just chuck my roadie wheels on.
Hopefully I will know my future by next week...getting a bit close to crunch time!.

Were have people seen big ranges of cx bikes / frames online in europe?.Bike 24 seems to have the biggest range but it is still pretty small.Looking more and more likely a frame build is the cheaper way to go...as I have wheels (CXP33 on Ultegra/DuraAce hub 32 spoke rear & Kysrium Elite front),I have a compact Ultegra group set.Will get chain set to suit.Can pick up XT deraileurs cheap...will run old school 9 speed Ultegra shifters as 9 speed never misses a beat even in the crappiest conditions.
ALso I run a 63cm road bike...wondering if I should run a smaller frame for CX?.
Which pedals and shoes would be next....I have XT on the mtb and XT level carbon sole Shimano shoes....but they would be CRAP to run in,maybe I need practice!.
Anyway still have 3 months till season starts so plenty of time....this wil be my winter training bike as well.
I can not run a mtb (29'er) in FFC races which is the main federation for CX...my federation only runs 2 CX races ...so I trying to find out what I need to race in FFC.Politics of racing here is very complex at any grade!.
Exciting!!! .

Run the same size as your roadie, a lot of people will run a shorter stem (10 to 20mm shorter), seat a little lower and less drop between the seat an bars.

XT Pedals will be fine, same with the shoes, running hurts and will take practice.

I use and can recommend Gore Ride-On sealed cables. Keeps the crud out, shifting works flawlessly regardless of the conditions.

hmmm might have stumbled on a good thread here ... I just bought a cyclocross with the hope of getting into it ... does anyone know what direction I should head in to find some racing in NSW??

Here http://www.facebook.com/CyclocrossOz

and

http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthread.php?107460

Nothing happening, at the moment, but great things are a foot.

They ran a series last year in Wollongong but none so far this year.

Would love to get a few races going in Nowra but so far I think there is only 3 people who have one.

ordered one of these in the end... http://www.focus-bikes.com/us/en_us/bik ... x-1-1.html
should be here by the end of the month....and didn't need to get the biggest size either .
Started training a bit more specifically as well....has been amusing,couple of days ago I came off face first into a big pile of poison ivy...made the rest of the ride amusing!.
Also lack of movement in one of my ankles is proving an issue as running up slopes is very weird when one foot moves much more than the other.
But haven't been able to do many descent dismounts as my mtb is compact and reaching down to grab the top tube is too far for a proper dismount.
3 months to go .

If it's a long run, grab the down tube, so practice that.

It is more for the dismounts...my mtb is too small a triangle for me to run comfy (ish) over my shoulder...and too heavy!.
I will hopefully have it by the end of the month so will have two months to practice before winter hits proper... I don't expect to very proficient this year,maybe next year.Either way it is just a way of doing something competitive during winter.My club doesn't ride from the end of the road season (end of september) till about Boxing day.THats about plus 5kgs for me!.
Either way I have a LOOOONG way to go to get back to my fitness of May last year...so I might as well make it fun .

Still waiting for my Focus!...apparently there are no bikes available in any size till start of October...I looked at other bikes the LBS does - Scott only does a 58 and it is sloping top tube (no good for me).Giant makes a lovely top of the line model carbon one but everything below it is WAY below that...Cannondale again,but the Focus are the same price as Cannondale for Ultegra level instead of 105.
Oh well I haven't got time to ride other than my commute at the moment (400-500km per week )...and I think I will be relaxing on the weekends so I can wait.