Cyclocross bikes advice needed.

[Buster73]

6'3" 16 stone .

I want something better than my current Giant XTC MB .

Talk to me and convince me which one to look at / buy.

Cheers.

[Fozziebear]

It's all about your budget and how hard you hit the dirt mate. My new bike will be home built, just like my mtb. Carbon frame and forks, discs and a 1x10 set up, should cost no more than £800, not including my man hours.

[MOJJO]

Fozziebear said:

It's all about your budget and how hard you hit the dirt mate. My new bike will be home built, just like my mtb. Carbon frame and forks, discs and a 1x10 set up, should cost no more than £800, not including my man hours.

I'm sure that helps him...zero... nice one!

I've a Kona Jake the Snake and it's a brill bike £1200 all in but got for £850, so for a grand you'd get something decent enough. Although the 29er market has come along ten-fold and although heavier they're pretty decent bikes too so also worth considering.

Regards

Ed

[anonymous-user]

As others have said, it depends what you are using it for, what terrain and whether its a nice weather only bike as this will affect the ideal spec, if its a 4 season bike for example, discs over v-brakes might be the better option.

I personally would take the (minor) weight penalty and go for something like the Cotic X if you arent racing, and even if you are, what the hell. I am a big fan of their bikes, they are great to ride and well designed. That said, Hargreaves have some Ridleys which are very tempting.

The Boardman and the Kenesis crosslight are worth a look too, you really need to spend some time with the geometry charts working out sizing and whether you want an aggressive position or a be in a bit more of an upright position. The AG2R riders are sponsored by Focus and used the Mares cx bikes in the Paris Roubaix at the weekend....

dont worry about the drivetrain components, you want functional and reliable stuff, not precision and lightweight thus tiagra is good, 105 is probably the best all round, ultegra et al are unnecessary and you will hate the grinding noises if you are in muddy conditions wearing out the lightweight components.....

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 9th April 20:10

[Fozziebear]

MOJJO said:

Fozziebear said:

It's all about your budget and how hard you hit the dirt mate. My new bike will be home built, just like my mtb. Carbon frame and forks, discs and a 1x10 set up, should cost no more than £800, not including my man hours.

I'm sure that helps him...zero... nice one!

I've a Kona Jake the Snake and it's a brill bike £1200 all in but got for £850, so for a grand you'd get something decent enough. Although the 29er market has come along ten-fold and although heavier they're pretty decent bikes too so also worth considering.

Regards

Ed

Really? The guy asks the vaguest of questions, doesn't say how much he wants to pay and if he's racing or just bashing around town then hitting some trails. I've only had a litre of coffee today, so my mind reading skills are a bit off today

[BadgerBenji]

Your kind of a large lad, so you want something reasonably strong, the Cotic does look nice, and is a reasonable price for what it is. I'm going to chuck my usual vote in for Cannondale, the CaadX is a good frame, aluminium and comes in the larger sizes, and if you want to go mad can't go wrong with the SuperX, but that's very racy.

What do you want from it? Coming from a MTB you are going to need to learn to finesse the bike through as they are slightly more fragile, but perfectly capable ridden correctly.

[Bobley]

I'm in a similar position, I've got a Giant Anthem and I've tried the wifes XTC but I want something to handle back lanes and towpaths really plus I've just got my lad a cyclocross bike so I need something similar to try and keep up with him.

I'm just waiting to see if work comes up with a Cycle to work scheme to save a few quid.

On my list are Boardman CX Team -

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/cyclo...

Cannondale Caadx 105 (if I can wangle a deal as its a bit over the C2W budget) -

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/cyclo...

and maaybe a Giant TCX like this...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-TCX1-New-Large-/26...

[BadgerBenji]

Pauls cycles in Norfolk have a couple of cross bikes nicely discounted, but depends what budgets you all have.