Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

hey guys, yes im new to this riding thing and am looking to purchase a new bicycle.

will be using the bike to mainly ride to work and hopefully more in the future.

just trying to find out if it is worth the mullah or if there has been any bad reviews on it.

I don't know it myself Mark, but be patient and someone who does will come along. Got any other questions? (don't forget, this has been covered around the forum so you might find all you questions answered - however, we all love the 'one out of left field').

Richard

A search on 'crx' just turned up 21 threads where 'crx' is mentioned. I'm pretty sure that most issues / opinions are covered across them, so there's plenty to read while you wait for a direct answer.
My two bob's worth - drop bars are more versatile than flat bars.

peterrjleach wrote:My two bob's worth - drop bars are more versatile than flat bars.

Fishing the billy off the fire, more places to hang wet undies on, able to hook behind a car's rear vision mirror to get a free tow (amazingly dangerous incidentally, don't even hang onto another vehicle), you can drop onto the hooks and pretend you're Lance Armstrong ... oh the list is endless

Mind you flat bars would be more useful for fending off brown snakes (had a 1m one slither through the back yard yesterday and we're in suburbia) and angry dogs ... assuming both wait for you to unbolt them from the bike

Richard

Don't really see the point of disc brakes on a road bike, unless you have some very unusual hills on your roads... Likewise 10 speed at the back seems excessive to me.

I'd think about the CRX City, the 8 speed Nexus is a very nice alternative to a deraileur, it's a very low maintenance and robust system, and it's easy to change gear when stopped at lights/give ways, which might be what you want in a commuter.

I'm sure the zero is worth the money in terms of components, but you should have a think about whether or not you need those components, or if something else would be more suitable...

Giant is a major brand and there's reputation to back it up. But I would agree with above that disc brake is unnecessary for the purpose.

As has discussed many times before, the added weight and component complexity is not justified except for people who ride in the wet most of the time or MTB with very heavy brake use. Riding in the city, V-brakes or even caliper brakes are more than powerful enough while keeping the mechanisms simple and weight down. The bling of the disc brake will only come back to bite you when you are on leg power...

Depending what more you want to do in biking, a flat bar is really not very comfortable for long rides or club rides, yet is preferred for city rides. The limited hand position even with bar ends can be very tiring on the wrist. Drop bars are suggested for those applications.

Mate we need a bit more info on you first. A CRX zero is more than likely worth the money but that means nothing. It would not be worth the money for me atm cos i am not that sort of rider I take things a little rougher. The same may applie to you so. Tell a bit more about yourself first!

Donald

PS nice bike but I still like my Discovery and Pionear

Yeah sorry was kind of in a hurry last night.

Well ill be using the bike 100% on the road and live in a pretty hilly area, not sure on the distance to work. probably around 12kms.
i was advised this bike (or the crx 1) by a mate at work who seems to be pretty up to date on his riding.
He also did say that the disk brakes on the zero might be a bit heavy for the hills.
Im not to keen on the whole drop bar idea(for the time being), so a flatbar with bar ends seems the way to go for the moment.

i guess the only other real differences with the 1 and zero is the gears and wheelset?

Which city do you live in?

Donald

just around the corner from you

ill be riding from Carindale/Camp Hill area to Bulimba, on the river side.

Weight is bad for hills.

Stiff frame is desirable for hills to avoid excessive flexes on climbs.

Maybe worth looking at proper road bike frame geometry rather than a relaxed frame geometry that's less stiff.

Me being a nosy bugger. There is a fair distance between carindale and camp hill. Have you thought ablout your route yet?

Donald

im gonna see how far it is on my car tomorow.
but street wise ... from say Old Cleavland RD (Carina) to Oxford St(Bulimba) roughly

OMGosh, that is goin to be a bugger of a ride. Try to ride along the ridge line. I was/am going to Morningside tafe(the campus is about to be moved). If you have not got one of the councils bikeway map booklets get one, they free from librarys. Trust me they have saved me from getting lost before!
While it does not show it in the current version but there are bike lanes down both Stanley Rd Carina and Richmond Rd Cannon Hill. Ialso know these are both steep roads.

Donald

Something else to consider in route selection Mark, is that you are not driving a car with an engine, you are riding a bike in which you are the engine. Route selection can be rather different and can take many months of trial and stuffup to get right.

For example, my ride from home to the city is 22km (I'm in Adelaide btw). I can drive more or less straight there along a major road and while there are alternatives, that's the best route by car. However, it's madness on a push bike ... unless you like being run over.

There are two cycle routes I can use. One to the west of that road and one to the east.

The one to the east would appear to be shorter (because the city is on the east of my main road ... at the end of the trip of course). However, the first bit of it involves a gentle but substantial climb followed by a mad dash down a rather rough road followed by a run along a minor road that is very popular with the motorised set (but it does have a cycle lane).

The route to the west, appears when thinking about it to be longer, and indeed it is, by less than a kilometer. I don't know how that works out but it does. More importantly, it's all flat and all smooth. All major road crossings are managed by lights and there is little traffic.

So, rather than take the direct route, my best bet is to turn slightly away from my destination and take a designated cycle route which twists and turns along the back roads.

The message is - route planning on a bike is different to that of a car. You need to consider traffic, hills and road surface (sometimes longer and smoother is faster than shorter and broken).

Richard

Richard has a very valid point. Route planning in a car is different from route planning on bike. On a bike you can cut corners cos in queensland we are allowed to ride on the footpath. However do not constanly jump on and off a footpath to get infront of cars. This pisses them off to no end. I have found ride like (a motorist) part of the traffic. At roundabouts sit in the middle of the lane so they do not try to cut you off. I had someone sneek past me and cut me off and nerely got hit by a car that i could no see as i took off.

Mark you have not told us your biking history?
When was the last time you rode?
Do you have a bike atm?
What kind of bike is it?

Donald

Hi Mark,

I've got a CRX 1 2006 and ride it to work via bumpy bike tracks and roads with hills to work, 70km round trip, from Thornbury to Noble Park It's perfect for that. Initially I thought it might be a bit sensitive to the bumpy concrete paths, but it has been really tough and a pleasure to ride. Like some of the other posts I think disc brakes are not necessary for that kind of riding- it is also much easier to accidently bend the discs when putting the bike in the boot. And...probably increases the attraction of thieves to the bike. As for drop handle bars, I have never ridden with them before, but am currently doing up an old touring bike with drop bars and a nexus 8 speed internal hub, so soon will be able to compare flat to drops..

My advice would be pay less and get the CRX 1- you won't be dissapointed with it!

Yes I agree - the CRX1 is better value for money.

Read my comments in the following thread about it vs the Zero

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=942