Hi folks,
Aiming to participate in the Big Hill Dirty Gran Fondo / Double Cross in September, but am undecided about which bike to take, and wondering if those with (a) experience with the actual course, and/or (b) strong opinions, might help guide my choice?
Options:
- CX bike with discs and knobbly clincher tyres on it (which I might convert to tubeless prior to the race, anyway)
- MTB 650B hardtail
The CX bike is clearly going to be significantly faster on the open / hard-packed / road stuff, but I can be a bit sketchy on loose gravel type surfaces (or sand). The MTB would be slower, but would allow a casual disregard of terrain and surfaces.
What would you do??
Bike choice for the Dirty Gran Fondo / Double-Cross
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- silentbutdeadly
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Re: Bike choice for the Dirty Gran Fondo / Double-Cross
Postby silentbutdeadly » Tue Jul 22, 2014 12:09 pm
The CX. Practise with it. Learn how to ride the CX bike so that it isn't as sketchy...that's what it takes. I dropped the seat slightly and shortened/raised the stem (went to a 17 degree one) on mine...big help. Not quite so mad and low on confidence now.
Ours is not to reason why...merely to point and giggle
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Re: Bike choice for the Dirty Gran Fondo / Double-Cross
Postby chriscole » Tue Jul 22, 2014 9:41 pm
Thanks SBD.
Generally pretty happy on my CX bike, as I ride it just about everywhere anyway, & have done a couple of CX races on it. Have only recently (this year) acquired the MTB (as I live about 1km from Stromlo and it seemed a travesty of justice not to have one) and have been enjoying the really-don't-have-to-care-nearly-as-much factor when it comes to what I'm riding on/over, both from a stability/fat-tyre and suspension perspective.
Guess I was just wondering more as to what the course is like and whether it is CX-friendly with a bit of better-off-with-a-MTB thrown in, or if it's the other way around.
Cheers,
Chris
Generally pretty happy on my CX bike, as I ride it just about everywhere anyway, & have done a couple of CX races on it. Have only recently (this year) acquired the MTB (as I live about 1km from Stromlo and it seemed a travesty of justice not to have one) and have been enjoying the really-don't-have-to-care-nearly-as-much factor when it comes to what I'm riding on/over, both from a stability/fat-tyre and suspension perspective.
Guess I was just wondering more as to what the course is like and whether it is CX-friendly with a bit of better-off-with-a-MTB thrown in, or if it's the other way around.
Cheers,
Chris
- Marx
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- Location: Flemington Melbourne Australia
Re: Bike choice for the Dirty Gran Fondo / Double-Cross
Postby Marx » Tue Jul 22, 2014 10:20 pm
Difference is, you've got to learn how to ride a CX fast on gravel/mud, but with a MTB (hardtail), you kinda don't have to.
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