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Old 01-23-23, 03:20 PM
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Herzlos
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Location: Scotland
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First CX Race - what bike and setup?

Hi all,

I've signed up for a taster race at my local cyclocross track, which I believe is just a grassy field behind a sports centre rather than anything bespoke, and there's no sand. For the taster race, there's no restriction on bikes, it's not ranking etc.

I have 2 bikes:
https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/revolt-1-2021
https://www.merida-bikes.com/en-gb/b.../big-trail-400

The Giant, being a gravel bike is the closest to a cyclocross bike, and dropped bars means I'm quite narrow which I suspect will be better for being overtaken (I'm not expecting to do well).
The Merida has much wider tires and the seat can be lowered to make it less likely I'll fall off. It's also 4kg heavier though I'm not sure how much I'll be expected to carry it.

So I think the Giant is likely the better choice, but in terms of tyres I've got the standard 700x38c CrossCuts and or 700x45c WTB Riddlers, neither of which I'm confident will be any good on grass/mud despite being much wider than the 33c limit for competitions.

On the Merida, I've got a 29x2.3 Maxxis Minion DHF on the front with either a 29x2.3 Minion SS or 29x2.3 Aggressor on the rear.

What would you recommend I used?

Should I also be removing anything I don't need, like bottle cages? Or is that excessive?

Thanks in advance!
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