[Beefy]

After the theift of my CX and road bikes, I’m looking for a low price CX bike, I’ve narrowed this down to the XBow 20 disc or CX Team? I can get both for around £650. The Ridley has bb7 Boardmen bb4 brakes but Ridley is sora and boardman sram apex, any advice?

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[Beefy]

Unbelievably the XBow is

Unbelievably the XBow is available at a lower price than the Merlin, also been looking at diamondback sora level cross bike but no ride reviews I can find

[Stef Marazzi]

They are both good! Thats a

They are both good! Thats a close one to call. I have a Ridley X-Bow and love it to bits. Bear in mind the sizing on Ridleys is “large” e.g. I am a 56cm on a road bike, but a 54cm medium on Ridleys. They have a high bottom bracket – You will feel more “on top” of the bike on the Ridley . I quite like the feeling, and its very flickable, with a very direct power transfer to the back wheel. Its definitely a very fun bike to ride. The Boardman (which I have ridden, as my brother in law has one), you feel more sat “within” the frame, cockpit style. It feels more like a traditional road bike. Note that you should also look at Merlin cycles range of cyclocross bikes, as they are actually Ridley X-Bows anyway! (Just with a different paint job – so you might get a bargain by looking at those as well).

[Beefy]

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[Beefy]

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[Author]

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