Help with choosing new bike!

[bencolver10]

Dear all,

I would really appreciate a little bit of expert/ educated opinion. I am looking to buy a new bike. I was thinking of getting a road bike but have recently heard of cyclocrosses or something similar. The purpose of the bike wiil be commuting to work and cycle trips in the peak district.

One question I have is, am I right in saying that cyclocrosses are very similar to road bikes but can take slightly rougher terrain. What other plusses/ negatives do they have? Can they go as fast as a road bike?

Secondly, I ideally want to spend under £500. Does anyone know a good bike for this price. I would not mind at all about buying second hand; does anyone know a good second website?


Any advice would be very welcome,

Thanks in advance

Ben

 

[Norm]

Cyclo cross are... well, let's park for a moment some specifics and focus on "CX" bikes for the everyman rather than those true CX bikes which are primarily for cyclo cross racing.

"CX" bikes do make excellent road bikes. I've got one (a Specialized Tricross) and the journey times are the same as when I'm on my road bike (Specialized Secteur). They are close to a tourer in geometry, so they are stronger, longer, heavier and tougher than the racier geometry of a road bike. That also makes them more relaxing to ride as they are less twitchy and more comfortable. They also (remember, I'm generalising) have bigger tyres (more comfortable but heavier), more room for mudguards, higher bars, wider-spaced and lower gears and they often use MTB components which are built stronger than stuff for the road. I think that the times are the same because I can just ride a line to where I want to go on the Tricross, whereas I'm more aware of bad road surfaces on the Secteur so I ride a more variable line and speed.

"CX" bikes are also perfectly good off road. I've taken mine on canal paths, bridle paths, wet mud and grass across open fields and it's had no issues for most of the off-roading that I do. It wouldn't work if I wanted to have a proper off-road hack but for a day of mixed riding, it's excellent. As an example, I have a 10-mile local run which is about 60% tow path, 25% cycle path and 15% road and my "CX" bike is faster than my hard tail.

If I was to have just one bike, it would be the "CX"-styled bike. It is 95% of a road bike and 80% of an MTB and is great fun at both.

Now, back to the opening line, there are a lot of very good CX race bikes out there but, TBH, I think one of the less-focused bikes is better for general use. As a comparison, look at the differences between a Specialized Tricross and a Specialized Crux. I'd also say that there are "CX" bikes from a number of manufacturers, I'm just using the Specialized examples because I know them.