Cyclocross bikes for touring

[Howard]

Hah! Could have done with that on Sunday

 

[benb]

I'm biased, but the Genesis Croix de Fer would be ideal as a rugged tourer. Indeed in 2010 it set the round the world record, so that says something.

 

[willem]

I recently bought a second hand cycle cross bike precisely for fast day trips and ultralight touring. Mine is an old steel one, and that is obviously more suitable than the modern ones with carbon forks etc. I bought it from a former pro racer, so it is the real thing. The bad news about that is that therefore it has neither mudguard nor rack eyelets, nor bottle cage mounts, or whatever. And the gearing is a bit high. But it is a nice ride: with 35 mm Pasela's it not only copes comfortably with tarmac, but also with the many gentle forest trails around here. If I were looking for something new now, I would get a Surly Cross Check. That will take fast 37 mm tyres like Pasela's, with mudguards, and a light rack like a Tubus Fly. Finally, the gearing can be lowered at little cost. Obviously, for heavier loaded touring on bad roads I would use a LHT with 26 inch wheels instead.
I bought the cross bike to supplement my very nice custom loaded tourer with drops and 26 inch wheels. That is a great bike, but unloaded it is a bit heavy and stiff. I had a road bike with 32 mm maximum tyres, and I decided I needed wider tyres than that, both for comfort, and for the forest trails.
Willem

 

[Norm]

In anticipation of VamP's arrival on this thread, I'll say that a true cyclo-cross bike might not make an excellent tourer, but a "cyclo-cross" bike, which shares many of the visual clues from a cx bike but is a little toned down for normal peeps, and makes an excellent tourer.

For instance, a Specialized Crux makes a great cyclo-cross bike but a Specialized Tricross looks similar but is actually the closest that Spesh produce to a tourer.

 

[jonathanw]

I'm biased, but the Genesis Croix de Fer would be ideal as a rugged tourer. Indeed in 2010 it set the round the world record, so that says something.

+1 to that.

Steel frame for comfort, disc brakes for the wet weather. Will take mudguards and a rack.

I run mine with 30mm tyres (marathon racers) and it is a bombproof tourer, more that a true cyclocross bike.