A "do it all" disc braked road bike
Discussion
I've been looking to get something to take away on hols with me, can only take one bike as the family take theirs too. This is to ride canal paths, cycle routes, woodland tracks but then I want it to be as good as possible to do 60 to 80 miles comfortably, with plenty of lumps along the way therefore it need to climb reasonably well too.
The Genesis Croix de fer looked to tick a lot of those boxes but it's nearly 11kg with a light wheelset. Its not lightweight climber. Everything else seems ok except for that, but then I'm wondering whether the latest Cyclocross bikes which have rack and guard mounts with 60mm drop BBs would be suitable for the same purpose. The likes of the CAADx or Kinesis Crosslight might be a better bet? As much as I'd love steel, the weight counts against it. Not sure what other good alternatives there are.
The Genesis Croix de fer looked to tick a lot of those boxes but it's nearly 11kg with a light wheelset. Its not lightweight climber. Everything else seems ok except for that, but then I'm wondering whether the latest Cyclocross bikes which have rack and guard mounts with 60mm drop BBs would be suitable for the same purpose. The likes of the CAADx or Kinesis Crosslight might be a better bet? As much as I'd love steel, the weight counts against it. Not sure what other good alternatives there are.
As above, between alloy/steel/titanium there's only a couple of kilos between any of the bikes mentioned. You could save a bit of weight with a carbon fork.
I run 35c with racks and Gilles guards on my Croix de fer that I use to commute. It would get away with 38c guarded, depends what you're looking to run, some of the options in your post could be more tyre restricted.
If you want more, Surly would be a better bet. I Only notice a couple of mph drop compared to the road bike, and it soaks the bumps up so much better.
I run 35c with racks and Gilles guards on my Croix de fer that I use to commute. It would get away with 38c guarded, depends what you're looking to run, some of the options in your post could be more tyre restricted.
If you want more, Surly would be a better bet. I Only notice a couple of mph drop compared to the road bike, and it soaks the bumps up so much better.
This looks reasonable, but may want the gearing tweaked to suit your riding style. It does get proper Shimano hydro discs which is a big bonus.
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-arkose-3-2017...
A CAADX will need a change of chainset as they seem to come with a CX specific one which won't be fun on an 80 mile road ride.
The GT Grade is well reviewed, you can get 105 but with TRP HY/RD brakes instead of full hydraulic but that fits the bill too.
https://www.evanscycles.com/gt-grade-105-2017-adve...
Personally though, I'd just buy the CDF and deal with the extra weight as it's just such a nice bike to ride. They also sell a frameset so you can build it to your own spec and it often ends up cheaper than the fully built one.
https://www.evanscycles.com/genesis-croix-de-fer-7...
£400 for the frameset, leaves you £800 for the other bits which should be plenty to build it with 105, some decent cable discs and light-ish wheels, especially if (like most people here) you've got a shed full of bits from other bikes you can use to keep the cost down.
https://www.evanscycles.com/pinnacle-arkose-3-2017...
A CAADX will need a change of chainset as they seem to come with a CX specific one which won't be fun on an 80 mile road ride.
The GT Grade is well reviewed, you can get 105 but with TRP HY/RD brakes instead of full hydraulic but that fits the bill too.
https://www.evanscycles.com/gt-grade-105-2017-adve...
Personally though, I'd just buy the CDF and deal with the extra weight as it's just such a nice bike to ride. They also sell a frameset so you can build it to your own spec and it often ends up cheaper than the fully built one.
https://www.evanscycles.com/genesis-croix-de-fer-7...
£400 for the frameset, leaves you £800 for the other bits which should be plenty to build it with 105, some decent cable discs and light-ish wheels, especially if (like most people here) you've got a shed full of bits from other bikes you can use to keep the cost down.
Have a Kinesis pro 6 frame and fork that I built into a 1x10 with MTB kit and the cx disk wheel set. I bought some Givenal hydraulic brakes but soon after more hydraulic road sti'S were released.
I use it as a commuter but weighing up weather to buy extra wheels of a second hand MTB for trail ridding.
I use it as a commuter but weighing up weather to buy extra wheels of a second hand MTB for trail ridding.
Tried a CaadX today, and was really impressed with the ride. Geometry seemed to be good on a 54, reach just about right and a fairly small seat to bar drop making it ideal for off road stuff (due to higher head tube than other road bikes). Tiagra worked very well, but the brakes were pretty garbage. Couldnt get the rear to lock up as much as I tried, whereas on the TRP HYrds, I could do it on top of the hoods. Would have to swap out chainring for a compact, and probably get some lighter wheels.
Chicken Chaser said:
Tried a CaadX today, and was really impressed with the ride. Geometry seemed to be good on a 54, reach just about right and a fairly small seat to bar drop making it ideal for off road stuff (due to higher head tube than other road bikes). Tiagra worked very well, but the brakes were pretty garbage. Couldnt get the rear to lock up as much as I tried, whereas on the TRP HYrds, I could do it on top of the hoods. Would have to swap out chainring for a compact, and probably get some lighter wheels.
Brakes is probably just setup, they should be able to lock up with ease. With the chainset remember it's BB30 so you can't just throw a Shimano one on so you're in for £150+ unless you can swap the rings out (which I guess you can easily enough).Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff