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Cyclo-cross newbie - best choice for under £1000

by peterjigsaw
Mon, Aug 10, 2015 16:56
7

This is my first post, so be gentle!!!!

I'm looking to get my first cyclo-cross bike, so I can go riding with my young kids as they continue to grow and also do some more serious riding alone on a mixture of tarmac, gravel and grass tracks.

I'm attracted to a cyclo-cross bike because of the flexibility - change the wheels quickly to give it more of a road bike edge or leave it in cyclo-cross mode for all-round ability. A hybrid would be the other alternative, but I've never much liked the more upright position.

So, having had a good look around, I'm trying to narrow down to a few definitive possibles. I live in a pretty hilly area, so need good hill climbing scope, and preferably the bext all-round kit for the money - budget £1000.

As of now, I've been looking at the:
- Cannondale Caadx 105 disc
- Giant TCX SLR2
- Norco Search S1
- Pinnacle Arkose 3 or 4

I've discounted the Boardman CX Team on the basis of so many negative reports on build quality.

I know everyone waoul probably have a different view, but assuming you were buying a CX bike for someone else and didn't want to be shot-down for getting them something awful, what would you choose for them?

Thanks in anticipation of feedback.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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7 comments

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Vejnemojnen | 8 years ago
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http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bikes/cross-bike/?order=aprice#ancho...

Rose Pro DX 2000

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/felt-cyclocross-f65x-230899/wg_id-40

Felt F65

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fuji-cross-1.3-260067/wg_id-40

Fuji Cross 1.3

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Redvee | 8 years ago
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A friend has just bought a 2015 Felt F65x from Wiggle for £850: 105, internal cables, TRP Spyre discs. Unfortunately Wiggle no longer sell them.

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Beefy | 8 years ago
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Have you considered the Dolan Multi Cross? I bought the frameset from Dolan and built it up myself. Coped well around Grizdale and coniston in Lakes as an off roader while was a worthy winter bike with a change of wheels last winter. Mr Dolan does design fine frames and his full bike prices are vert competative

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Chris James replied to Beefy | 8 years ago
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I used the multi cross as the basis of my build too. It is a bit lady for a race machine but I have taken it to Glentress etc so it can certainly take some punishment.

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jollygoodvelo | 8 years ago
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I have a Boardman CX Team and there's nothing wrong with the build quality, but the BB5 brakes are crap because they only have one 'moving' side.

I'd probably go for the Pinnacle Arkose Three from that list - at £850 at the moment it's a bargain and the 34/32 bottom gear will get you up almost anything.

Worth looking at the Planet X London Road too -
£799 with Rival gears and BB7 cable discs, http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIV/planet-x-london-road-sram-rival-...
£999 with hydraulic discs http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBPXLDNRIVHRD/planet-x-london-road-sram-riv...

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jason.timothy.jones | 8 years ago
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I agree on the build quality of the CX team, however the build quality is a Halfords issue, not a Boardmans one... that's why I ordered mine boxed and built it myself, I think it's a quality bike for its price.

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Chris James | 8 years ago
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Proper cyclocross bikes usually have a 46/36 chainset. You may find the big ring a bit small if you intend using the bike for fast riding on the road, with road tyres. On the other hand, if you actually fancy racing cyclocross then a 50 tooth ring is too big for most people.

Also, if you plan on swapping tyres back and forth (road tyres and nobblies) then it can be convenient to have two sets of wheels. Most people have some old road wheels knocking around but might not have a spare set of disc ready wheels.

I believe the Spyre brakes are supposed to be better than BB7s.

I was in the same position as you a couple of years ago. Now both my kids (aged 7 and 9) race cyclocross, and so do I. I built my own bike - it is cheap and cheerful with cantis and I don't worry too much about destroying it. In my experience tyre selection and pressure matters more to off road performance than minor changes in the specification of the drive chain.

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