Hi, heres my take on CX bike... any thoughts.

[Si_]

Hi all . new tothe forum, returning to pedal power after a long lay off.

i have built myself up a wee "special" that i've nicknamed "mojo"

frame is a carrera subway mtb ltd disc only 18 inch
alexritchey rims from a boardman CX 550
kore drops
race face stubby 60 mm stem.
2x9 speed transmission which was a mix of what i had hanging around inthe parts box
avid bb5 road disc stoppers.
WTB comfort zone saddle. (had it for year it just kinda fits)

linky to a pic
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...1550581812176.556244.630732175&type=3&theater

som as the spinny bits all wear out, whats the consensus on a good CX 2x9 drive train. do most people use road or MTB derived stuff? (i use 170mm cranks cos of my old knees)

 

[Andrew_Culture]

Facebook is being a silly billy and not showing the photo

 

[Si_]

hang on ...

and my favorite snap

 

[Si_]

tis one of those odd ball bikes. thrown together and it just seems to work. i've had proper top end MTBs and spent loads on kit, yet this bargain basement parts bin special makes me smile.

still gonna spec it up though... so .. suggestions on best cx kit to get would be great ..

 

[cyberknight]

Me Likey
I am almost considering doing similar to my much maligned freecycle MTB, i would need a drop bar and 3x7 shifters to bodge it up.

 

[Si_]

she had a few teething probs, wrong brakes before i got the road ones, still running a triple front chainset cos its a cheap riveted thing. and my original stem was ridiculously long...

trying to find a triple road lever is a nightmare. (unless you have ready cash) i seem happy at 2x9 for now.. thinking of running a 38 48 front end when i get sorted, which should give me enough range with an 11 32 rear.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Why is your saddle pointing towards Australia?

 

[Si_]

lol, its not, the back of the bike is up on a rock. the saddles flat ..

 

[monkeylc]

like it matey..

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

she had a few teething probs, wrong brakes before i got the road ones, still running a triple front chainset cos its a cheap riveted thing. and my original stem was ridiculously long...

trying to find a triple road lever is a nightmare. (unless you have ready cash) i seem happy at 2x9 for now.. thinking of running a 38 48 front end when i get sorted, which should give me enough range with an 11 32 rear.

Don't think the problem is just about the cost of the levers. With the subway which is a flat bar bike with mtb bits you will find Shimano road triple brifters won't pull enough cable for the front mech to index the front rings properly. You can change the front mech to a road unit to deal with that, but then you will have to watch out for its range of travel since road and mtb chainsets are designed for different chainlines. There are various ways to deal with the challenges but none simple. This is a link to part 1 of a 6 part article of one person's experience.

 

[Howard]

trying to find a triple road lever is a nightmare. (unless you have ready cash)

Look for the first generation 5600 / 6600 shifters - they were designed to operate both double and triple chainsets and so are reasonably common. They would have been more common if the mechanics had set them up properly

 

[ayceejay]

If it is your intention to ride in the conditions depicted in your photos you might want to have a look at a single speed set up.

 

[Howard]

I agree - single speed in the kitchen is preferable to geared.

 

[Si_]

If it is your intention to ride in the conditions depicted in your photos you might want to have a look at a single speed set up.

thiking of an alfine system eventually though at present cost is prohibitive

 

[Mr. Jaggers]

hang on ...

and my favorite snap

I am new to cyclocross so I can not really comment on the bike build but I know a thing or two about photography and I really like this last picture.