Rolla

It appears that I was the victim of a Cyclocross Magazine April Fool's joke (see article here).

It's been well over a decade since my last CX race. Apologies to all for my gullibility.

grolby

Ah, that article is ringing a bell now! Happens to everyone at some point. Cheers.

JaccoW

Even on Dutch and Belgian forums there doesn't seem to be much talk about tire widths being enforced. Only a 33/35mm tyre width and the necessity of drop bars.
The general consensus for your local CX race is that anything goes and the course needs to be designed for best results on a CX bike.

Some complaints over CX bikes dominating certain MTB races.
Fun tool. Also is great at showing the difference between a Specialized Crux (33mm tyre CX) and a Koga Beachracer Pro (60mm tyre BR).

Both are racing bikes on sand, but definitely different disciplines. Would be fun to see how a BeachRacer would hold up in a CX race though.

Russ Roth

My first "cross bike" was good at enforcing the tire width rule but a few years back I just tossed a drop bar on an early 90s c-dale after losing my custom cross and ran that for the season and didn't have any trouble. Also ran my gravel bike which is a slightly older design last year and no one but me complained about the tires. Unfortunately with 38c tires the thing jammed up with mud on a couple course where 33c tires wouldn't have been a problem.
My new cross bike I used old tires which are 33c that were left over from years ago but will probably toss 35c tires next year and just wear out the old ones in the mtb trails this year. Doubt anyone will care.

msu2001la

I can't think of a course in my local series where anything much wider than 35s would be a significant advantage. Wide tires are good in sand, and some mud conditions, but they also add weight and get bogged down with mud buildup (plus less frame clearance can be an issue when it's wet/grassy/muddy).

The added weight of larger tires is definitely a disadvantage on courses that have lots of hairpin turns (slower to accelerate out of them), climbing, and power sections where speeds are higher.

There are a few MTB racers in my local series that do well on MTBs with XC race tires, but I have a feeling those guys would be as fast or faster on CX bikes. They're also on sub 20lb XC MTB race bikes, sometimes with rigid forks.

chas58

I have those tires, but would never think of using the beach racer in a CX race.
I'm thinking
- tires that wide at ultra low pressure woudn't have the sidewall stability to hit those really hard turns
- I do need traction in grass, not flotation
- often our races have an artificial hazard - mud from a hose, someone bring piles of snow, or its just fall weather. my beach racer tires are a nightmare if anything (other than sand) is wet. Its literally like riding on ice - as flotation and mud is a horrible combination.
- not sure they would really have the traction for some of the climbs I do, although they would be great on a dry rough downhill.

chas58

I typically run gravel tires in the 38-40mm range. They weigh the same or often less than 33mm CX tires (for some reason), and allow me to run low tire pressures without bottoming out on the rim so much. 33mm tires only seem to have the advantage in mud, where I want the tire to both track straighter, and to dig down to firmer ground underneath.

The only times my CX bike seems to have an advantage over hard tails is on fast gravel rides, where I can climb faster (due to weight) and I can decend faster due to gearing (2x is wonderful) and an aero advantage. I guess on a CX course I can cut a tighter/faster corner than a modern mountain bike can - this I need less power to accelerate out of the corner and get back up to speed.

obrentharris 

Yes!
I went the other way around and raced my first season on a hard tail MTB. I had a good time, so I bought a used CX bike for the next season.
My advice to the OP is to ride whatever you already have or borrow an old MTB for your first couple of races. Find out if 'cross is your thing. There are significant numbers of riders who show up for one race and never come back.
Brent

msu2001la

Same. I got talked into trying CX by a friend who had been racing for a few years. Up to that point, I was either pure road biking, or pure MTB single track riding, and I had never done an actual bike race before. I did some training and a few races on my hardtail MTB (with regular 29er MTB tires) and was hooked.

I ended up buying a CX bike about halfway through that first season, but I was already looking for an excuse to buy a new bike at that point and the CX thing just worked. I ended up selling my MTB a few years later because it felt so heavy and slow in comparison, and eventually sold my road bike as well since it felt redundant.

This year, with no CX racing on the calender I've been using my CX race bike more as a road bike... so now I'm thinking of buying a pure road bike again.

Hypno Toad

As someone that focuses on gravel grinding and plays at CX, the biggest difference is the geometry for tight CX courses. My gravel bike has a long wheel base for comfort and control on long straight roads, but I'm challenged on a tight technical CX course.

For reference, I've 'raced' CX on a drop-bar Pugsley (just for smiles), Breezer Radar Pro (gravel bike), and Kona Dew Drop (commuter bike with knobby tires). I like our Wednesday Night CX series in Minneapolis, $20 per race, no license required, serious CX riders use it for training, and others (like me) are looking for fun with bikes and some beers.

For gravel, I typically race 4-6 gravel events every year, ranging from 50 miles to 240 miles and I've races all three of the bike listed above on gravel - The Breezer is my go-to bike on gravel, but if there's a fatbike prize, the drop-bar Pug is fun alternative.

green123

240 miles, whoa

Hypno Toad

It's a DAMn fools ride

Here's a thread I started about The Day Across Minnesota - https://www.bikeforums.net/cyclocros...minnesota.html

And I think it's super cool that there's a documentary on Amazon Prime about this ride - https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Spirit-...2J/ref=sr_1_10

Hondo Gravel

Have a CX and a gravel bike. Both work well.. I’m too old and broken to race but both bikes handle gravel roads well.