Genesis Croix de Fer

[sawman]

how have you chaps been getting on the the cdf?

I happened to be in cotswold camping the other day, and they now have bikes in there (its a cyclesurgery outlet, in the store). my eye was caught by a cdf, looks lovely.

I am currently rolling around on a late 90's spesh stumpy, and was considering spending a bit on this as some bits are wearing out, but my LBS seems to be in the cycle to work scheme and stocks genesis......

Edited by sawman on Saturday 24th September 08:04

[TSCfree]

If you're remotely interested in average speed or winning races, this bike is not for you. Luckily I'm not and it's a good job, the bike is heavy as you may expect for a steelie. This for some will probably be enough of a downside not to buy, but they're definitely losing out. It has a lovely compliant feel whilst zipping along, solid in the corners, although it's not the nimblest. The brakes once bedded in are fantastic and a definite improvement over rim brakes. The hoods are super large, comfy on longer runs but for tricky cyclo cross jumps/efforts just slightly too big. It's a comfy bike with a generously padded seat. Geo wise it's more a bike you sit in rather on than if that makes sense, swapping back to the S Works emphasises that all the more.

The big plus for me and reason i bought one is with a change of tyres it'll do pretty much everything. Trails with nipper, cross, commute with panniers/mudguards, touring if you're not in too much of a rush to get anywhere. Sure there's plenty of better bikes for each specific job, but for the money, a decent all rounder. The deciding factor was a 30% discount on the 'Fer 30, otherwise it starts to look a little pricey spec wise against other bikes. Money no option or an understanding wife - buy the titanium one.

Edited by TSCfree on Saturday 24th September 17:47

[bigdom]

I run one as my commuter, equipped with Gilles mudguards and rack/panniers. It's no lightweight although the combination of 35c tyre/steel frame makes it an enjoyable steed. It laughs at potholes, poor surfaces, kerbs, trails etc. Stiff enough and super comfy, being steel no creaky noises. You're unlikely to set many KOM on it,(to be fair, I'm too slow to do that anyway) but that's really not the point of it. Personally, it's my favourite bike to ride.

[sawman]

thanks for the feedback guys, I am not after any world records - just comfortable riding on light trails and the road, with the kids plus occasional commuting so the cdf sounds like a decent option for my needs

[Chicken Chaser]

Thread bump. In the market for a bike which I can take on the back of the camper, pull my 3 year old in a trailer, zip up and around Lake district and Alpine roads and use as a winter bike. Needs to be able to take guards in occasion.

Croix de fer looks to tick most of the boxes, only concern is weight?

Edited by Chicken Chaser on Monday 9th January 08:16

[Chicken Chaser]

I'm probably going to buy one of these this week. I've played around with all the specs and I can get 105 11 speed on it, with some Kinesis Crosslight wheels and a mix of finishing kit and it should come somewhere around 10kg. Its not a lightweight and I think the forks are quite heavy too but it will be a bike I can take away with me for weekends/weeks and it'll do the family thing and it hopefully it'll also do the road thing. Its going to replace a Kinesis Racelight on the roads through winter. (I cant keep any more bikes so one has to go!)

Anyone with an adventure bike which could recommend a road biased tyre suitable for most surfaces if dry/damp? I'm not expecting a slick centred 32c tyre to be able to plug mud but should be able to forestry tracks provided its got a bit of a cut to the edges.

[ecs]

A friend of mine has a Genesis Datum which might be worth a look - it's an 'adventure' bike which can take big tyres and mudguards like the CdF, but they're probably a bit lighter.