Claud Butler Alto CX9 cyclocross bike

With its quirky tube profiles and distinguishing paint job the Claud Butler Alto CX9 is as fun as it looks. Whether you're after an entry level cyclo-cross bike or a do it all commuter you're getting a decent package here for your £699. Bring on the mud!

Fun, fun, fun

The biggest surprise for me was how useable the Alto is, on or off road, straight out of the box, semi knobbly tyres and all.

As a commuter I've got plenty of options, A roads, country lanes or canal paths and having the Alto in on test really made think about searching for more as it didn't matter what the surface or terrain was you could take it on without compromising elsewhere.

On road the compact frame is nippy to ride and handles just like a road bike: sharp enough to keep you entertained without being overly twitchy. Even at speeds of over 40mph the handling was very rewarding and never once felt out of control cutting through the corners. This is still with those Kenda Kwick 30mm tyres on too.

Swapping over to a set of 28mm slicks made the Alto ride even better with acceleration and speed that belies its 24lb weight. The gearing offered by the eight speed Claris groupset might only be low at 46/34t (front) and 11/28t (rear) but it's well spaced giving you a decent setup for both climbing and head down efforts on the flat.

Take to the trails and the Alto flatters here too. I'm not an off road novice but to be honest I don't spend much time away from the tarmac. Even in the deepest mud and slippery, tree-rooted bridleways I found I had no trouble keeping the CX9 moving with a bit of bodyweight shifting and power to the pedals. Admittedly the direction was mostly sideways as the tread of the Kendas did become a little overwhelmed when things got too muddy.

It was massively grin inspiring though, and highlighted the Claud Butler as a very useable bike for complete novices who fancy a go on the cyclo-cross scene.

Sensible and robust build kit

The compact frameset is made from 6061 alloy and is easily stiff enough for the job; even on 25% climbs it didn't show any flex around the bottom bracket area. Up front you get a carbon fibre fork which again performs well under steering load and heavy braking efforts from the BB5 mechanical discs.

Apart from the mounts for the discs you also get positions for a rack and full mudguards which all adds to its versatility as a light tourer or all weather commuter.

The welds aren't the smoothest but neither would I expect them to be on a bike of this price or of this ilk. A little bit of agricultural engineering never looks out of place on a machine of this style.

While it's capable as an all rounder you can see the main design intention is for it to be a 'cross machine thanks to its cable routing and top tube profile. You tend to carry your bike a bit in a cyclo-cross race to get over obstacles and the CX9 uses a triangular top tube with a flattened bottom for comfort on your shoulder. The rear mech cable is moved to the top of the tube to stop it digging in too and to keep it out of the mud.

The rear brake and front mech cables run under the down tube with both being fully enclosed to make sure they run smoothly for the duration of a race or on those winter commutes when the roads are strewn in salt and grit.

You get a full Shimano Claris groupset and it's a great bit of kit for the money too offering decent shifting even when it's covered in mud and water. The shifters themselves feel just the same as Sora or even the latest ten speed Tiagra version.

The chainset on a separate bottom bracket with the Octalink spline that was a feature of Shimano's top-end groupsets not very long ago. It's a tight fit and offered plenty of stiffness here.

The rear mech takes on the look of Shimano's more expensive components too. It's easy to set up and stays there too. It'll handle up to a 32-tooth sprocket so you can lower the gearing even further on the Alto if necessary.

The Avid BB5 brakes are a bit on or off for my liking. By that I mean there wasn't much in the way of feel to them, you didn't get much power or feedback from them unless you were hauling on them hard. I missed being able to feather the brakes in traffic like you can with the likes of TRP's Spyre or Hy-Rd setups.

Claud Butler have specced 160mm rotors front and rear so there is certainly plenty of stopping power there should you need it.

You do get additional brake levers on the bars with the Alto to allow stopping and control from any position and they worked well. The power and feeling was the same as it was through the Claris levers so everything felt consistent.

The Exile finishing kit is basic alloy stuff but perfectly capable of everything you ask of it. The bars have a shallow drop and the upright position of the frame allows you to use them even when off road without affecting the handling.

Sturdy wheels and tyres

The wheels are also Exile branded and use 32-hole, disc-specific hubs with sealed bearings. We had a lot of rain over the test period and the hubs were still running smooth and quiet when the bike was finished with so they should stand up to plenty of winter abuse.

The rims are double walled aluminium for strength and considering the abuse they took on and off road they stood up really well indeed. Smashing through potholes with the tyres pumped up hard did little to knock them out of true.

The Kenda tyres are, as I mentioned above decent performers both on and off road though you do have to compromise on pressure to get the best of both worlds. They ran sweetly at 60psi on the road only really giving away 1 mph average to some lighter slicks though on the rougher tracks this would give your wrists a bit of a hammering.

Conclusion

The Alto CX9 is one of those bikes that is just a great laugh to ride whether you use it for CX, some light off road, commuting or just getting out with the family. I personally was always looking for different places to ride just to see if I could find any real weaknesses but there aren't really any. Okay so it's heavy and a dedicated road bike or CX bike in their intended terrain will have the edge but in terms of bang for your buck the Alto is laughing.

It has a very sensible level of kit on offer being well specced for its price point. The Claris groupset is very good indeed and looks good too. The spread of gears don't hamper the bike on the road and the low 34/28 bottom gear makes everything rideable off road.

The geometry of the frame is suited to both terrains and makes for an engaging ride whether tapping along on the flat or taking in the climbs and descents of more hillier regions.

As a one bike does all the Alto is a great buy and coming in £300 below the bike to work scheme it leaves you plenty of spare cash to get some road tyres and even a spare set of wheels.

Verdict

Brilliant fun 'do-it-all' bike with a decent level of kit finish for the money