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CX bike with slicks on group rides – any chance of holding on?

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  • October 25, 2013 at 3:51 pm #20108
    Bob Fossil

    Ladies and Gents,

    So the master plan is get a CX bike and two sets of wheels – one with slicks for the chaingang and one with knobblies to take advantage of the towpath I live next to. Maybe even the odd CX race or session in the woods. I am keen on getting a disc equipped bike as I’ve not got a lot of faith in rim brakes in the wet.

    Is a CX bike (such as the Kinesis crosslight pro 6 / CADDX 105 disc) going to be any good as a road based winter trainer, or am I going to be dropped before I know it? I know there is a little extra height on CX bikes, but when you’re out with a group on the road, does it make that much difference?

    Has anyone got any experience of using a CX bike on road-based club rides?

    Cheers,
    Bob

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  • October 26, 2013 at 8:21 am #761195
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    Bob Fossil

    Cheers guys,
    I’m not sure why
    Cheers guys,

    I’m not sure why I got into my head that I would be at a massive disadvantage, but it sounds like I’ll be fine.

    Now to decide between a Kinesis pro6 / CAADX 105 disc / the new canyon offering…

    I can’t wait to smash it down the canal towpath/ride in the wet with full mudguards!

    October 25, 2013 at 9:57 pm #761193
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    Ad Hynkel

    My summer bike is a CX bike,
    My summer bike is a CX bike, with a compact chainset and 28mm Gatorskins. It weighs about 21lbs so maybe a bit weighty on a big hill, compared to a carbon whippet. On the flatter sections and short hills it makes no noticeable difference. At least that’s what I’ve found on group rides.

    One day soon I’ll get round to putting the knobblies on to take it further off road than the tow path. And if all goes well the CX chainset might get dusted down for a spell. It is nice to have options…go for it, I would say.

    October 25, 2013 at 9:50 pm #761191
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    morethansonglyrics

    All in the legs. There’s a
    All in the legs. There’s a dude on our club run who keeps up on a hybrid.

    October 25, 2013 at 6:11 pm #761189
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    edster99

    Theres a guy in our club who
    Theres a guy in our club who total kicks everyone else’s heads in on the Tuesday night (summer) chaingang on his cross bike – even with semi-knobblys. The legs make the difference!! In the winter, you will have zero problems.

    October 25, 2013 at 5:57 pm #761187
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    gavben

    I’ll be on my cross-bike
    I’ll be on my cross-bike every sunday until spring-time (wearing 28mm duranos). Difference should be marginal: my fastest time home from my old job was on cross-bike rather than summer bike.

    October 25, 2013 at 4:34 pm #761185
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    David Arthur @davearthur

    Won’t be a problem. Used to
    Won’t be a problem. Used to go out with a group and one of the guys rode a cyclo-cross bike and didn’t slow him down one bit. In fact you wouldn’t have known he was on a ‘cross bike

    The lower gearing could be a potential problem if you’re really clogging it along, but most people are sensible in the winter and knock the speed right back

    October 25, 2013 at 4:20 pm #761183
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    TheHatter

    agree with Euan – I’ve used
    agree with Euan – I’ve used my cross bike as a winter bike for years and its fine.

    Wheel swapping regularly is a bit of a faff though – I’d rather have two bikes (and don’t forget that cross bikes normally have 135 rear spacing which limits wheel choice a little (unless you don’t mind springing the stays.)

    October 25, 2013 at 4:18 pm #761181
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    Anonymous

    It will work exactly the same
    It will work exactly the same believe it or not.

    October 25, 2013 at 4:18 pm #761179
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    othello

    With a decent set of road
    With a decent set of road wheels on, you will be hard pressed to tell the difference to be honest.

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