Cross or Road Bike for Commuting

[RedBike]

Your position / weight distribution is optimised for 1 hour races off-road.

With an audax, winter roady, tourer the position is optimised for miles in the saddle.

 

[MacB]

good question, I would of said any bike, set up correctly, and fit to you, should be equally comfortable. I believe a true cross bike might have a bit less give in it thus giving a harsher ride.

My commuter is based on the Surly Crosscheck frame, I don't know if this is a true cross bike or not. Quite honestly I still get confused about what frame qualifies as what. I can say that, coupled with a Brooks B17 saddle, it provides a very comfortable ride for my 40 miles roundtrip commute. The only drawback is that it's a very heavy bike, 36lbs unladen. But it has touring rims, 35mm M+ tyres(these weigh nearly 1kg each), a hub gear(this weighs in at over 2.5kg), guards and a rack.

That said I've had no problems in nearly 1700 miles on it and it was chosen for year round conditions. If I could spec a new commuter it would basically be the same but replace the SRAM 9 speed hub with the Rohloff 14 speed, mainly as the Rohloff is 1kg lighter. I'd also have the same sort of frame but in lightweight titanium or top end 953 steel. As for the rest, I don't want wheels going out of true and punctures, low maintenance commuter is the purpose.

 

[karlos_the_jackal]

Cyclocross bikes are rubbish. I don't know why anybody would want them.

And if you see one on ebay don't bid on it. especially if its a specialised tricross 56/58cm frame.

(seriously i do actually need one because my commute is 95% road but 5% trail)

 

[HLaB]

Its a bit expensive but IMO something like the Kinesis Racelight fits the bill (a fast well equipped road bike which can take guards and a rack)

 

[simon_brooke]

Unless you're taking the bike off-road then get a road bike. There's plenty of road bikes that will take mud-guards and with wider tyres they're just as capable of dealing with pot-holes/ kerbs as a cyclo-x bike is.

Cyclo-x bikes always fetch premium prices, they're also generally heavier, poorer spec'd and not as comfortable or as quick as a road bike.

what redbike said

RUBBISH! My cross bike weight in at 9.5 Kg, and I use it on audaxes in preference to my road bike, because it copes with poor surfaces better. The fundamental difference between a cross bike and a road bike is that a cross bike is a little sturdier and can take larger section tyres - and both these things make it a better commuting bike.

 

[RedBike]

There's nothing about a cross bike that makes it any sturdier than say a tourer. In fact the opposite is more ikely to be true. Cyclo-x bikes in the main are made for racing. They're optimised for weight whereas touring bikes are optimised for carrying heavy loads.

A true cross bike will have a higher bottom bracket for better pedal clearance off-road but at the sacrifice of corning ability on the road.

The cables are routed on the top of the top tube (which is often flat) so that you can carry the bike instead of being tucked out of the way out of harms way under the top tube.

The top tube is shorter forcing you to sit upright. Combined with the fact your sat higher up than a road bike in the first place mean your not exactly areodynamic.

The canti-lever brakes are great for mud / large volume tyres but underpowered compared to a good set of duel pivots.

Although manufactures seem to have started putting braze-on for everything on their cyclo-x bikes a true cyclo-x bike might not even have bottle holders. Bottle holders aren't needed in an hours race and they'd get in the way of shouldering the bike.

You can get 32mm tyres on a lot of winter road bikes. Wider tyres make a lot of sense for laiden touring but they're not really needed for a tarmac commute.

 

[DeeP]

Hi Cam,
Have come from similar experience MTB > Hybrid > Road. Bought a Giant CRS alliance this year which uses a compact road frame with Flat bars. Excellent for commute, tough enough for road potholes, pavements, off road paths & v.light. My next bike will be a progression to similar with drop bars, agree with others - no need for a cross bike. Wanted a tourer/audax style but like someone else said, good ones are expensive, outside my budget. Have a look at the Giant Defy or TCR range or Trek 1 series or something similar.
Regards.

 

[silverbow]

what redbike said

and mudguards (and doubtless racks and panniers and lights) might lok silly to weekend warriors, to a year round commuter they're no brainer essentials

+1.

Mudguards keep your bike in better condition, stop the parts getting 'jet washed' as you ride and therefore wearing quicker. Also help your kit too.

Panniers help by taking the weight off you so you don't fatigue so quickly and therefore pay attention to what’s going on around you.

Lights.... well if that's not obvious then maybe take the bus!

Tyres: Don’t under estimate what a change of tyres can make to the speed and handling of your bike. It’s cheaper too!

Bike? Well that’s personal. I’m in the process of kitting out a Sit-up and Beg in favour of my mountain bike (with mountain plus tyres) that I’ve been using for the last 8 months. I like to look around! Plus the extra wind resistance = more work J

 

[CamR]

All,

Many thanks for the constructive comments/opinions. I have decided to go for a Road Bike with a compact chainset.

Was in a LBS today and drooled over a 2010 Trek 2.3 so that is currently top of my list. It has mounts for guards so if I want them they can be fitted.

Had a ride out last night and was doing some sprint repetitions that were an interesting experience with Front Suspension, more up/down than forward.

Cam

 

[karlos_the_jackal]

Yes, go for the road bike (wavy hands trying to hypnotise people out of buying cyclocross bikes)

I would go for a roadie myself but will probably save that till next year and would like to build one up myself. From this thread though, will be looking at a couple of audaux style bikes

 

[HJ]

A cyclo-cross bike can be a great choice for commuting, if you like the geometry best thing is to try riding a few before you buy, road bike geometry isn't right for everybody either...

 

[CamR]

Re. the Trek, should I go for the compact or triple. The guy in the shop reckons that I am better of with the compact because ultimately it is better suited for road riding

 

[RedBike]

Re. the Trek, should I go for the compact or triple. The guy in the shop reckons that I am better of with the compact because ultimately it is better suited for road riding

If you're reasonably fit and your commute doesn't involve too many near vertical hills the compact should be perfectly fine.

However, if in doubt go for the triple. Just because you've got the gears doesn't mean you have to use them.