[grinditout]

Hi, 

I am a point with my crosser and roadie where i would like to change them both for a number of reasons. I can however, only afford to change one (and would like to go down to one tbh)

Is it possible to build a cross bike and then simply have a set of road wheels to swap to when going on a road ride? 

I would do it that way round as the majority of my riding is lonnings and tracks around the north west lakes but i do also like a long day out on the road. 

I had my eye on a S-works Crux – is that a suitable frame for such a job?

Anybody have any susggestions for the ideal frame to have this setup? If it is even possible/suitable/sensible?

Any advice welcomed.

Thanks

Topic

[Joe Totale]

I use a cross bike on the

I use a cross bike on the road right now. It’s got 1x gearing and I use 44 tooth chainring on the road and a 42 tooth one off road. Given that I also use a 10-42 cassette on the road and a 11-42 off road that gives me plenty of gearing range and I don’t bother changing the chain.  Chainging chainrings is a pretty quick and easy job with a 1x set up. 

What I hadn’t anticipated was that swapping wheels would be a faff, each time I have to realign my brake calipers when I do so, this can take a bit of time sometimes if I want to eliminate any rotor rub. 

I’m not going to lie, I’m not enjoying riding my cross bike on the road as much as I do my road bike and TBH I’m looking at a new winter/audax/long commuting steed which I was hoping the cross bike would be able to fulfil. It’s still a hoot to ride off road though so will keep it for gravel riding and cross racing. 

 

 

[kil0ran]

I used to swap wheels with no

I used to swap wheels with no issues. If you run the same cassette you might even get away without having to tweak the rear mech indexing when you swap. Worked very well for me – go with full hydro brakes if you can as they’re less faff for wheel changes than cable operated.

I guess the only thing against the Crux for me would be whether it can take mudguards – I looked at what was probably the 16 or 17 model and I know it didnt at that time

[LastBoyScout]

I bought a CX bike for

I bought a CX bike for dabbling in CX, but mainly as a new commuter. It’s been fine on roads with the  2x groupset and 28mm slicks and I can keep up on most club rides, although really need a better/lighter set of wheels for that.

I haven’t felt under geared on it – it’s 36/46 and 11/32

What I would change is a slightly longer stem for roads – the stock 80 (90?)mm one is very short to give off-road racing handling, but feels cramped and a bit twitchy on the road, especially with my long arms.

[Liam Cahill]

I’d say yes. I regularly use

I’d say yes. I regularly use my CX race bike on the road for winter training as it has disc brakes. I love riding it. A Paul Milnes re-branded Ridley X-Night if you’re interested.

My observations would be….

1. Gearing. If I was setting up the bike for a mix of road and CX, I’d go 2x. The classic CX 36/46 combination means no need for new wheels, is easily fast enough on the road and gives plenty of easy gears when paired with an 11-32 cassette. Though heavy mud clearance can be an issue.

While the 1X has easily been the best change I’ve made for racing, my 42T chainring with an 11-speed 11-28 cassette is a little under-geared when hammering on the road. A Sram 12-speed 1X setup would probably solve that but I’ve not tried one.

2. Wheels. If you’re going to be swapping the wheels relatively regularly then identical hoops, or at least wheels running on the same hubs is a must. The bike industry’s ‘standards’ mean rotors should be in the same place but they often aren’t and adjusting callipers before a ride isn’t ideal.

3. Geometry. Shouldn’t be too much of a problem these days. CX frames seem to be getting quite long in the top tube. I *think* the Crux has gone down this path.

Canyon’s Inflite CF SLX 9.0 would be a very good starting point if you’re going 2X.

[Jimthebikeguy.com]

Yes and no. The gearing you
Yes and no. The gearing you need for road, won’t play too well with cross. It depends if you want to go 1x too (you should). The probable crossover point of gearing that works for both, is a 42t ring with a 10-42 sram cassette. Fast on road, low enough gears for cx (justabout, although you will never get near 42×10 on a course). You would need xd driver freehubs to make this work, or you could go 11-42 on a shimano hub (still ok). I do the above on a boardman cx team with 2 wheelsets, works well; one set wears cx boots, one has wide road tires on. It only spins out on very fast long downhill road descents.

[Boombang]

Yes it will do the job just

Yes it will do the job just note two things

• geometry differences make a CX bike handle differently to a road bike (typically more trail, longer chainstay, longer wheelbase, longer front centre, shorter top tube, taller head tube, slacker head angle) – CX position is typically more central on bike so you can move weight about for traction, some of the characteristics are for stablility whilst helping the bike be able to steer for tight turns.
• gearing will be different, generally CX is narrower and shorter, and usually CX has a smaller big ring or a single up front.

 

I rode a Focus CX bike on the road for winter and it was absolutely fine.  Would have noticed it more if was hammering it but cruising about in the bad weather was no issue at all.

[Author]

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